Microsoft has a docking station for your Surface Pro tablet
Microsoft isn’t just unveiling a phone dock today — it has a dock for your computers, too. The tech giant’s new docking station gives the Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 and Surface Book the kind of connectivity you’d expect from a desktop. There are two 4K-capable DisplayPort outputs, four USB 3.0 ports, and an Ethernet jack for your wired internet link. Microsoft hasn’t disclosed pricing for the station so far, but it should be inexpensive enough that you can forget about buying a second PC.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Artists rejoice: The Surface Pro 4’s stylus has 1,024 touch levels
At the big Windows 10 devices event today, Microsoft’s Panos Panay said that 53 percent of Surface Pro 3 owners use the device’s stylus. So, when it came to building the improved Surface Pro 4, it made sense to improve the writing and doodling experience, too. Most importantly, the new “Surface Pen” has 1,024 degrees of pressure sensitivity, four times that of the Surface Pro 3, and an “all-year” battery life, which is something of a double-edged sword since you can’t actually recharge it. The Surface Pen also has a tail eraser for manual undoing, and a selection of interchangeable tips for different tasks that change how the Pen feels and responds.
And to make it all work, Microsoft outfitted the Surface Pro 4 with a new, in-house co-processor known as the G5, which handles the display/stylus interaction. The button on the Surface Pen can still be used to quick-launch OneNote, and now Cortana as well. Best of all, though, the stylus comes in five colors and magnetically attaches to the side of the Surface Pro 4, so you might notice you’ve misplaced it that much sooner.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Here’s our first look at the Surface Book, Microsoft’s answer to the MacBook Pro
Wow. Microsoft finally did it. After years or rumors and speculation the company finally unveiled its very own laptop. Not a tablet that could replace a laptop (though there’s that too), but a bona fide laptop, with an attached keyboard. Well, almost. The Surface Book at first glance looks like a traditional clamshell notebook with a touchscreen. In fact, though, it’s more like a lovechild between the Surface and Lenovo’s Yoga line. Which is to say, it has a removable display that supports pen input but, when attached, it can also flip back 360 degrees into tablet mode. Oh, and on the inside, it has enough horsepower to take on the MacBook Pro. I just got my first look here at Microsoft’s “Windows 10 Devices” keynote in New York City. Here are some hands-on photos for now — I’ll update this post soon with impressions.Developing…
Here’s how to watch Microsoft’s Windows 10 devices event
First was Apple, then Google and now it is Microsoft’s turn to show us fresh devices ahead of the holiday season. As for what we can expect from today’s event, Microsoft is rumored to have a few Windows 10 phones on tap, along with details about the Windows 10 Mobile rollout and, most importantly, a new Surface Pro — the fourth generation of its top-of-the-line hybrid laptop/tablet series. That said, there might be a surprise or two during the keynote, so you’re going to want to keep your eyes peeled. You can watch the stream here at 7AM PT/10AM ET, and we’ll also be liveblogging the festivities from New York City this morning.
[Image credits: Robert Scoble/Flickr]
Source: Microsoft
Live from Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Lumia event!
Hello! We hope you’re not sick of big keynotes, because Microsoft is about to kick off a press event in New York, and if that invite up there is any indication, some shiny new hardware is in order. If nothing else, we can safely assume that includes the long-awaited Surface Pro 4 — it is their flagship product, after all, and the last-gen version has gone a year and a half without an update. Microsoft is also likely to officially introduce Windows 10 Mobile alongside some new smartphones, including the 5.2-inch Lumia 950 and the 5.7-inch 950 XL. We also wouldn’t be surprised if we got a close-up peek at the lower-end Lumia 550, which has also been revealed in leaks. And hey, if we’re lucky maybe we’ll even learn more about when HoloLens is finally going on sale. Only one way to find out: Bookmark this liveblog link, and check back at 10AM Eastern on Tuesday, October 6th for up-to-the-minute coverage.
Microsoft demos ‘Project XRay’ mixed reality game for HoloLens
One of Microsoft’s most exciting products to date is HoloLens, and today the company revealed a new mixed reality game for the headset called Project XRay. The title was developed internally, according to the Executive VP of the Windows Devices group, Terry Myerson. Similar to the Minecraft experience on HoloLens, Project XRay also looks incredible — particularly because you can turn most any room into your own gaming canvas. Here, though, you’re wearing a holographic weapon on your arm, which you’ll need to defend yourself from a robot attack. Once they start crawling out of the walls, you can shoot lasers at them — yes, lasers. “Holograms behave just like real objects; they can interact with environments and with each other,” said the Microsoft representative on stage about Project XRay.
In other news, Microsoft announced that HoloLens will reach developers in 2016 for $3,000. For now, we’re really hoping we’ll get to experience Project XRay ourselves once the event is over.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Windows 10 is now installed on 110 million devices
With Windows 10 being a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users, it’s no surprise that many have jumped at the chance to see what Microsoft’s latest OS has to offer. In fact, only a day after its release, the company counted 14 million installs, which sky-rocketed to 75 million less than a month after that. At the “Windows 10 devices” event today, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson provided a brief update, announcing that figure has now reached a whopping 110 million. That’s quite the number, especially considering Windows 10 has only been out for around 10 weeks. The overwhelming majority of installs are coming from regular consumers, too, with just over 8 million attributed to business PCs.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
The new Microsoft Band has a curved screen, fancy metal accents
Remember that awkward, blockly looking fitness bracelet / smartwatch Microsoft made last year, the Band? It’s back, but this time it actually looks pretty nice. A more comfortable, curved screen? Classy metal accents? New sensors, app functionality and fitness tracking features? Yes, yes and yes. The new Band looks like a real product, not the uncomfortable, weird thing we reviewed last year.
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The new Band has all the fitness features as the original wearable (GPS, a heart rate monitor, sleep and calorie tracking, guided workout notifications, etc), but adds in new tricks like a barometer (for tracking altitude), golf swing tracking, deeper Cortana integration and the ability to sort out your body’s VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise.
Yes, the new Band is still very much a high-end fitness tracker, but Microsoft isn’t slacking on the smartwatch elements, either. New partnerships with companies like Starbucks, Uber, Facebook, Runkeeper and Lose It promise to make the new wearable far more useful than the previous generation.
Developing…
Microsoft HoloLens reaches developers in early 2016 for $3,000
Microsoft has been answering a lot of questions about HoloLens as of late, but a few questions have remained: when can you get it? And will you need to mortgage your home to get one? Well, those mysteries have been solved… if you’re a programmer. The crew in Redmond has revealed that a Development Edition of its holographic computing headset will launch in the first quarter of 2016 for $3,000. That’s not a completely outlandish price tag, but it’s safe to say that you won’t be getting this early HoloLens purely for kicks — this is to help prepare apps for the eventual mainstream version of the device. Still, it’s good to hear that this exotic wearable tech won’t be limited to Microsoft’s campus for much longer.
Microsoft’s Lumia 950 XL puts Windows 10 in your pocket for $649
While the Surface Pro 4 may garner the bulk of the attention from today’s Microsoft event, the folks in Redmond had other stuff to reveal, too. Those other announcements include a pair of smartphones, one of which is the supersized Lumia 950 XL. Thanks to a handful of leaks, we already had an idea what the handset would look like and some details of its spec sheet. The 950 XL features a larger OLED screen than its sibling, measuring 5.7 inches at 518 PPI. It also offers 32GB of storage that you can expand via microSD card up to a whopping 2TB. There’s a 20-megapixel Zeiss camera around back with Triple LED RGB Natural Flash, optical image stabilization and a dedicated camera button as well, continuing to leverage the photo chops from Nokia. And, of course, all of that runs on Windows 10.
The new Lumias both pack in adaptive antenna tech that works to give you the best connection possible at all times. The $649 950 XL also carries a Qualcomm hexa-core processor and liquid cooling that was originally developed for the Surface tablet. Microsoft gave both of the new Lumia phones something it calls Glance Screen technology that’ll show you missed calls, emails, time, date and more just by taking a look at the display. The duo also both feature USB Type-C connectors for 5 Gbps transfer speeds and quick charging that can hit 50 percent in 30 minutes. There’s also a Display Dock that had connections for HDMI, DisplayPort and three USB jacks that’ll allow you to connect the handset to a monitor. And thanks to Windows 10 universal apps and Continuum, you can employ those hand Office apps to get work done at your desk… with your phone.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
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