Microsoft CMO hints at 'breakthrough' Surface phone
Microsoft is doing something about its smartphones business and according to the company’s CMO, it is something revolutionary, shocking, breathtaking.
I’m not being cynical here, I’m just reporting -- that’s the best part.
A Surface phone might just be what Windows 10 Mobile needs
Even though it already has a smartphone line, rumors suggest that Microsoft wants to release a smartphone under the Surface brand. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but this might just be what Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile really need to become a serious contender in the high-end smartphone market.
While Surface tablets are increasingly more appealing, following the introduction of Surface Pro 3, the Lumia line is proving to be increasingly less attractive in consumers' eyes, as proven by its tiny 1.7 percent market share. Moving an upcoming flagship product from a fading to an up and coming brand starts to make a whole lot of sense.
Lumia sales are in the toilet, Surface revenue is down
Microsoft has just released its Q1 FY2016 (Q3 CY2015) earnings report, posting revenue of $20.4 billion, operating income of $5.8 billion, net income of $4.6 billion and earnings per share of $0.57 (all GAAP figures). The software giant's numbers beat analysts' expectations, which has added around 10 percent to its stock price in after-hours trading. Here are the highlights of the software giant's quarter.
Microsoft has divided its earnings in three categories, namely Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The good news comes from Intelligent Cloud, where revenue is up by eight percent, while the bad news is in More Personal Computing, where the poor performance of Lumia and Surface devices lead to a 17 percent decrease in revenue, year-over-year.
Microsoft steps up efforts to get Surface into businesses
Microsoft is keen to get its Surface tablets in the hands of business users. This is one of the reasons why it increased the number of Surface sales partners back in July. And in September it launched the Surface Enterprise Initiative allowing Dell and HP to resell the product.
Now following the launch of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book earlier this month, the company is making renewed efforts to crack the business market with new service offerings.
Surface Pro 4 to feature a borderless display? What a terrible idea!
I was right: Your next PC will look like a Microsoft Surface
It’s fun being a thought leader. You get to watch as others supposedly "discover" an idea or truth that you originated weeks or even months before. In this case it’s the notion that Microsoft’s Surface tablet has become a form factor trend setter for PC designs.
The above linked SuperSite for Windows article is a great read, but far from original. I postulated much the same thing when I declared that your next PC will look like a Microsoft Surface. The difference is that I published my take on the matter over three weeks ago, long before any of us knew what the Google Pixel C tablet would look like. But now that the search giant has jumped on the "kickstand-and-keyboard" bandwagon, my prescient musings have been set in stone.
Dell to sell Surface Pro as part of a bid to get Windows 10 into enterprises
Microsoft and Dell are teaming up to deliver Windows 10 devices, services and support to enterprise customers, starting next month with a new Surface Enterprise Initiative.
Beginning in early October in the US and Canada, Dell will sell Microsoft Surface Pro tablets and Surface accessories through its North America commercial sales organization. This will be rolled out to the remaining 28 markets of Microsoft's Surface commercial channel starting early next year.
Microsoft improves Surface Pro 3 and Pro 2 performance in Windows 10
Microsoft frequently releases new firmware updates for its Surface tablets, improving performance and stability, fixing bugs, and adding new features in the process. And, in August 2015, the devices to get the software giant's attention are Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 2.
Given that Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 at the end of the last month, the firmware updates that it has now released, including last month's batch, feature enhancements for the new operating system, which is offered as a free upgrade to those who are using Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 2.
Microsoft Surface Hub shipping slips to 2016
Microsoft today notified customers that Surface Hub orders will not ship until January 1, 2016. The super-sized conference-friendly Surface tablet has been available for pre-order since the beginning of July, and Microsoft had already indicated that the original ship date of September 1 was going to be delayed.
Available in both 55- and 84-inch versions, the Windows 10-powered device has generated a great deal of interest, and this is the reason Microsoft cites for the delay.
Start menu improvements coming in Windows 8.1 RT Update 3 in September
We already knew that Windows 8.1 RT Update 3 is coming in September, but recent Windows news has been dominated by the release of Windows 10. The update will be pushed out to Microsoft's Surface and Surface 2 tablets as well as other RT devices, and Microsoft Window's 10 FAQ pages have been updated to explain some of the improvements that users can look forward to.
Nothing has changed with regard to Microsoft's position on Windows 10 for RT devices -- this is still not going to happen. Updates to Windows 8.1 RT is the best that users can hope for, and now the company is starting to advertise -- through Windows 10 -- what the update will bring.
Massive Microsoft shakeup sees Stephen Elop departure
Microsoft is a company in a constant state of evolution, and today this is perfectly demonstrated by a huge shakeup at the top. Satya Nadella wrote to employees to explain a number of changes to the Senior Leadership Team -- including the departure of Stephen Elop.
The former Nokia CEO and Nadella "agreed that now is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft". A question that can be heard echoing through the company is "did he jump, or was he pushed?" Mark Penn is also leaving the company to form a private equity fund. The reorganization additionally sees the company dividing into three distinct teams to "deliver better products and services our customers love at a more rapid pace".
Microsoft Surface Hub coming to a business near you soon
The promise of surface computing for businesses seems to have been around for ages, remember all those cool videos of interactive coffee tables and screens from around three years ago? Yet so far there hasn't been a great deal of practical application.
That could be about to change as Microsoft makes its Surface Hub available for businesses to order in 24 markets -- including Australia, North America, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the UK -- from July 1.
iPhones and iPads rule the enterprise market, Windows is slowly gaining ground
While Android is the clear leader in the mobile market, in the enterprise space arch-rival iOS is the platform that actually comes out on top. Apple's iPhones and iPads make up 72 percent of all mobile device activations, while handsets running the green droid operating system have to make do with just 26 percent.
Unsurprisingly, it is iPhone 6 which sustains Apple's enterprise dominance, coming out as the most-popular handset in the enterprise thanks to it making up 26 percent of all activations between January and March. Apple's flagship is followed by Samsung's Galaxy S5. Together, the two leading vendors offer 28 out of the 30 most-popular devices in the enterprise.
Did you pull a boner and buy a Windows RT Surface? Microsoft offers redemption
Believe it or not, I loved Windows RT; hell, I still do. My Surface 2 still gets a good amount of use for gaming and web surfing. Unfortunately, the limited nature of the operating system (a positive from a security standpoint) was a turn-off to consumers, and rightfully so; Windows that can't run legacy programs? Doomed from the start.
While Microsoft has promised to deliver some Windows 10 functionality to Windows RT, the full OS will not be delivered. In other words, for the most part, RT-based machines are obsolete. If you pulled a boner and bought one, I feel your pain; however, Microsoft will pay you cash for that mistake as long as you put it towards the all-new Surface 3 (running real Windows).
Microsoft buys Surface pen technology from N-Trig
Microsoft has confirmed that it is buying "advanced digital pen technology" from stylus manufacturer N-Trig. The company is behind the Surface pen and the acquisition sees Microsoft bringing more of its hardware production in-house.
The acquisition follows on from rumors that surfaced earlier in the year, and Microsoft has already been working closely with the company for several years now.
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