May 2011

18 May 2011

Nye features i Mango

Der siver hele tiden rygter og nyheder ud om den næste opdatering af Windows Phone kaldet mango. Jeg har samlet en kort oversigt over de ting der muligvis kommer med. De skal dog tages med et gran salt, da vi stadig venter på et preview, som skulle komme den 24. maj.

First, the confirmed features Microsoft itself announced:

Third-party Multi-tasking

Twitter integration in People Hub

Office 365 and SkyDrive support in Office Hub

Internet Explorer 9 Mobile

Improved application discovery

Custom ringtones support

Over-the-air Podcasts Download

Better marketplace navigation

Bing Search "Extras"

Multiple Live Tiles per app

Revamped Games Hub

Expanded language support

Configurable background services

Pinnable email folders and conversation view

Microsoft Lync Mobile app

1500+ New APIs (Motion Sensor, Gyro, Sockets, Database and more)

Private and Beta Marketplace and Parental Controls

Exchange Server email search, enhanced security and information rights management, and support for hidden WiFi networks

Next, the leaked features, which may not actually exist:

Bing Vision and Bing Audio

Turn-by-turn Navigation

SMS Dictation

Built-in Messenger and Facebook Chat in Messaging and People Hub

Automatic Games Sync via Xbox LIVE

Group Messaging

Artist Art on Lock Screen

Smart DJ Mix support

Camera shutter sound toggle

Built-in Facebook check-in and video upload support

Kilde: WMPoweruser.com

Derudover har Winrumors nyheden om en unificeret inbox:

Microsoft is planning its own unified mailbox feature named Linked Inbox.

The software giant revealed the feature in a press image sent to media outlets in New Zealand according to Neowin. Linked Inbox is expected to eclipse current unified mailbox features on rival platforms. It’s rumored that Linked Inbox will allow Windows Phone 7.5 owners to group specific email accounts into a single Inbox but also allow users to filter out others. The new virtual Inbox can then be pinned to the home screen of Windows Phone 7.5.

Microsoft is also making a minor change to the People Hub UI to include large and small picture support on its live tile. The company is making a number of large number of improvements for its “Mango” release and plans to unveil more at a VIP event on May 24.

Kilde: Tom Warren @ Winrumors.com

10 May 2011

Microsoft køber Skype

Via LiveSide:

According to numerous sources, Microsoft is set to announce a $7 $8 8.5 billion dollar deal to acquire Skype, as soon as early Tuesday morning (apparently a press release is forthcoming at 5am PDT). Even for a company that loses $2.5 billion a year on online consumer services, that’s a lot of money. So why would Microsoft pay so much for a company that did nothing for eBay, and actually lost $7 million last year? To be honest, we have no idea, but that doesn’t stop us from speculating, now does it?

Microsoft already runs two similar services to Skype: Windows Live Messenger and Lync (formerly Office Communicator). While neither service is an exact match, it’s hard to imagine that Microsoft needs to spend this kind of serious cash to acquire technology in the live messaging space. Now granted, there are some advantages to Skype’s peer-to-peer technology (no huge centralized server controls needed), but we can surely rule out a technology-only buy for such a high price.

Aside from the splash that the acquisition will (and already is) providing, the Skype name has to be of value, but again, not billions worth. Skype has 63 million mostly loyal customers, their app is doing great on Android (and wouldn’t it be great to see Microsoft pull Skype off Android, like tomorrow?), and Microsoft stands to earn a few brand value points for pulling off this coup. Those millions of customers haven’t really turned into positive cash flow, however, so this isn’t a headcount buy, at least not at first blush.

But if those 63 million loyal Skype users are also looking for smartphones in the next year or so, and if the place to get it is on Windows Phone, well then.

De fleste spekulationer går på at Microsoft vil bruge Skype I forbindelse med Windows Phone 7, men endnu er intet konkret sluppet ud. Hvis dette opkøb rent faktisk bliver gennemført er der vist ingen tvivl om at Microsoft er alvorlige I deres mobil satsning.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Home,Skype

9 May 2011

Smartphone

I min evige jagt på en smartphone, har jeg fulgt en del med I havd der sker på Windows Phone fronten. Indtil videre står valget imellem iPhone og Windows Phone, så det er primært de to systemer jeg følger med i.