“What’s this?” a girl at a party asked, as I handed her my phone. She touched a square, and everything flipped away. “It’s Microsoft’s brand new phone. Kind of like a fresh start,” I explained. “Oh. It’s… neat.” More »
Xbox 360 getting dashboard revision this November? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
A core part of Microsoft’s strategy from days gone by was known as embrace and extend. With a reboot of their mobile platform due later this year, is it time for Microsoft to think about moving some of their services and applications to competitor’s platforms? To some degree, it’s already happening. Microsoft licenses the ActiveSync protocol which allows Android, iOS and other platforms to wirelessly sync with Exchange. It’s developed Bing and Live Messenger apps for iOS and also done a deal to bring mobile Office apps to Nokia’s platforms. One could argue that in some of these cases Microsoft has given competitors access to what could have been key differentiators for its own mobile efforts. I’m not sure I disagree with that analysis, but now that it’s happening, I think Microsoft should think even more broadly about porting some applications and services. Here’s what I’d like to see made available for other platforms.
Office Mobile: Sure, there are other solutions for viewing and editing Office documents on almost every platform, but none of them carry the Microsoft Office brand. A version of Office for mobile (including a touch-enabled version of OneNote) would be an instant best seller on every platform and a become the de facto standard for mobile office applications. A combination of free document viewers and a suite of applications at a reasonable cost would put Microsoft at the top of mobile productivity and at the same time help continue to drive Office sales for PCs and Macs.
Continue reading Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to once again embrace and extend
Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to once again embrace and extend originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Given the number of users and $50-a-year subscription fee, it’s hardly a surprise that Microsoft is pulling in a ton of cash from Xbox Live, but it looks like the service has recently crossed a significant milestone: the $1 billion mark. That’s what Bloomberg estimates for the past fiscal year, at least, based on the number of paid users (about 12.5 million), and a recent statement from Microsoft’s Dennis Durkin, who said that sales of downloadable content had topped subscription revenue for the first time. That translates to about $600 million from subscription revenue, and at least $600 million from other sales, for a grand total somewhere north of $1.2 billion. Can’t really blame Sony for following its lead, can you?
Update: Credit where credit is due — turns out Forbes also arrived at similar numbers back during E3. It “conservatively estimates” that Microsoft raked in $625 million selling downloadable content in the past year, resulting in more than $1.25 billion in total revenue.
Bloomberg estimates Xbox Live to be worth $1 billion+ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Gallery: Hulu Plus
Hulu Plus announced with support for iPad, iPhone, PS3, Xbox Live, and more (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Xbox Live family subscription plan available starting in November for $99
Xbox Live family subscription plan available starting in November for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger are about to meet up in a very personal way — Microsoft has just announced a new video chat service called Video Kinect, which serves as a logical extension of its brand new Kinect voice- and motion-sensing control system. But it’s not just video calling, no sir, you’ll be able to watch movies, news, sports, and the like together with whoever you’re chatting with. Additionally, thanks to a motorized base and a new skeleton-tracking feature, the Kinect unit will also follow users as they move around the room. Yup, not creepy at all.
Video Kinect: video chat and stream sharing over Xbox Live and Live Messenger originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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From its humble origins as a chunky black box of PC parts, the Xbox has grown into a strapping young adult — attracting a social circle including Netflix, Facebook and Twitter. Now, rumor has it that the Xbox 360’s preening for a date with Hulu, too. Though plans aren’t set in stone, Gear Live tells us Hulu has been spotted in internal Xbox 360 dashboard builds, and that Microsoft will introduce the streaming video service as part of their Xbox LIVE experience at E3 2010. The publication is mighty certain here, but at this point we can’t corroborate for ourselves. If this does end up happening, the question is how much it might cost, as we hear there’s going to be some sort of fee — perhaps Hulu will be part of that “Xbox LIVE Platinum Tier” rumor that gets dragged out most every year.
Hulu headed to a Xbox 360 dashboard near you? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore certainly piqued our interest at MIX by demoing Windows Phone 7 on an unidentified Samsung handset, but our excitement soon faded when we found out it was just a hacked-up Omnia i8910 and not a real phone. Still, the Sammy remains only the third WP7 device we’ve seen other than the ASUS-built test mule and the prototype LG Panther that’s been popping up recently after debuting on the Engadget Show, so these two videos of it running a recent WP7 build at reMIX in France is still quite notable — the OS seems fast and responsive, and we’re told everything on the device was functional, including the GPS and camera. What’s more, there’s a demo of an Xbox Live Arcade / iPhone game port called Twin Blades by Press Star Studio — it was done in a week by one programmer using 90 percent of the Xbox Live code. That’s impressive, to say the least.
Of course, this device may look like an Omnia, but it doesn’t have the Omnia’s OMAP3 processor — as per WP7’s requirements, the internals have been swapped for a Snapdragon-based board. We’re still waiting for Microsoft and its partners to show us some more interesting hardware — let’s face it, the Panther and this Samsung are almost identically boring — but there’s no denying the software itself looks to be coming along quickly. Now let’s just hope it launches with enough heat to save Microsoft from another executive shuffle. Video after the break.
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 pops up on a Samsung prototype device, plays Twin Blades
Windows Phone 7 pops up on a Samsung prototype device, plays Twin Blades originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 13:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Seems that April 6th ship date that GameStop posted back in March was a bit off, but hey — beggars can’t be choosers, yeah? SanDisk has just announced that it’s now shipping the planet’s first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive, which just became useful for easily transferring gamertags, game saves, map packs, Arcade downloads, etc. from one console to another. The device is pre-configured for plug-and-play, and SanDisk is even throwing in a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold for good measure. Naturally, you’ll be paying a premium for that Microsoft seal of approval, with the 8GB unit boasting an MSRP of $34.99 and the 16 gigger going for $69.99 (or £29.99 and £51.99 respectively in the UK). Hang tight if you can, though — we get the impression that loads more are on the way from every other storage outfit, and you know what competition does to pricing. Don’t you?
Continue reading SanDisk ships first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive
SanDisk ships first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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