We’ve seen slides and videos of Microsoft’s Courier booklet in action, but nothing has quite explained how all of these things actually work. This document explains Courier’s interface, gestures and features more in-depth than ever before.
We just got off stage with Steve Ballmer, where we garnered a blistering 40 minutes of wild conversation with the man, touching on all things Microsoft. Of course, Windows 7 was at the forefront of talking points, be we also got Ballmer chatting up that Courier vid, and the lack of Zune integration on Windows Mobile. For the former he swears he hasn’t actually seen it, but that it sounds like it’s something someone should make, while for Zune he says Windows Mobile is going to get integration in the next release — which is a comforting thought, if perhaps a bit late. Of course there’s plenty more to what he said, and we’ll have an HD version of the whole show up tomorrow so you can sit back and take it all in if you missed the live shindig.
Update: We’ve uploaded a gallery of photos courtesy of our good friend and podcast producer, Trent Wolbe. Check ’em out!
Filed under: Portable Audio, Tablet PCs
Steve Ballmer hasn’t seen the Courier video, promises Zune integration in next WinMo release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This is the one you’ve waited for, where I get Steve to talk about his animalistic YouTube persona. But how do you ask calm collected Steve about crazy sweaty Steve? Very carefully.
As you can see in the video, he’s not going to stop being himself, just because Bill Gates is officially out of the picture and the public finally sees Ballmer as the big man up top.
I’m me. And sometimes I’m very ebullient, sometimes I’m less. I think the most important thing is that I need to convey my belief, my optimism, also my views of how we need to improve, to our folks. And I try to do the best job I can and I do it my own way.
Does that mean more YouTube excitement? If it does, you’ll surely see it here.
Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions), and then the full uncut interview video on Friday.
Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?
And in the rare case you hadn’t seen the video I’m referring to:
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer defended notorious products like Windows Vista and Windows Mobile throughout our interview, but when it came to Zune, he did seem to admit that Zune HD nailed what previous Zunes simply couldn’t.
When I asked if he gave an order to make Zune better, he replied:
Sometimes you get it the first time you cook the soup, sometimes it takes till the second time you cook the soup…You get better every time.
Maybe it’s not the same as saying the first Zunes sucked, but however you interpret that, it’s the closest Ballmer comes to conceding that product improvement was needed, that it wasn’t just revision for the sake of the sales cycle.
Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday. Video by Mike Short
Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
The Dell Adamo XPS isn’t only ridiculously thin, but it opens like no laptop ever seen before. Its propped up keyboard can only be opened by sliding a finger on the lid’s heat sensing strip. See it to believe it…
Did your mouth drop? Because mine did. All I know is that rubbing that strip illuminates it and unlocks the aluminum lid. I also got to hold the system for a bit and it is really really sturdy. I thought it would be more flimsy, but it has strength.
I can’t tell you much more, other than it will be officially annouced in November and production is scheduled to ramp up soon. As for what is inside, I can sleep soundly now that I know that there isn’t an Intel Atom processor (like the Sony Vaio X), but rather will use an Intel ULV chip of some sort. Now back to your regularly scheduled Windows 7 programming. [Dell Adamo XPS]
In this segment of my exclusive interview series with Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer, I brought up the sore subject of Windows Mobile 6.5. After defending it, he cited another product that did well but suffers mounting criticism: Nokia smartphones.
As you can see in the video, Ballmer acknowledges that Windows Mobile 6.5 is receiving negative reviews, but I never get him to actually admit that the platform still needs work. He says, “reviews aside,” he’s happy with what Windows Phones (running 6.5) can do now.
And faced with competition of iPhone, BlackBerry and others, he contends it’s currently “kind of a horse race.” The only clear leader, market-share wise, is Nokia, and they’re losing ground. When I said that Nokia was another developer currently lambasted by reviewers, Ballmer replied:
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what the critics say, it matters what the customers say.
Perhaps given the power of advertising (still mighty, even if it’s on the decline), there may still be a way for a product to get positive sales despite negative reviews. But the internet has changed that landscape, and the lines between critic and customer blur more every day. We all share knowledge in order to make better choices. So who, in the end, is this customer, who is so different from the critic? Not anyone who reads Gizmodo, that’s for sure.
Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday. Video by Mike Short
Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?
In the first segment of our exclusive Steve Ballmer interview series, the Microsoft CEO and I talk about Natal, the blurring of console generations, and the surprising assertion that “you’ll be able to get” Blu-ray add-on drives for Xbox 360.
When I asked Ballmer about adding Blu-ray to the Xbox, he said:
Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.
Though he says it with certitude, the timing of any kind of Blu-ray accessory is unclear. Could he have mispoken? Certainly. However, when I asked Xbox spokespeople about Ballmer’s revelation, they responded:
Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we’re not ready to comment.
Microsoft PR is good — we trust them to say no if they’re not making one, and in this case, the best strategy is a “no comment”. Which turns out to be a comment.
Of course, his Blu-ray comment may not mean that Microsoft is coming out with an external drive—he may have just been shooting down the idea that the Xbox 360 will ever have an internal Blu-ray drive, by saying that any Blu-ray the Xbox gets would have to be external. On the other hand he did actually say, “You’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.”
As you can see in our back-and-forth, Ballmer plays his cards close to the chest, but in my sit-down interview with him, he shared a lot. Prior to the Blu-ray business, Ballmer and I talked about Natal, and the excitement that Matt and Mark experienced when they stepped into the chamber back at E3. When I asked him if Natal was Microsoft’s attempt to do away with concept of game console generations (thereby prolonging the life of a given platform indefinitely), Ballmer smiled knowingly and said “We’ll see.”
Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday. Video by Mike Short
Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?
Barnes and Noble‘s late to e-books. But the company’s new gadget—first seen here—should address the weaknesses of all other readers with screens evoking a Kindle and an iPhone. A source from within reveals.
The Barnes and Nobles e-reader project, set to be revealed next week, has been under development for years, with several devices of varying size and capability in the pipeline. First rumors said it would have a color e-ink screen. Then people said it didn’t. They were both kind of right: The layout will feature a black and white e-ink screen like the Kindle has—and a multitouch display like an iPhone underneath other. Pow!
More hardware details of the Barnes and Noble E-Ink/LCD reader here:
What’s interesting is that B&N will sell the books it also publishes (yes, remember, they are also a publisher and not just a store) at a deep discount compared to print editions. And the device will have some sort of access to all books scanned by the Google Books project; probably books that are out of print.
The name of the gadget, which I cannot reveal and may have changed anyhow, is freaking terrible. I hope they change it before it ships. Oh and yeah, it runs Android.
It’s not certain, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the best idea I’ve heard in a while: Barnes & Noble‘s rapidly-approaching eReader will be an Android piece, according to our source. And it really should be, according to me.
The leak came from someone who (quite convincingly!) claims to work for B&N developing mobile apps—his background knowledge of their app projects was startlingly deep, at any rate—and makes quite a bit of sense as an alternative to the brutally dumb software of current ebook readers.
Think about it. At six inches, it’s a smallish device, and we’ve seen Android on similarly-sized screens already. Wireless connectivity is built into the OS. Extraneous, inappropriate software and settings could be easily stripped out and replaced with relevant ones. A custom-designed interface could be easily dropped in. Apps—oh, sweet apps—could be a huge boon. And hey, E-Ink Android drivers have already been demonstrated on video. Not to mention the fact that B&N has conveniently skirted releasing an Android app, despite putting quite a bit of effort into iPhone and BlackBerry versions of the mobile ebook sofrware.
Simply put, this would be pretty fantastic, and it’s eminently plausible. And from the looks of it, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
A reliable source just sent us this list with the 12 new phones that Verizon will release this shopping season, along with an approximate timeframe. It includes Android and other phones from HTC, Motorola, LG, RIM, Casio and Pantech:
• RIM BlackBerry Curve 2, before Black Friday
• RIM BlackBerry Storm 2, before Black Friday
• HTC Imagio, on October 20
• Samsung Saga 2, early November
• Samsung Omnia 2, early November
• Pantech TXT8030 Razzle, early October
• Casio C731 Rock, mid-November
• Casio C741 Brigade, late October
• Motorola V860 Barrage, “soon” (it’s already available online in Verizon)
• LG VX8575 Chocolate Touch, first or second week of November
On the Android front:
• HTC Desire, which will be available before Black Friday. Note: This may be the Verizon Android phone sighted today, though Boy Genius says that might be called the Hero.
• Motorola Tao or Droid (possibly the phone currently codenamed Sholes?) will also be available before Black Friday.
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