Microsoft: We need a phone as good as the Surface line
Speaking to Twit’s Windows Weekly show, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Chris Capossela has admitted that the company’s latest Windows Phones are not enough to reverse the ailing platform’s fortunes. Describing the flagship Lumia 950 as simply “solid,” he told host Leo Laporte and Microsoft journalists Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrott that the company has a lot more work to do before it can persuade people to “move from an iPhone to one of [Microsoft’s] phones.”
Capossela drew comparison to the company’s successful Surface program, which caught the public’s imagination despite “a bunch of early misfires.” He believes Microsoft needs “some sort of spiritual equivalent on the phone side that doesn’t just feel like a phone for people that love Windows.” Some are taking this to mean that Microsoft is working on a “breakthrough Surface phone.” In reality, given the context of a year-in-review podcast, it’s more likely Capossela is really just noting the sort of thing that Microsoft needs to do — create a unique device that appeals to a broad number of people. “We need time to actually build that,” he added.
The CMO also spoke about the importance of attracting the younger generation to the platform. “You need Snapchat, let’s face it,” retorted host Leo Laporte, “That’s all you really need if you want a 15-year-old.” The social app is not available on Windows Phone.
“You need Snapchat, you need Instagram … you need Uber, gotta have it. There’s 10-15 apps that you just have to have on the phone,” Capossela concurred. It’s clear Microsoft believes it has to get the hardware and OS right before customers — and developers — will flock to Windows Phone.
The full Windows Weekly episode is available on the show’s site, and the relevant segment starts at around the 38:30 mark.
Via: Tom’s Hardware
Source: Windows Weekly (Twit.tv)
5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Welcome back to the last edition of Android Apps Weekly in 2015! We’d like to thank you for another 52 weeks of tuning in each week to catch the latest app news. Let’s get to the headlines:
- A little more news leaked out about Nintendo’s upcoming Android game this week. It’s been all but confirmed that it’s going to be a social media style app and the clothing items will be used to customize your avatar. We’re not sure where the game part is yet, but we’ll find out eventually.
- Last week we reported that there were 35 awesome games on sale on Google Play. That list has been updated and there are now over 85 titles available right now with a varying amount of discounts. Some of the games include most of Square Enix’s library, Half-Life 2, Worms 2, NBA JAM, most of Kemco’s library, and plenty of others. Check it out before these deals end.
- In an effort to show people that the Play Store is more than just apps and games, Google Play is having a promotion to get users into the other parts of the store. Until January 4th, you can get 3 months of Google Play Music for $1, some Google Play Books titles are up to 80% off, and movie rentals are up to 75% off.
- In perhaps one of the best news stories of the year, it was announced that The Beatles were coming to streaming services for the first time in most markets. As of now, you can listen to the fab 4 on Apple Music, Google Play Music, Microsoft Groove, Rhapsody, Amazon Prime Music, Slacker, Spotify, and Tidal.
- It’s been rumored that Google is creating another messaging service and this one is a little bit different. Instead of the usual paradigm where you can chat and stuff, this new service is rumored to have a ton of bots that will chat with you, make recommendations, and fetch information. We’ll have to see what happens if this rumor turns out to be true.
For even more Android apps and games headlines, updates, and new releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter where we’ll have all the information from the last week. If you want, you can subscribe using the form below and we’ll send the newsletter to your inbox every Sunday!
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- Android Weekly
- Apps Weekly
Launcher X
[Price: Free / $4.99]
Launcher X is a fairly new launcher that seems to blend a simple premise with some complex ideas. It’s built on the AOSP 3 launcher so it’s fairly close to stock in terms of performance and look but the developers have added plenty of extra goodies. They include a metric ton of customization options, gesture control, swipe-able docks, a slide out drawer, and you can even recreate Google Now Launcher’s functionality. It’s new, which means it’s a little rough around the edges, but it’s worth a shot!
Get it now on Google Play!
Space Jet
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Space Jet is an online aviation shooter where you fly a spaceship and shoot down other people who are also flying space ships. The controls are surprisingly good and the game is actually quite a bit of fun to play. As you play, you unlock upgrades for your spaceship that can do more damage, give you powers like camouflage, and a lot more. It is a freemium game so there is a bit of a pay-to-win mechanic and there are some ads here and there, but it’s an above average multiplayer shooter.
Get it now on Google Play!
Metro 2033: Wars
[Price: $7.99]
Metro 2033: Wars is an open world strategy game based on the book of the same name. You play in a post apocalyptic wasteland as you do battle with rival factions. You’ll also be tasked with strengthening and improving your specific Metro Station which adds bits of simulation and city-building elements as well. It’s a tad expensive but it is a pay-once game with no in-app purchases and it’s a great pick-up if you like strategy games.
Get it now on Google Play!
LEGO Nexo Knights
[Price: Free]
LEGO Nexo Knights is the newest game from LEGO that’s meant to accompany the short series of videos that follow the same story line. This is a hack’n’slash style of game where you must defeat the evil Jestro to save the kingdom. This is meant to be played with accompanying action figures which can be scanned for additional powers but it’s playable without them as well. It’s good for older kids and it’s also free with no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!
Gods of Rome
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Gods of Rome is the latest release out of Gameloft and, interestingly enough, this one is a fighting game. It’s sort of a callback to the fighting games of old and the mechanics are similar to games such as Injustice and Soul Calibur. There is actually a story to this one and your role is to fight to restore peace in your era. It’s simple, yes, but fighting games generally are. It’s a Freemium game so you can expect some pay-to-win mechanics, but overall it’s not half bad.
Get it now on Google Play!
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps or games news, tell us about it in the comments! Thanks again for reading and we’ll see you next week in 2016!
Getting Christmas right was never this hard for my parents
The most my parents generally had to do for a Christmas present was remember to buy batteries. Okay, maybe I’m underselling their role. One year they got me a bike, and somehow kept it hidden from me until the big day. I would’ve been five at the time, and it was worth it, I’m sure. I don’t actually recall my reaction but it was probably joy interrupted by despair at being told I couldn’t ride it indoors. Some 25 years later, and I’ve spent what seems like a lifetime setting up Christmas presents this year.
My nine-year-old is getting his first proper laptop — an HP Stream 11 — and my five-year-old step-son is getting his first ever tablet — an Amazon Fire Kids Edition. The latter was up and running in no time. It came preconfigured with my Amazon account, so all I had to do was tell the tablet the name of the kid that’d be using it, how old he was, and what I wanted him to access, and we were good to go. Result! The laptop, though. The laptop has been an ordeal.
It arrived on Monday morning, and after work I diligently opened it up to login, update and set up all the necessary parental controls. After logging into my Microsoft account, I was quickly prompted to upgrade to Windows 10. “Glad I did this now,” I thought to myself.
Windows 10 took four hours to download. I’m not sure why — a 10GB download typically takes 20 minutes or so on my connection — but I survived. It was almost midnight by the time it had downloaded, but with some emails left to answer, I figured I may as well stay up for the installation. About 15 minutes in an error appeared.
“Windows needs more space,” it screamed.
“Why didn’t you tell me this four and a half hours ago?” I sighed.
Beneath the warning I had two options: use Disk Clean-up to free some space (I checked, it would’ve freed 2.6MB), or insert a USB drive with 10GB of free space. It seems to me that HP and Microsoft should’ve really thought about this beforehand. Either way, I didn’t have a USB drive to hand, so at 00:30, I gave in to the urge to sleep.
The next night, I opened the Steam 11, vitriol freshly spewed, ready to get this thing ready to be wrapped. The upgrade was pretty painless. About an hour later, and I was in Windows 10. On setting up my son’s sub-account, I was presented with an intriguing option.
Just told Windows 10 the user of this laptop will be a 9yo. It has a *great* suggestion on how to improve experience pic.twitter.com/itm2DhneHX
— Aaron (@AaronIsSocial) December 23, 2015
Checkboxes unchecked, I was ready to install Office. As a subscriber to Office 365 Home, this was going to be simple, right? I was signed into Windows with my Microsoft account, after all, and it has a valid license for Office 365.
I first typed “Office” into search, assuming it would be pre-installed or at least there’d be a quick downloader. Nope. I then clicked the “Get Office” button on the start menu, assuming it would offer me a download. Nope. Instead, I was presented with two options: buy Office, or try Office. Neither was applicable. I headed to the Windows Store and searched for Office. It wasn’t there. There was a link that kicked me into the browser, though.
From the browser, I logged, in, downloaded the installer, and started the setup. Away we go! Some 45 minutes later, I was presented with an error dialog:
Setting up a brand new laptop with Windows 10: Step 4 pic.twitter.com/ylXdsqdhcw
— Aaron (@AaronIsSocial) December 23, 2015
Great! Midnight again. Sleep again.
Fast-forward to Christmas Eve, and I diagnosed the issue. It was a simple enough fix — a quick cleanup job, the error caused by leftovers from upgrading the OS. Next, I opened up Word, activated Office, logged out, and into the profile I’d set up for my nine-year-old.
On logging into Word with his profile, I discovered he would have full access to the contents of my OneDrive. I’m not sure that him reading my Engadget articles is the worst thing in the world, but there are also a few legal documents and other correspondences that would be confusing for a kid. This was kind of my fault — apparently I had to invite him to use the account, and then set it up with his email instead of my own.
With that taken care of, all that was left was to leave him a soppy note, log out, and get with the wrapping. All told, the saga spanned four nights and took some eight hours or so.
I think he’s getting a bike next year.
Google is gifting The Beatles to Android users this Holiday season
Just in time for Christmas, The Beatles is set to stream on Google Play and a number of other streaming services, including Slacker, Microsoft Groove etc. A Google blog post says that 13 of Beatles’ original albums, plus four essential Beatles collections, will be available to stream on Google Play Music from December 24.
Earlier, The Beatles’ music was not available in digital format for Android users as Apple had exclusive rights to sell it. Now that the best-selling band is available for Android users, Google seems completely taken over by “Beatlemania” and dedicated an easter egg to it. If you ask your Android phone, “Ok Google, play the Beatles,” it will promptly reply: Let it stream.
Let’s take a look at some of the top searched Beatles albums, according to Google Trends.
And here are the top searched Beatles lyrics.
Are you excited that the band which has 20 number one Billboard Hot 100 hits, coming to Play Store Music? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Source: Google Blog
The post Google is gifting The Beatles to Android users this Holiday season appeared first on AndroidGuys.
10 best Android apps released in 2015!
We’re nearing the end of 2015 and it’s time to take a long, hard look at the Android apps that made the biggest impact this year. It was a big year with large projects leaving beta and gigantic holes in the Android apps ecosystem that have been filled. These selections were not made lightly, and the majority of these apps have already become mainstays on tons of devices all around the world. Without further delay, let’s look at the best Android apps released in all of 2015!
A ton of Adobe apps
[Price: Free]
Adobe long ago promised that they would take Android a lot more seriously and they definitely proved it in 2015. They released a ton of apps, including Lightroom Mobile, Capture CC, Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Mix, Shape CC, Brush CC, and Color CC. These apps all have a range of functionality from photo editing, advanced photo editing, illustration, design, and other creation tools. You’d be hard pressed to find a better suite of tools for designers, photographers, and other creative types and they’re all free to use.
Get it now on Google Play!
Apple Music
[Price: Free app, $9.99/month]
Apple Music may not be what Android fans want to see on this list, but it actually is a decent little service. It boasts 30 million songs, radio stations, live radio, and a bunch of content. It competes head-to-head with the likes of Spotify and Google Play Music in terms of content available, although individual features may be more tempting based on personal taste. The app itself still needs work, but we assume Apple will eventually take care of that.
Get it now on Google Play!
Cortana
[Price: Free with subscription options]
After a long wait, Cortana landed on Android in early December. Microsoft’s cross-platform virtual assistant now gives Android users a second big choice aside from Google Now that can do things like put things on your schedule, text and call people, and even tell jokes. It’s a long way away from being complete and it’s been well documented that the app has some problems right now, but it is totally free and it’s almost certainly going to greatly improve over the course of the next year.
Get it now on Google Play!
Khan Academy
[Price: Free]
Khan Academy is an online learning resource that can help either teach you things or help you brush up on things you haven’t studied in a while. There are a variety of subjects you can check out, including math, science, economics, history, and plenty of others. In the application, you can watch videos about various subjects and bookmark your favorite content. Of course, the phone and the site sync so you can almost always start again where you left off. Learning is a lifelong endeavor and this is a decent app to help you keep going.
Get it now on Google Play!
Kodi
[Price: Free]
Kodi is a media center application that was once known as XBMC. Of course, legal things happened that caused a name change, but Kodi is still the epic and powerful media center app that it always was before. The official version was released to Google Play this year and includes a full interface where you can browse your TV shows, movies, music, and more. There is also third party plugin support, it is entirely open source, and completely free to use. Like the developers, we don’t recommend using it on smaller screens.
Get it now on Google Play!
See also: The best new Android apps from the last month!
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint
[Price: Free]
Microsoft’s iconic Office suite took its sweet time making it to Android but it was worth the wait. All the way back in January, we saw the apps released for tablets, with phone releases coming some months later. Each application is entirely free to use for the most part and they’re all extremely solid and functional. You can get additional functionality if you use an Office 365 subscription, but either way, this is a seriously powerful Office suite and we’re happy to have it on Android, finally. To download, click the name of each app above or click the button below to browse all of Microsoft’s apps!
Get it now on Google Play!
Periscope
[Price: Free]
Periscope is one of the most unique applications to come out this year. It allows pretty much anyone to live stream what they’re doing through their phone camera and pretty much anyone can watch the streams. It’s been a favorite of bloggers, web stars, and even one dude who Periscoped himself brushing his teeth. The name of the app has already become a verb and that’s how you know you’ve done something special in the software space!
Get it now on Google Play!
Sling TV
[Price: Free app, $19.99+ per month]
Sling TV made some serious waves when it was released earlier this year. It is not the first service to offer live streaming TV, but it is among the first and among the largest to offer it without an existing cable subscription. You can get about two dozen channels with a basic subscription with add ons for things like sports and kids channels at an additional cost. The app needs some work, but the premise is amazing and we hope they expand on it in 2016.
Get it now on Google Play!
YouTube Music, YouTube Gaming, and YouTube Kids
[Price: Free, $9.99/month]
Google spent a great deal of time expanding YouTube this last year. They introduced YouTube Red, a subscription service that removes advertising and gives you additional features. They also released YouTube Kids, YouTube Gaming, and YouTube Music. These specialized versions of YouTube take away the general bric-a-brac and gives you a leaner collection of stuff you actually want. They’re all free, but can be enhanced with a subscription, and each comes with their own set of nifty features. Click the app names above to download each one or click the button below to see all of Google’s apps.
Get it now on Google Play!
Best Android App of 2015: Google Photos
[Price: Free]
Our pick for the best Android app released in 2015 is Google Photos. This application changed the game when it came to online photo storage, sharing, and backup. It provides free, unlimited photo and video storage as long as you don’t mind them reducing the quality a little bit. There are also a variety of sorting features, editing features, sharing features, and labeling features that make this a truly powerful application that literally everyone can appreciate.
Get it now on Google Play!
Related best app lists:
If we missed any great Android apps released in the year 2015, we want to hear about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.
Microsoft’s AI no longer listens to ‘Hey Cortana’ on Android
Less than two weeks after Microsoft introduced its hands-free AI helper, Cortana, to Android mobile devices, the company has yanked the feature from the US market. Users used to be able to say “Hey, Cortana” and then issue a command, just like “OK, Google” natively does for Google Now. However, the feature appears to be incompatible with Google’s voice recognition system and, in some cases, could make the phone unusable for commons tasks — like making phone calls.
As such, Microsoft updated the app on Sunday to disable Cortana’s voice activation. The company could well reinstate it once the interference issues are resolved but until then, the only way to talk to Microsoft’s robo-helper in the states for the time being is on a Windows Phone. The feature is, however, still active for non-US customers.
[Image Credit: FLickr]
Via: Win Beta
Source: Google Play
Video game tie-ins shouldn’t feel ‘cheap’
It used to be that if you loved a video game, your options for showing it beyond buying the cartridge or disc were pretty limited. Now there’s a whole cottage industry for gaming fandom. Want a rad vinyl soundtrack for a hyper-violent indie game? Say no more. How about an evocative statue showcasing the duality of a game’s strong, female protagonist? You’re covered there, too.
But for every one of the former, there were seemingly a dozen tasteless cash-ins. When these brand extensions are done right, we wind up with heartfelt keepsakes or ways to keep a game in our lives while we’re away from the controller. But when a company blows it, you get crap like tacky game-branded mini-fridges.
There have been video game soundtracks released on vinyl before, but they were few and far between; 2015 was the year that they went mainstream. The year started with incredible vinyl releases for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Journey and The Last of Us soundtracks, but the strategy soon devolved into just another bullet point for corporate suits to hit.
Now we have games with less-than-memorable scores getting careless vinyl releases because it’s just another revenue stream to be mined. It’s actually kind of impressive how quickly it all happened: Wrong Number released in March for $60 with killer packaging and a download code for the game. By November, we had a bare-bones pressing of the score for Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection up for pre-order.
Publishers want to gauge interest and ensure you’ll pre-order their games as far in advance as possible, so tying pricey — and limited — editions to them is one way of ensuring that. Publisher Bethesda Softworks likely knew it had the most anticipated release of the year on its hands with Fallout 4 and could’ve slapped the series’ iconic Vault Boy character on anything — like what Disney is doing with Star Wars — and made a fortune.
Instead, its big-ticket item was a real-world version of the franchise’s wrist-worn computer. The Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition sold out multiple times because publisher Bethesda couldn’t keep up with demand for the $120 smartphone holster. But the hunk of plastic was a heartfelt nod to fans of the studio and franchise. The Pip-Boy wasn’t some random widget from the game world. It’d been a part of the series for almost two decades, something fans interacted with in-game frequently.
Contrast that with the $200 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Juggernog Edition that features a mini-fridge from the game’s “zombies” multiplayer mode. Because there’s a new Call of Duty every year, each with its own overpriced premium edition and throw-away “big” item, the Perk-A-Cola fridge rings hollow. Sure, something to keep a dozen cans of your gaming fuel of choice might be genuinely useful, but at that price you’d be better off buying a regular beer-fridge for your living room.
If this year’s taught us anything, it’s that video game publishers don’t hold much sacred when it comes to beefing up their bottom line. And that’s incredibly apparent when even the best ideas get run into the ground. Maybe 2016 will fix that. Or maybe we’ll get another run of hideous-looking game consoles.
The After Math: Baby, it’s cold outside
It’s 50 degrees and raining here in San Francisco which, by West Coast standards, constitutes the second coming of Snowpacalypse. With this sort of weather the only rational choice is to stay inside and patiently wait for spring. But just because we’re tied to the couch for the next few months doesn’t mean we can’t take a tour of the West Wing, knit ourselves some binge socks or play 16 new (old) XBox games. Because counting the days to spring is way easier if you do it by the numbers.Slideshow-349707
The After Math: Baby, it’s cold outside
It’s 50 degrees and raining here in San Francisco which, by West Coast standards, constitutes the second coming of Snowpacalypse. With this sort of weather the only rational choice is to stay inside and patiently wait for spring. But just because we’re tied to the couch for the next few months doesn’t mean we can’t take a tour of the West Wing, knit ourselves some binge socks or play 16 new (old) XBox games. Because counting the days to spring is way easier if you do it by the numbers.Slideshow-349707
ICYMI: Helmet with OnStar, NASA’s 3D-printed engine and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: A helmet cam for motorcyclists has an emergency alert system that kicks in when a crash is detected. NASA 3D-printed parts for an engine that has withstand 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. And the White House wants people to share in the spirit with a new virtual reality tour of the annual Christmas display.
If you can only read one story, catch up on the AirBnB bust of a host using hidden cameras.
Please share any interesting science or tech videos with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd. And we know we spent way too much effort making this holiday special; please enjoy the specials for robots, health and transportation, coming at you all next week.
AIVAnet 