Engineering Informations

WhatsApp Voice Calling Now Open to All Android Users

2015-03-15T07:54:00.000+05:30

WhatsApp appears to have opened its voice calling feature to all Android users, with the invite window now open for several hours. The world's most popular messaging app has been gradually rolling out this feature by opening the invite window only for a few hours at a time. This time however, WhatsApp may have opened the floodgates, reports Android Police.

The report says that many people have been receiving the WhatsApp calling feature on their Android smartphones. To activate the feature, all you need is the latest version (v2.11.561) of WhatsApp (via APKMirror) and a WhatsApp call from someone who already has the feature. After you get the call, you will see WhatsApp's interface switch from just showing recent chats to three tabs - calls, chats and contacts.

This move appears to have come on the back of another milestone for WhatsApp - over 1 billion installs via Google Play. The app's Google Play page now shows that it has between 1 billion and 5 billion installs. These numbers of course don't reveal the actual number of WhatsApp users because anyone who installed the app once is counted in this number. The number isn't reduced if the person proceeds to delete the app. Even then, the number shows just how popular the messaging app is.

Earlier, the voice calling feature was rolled out to some users, but the invite window was closed before most people could get the feature. WhatsApp still has not announced the voice calling feature officially on its website or the release notes on Google Play. WhatsApp for iPhone still doesn't have this feature even though a voice calling button appeared in the app some time ago.

Having established itself as the world's most popular messaging app with over 700 million monthly active users, WhatsApp seems to be augmenting its offering by adding features available in competing messaging apps. WhatsApp for Android users also recently got a Web version that works well. Both these features have been available for some time with competing messaging apps such as iMessage (calling via FaceTime), Line, Viber, among others.

Source: NDTV Gadgets

Introducing Windows 8

2012-10-25T23:28:00.001+05:30

Windows 8: how to install Consumer Preview

We show you how to install Windows 8 using the setup wizard, with a DVD ISO image and via USB.

The full consumer release of Windows 8 is coming in late October - but if you want to get ahead of the pack and see what Windows 8 looks like now, the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is now available to download If you previously installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview you will need to carry out a clean install.

The Developer Preview was a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers and cannot be uninstalled, it is also missing a lot of the functionality now available in the Consumer Preview. As Microsoft revealed at their Windows 8 Consumer Event in Barcelona, there have been over 100,000 significant product changes since Windows Developer Preview.

System Requirements

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch
To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 or greater

The Preview is available in English, French, German, Japanese and simplified Chinese languages.

How to download Windows 8

There are two methods to download the Consumer Preview:

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup (Simple)

This is the easiest of methods (and fully automated). Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup will check to see if your PC can run Windows 8 and select the right download. This setup process also checks to see which of your apps (programs) are compatible and offers upgrade assistance should you need it.

Install from an ISO image (Advanced)

Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO files (.iso) are provided as an alternative to using Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup (it is not recommended for computer novices).

An ISO image must be converted into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive.

The easiest way to convert an ISO file to a DVD in Windows 7 is to use Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. You can get it here.

Once downloaded, run the tool and browse to your ISO file. Click 'Next' and choose from either 'USB device' or 'DVD' installation options. Insert your USB/DVD and select 'Begin copying'.

A note on installing the Consumer Preview

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is prerelease software that may be substantially modified before it's commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. If you decide to go back to your previous operating system, you'll need to reinstall it from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC.

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

VIA: www.msn.com

Facebook: One Billion and Counting

2012-10-05T08:57:00.000+05:30

Mark Zuckerberg has just six billion more people to go.

Facebook said it has topped one billion monthly active users, a milestone that raises growth questions anew for the social network and whether it can profit off its giant user base. Geoffrey Fowler reports on digits. Photo: Getty Images.

Mr. Zuckerberg said Thursday thatFacebook Inc., FB +0.54% the social network he started in his Harvard dorm eight years ago, reached the milestone of one billion monthly active members on Sept. 14.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company had reached 500 million active users in July 2010, making Facebook one of the fastest-growing sites in history.

Facebook didn't specify whether the one-billion count includes fake accounts, but it has been on a campaign to remove them. In August, Facebook said fakes constituted 8.7% of its users.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco on Sept. 11.

The announcement couldn't come soon enough for Facebook. Investors today value the business at a fraction of the $100 billion opportunity they saw in the company when it held its initial public offering in May.

Other social media businesses are also running into difficulties. On Thursday, social-games maker Zynga Inc. lowered its earnings outlook for the year, in part because consumers appear to be losing interest in some of its games.

The question for Facebook is just how much value Mr. Zuckerberg can extract from all those people that Facebook signed up for free. Last year, the company produced nearly $4 billion in revenue, mostly from advertising—far less than the nearly $38 billion that Google squeezed out of an equally large set of users in the last fiscal year.

Facebook still trails behind other Web companies in capturing revenue from users. In the U.S., search engines such as Google and Yahoo make about $88 per person who uses its search engine, while Facebook makes about $15 per user, according to eMarketer Inc.

This week, Facebook executives attended New York's Advertising Week, trying to convince advertisers that its mix of direct access to people and their network of friends provide a potent marketing tool equivalent to five Super Bowls each day.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said earlier this week Facebook is looking at "premium services for businesses" as a way of adding to its revenue stream.

Meanwhile, Facebook has grown increasingly bold in its efforts to find alternative lines of revenue.

On Wednesday, it began testing a service in the U.S. that charges members $7 to ensure that their friends see posts on the social network, angering some users who said Facebook was turning its back on a long-standing promise to remain free.

Facebook's next billion members may be tough to come by. There are some 2.5 billion people on the Internet today—and many of the ones not on Facebook are in countries like China that haven't welcomed Facebook's particular brand of online communication.

Mr. Zuckerberg has visited China, home to more than 500 million Internet users, but the site remains blocked there except to people who use tools to bypass government censors.

On Monday, Mr. Zuckerberg met with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, another market where Facebook has had difficulty growing.

Mr. Zuckerberg, 28 years old, showed just the extent of his aspirations in a celebratory post on his Facebook profile in which he compared his social network to other inventions that have "connected" humans.

"We belong to a rich tradition of people making things that bring us together," he wrote. "We honor the humanity of the people we serve. We honor the everyday things people have always made to bring us together: Chairs, doorbells, airplanes, bridges, games."

Lately, Mr. Zuckerberg has also touted Facebook's efforts on mobile phones, which will prove crucial to the company's ability to attract more members from the developing world, and more ad dollars from consumers around the world amid changing Internet habits.

On Thursday, Facebook said it had 600 million mobile users, meaning more than half of the social network's members access the service on phones or other on-the-go devices. There are five billion mobile device users in the world.

Facebook has struggled to keep up with this trend, only this year beginning to show mobile users ads. Investors have been concerned that Facebook won't be able to generate ad sales at the same rate as desktop ad dollars.

Last month in an onstage interview at a technology conference, Mr. Zuckerberg admitted the company's previous mobile strategy was wrong. But he said Facebook could eventually make more money per user on mobile phones than on desktops.

Digits: Facebook's Milestone

In a "Today" show interview that aired Thursday on NBC, Mr. Zuckerberg sought to reassure investors that he is the right person to lead Facebook, as some on Wall Street have questioned whether he has the ability to helm a large public company. "I take this responsibility very seriously," he said.

A Facebook spokesman said Mr. Zuckerberg wasn't available for an interview.

To date, people have made 140 billion friend connections on Facebook, the company said. As it matures, Facebook users are getting younger: The median age of a user joining today is about 22, down from 23 for a user who joined at the time the site hit 500 million users.

The Web industry has various ways of measuring user reach so it's difficult to full compare companies. Facebook defines active users as a logged-in member who visits the site at least once a month, or accessed it in some way through a third-party site connected to Facebook.

Looking at reach by another measure, Google is the only Web company with more than a billion unique users visiting its stable of websites monthly, according to data from comScore Inc. It took Google from 1998 to 2011 to reach the one billion mark.

Steve Jobs -- The untold tales Friends and colleagues shed a light on Jobs by revealing some of their most indelible moments with the late Apple leader via Forbes magazine.

2012-10-03T22:26:00.001+05:30

Steve Jobs left strong impressions among the people he knew, and some of them have shared those impressions in the latest issue of Forbes.

Stories about meetings and encounters with Jobs are always intriguing due to the multi-faceted personality of the man.

This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of death of the Apple leader, prompting the magazine to publish some of the "untold" tales about Jobs as related by friends and colleagues.

Web browser guru and now venture capitalist Marc Andreessen related a story in which Jobs showed him a prototype of the first iPhone in 2006. After playing with the phone, Andreessen asked Jobs if he thought users might have a problem typing on the screen without a physical keyboard. With a piercing look, Jobs merely said: "They'll get used to it."

Jobs and NeXT software engineer Randy Adams both owned Porsches at a time that NeXT was looking for venture capital. One day, Jobs told Adams that they had to hide the Porsches. When Adams asked why, Jobs said that Ross Perot, who was thinking of investing in the company, was stopping by for visit. But Jobs didn't want Perot to think NeXT had a lot of money. Hiding thecars must have worked, according to Forbes, since Perot invested $20 million in the company in 1987.

Though often typecast as unfeeling, Jobs had a softer side and seemed to instinctively know how to help people in need.

Venture capitalist Heidi Roizen related one tale in which she was on a business trip when told that her father had passed away. As Jobs called her to discuss a deal, she informed him of her father's death. Immediately, Jobs told her to come home and said he would be right over.

According to Roizen, Jobs spent a couple of hours getting her to talk about her father and share her grief. Jobs' mother had died a few months before, so she believes he was especially "attuned to how I felt and what I needed to talk about. I will always remember and appreciate what an incredible thing he did for me in helping me grieve."

Other memories of Jobs can be found in Forbes' online edition and in the magazine's October 22 print issue.

VIA : news.cnet.com

Who is the next Steve Jobs (and is there one)?

2012-10-03T22:05:00.003+05:30

It's a loaded question, one with no clear answer. But in the year since Apple's co-founder and visionary CEO died, it's been asked in tech circles over and over:

Who is the next Steve Jobs?

There's one easy response. It's safe to say that no figure in the tech industry will perfectly duplicate the unique blend of vision, salesmanship, mystique and eye for detail possessed by Jobs, whodied one year ago Friday.

And it's complicated further, some say, by the fact that for much of his own life, many wouldn't have predicted Jobs himself would earn tech-icon status.

"Steve Jobs had a strange career. He really wasn't celebrated as a genius until really late," said Leander Kahney, editor of the Cult of Mac blog and author of books on Apple, including "Inside Steve's Brain."

Not until Jobs returned to Apple and introduced the iPod and iPhone did people begin to praise him as a modern-day Thomas Edison, Kahney said. "He was dismissed before then as a marketing guy, a fast talker who didn't know much about technology. He only really was lionized in the last four or five years."
#WhatSteveJobsTaughtMe: Share your thoughts on his life and career
But industry observers abhor a vacuum. Futile though it might be, it's perhaps human nature to speculate about who could emerge to fill the void left by the passing of tech's biggest personality and most recognizable face.
One can make cases for or against a handful of nominees. And no list is long enough to include an as-yet unknown creator who may be birthing the industry's next game-changer in a garage or dorm room somewhere.
Did Apple's fanboy fever peak with Steve Jobs?
But here are some names worth considering, with thoughts both for and against their candidacies:
Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon
Pros: Bezos actually has a host of traits that mirror Jobs. Like Jobs was with Apple, he's the founder of Amazon as well as its CEO. Being a part of a company's life story helps. As much as anyone, Bezos also captures a bit of Jobs' panache at live events. At last year's rollout of the Kindle Fire, he got high marks for introducing a game-changing product in a stylized fashion, then getting off the stage. (Tech giants Google and Microsoft have been accused of being rambling and unfocused at similar unveilings.) Reports say Bezos shares Jobs' penchant for attention to detail (some would say micromanaging) and, like Jobs, he's been willing to take the company into new and unexpected directions.
"I've met Bezos personally, and he is mesmeric. Brilliant smile, quick mind, very engaging and decisive," Kahney told CNN. "He has the same obsession with the ordinary consumer; to make and sell things from the consumer's point of view. ... Bezos has Jobs' focus and drive. He's a little bit maniacal in his drive and ambition."
Cons: Despite the Kindle line, Amazon is, at its core, a content company. The mobile devices are a means of delivering books, music, movies and other data to customers as directly as possible. Will the public ever be as excited about the CEO of the company that peddles e-books and data-storage space as it was about the one that sold it its personal computers, laptops, phones and music players?
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Pros: The Steves -- Jobs and Wozniak -- had their garage. Zuckerberg had his Harvard dorm room. And in those two rooms, perhaps the two best-known origin stories in tech were born. As head of the social network that has changed the way people use the Internet, Zuckerberg is maybe the only tech boss who, like Jobs, has become a household name. ("The Social Network" didn't hurt.) He created a product that millions of people now use. And he's even cultivated his own trademark, casual-wear style, as the Zuckerberg hoodie is now almost as iconic as Jobs' mock turtleneck.
"Zuckerberg has some of the characteristics (of Jobs), and perhaps the most important one -- the pursuit of a vision," Kahney said. "That sets him apart."
Cons: He's gotten better at speaking in public. But as a pitchman, Zuckerberg still falls miles short of the charismatic Jobs. It's seems Zuck would rather be the idea man behind the scenes than front-and-center when it comes time to sell the final product. Also, the fact that Facebook's stock price is not already racing toward Google/Apple heights doesn't help.

Apple's Tim Cook has inherited Steve Jobs' role as chief Apple pitchman.
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Pros: Well, there's the obvious one. Job's was Apple's CEO. Now Cook is. At the helm of the company, Cook gets to be the face of every new innovation rolled out by Apple. He's got the biggest stage and brightest spotlight in which to put himself forward.
Cons: Cook comes from more of a business background than one of innovation and design. He may masterfully steer Apple's course for years to come, but, rightly or not, few observers at this juncture are inclined to give him credit for vision, or influence over products' design, the way they did Jobs. Plus, being Apple CEO after Jobs is like being the football coach who follows a retiring Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi. What were those guys' names? Exactly.

Apple design chief Jonathan Ive chats with Kate Middleton at an event in London on July 30.
Jonathan Ive, senior vice president, Apple

Pros: When Jobs stepped down, there were many who expected Ive, not Cook, to step up. Ive is senior vice president of industrial design and is believed to be the creative mind behind products from the Macbook Pro to the iPod to the iPad. The London native already has a knighthood, as well as a healthy dose of Jobs' true-believer passion for the product.

Cons: Well, he's not the CEO. (Nor is marketing mastermind Phil Schiller, another name bandied about to replace Jobs). To truly ascend to Jobsian levels, Ive would need to set out on his own -- which, at 45, is doable. It's hard to envision Ive bolting from Apple, where he's worked since 1992. But, boy, it would be fun to watch.
Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo
Pros: If you need proof of how well Google alum Mayer is liked in Silicon Valley, just look at the number of folks she's been able to lure to join her at a Yahoo that was floundering when she took the reins in July. At Google, where the former engineer was the 20th employee, she's credited with everything from the clean design of the search page to becoming one of the leading public faces of the tech giant.
Cons: It looks like a turnaround has begun at Yahoo. But the job's still a long way from done. If Mayer becomes the face of a dramatic rebirth, she will have accomplished something few predicted. If she doesn't (the four CEOs before her all fell short), it likely won't hurt her reputation all that much -- but neither will it bump her up to the next level.

Elon Musk hopes to revolutionize several industries.
Elon Musk, serial entrepreneur
Pros: How's this for an origin story? Musk grew up in South Africa before leaving home at 17, without his parents' consent, rather than serve a compulsory stint in an army which, at the time, was enforcing the race-based apartheid system. He'd end up in the United States four years later -- although he'd already sold his first software, a video game called Blastar, when he was 12. Since then, all he's done is create publishing software Zip2 (sold to AltaVista for $300 million), co-found PayPal (he owned 11% of its stock when eBay bought it for $1.5 billion) and help create Tesla Motors, makers of the first commercial electric car. Oh, wait ... he also runs SpaceX, a company working on space exploration. Director Jon Favreau says Musk was his inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark character in the "Iron Man" movies.
"His ambitions are so huge," Kahney said. "He's definitely a ballsy character. And he's a good leader, like Jobs. He's surrounded himself with good people."
Cons: With the exception of Tesla, none of Musk's projects, so far, have directly involved consumer products. Tens of millions of people had something Jobs made in their pockets, on their desks or piping music into their ears. Among the public, Musk may be less well-known than all of the names above -- at least for now. But, at 41, he's got time to change that and it would be foolish to bet against him.
Seth Priebatsch, CEO, SCVNGR, LevelUp

Pros: Who? Priebatsch is the wild card on this list. But consider him the representative of a new generation of young, creative tech "makers" who could ascend to loftier heights in the years, or decades, to come. At 22, Priebatsch's SCVNGR raised more than $20 million in funding. He founded his first Web company at 12 and has moved on to start LevelUp, a mobile-payments system that's also raked in millions from investors. He got rock-star treatment for a speech he gave last year at South by Southwest Interactive. Plus, he's already cultivated a Jobs-like signature fashion statement -- his trademark orange sunglasses and shirts.
Cons: In the startup world, for every success story, there are countless washouts. Not every young turk even wants to be another Jobs, and not every killer app has the potential to make millions, or billions, of dollars -- even when they're well-liked and widely used.
Good or bad, what lessons did you learn from Jobs? Share your responses in the comments below, or join the conversation on Twitter using #stevejobstaughtme.

Twitter Announces New Design With Focus On Profile Pages, iPad Update On The TODAY Show

2012-09-18T19:17:00.003+05:30

Today, Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo announced a new design with a focus on profile pages and an iPad update on the TODAY Show, live. The show teased “big changes” coming to Twitter, and drew it out pretty well giving a company tour.

The company announced that there are over 140 million users, with 340 million tweets per day, currently. Twitter also has an $8B valuation, which is just massive, not to mention a whopping 900 employees in San Francisco alone.

At times, this felt like a commercial for Twitter, discussing the free snacks they get.

“Twitter brings you closer to the action and your heroes” said Costolo.

Here’s what the company had to say on its blog about the web update:

Starting today you can make your presence on Twitter more meaningful with new Twitter profiles. Upload an all-new header photo on mobile apps for iPad, iPhone and Android or twitter.com, and the same image will appear whenever anyone views your profile on the web or these apps. You can upload your header photo, which appears above your Tweets, to express yourself instantly, anywhere.

These big changes might explain the recent issue that the company had during its maintenance routine to fix photo uploads, when verified accounts started getting random profile images in place of their own. Perhaps a little bug introduced in preparation?

With a push towards creating a place on the web to serve as your “home”, Twitter is getting down to the nitty gritty with Facebook to fight for your eyeballs and clicks.

Twitter for Android has also gotten a fairly decent update, including support for new profiles and photo streams. All mobile updates, as expected, have stripped out the ability to post images using third-party services.

We’ve known about Twitter’s appearance on the TODAY show since yesterday, but had no idea what would be discussed or announced.

The company didn’t let us down, as this is a fairly grand way to announce design changes. Oh, and don’t forget, these changes are to help brands engage…so the business model is in full effect here.
Courtesy : http://techcrunch.com

Apple Announces Record Pre-Orders For iPhone 5: 2M in 24 Hours, 2X iPhone 4S Day One Sales

2012-09-17T20:03:00.001+05:30

Apple today announced that it managed to rack up 2 million pre-orders for the iPhone 5 in 24 hours, two times as many as it managed for the iPhone 4S last year, which sold over 1 million devices during its first 24 hours of pre-order sales. That’s a new record, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been watching the progress of iPhone pre-order sales since the device originally hit the market.

The iPhone 4S eventually went on to sell more than 4 million devices over the course of its first weekend actually on store shelves, so expect the iPhone 5 to blow past that milestone, too. The iPhone 5 is initially available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the U.K., adding two new countries (Hong Kong and Singapore) to the list of launch regions for the iPhone 4s, so expect that to influence early sales as well, especially since Hong Kong is a popular destination for those looking to resell the iPhone at a premium on the grey market in China.
Apple’s pre-order sales actually went relatively smoothly this time around, with few hiccups in site performance and availability when they went live early Friday morning, by most accounts. The initial crop of iPhone 5s (those shipping immediately in time for the September 21 release date) also sold out much, much faster than previous models, up to 20 times faster than the iPhone 4S. AT&T also saw record pre-order sales, it announced this morning, though specific numbers haven’t yet been released.

Courtesy : http://techcrunch.com

Bing Vs Google — Don't Bother Comparing

2012-09-14T22:34:00.001+05:30

Earlier this month, a Microsoft contest called BingItOn encouraged people to try out Bing vs Google in the same window — and decide which was better. Microsoft's claim was that the overall Bing:Google win ratio is 2:1. Our claim is that a comparison is pointless.
People quite enjoy comparing search results in an "objective" way, then pronouncing "The Best" across parameters. Less objective people simply root for their personal favourite in the same way they root for sports teams — which the folks at Bing noticed, and thought up the BingItOn contest. The event has brought in some PR for Microsoft — good and bad — and it's invited quite a bit of commentary (objective as well as just-for-fun). But here's why (IMHO) there's either no question of, or no need for, a comparison:

#1. "Relevant results" is a subjective matter. You can't have an objective ranking based on subjective judgments. This point is somewhat obvious, but think about it.
#2. The relevance of the phrase "Relevant results" is questionable: Very few of us are looking for one (or two) pages that we want to get to. The search term leads into an area of exploration, so to speak. To elaborate: We place considerable objective emphasis on relevance, but how often do we read the most relevant result page(s) — and stop the search there?
#3. On a results page (on most pages, actually!), we're used to scrolling through. We're close to having perfected the art of spotting what we want to see. Suppose the "best" search engine brings up "the most relevant" result at #5, and the other one puts it at #8. How much time do we typically lose when we scroll down by 3 results? 430 milliseconds?
#4. What we end up reading is guided, to a good extent, by what the search engines show us. This modern-day cyclicality pretty much throws Relevance out the window.
Come to think of it, "relevance in search results" — and results quality — is a hangover from 2001, when search engines sometimes went off track. "Google versus Bing" is, now, more a matter of whose results pages we enjoy.

Microsoft plans to deliver Office 2013 RT starting in November

2012-09-14T22:12:00.000+05:30

Company's Office Home & Student 2013 bundle for ARM-based Windows devices, due to begin rolling out later this year, is slightly different from its x86-based counterpart.

Microsoft let slip back in June that the version of Microsoft Office 2013 that would be available to Windows RT tablets and PC customers would be a "preview" test-build. In blog post yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that information and added a few more particulars about the Office Home & Student 2013 RT bundle that will be available to those with ARM-based Windows devices.

Office 2013 RT won't be available for purchase as a separate product. It will be "included" with ARM-based Windows RT tablets and PCs and will function as a desktop app, meaning it won't be available through the Windows Store.

The final version of Office Home & Student 2013 RT will be available to customers between early November through January 2013, with exact timing depending on language, Microsoft officials said. Those who buy Windows RT devices before the final is out will get the preview build, which will be updated to final for free via Windows Update.

(The rumored release to manufacturing date for the final version of Office 2013 for x86/x64 hardware is November 2012, with consumer/general availability in early 2013. Microsoft officials still have not said when Office 2013 will RTM or launch.)
word2013wordrt2013

The Office 2013 RT apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote -- are very similar to, but not exactly the same as their Office 2013 counterparts, as they had to be built to run on ARM. Yes, they were built on the same code base as "regular" Office, but the RT apps had to be tweaked to meet the security and battery-life stipulations of ARM-based hardware, Microsoft officials noted in this week's blog post.

Because of these requirements on ARM, Microsoft is dropping support for a number of features with Office 2013 RT that will still be available iin the x86/x64 versions of Office 2013.

    Features that won't be supported/will be limited supported in Office RT, listed in the "Office Next" blog post -- include:
    Macros, add-ins, and features that rely on ActiveX controls or 3rd party code such as the PowerPoint Slide Library ActiveX control and Flash Video Playback
    Certain legacy features such as playing older media formats in PowerPoint (upgrade to modern formats and they will play) and editing equations written in Equation Editor 3.0, which was used in older versions of Office (viewing works fine)
    Certain email sending features, since Windows RT does not support Outlook or other desktop mail applications (opening a mail app, such as the mail app that comes with Windows RT devices, and inserting your Office content works fine)
    Creating a Data Model in Excel 2013 RT (PivotTables, QueryTables, Pivot Charts work fine)
    Recording narrations in PowerPoint 2013 RT
    Searching embedded audio/video files, recording audio/video notes, and importing from an attached scanner with OneNote 2013 RT (inserting audio/video notes or scanned images from another program works fine)

Microsoft officials said to expect a more detailed release schedule for Office 2013 RT on October 26, which is the day Windows 8 and Windows RT devices will be available at retail.

Courtesy : news.cnet.com

Microsoft touts touch in Office 2013

2012-09-13T13:35:00.000+05:30

To entice potential Windows 8 tablet users, the company has taken to its blogs to explain the touch capabilities in its upcoming Office suite.

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots as desktop applications.

Designing apps to respond to a finger instead of a mouse can be challenging, so Microsoft had to enlarge certain elements in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Users will find fixed parts of the interface larger, such as the Quick Access toolbar, the ribbon, the status bar, and folders in Outlook. Certain menus will also appear larger.

But the size only increases when touch mode is enabled. You can turn touch mode on and off, depending on what type of device you're using, and the interface adapts. The onscreen keyboard also provides a fuller view of your document by automatically minimizing the ribbon and giving you more room to work.

Drag-and-drop gets an assist in touch mode through the use of selection handles that appear when you try to move or copy an item. Other touch features have been enabled through the suite, and Microsoft says it's still working to polish them up.

Office's new touch features will work onWindows 7 devices, Covington noted. But improvements in Windows 8 mean the experience will run better on tablets running the upcoming new OS.

In supporting touch, Office 2013 seems to be walking the same fine line as Windows 8.

Both have been designed as single products for touch-screen devices and traditional PCs. Such an approach clearly speaks to the challenge that Microsoft faces today. The company knows it must succeed in the growing market for mobile devices in order to stay relevant, yet it can't leave its core desktop users behind.

Of course, that approach is dicey. By designing one single product aimed at all devices, you risk creating a product that's feels just a bit off on any particular device. PC users of Windows 8 have already complained that certain Metro features of the OS can be difficult to use with a mouse and keyboard. With Office 2013, Microsoft erred on the side of caution by borrowing some of the flavors of Metro but maintaining the suite's roots in desktop applications.

Will the redesigned Office suite offer the right features to appeal to both tablet and PC users? With Office one of its bread-and-butter products, Microsoft is counting on it. But we'll have to see how consumers respond when the new suite hits the shelves.

Courtesy : news.cnet.com

iPhone 5 preview

2012-09-13T13:22:00.000+05:30

Apple’s next iPhone is official, and despite being the sixth iPhone model (technically), we know it’s officially the iPhone 5.

Over the last year, we've heard a ton of rumors about what it might deliver with LTE, a taller display, and a redesigned connector being the most likely tidbits. Fortunately, we now can put all that speculation to rest as Apple spilled the secrets.

Eyes on Apple's new iPhone 5 (pictures)

Taller, thinner, and a metal back
As expected, the new iPhone is 18 percent thinner (0.30 inch vs. 0.37 inch thick) than the iPhone 4S. Apple says it's the thinnest handset around, but that's a race that changes often. That means it's also 20 percent lighter for a total of 3.95 ounces. The Retina Display expands from 3.5 inches (its size since the original iPhone) to 4 inches. The total resolution remains the same, though, at 326 pixels per inch. The total pixel count is 1,136x640, and we now have a 16:9 aspect ratio.
To the user, that means a fifth row of icons on the home screen. That's pretty nice since it will let you cut down on the number of home screens. You'll also get a full five-day week view in the calendar, the calendar will show more events, and all iWork apps will take advantage of the bigger display. Third-party apps that haven't been updated will continue to work, but you'll see black borders on each side (so they won't be stretched or scaled). Apple also promises that wide-screen movies will look better, with 44 percent more color saturation than on the iPhone 4S.

Touch sensors are now built into the display itself, which makes it 30 percent thinner as a result and less prone to glare.
The iPhone 5 also fixes a design flaw that we first saw in the iPhone 4. Apple replaced the glass back with one that's mostly metal. Too many people (us included) cracked an iPhone 4 or 4S after dropping it accidentally. We don't think the change negatively affects the iPhone's aesthetics. In fact, many might see it as an improvement. A return to a metal back reminds one of the original iPhone, and the crisp, clean-cut back has a bit of the feel of other Apple devices like the iPad.
All of the design changes result in a new iPhone that's surprisingly light to hold. Think 20 percent lighter isn't a big deal? Pick one of these up and you'll feel the difference: the iPhone 4 may have been dense, but the iPhone 5 is a featherweight.
The screen is big, bright, and crisp, too, not shockingly so, but a subtly improved experience. It's akin to being the extrawide comfy chair of iPhone screens. Stay tuned for more, but this new iPhone has a good hand feel.

LTE and carriers
Not a shocker either, but the iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE networks. That's in addition to the current support for GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, and HSPA data networks. LTE has a single chip for voice and data, a single radio chip, and a "dynamic antenna" that will switch connections between different networks automatically.
So which carriers will support an LTE iPhone 5? Well, in the United States that means AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. So again, T-Mobile loses out. In Canada it's Bell, Telus, Fido, Virgin, and Kudo. In Asia the providers will be SoftBank, SmarTone, SingTel, and SK Telecom. For Australia there's Telstra, Optus, and Virgin Mobile, and in Europe it will go to Deutsche Telekom and EE. On carriers without LTE, the iPhone 5 will run on dual-band 3.5G HDPA+.

A faster chip
The iPhone 5 will offer an A6 chip, which is two times faster than the current A5 chip. Graphics will get faster speeds, as well. Yet, despite the speedier performance, the new chip will be 22 percent smaller than the A5. According to Apple's specs, users will see Web pages load 2.1 times faster, and the Music app with songs will load 1.9 times faster.
More battery life
LTE tends to be a power hog, but the iPhone 5 is set to deliver respectable battery life. Of course, the real story may differ, but here's what Apple is promising for now. We're supposed to get 8 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of 3G browsing, 8 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music playback, and 225 hours of standby time. You can be sure that CNET will put these promises to the test when we get a device in our hands.

Apple promises respectable battery life, though the iPhone 5 has a larger display and LTE.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Camera
The main shooter, or the "iSight" camera, stays at 8 megapixels (with the best resolution being 3,264x2,448 pixels) with a feature list that includes backside illumination, a hybrid IR filter, a five-element lens, and a f2.4 aperture. A dynamic light mode is new, and you should be able to launch photography apps up to 2.1 times faster. Another addition is an image signal processor in the A6 chip. That will bring spatial noise reduction and a "smart filter" that produces better low-light performance and captures photos faster. Finally, there's a built-in panorama mode that stitches shots together for one large 28-megapixel photo.

The secondary front camera now can shoot 720p HD video and it gets a backside illuminated sensor. And as we heard at the announcement of iOS 6 back in June, FaceTime will work over 3G cellular networks. Some carriers like AT&T have already announced restrictions for that feature, so be sure to check with your provider first.
Video resolution remains at 1080p HD, though image stabilization has been improved and face detection is now available in clips for up to 10 people. And in a nice move, you can take photos while you're shooting video.
Audio
The iPhone 5 gets an additional microphone for a total of three. You'll find one on the bottom, one on the handset's front face, and one on its rear side. What's more, the speaker now has five magnets (so up from two), which is apparently better and it's supposed to use 20 percent less space. The noise-canceling feature should be improved, as well, and there's a new wideband audio feature that promises more-natural-sounding voices. Twenty percent of carriers will support wideband audio, but so far we only know that Orange in the United Kingdom will be among them.
Smaller dock connector, smaller SIM card
On the bottom of the iPhone 5, there's that new and long-anticipated smaller dock connector. Called "Lightning," it has an all-digital, eight-signal design and an "adaptive interface" (we're not quite sure what that means yet). It's 80 percent smaller, and since it's reversible, both ends will be the same (that's kind of nice).

Apple says the iPhone 5 is the thinnest smartphone around. We'll see how long that record lasts.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

By all means, it's bound to annoy owners of current speaker docks, accessories, and charger/syncing cables since it will render them obsolete. Apple will offer an adapter and adapter cables (of course it will), which range from $19 to $39. We imagine, though, that the adapter may be awkward to use with some current accessories like a bedside alarm clock/music player. For new accessories, Apple says that manufacturers like Bose, JBL, and Bowers are working on new products.
Though we welcome the idea of a smaller connector, we're miffed that Apple couldn't just adopt the semi-industry standard of Micro-USB. That would make things easier for smartphone users across the globe. Yet, even so, the smaller connector may be a smart move for the future. The 30-pin connector has been around since 2003, long before the iPhone even existed: frankly, it's a dust magnet. A smaller connector helps shave extra space to achieve a smaller phone with perhaps a bigger battery. The new connector cable will mainly be used for syncing and charging by most people who own an Apple TV or Bluetooth/AirPlay accessories.

The smaller dock and cable connector is in the usual place on the phone's bottom.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

iOS 6
Inside, the iPhone 5 will debut with iOS 6 already onboard. Highlights include the new Apple Maps app, Passbook, shared photo streams, Siri updates, and the aforementioned FaceTime over 3G. For more on Apple's newest mobile OS update, check out our iOS 6 First Take. iOS 6 will be available for download next Wednesday, September 19.
Release date and pricing
The iPhone 5 will be available in three capacity models, all of which will come in black and white versions. The 16GB is $199, the 32GB $299, and the 64GB $399. On September 21, it will go on sale in nine countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Anyone in that first batch of countries can preorder starting September 14. More countries will follow by the end of this month, and by the end of the year, the iPhone 5 will land at 240 carriers in 100 countries. As a reminder, the U.S. carriers are the Big Three: Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint.
Is this the iPhone you've been looking for?
During very brief hands-on time with the iPhone 5, this much is clear: it's the weight you'll remember more than its thinner profile. The iPhone 4S is already a svelte device: most people probably won't spot the difference if they see the new iPhone from the side.
The screen size, also, is more of a subtle improvement. This isn't a jaw-dropping leap from the iPhone 4S: it's a gradual increase, done almost so cleverly that the front face of the iPhone 5 might, with the screen turned off, look very much like the iPhone 4S. The proof will be in the pudding for how app developers and iOS 6 take full advantage of that extra screen real estate, but the bottom line is this: more screen size and more pixels are good things.
The real killer app on this phone -- no surprise -- might be the iPhone's 4G LTE, as well as the promised battery life. If data speeds and battery life can live up to the promises, those alone will make many want to upgrade.
VIA : news.cnet.com

Here's now much data we generate every minute

2012-06-22T22:55:00.000+05:30

How much data do you use in a minute? Uploading a photo to Facebook, tweeting, and browsing the Web on your mobile device -- it all adds up. Have a look!

Each and every minute of the day, vast amounts of data is generated from ordinary activities: from online shopping to phone calls, bog-standard Web browsing and accessing social media outlets.

The next time you perform a Google search, you are one in about two-million users who are doing the very same thing at that same moment. Google handles this every second of the day, as does Facebook with more than four billion things shared daily and Twitter with its 340 million tweets per day -- yesterday's outage notwithstanding.

Perhaps a more daunting figure: we spend more than $1 million in online stores every five minutes. Who said we were in back a recession?

In that same amount of time, brands are propped up by close to a quarter-million 'likes' on Facebook, and more than a billion emails are exchanged.

The stats are baffling, and downright crazy. Here are the numbers you need to know.

Email users send more than 204 million messages;
Mobile Web receives 217 new users;
Google receives over 2 million search queries;
YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video;
Facebook users share 684,000 bits of content;
Twitter users send more than 100,000 tweets;
Consumers spend $272,000 on Web shopping;
Apple receives around 47,000 application downloads;
Brands receive more than 34,000 Facebook 'likes';
Tumblr blog owners publish 27,000 new posts;
Instagram users share 3,600 new photos;
Flickr users, on the other hand, add 3,125 new photos;
Foursquare users perform 2,000 check-ins;
WordPress users publish close to 350 new blog posts.

VIA: news.cnet.com

iPhone 5 versus Samsung Galaxy S3: Wait or buy now?

2012-06-22T13:12:00.003+05:30

You're hearing great things about the Samsung Galaxy S III (S3), but can it stand up to fall's iPhone 5? We'll help you suss it out.

(Credit: CNET)

"The Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) is a great phone, but should I wait for the iPhone 5 instead?"

This is the kind of question we CNET editors are asked all the time, and with good reason. Given the breakneck pace of the smartphone world, there's always something good now, but something better around the corner -- and you want your investment to last.

In some ways, the answers are obvious if you prefer one OS over another, have a Mac at home, or need a phone right now. However, if not, there's a lot to like about each platform's superphone (we surmise; one of them hasn't even been announced yet), and we can't make your decision for you. So here's what we'll do. We're going to break it down by some of the phone features that we think could sway your decision.

Design
When it comes to first-class materials, Apple has Samsung beat. That is, if you like glass on both sides of your handset, and an industrial look and feel. With the Galaxy S3, Samsung unabashedly sticks to its plastic preference, but has managed to make it look and feel sleeker and more desirable than on past Galaxy S devices. The GS3 also features a Gorilla Glass 2 cover, which we expect Apple to announce as well on its mystery iPhone.

Size is the other issue. Rumors point to an iPhone 5 with a larger screen, but an only slightly taller profile. Apple's phone would still fit in the hand about the same way. Compare this with the Galaxy S3, which dwarfs the iPhone 4S. We like its smooth, comfortable feel, but some people will simply find it too large.

Screen
Apple has made it abundantly clear that it's obsessed with screen quality. And now that the MacBook Pro is sporting a Retina Display, it's safe to assume the next iPhone will be equipped with the same technlogy. Though the iPhone 4S has the brighter and sharper display of the two phones, the Galaxy S3's HD Super AMOLED display has richer color contrast. Some argue that the S3's AMOLED screen technology oversaturates, and in some cases we do find that to be true.

However, the human eye can only register so much. As displays get sharper in high-end devices, getting into the minutia of screen comparisons won't say as much about user experience as size does. And as we previously stated, the Galaxy S3's 4.8-inch screen may seem like overkill for some, but it'll definitely feel less cramped than the iPhone, even if the iPhone 5 does get the expected 4-inch screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S3's screen is dimmer than the HTC One X's (above) and the iPhone 4S' (below.)

(Credit: Josh MIller/CNET)

Camera
If the camera specs for the new iPhone remain in line with the current model (as in it'll still have an 8-megapixel lens and an A5 chip), then we'll let our shoot-out shots between the S3, the iPhone 4S, and the HTC One X speak for themselves. We found that the cameras had their specific strengths and weaknesses under certain conditions.

However, Apple is never one to pass up a chance to lift smartphone camera standards and some rumors about an interchangeable lens and a high-definition front-facing camera would call for another camera showdown.

For now, the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S offer the same amount of megapixels, high dynamic range, and zero shutter lag. But if you want something featured-packed, the GS3 has a lot of options. True, we don't know what sort of services the new iPhone will offer, but the GS3 already has panoramic shooting, burst shot, two sharing modes, and other fun shooting settings like "cartoon" (a la "A Scanner Darkly") and "beauty" (a la this-is-not-real-life).

Processor
Samsung and Qualcomm teamed up to put a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor in the Galaxy S3, which makes it one of the fastest phones in the U.S. Apple is all about advancing its processors with each succeeding model. Rumor is that Apple will promote the 4S' A5 chip to a fasterA5X chip. We'd expect the same quad-core graphics processor that's in the iPad 3. However, don't get too caught up in processor specs (after all, quad-core prowess is still shrouded in myth). Both phones' internals will impress.

Data speeds
The Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple iPhone 5 will be evenly matched once the iPhone comes along with its expected (and anticipated!) 4G LTE support. Just keep in mind that not every carrier supports LTE (like Sprint and T-Mobile), and some networks are faster than others.

Availability
Both the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 will be easy to get. The Galaxy S3 will be available on T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, and even C Spire (a regional carrier.) Apple will surely let its carrier-partner gravy train keep rolling with the Big Four, and (way later) down the line, it could also pass the iPhone 5 to Cricket and Virgin Mobile, following by taking the iPhone 4 and 4S prepaid.

Price
In the U.S., the Samsung Galaxy S3 is starting on-contract at $199.99 for the 16GB and $249.99 for the 32GB model (it'll differ by carrier.) As for the iPhone, the 4S on a designated network has a retail price of $199.99 for the 16GB model, $299.99 for the 32GB model, and $399.99 for its 64GB model. And, if the rumors prove true, the newest generation won't be any cheaper. With luck, Apple will remain steady on price, which would make a 32GB Samsung SG3 more cost-effective.

Conclusion
Whether or not a phone is right for you depends on a whole bushel of personal values, but the bottom line is that when you compare the main features and specs, the Galaxy S3 is good enough to recommend on its own against the iPhone 4S.

However, if you're open to either OS (as we are) and you're in no rush to buy a phone, here's what we'd do. We'd go ahead and wait until Apple's announcement this autumn. If the iPhone 5 fails to impress you, the Galaxy S3 has proven itself a worthwhile device with plenty of bells and whistles. And if in your estimation it falls before Apple's charms, you'll be fully informed and clear from any pangs of buyer's remorse.

VIA:news.cnet.com

Microsoft's Surface tablet said to come with only Wi-Fi

2012-06-22T13:08:00.001+05:30

While the software giant has yet to release full specs on its forthcoming tablet, rumors are circulating that it may be Wi-Fi only and without a mobile network connection.

Microsoft's new Surface tablet computer.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft's much talked about Surface tablet may be Wi-Fi only, according to Bloomberg.

The news agency reports that people familiar with the tablet's specs say the device will go on sale without any mobile-phone network connection, but will come with a short-range Wi-Fi connection. This could change in later models.

Surface will be running Microsoft's next-generation Windows operating system and marks the company's first foray into the ever-expanding tablet market. Though the software giant has unveiled Surface, it has yet to release all the details on the specifications.

Apparently, the tablet is thought to be a direct competitor to Apple's iPad. Network accessibility could hinder this goal, however. The new iPad, which went on sale in March, comes equipped with LTE and has the option of a mobile-phone chip, according to Bloomberg. Users can also buy the iPad's Wi-Fi-only model if they prefer.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft plans to start selling the Surface later this year and will be working with Apple's iPhone-maker, Pegatron, to manufacture the tablet.

VIA:news.cnet.com

Wait for Windows Phone 8 or buy a Samsung Galaxy S3?

2012-06-22T13:02:00.004+05:30

Microsoft's newest mobile OS -- Windows Phone 8 -- will add some key functionality to Microsoft's smartphone, but is it worth waiting for?

The new software offers a few more bells and whistles in terms of functionality for smartphone subscribers. But the bigger deal is that it will offer the necessary hooks for developers and device makers to build more advanced hardware. Finally, this could mean that Microsoft's live tile interface may finally be installed on some heavily spec'ed devices.

In this edition of Ask Maggie I help one reader figure out if he should wait for this flashy new hardware for the new Windows Phone 8 devices, or if he should go ahead and buy one of the latest and greatest Google Android phones of the summer: the Samsung Galaxy S3 or the HTC One series.

I also offer some advice about finding a normal-size smartphone in a world that seems to be going oversize.

To wait for new Windows Phone 8 devices or not

I currently own a Motorola Droid X on Verizon. I will be eligible for a new device in August. Android is fine, but I am by no means a fanboy. I'm a PC user and have tinkered with Windows for a very long time. I've been using a beta version of Windows 8 at home, and I really like it. I'm also interested in maybe getting the Surface when it comes out.

Anyway, I like the look and feel of the Windows Phone OS. But I've been disappointed in the hardware. But I hear that this might improve with Windows Phone 8. Is that true? Can I expect some Windows Phone 8 smartphones that are in the same category as Android devices? Also, do you think Verizon will offer some new Windows Phone 8 devices? And if you think they will, should I wait for a Windows 8 device, or should I just get a new Android this summer, like the Samsung Galaxy S3?

It's hard to say how the new Windows Phone 8 smartphones will stack up against current Android devices. That said, the Windows Phone 8 software is all about providing a foundation for Microsoft to offer new cutting-edge hardware. For instance, the new OS will support multicore processors. It will have an embedded NFC chip for mobile payments and other apps that may require short range wireless technology. It will allow multitasking.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The Verge reported Thursday that Microsoft expects to launch three classes of Windows Phone 8 smartphones later this year. The Zenith will be the high-end line, with an expected 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display, quad-core processor, NFC support, 8-megapixel camera that can grab 1,080p, and 42Mbps HSPA+. (My guess is that the top of the line phone will also have LTE support for the U.S. market.)

The midrange is being referred to as Accord and it's expected to have a slightly smaller, 4.3-inch screen and dual-core processors. The budget Windows Phone 8 will be the Rio line, which is expected to offer a 4-inch WVGA display; 14.4 Mbps HSPA connectivity; 5 megapixel, 720p capture; and a Snapdragon S4 processor.

Many of these new hardware enhancements are already available on Google Android devices today. In many ways, Windows Phone 8 is really just about keeping up with what Google Android has already been doing from a hardware and technology perspective.

Greg Sullivan, senior product manager at Microsoft for Windows Phone, said the Windows Phone 8 software paves the way for Microsoft to keep up with its competitors

"Windows Phone 8 is about investing in the future of the platform," he said. "It gives us the necessary headroom to continue to grow the device capabilities. It's important for consumers, but it's also really important for developers and hardware manufacturers as we move forward."

So should you wait for the Windows Phone 8 smartphones, or should you just buy a new Android phone now?

As you know, there are a couple of high-profile Google Android devices hitting the market this summer. And they already come equipped with the most powerful hardware out there. The Samsung Galaxy S3 goes on sale soon at all four major wireless carriers. And HTC has also introduced its latest One family of devices on all four major carriers.

I think that Windows Phone 8 will help manufacturers bring that same level of high-end hardware specifications to Windows Phones in the future. This could mean that the new Windows Phone 8 devices will be on par with any of the new Android devices as well as anything that Apple introduces this fall. But will they be more advanced? That's tough to say.The good thing about these new Android phones is that they both sport the latest Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software. They also have advanced cameras. And they come fully loaded with all kinds of high-end specifications.

Since the hardware will be similar in terms of specifications, I think the question you really need to ask yourself is which user experience and interface you prefer. The live-tiles make using Windows Phone devices very easy and intuitive. It still lacks some key apps, but Microsoft says it's catching up fast. In fact, Microsoft has surpassed the 100,000 mark in terms of the number of apps in its app store. Microsoft is also changing the home screen in the new Windows Phone 8 to make it even more customizable. (Windows Phone users on older hardware will also get this benefit in the Windows Phone 7.8 update that's expected to come later this summer.)

I'd recommend checking out a Nokia Lumia 900 or an HTC Titan at an AT&T shop to see if you like the software. These phones will soon get the Windows Phone 7.8 software upgrade that will give them the new home screen, which will be used on Windows Phone 8 devices.

But keep in mind that you may have to wait a long time for the new Windows Phone 8 devices. Microsoft has said that devices will be ready by the "end of the year." My guess is that the high-end phones won't come to market until the late fall, just before the holidays.

Will Verizon be one of the carriers offering these devices? That's a good question. As you are probably aware, Verizon hasn't been a big supporter of Windows Phone to date. In fact, it offers only one Windows Phone device on its network: the HTC Trophy. Even though Microsoft has updated its software and helped Nokia and HTC launch several other newer Windows Phone devices into the market, Verizon has still remained on the sidelines with respect to the platform.

But that may soon change. In April, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said during the company's earnings call that Verizon is "fully supportive" of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. He also indicated that Verizon would have new Windows Phone 8 devices in time for the holidays. A Verizon representative reiterated these plans earlier this week after Microsoft's launch of Windows Phone 8. She said the carrier would offer devices using the OS by the end of the year.

Still, Verizon hasn't said a lot about how much it will support Windows Phone. Will it introduce just one Windows Phone 8 smartphone, or will it offer a full portfolio of devices with an Android-like marketing campaign?

It's a little too early to say for sure. But Microsoft's Sullivan said the carrier seems enthusiastic about the new Windows Phone 8 platform. Sullivan couldn't tell me specifics about the discussions, but he acknowledged that Microsoft has been in talks with Verizon for a long time. Still, he indicated that with Windows Phone 8, Verizon may finally be willing to put a little more weight behind its support for Microsoft's smartphones.

"They're very excited and enthusiastic about what Windows Phone 8 can bring," he said. "And it's very important for us to have strong support from Verizon."

If Verizon plans to put a lot of marketing muscle behind Windows Phone 8, then I'd definitely expect some cool new phones running the OS to appear on the carrier's network in the late fall and into the spring.

But it's the end of June now, and you are up for a new phone in August. Can you really wait that long? If not, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One devices are terrific phones. I doubt you'd regret buying either one of them. But if you are really intrigued by Windows Phone 8, you may just want to wait to see what's offered later in the year.

Good luck with your decision.

VIA:news.cnet.com

One Windows to rule them all

2012-06-21T18:04:00.001+05:30

Microsoft's upcoming mobile OS has a lot more in common with Windows Sr., a technology decision that hints at closer future ties.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

In the world of making apps and games, going multi-platform is serious business. It adds cost, complexity, and can extend the amount of time developers need to push out finished products.

Microsoft wants to change that calculus -- especially when it comes to developing on its own two computing platforms that share the same name.

At its developer preview event in San Francisco yesterday, Microsoft debuted Windows Phone 8, the next major version of its mobile phone OS, slated for release alongside a crop of new phones later this year. Among the myriad announcements, perhaps the most significant was Microsoft's decision to tighten up compatibility between Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Under the hood

That closeness comes in the form of a shared kernel. In non-developer speak, you can think of the kernel like a bridge between the hardware and the software. It takes care of some of the dirty business like giving software access to parts of the hardware, and managing resources, all to make sure everything keeps humming.

As my colleague Mary Jo Foley over at ZDnet explained elsewhere, Windows Phone as we currently know it, runs on a version of Windows Embedded Compact. Yes, that's Windows, but it's a variant of its flagship OS that was under-featured by comparison. The new version sets the foundation for Microsoft to make significant changes in hardware and software compatibility, including support for multi-core chips, and support for native code.

"The biggest effect this will have is we're going to see some freaking killer games this year," said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's vice president of the Windows phone program.Native code lets apps run on the device using both the C and C++ coding languages. At its presentation yesterday, Microsoft talked up how this plays a crucial role in helping developers create apps and games for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

The company illustrated that yesterday with a demo of 3D game Marble Maze, running first on a Windows machine, then back over on a phone. Belfiore said the changeover was accomplished with "incredibly small" changes to the code. Microsoft tried to underscore that point with a barrage of technology demos from Havok, the popular physics engine, showing hundreds of boxes being tossed around, shot at, and even exploded -- all on the screen of a Windows Phone.

The rub

One downside is that to make all this happen, older phones won't be able to run apps written in native code for Windows Phone 8, and conversely existing Windows Phone devices aren't getting the software when it arrives. Microsoft is addressing the latter with an update called 7.8, which adds a new home screen view. On the plus side, the company pledged to give Windows Phone 8 devices support for 18 months.

No doubt this creates fragmentation, something that's mired Google's Android platform, and, to a lesser extent, Apple's. But it's also a big bet by Microsoft to cut ties with the past and to move the platform forward -- not to mention get it in closer step with Windows 8. In other words, Microsoft wants to quickly close gaps that separate it from rivals, with a longer-term goal of surpassing them with unique platform tie-ins that only it can provide.

Convergence

So, does all this mean developers can create a game or app for Windows 8 and simply push it over to Windows Phone 8 at the same time? Not quite. What Microsoft promised, is that it will make it easier to bring titles back and forth between the two, and even some rival platforms using its software development tools.

That strategy could help Microsoft make up ground against competitors in app volume and attract more customers. Microsoft said yesterday it was up to more than 100,000 apps on its mobile store, but that's well below Apple's 650,000 and Google's 500,000.

The bigger picture is that Microsoft is trying to make its platform as attractive as possible to developers who have been lukewarm about programming for an unproven Windows Phone. That's certainly nothing new, but with Windows Phone 8, Microsoft is parting with some of the old in the name of paving the way for what's next. And that's something you don't usually hear in the same breath as Windows.

Windows Phone 8: Everything you need to know

2012-06-21T18:00:00.000+05:30

Microsoft unveiled the new operating system that will ship in next-gen Windows Phones. There's a lot to know, and this is the place to start.

Behold, the new Windows Phone start screen.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8 today, its next-generation smartphone operating system. But what exactly does that entail, when can we expect to see devices, and what does it mean for people who have Windows phones now?

What are hardware changes?

Near-Field Communication (NFC), support for multicore processors (like dual-core and quad-core), new screen resolutions (like 1,280x720-pixel HD), and expandable memory slots are the biggest news in terms of hardware changes.

What's with the new start screen?

Microsoft's redesigned start screen (pictured above) spans the width of the screen now. You'll be able to resize each individual live tile from the start screen to one of three sizes. There's also support for new color themes, which Microsoft didn't list.

What else is new?

There's also support for in-app purchases, and a "wallet" for storing sensitive account information and loyalty cards, to name a few. Phones get over-the-air OS updates, instead of tethering to the desktop to update. Windows Phone 8's architecture heavily overlaps with Windows 8 for the desktop and tablet, so there will be a great deal of similarity in the way that the OSes handle security, gaming, networking, media playback, and so forth.

Read here for more details about what's new in Windows Phone 8.

When can I get it on my Windows phone?

New Windows phones running WP8 will ship in the fall. Microsoft also used the term "holiday season," which could really mean anywhere from late September all the way to just before Christmas.

Bad news for existing Windows Phone owners, though. There's no upgrade path from Windows Phone 7.5 handsets to the forthcoming OS. We know, we feel your pain. You just bought your Samsung or Lumia phone and it's already obsolete. Now before you get your knickers in a bunch, consider this: it's mostly a hardware foundation that's going to make Windows phones far more competitive going forward.

Well, what can I get, then?

Microsoft threw you a bone. A small bone, but one that Redmond hopes you'll find tasty nonetheless. Windows Phone 7.8 is an update that will give current 7.5 Mango users the new start screen to play with. Microsoft did not announce an update schedule to Windows Phone 7.8.

What does Nokia say?

Nokia is also offering several apps on its phones: Play To content sharing over DLNA, Nokia Maps with commuting intelligence, Nokia Music 3.0 with Mix Radio, Nokia Drive, and camera extras, which include panorama, burst shot, and GroupShot (it'll find photos with the nicest smiles and open eyes.) Camera Extras and Counters will come to the U.S. and China by June 22, and to other countries in July.

Zynga games like Words with Friends and Draw Something will be available to Lumia owners for the next couple of months, Nokia said. There's also a usage app to monitor texts and calls.

When do developers get the SDK?

Microsoft will go into deeper details with developers later this summer, which is when they'll also get the SDK.

Who's making the phones?

Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Huawei, and ZTE are Microsoft's five largest partners, but we'll see Windows phones from other manufacturers as well. Samsung and Nokia have already shown a range of higher-end and more midrange Windows 7.5 handsets here in the U.S., and Huawei and ZTE have demoed the more affordable, entry-level Windows Phone handsets globally. We expect the trend to continue with Windows Phone 8.

Which carriers will they come to?

AT&T has been Windows Phone's most staunch champion, with more of Microsoft's phones than any other carrier, so we can expect to see AT&T nabbing great higher-end devices. T-Mobile is doing well with Nokia's Lumia 710, and will undoubtedly jump on board with Windows Phone 8. Sprint and Verizon have had one handset apiece, and not for a long time. Verizon and Microsoft are publicly pleased to have a Windows phone in Big Red's portfolio, but the carrier could play it cautiously with just one high-end device until the platform proves itself. Sprint will surely follow suit.

What kind of processors will the phones use?

The high-end Windows phones will use Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, which can be tuned for up to 1.7GHz clock speed. Some phones will also source slower processors as a way to manage price and match features for more entry-level phones. Get more details here.

Is there native Skype support?

No, the VoIP app isn't built in and you'll still have to download Skype to use it. Microsoft has, however, laid down the foundation for third-party apps like Skype and others to integrate with the phone-call menu so that VoIP calls that you place and answer look identical to calls that originate from the dialer.

How will it use NFC?

Windows Phone will support NFC, or near-field communications, for the first time. There are three parts. The first uses Tap + Share -- Microsoft's consumer-facing name for NFC -- to do all sorts of things, like share URLs among NFC devices and read a "tag" on items like a business card, poster, or menu. The second part makes use of a secure SIM card that the carriers can control and that will enable mobile payments.

Microsoft is also introducing its own wallet hub, which will store sensitive information about your accounts, loyalty cards, and so on. It's a very similar system to other third-party wallets available, and to Apple's Passbook feature for iOS 6.

What is this 'talking to apps' thing?

Microsoft demoed an expanded feature in its voice recognition software, TellMe, where you could speak commands to an app, in this case Audible. Audible used Microsoft's voice APIs to build a command mode into its app for Windows Phone. When you enable the command mode, you'll be able to launch, pause, stop, and resume media with your voice. It's a very cool-looking feature that any developer will be able to implement; however there are two historical problems with this type of app that Microsoft will have to counter. First, voice interpretation is typically spotty, and problems sometimes ensue. Second, it does drain the battery -- but just how much is yet to be seen on Windows phones.

MICROSOFT SURFACE Tablets - Review & Specification

2012-06-19T08:20:00.001+05:30

Microsoft breaks tradition with Microsoft Surface tablets

Company announces pair of Microsoft-branded "Surface" tablets running Windows 8 and Windows RT at long-awaited product unveiling in Los Angeles.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

(Credit: CNET)

It's the end of an era. Or maybe the start of a new one.

Microsoft -- a company that traditionally has relied exclusively on its PC partners to provide hardware powered by its Windows operating system -- is trying out a new business model with next Windows release.

The company is going to offer two Microsoft-branded tablets of its own, both of which are branded as Microsoft Surface.

Mystery solved: Microsoft's new Surface tablet (pictures)

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Microsoft isn't actually manufacturing these new tablets itself -- just as it doesn't actually "make" the Xbox or the now defunct Zune media player. But it will be putting the Microsoft name on these devices. And this, many have speculated, will set up Microsoft as a head-to-head competitor with its own PC maker partners.

Pricing or any information on availability is not available yet. All officials are saying, via today's press release, is that "suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT."

Both Windows RT, Microsoft's Windows on ARM operating system, and Windows 8 are expected to be released to manufacturing this summer, possibly as early as the end of July. And they are expected by us Microsoft watchers to be generally available around August or so.

The Surface for Windows RT is a 10.6-inch device that will include Office Home & Student 2013 RT (the next version of Microsoft's Office 15 apps). It will include support for a magnetically attachable cover that lets you touch type and a kickstand. It will be configurable as a 32 GB or 64 GB device.

The Surface Windows 8 Pro device also is 10.6 inches and includes the same cover option. It is configurable as a 64 GB or 128 GB device and also adds pen support.

In addition to pricing and availability, we also do not know who is building this device for Microsoft. (Samsung Electronics built the Surface 2.0 device, which is the latest version of Microsoft's Surface tabletop computer.) We also do not know if Microsoft is going to have other Surface-branded devices in the family -- including the existing Surface 2.0. (I've asked. No word back yet.)

The specs include:

A full-size USB port and a 16:9 aspect ratio angled at 22 degrees.
10.6-inch, 16:9 widescreen HD Display.
Integrated Kickstand: Built-in kickstand lets users move Surface from active use to passive consumption.
Touch Cover: 3 mm pressure-sensitive Touch Cover senses keystrokes as gestures will come in different colors.

Panos Panay, general manager of Microsoft's Surface project,

(Credit: CNET)

Microsoft came out with a couple of Surface models. One runs an ARM processor for Windows RT, the other an Intel core processing chip for Windows 8 Pro.

Surface for Windows RT

OS: Windows RT
Light(1): 676 g
Thin(2): 9.3 mm
Clear: 10.6" ClearType HD Display
Energized: 31.5 W-h
Connected: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
Productive: Office '15' Apps, Touch Cover, Type Cover
Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand
Configurable: 32 GB, 64 GB

Surface for Windows 8 Pro

OS: Windows 8 Pro
Light(1): 903 g
Thin(2): 13.5 mm
Clear: 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD Display
Energized: 42 W-h
Connected: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
Productive: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand
Configurable: 64 GB, 128 GB

Indian IT companies halt lateral hiring

2012-06-18T16:05:00.001+05:30

BANGALORE: In the surest sign of a slowing economy, the technology sector, which is the largest employer of skilled workforce in the country, is putting off hiring people with experience.

While campus recruitment for entry-level jobs is still on, lateral tech hiring seems to have come to a near halt with many IT firms giving fresh instructions to third party hirers to put hiring on "slow" , "mute" or "halt" mode.

A huge bench ( employees without work due to lack of new projects) is mainly responsible for this state of affairs. Other factors that are directly contributing to the scenario are: a stressed pipeline (lack of new orders), distance between projects, continuing troubles in the banking and financial services (BFSI) space and the antioutsourcing sentiments in the US accentuated by it being the election year.

The trend is likely to continue till the US elections are over later in the year, though there could be a mild recovery expected in the job market by September. C Mahalingam, HR head, Symphony says, companies want to ensure that contracts and customer commitments are in place before any further hiring. So they are extremely cautious about hiring .

"Depending on the nature of talent, the status of hiring varies. For instance most of the hiring in the lateral space is almost brought to a halt, while specialized talent like IT architect, functional specialists , tech leaders, network specialists are still being hired, though the status is considerably slowed down or muted," said Mahalingham.

However, tech firms like HCL, Infosys, Wipro, TCS etc are actively hiring in the US market. "Companies are under pressure to hire in the customer markets, due to business and strategic reasons ," say country head of a leading MNC.

Saurabh Govil, senior vice president, Wipro says, "We are hiring in India, but very cautiously and only need-based. But we are aggressively hiring in the customer markets, in the US and Europe."

Nirupama VG, MD, AdAstra , says that IT hiring which started declining from April onwards, by mid-May had almost halved. "Requirement has drastically reduced across multiple spaces, more so in the BFSI space," she adds.

"Some 30% of the job market decline can be attributed to the US elections while quite a bit of the rest can be attributed to completely frozen BFSI space. The space brings almost 40% of revenues to the Indian tech sector. Bank of America alone had cut over 30,000 jobs," says Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO, HeadHunters.

VIA:[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

Microsoft to take on Gmail; revamps Hotmail

2012-06-18T08:41:00.001+05:30

Washington: In the hope of bringing back millions of users, software giant Microsoft has revamped its email service Hotmail, which has a striking resemblance to Gmail in its design.

Newmail is understood to have a 'clean look' when it comes to the font that has been used for the labels in the inbox, which resembles its Google adversary.

According to the Daily Mail, Microsoft has claimed it has a 'fluid and interactive design', which is expressly designed to work well on mobile devices such as phones or tablets.

Hotmail is still the biggest email provider in the world with some 360 million users, but Gmail has caught up with 350 million, shooting up from just 260 million users last October.

A website LiveSide, that has obtained screen shots of Newmail, shows a significantly more attractive home screen, with none of the clutter which had long bedevilled Hotmail.

Liveside said that Newmail will initially be available on an opt-in basis to existing Hotmail customers, but Microsoft has not ruled out making it compulsory in future.

The new email service will also be linked to Facebook and Twitter and will allow users to keep their contacts automatically in sync and see what their friends are doing on the service.

The new name Newmail, however, appears to be just the title for the service and users will still have @hotmail email addresses.

HTC One S available in India for INR 33K with 1.7GHz dual core S3 processor

2012-06-17T22:32:00.001+05:30

Online retailers have started selling the third model in the HTC’s One series, One S in the country. Being sold at varied pricing, Saholic.com seems to have got the cheapest deal at INR 33,000; on the other hand Infibeam.com is retailing the smartphone at INR 36,157.

As reported previously, the model being sold in India is powered by a generation old dual-core Qualcomm S3 processor, while the model initially showcased (and now available in UK and some other countries) runs on brand new Qualcomm S4 Krait processor.

The S3 processor has been clocked at 1.7GHz in the smartphone. Other features include 4.3 inch AMOLED qHD display, 8MP rear camera, front camera, Android 4.0, HTC Sense 4.0, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and 1650mAh battery. It is also company’s thinnest phone till date with just 7.8mm thick body.

At this pricing, HTC One S certainly does not look enticing, but still is anyone of you planning to buy the device? Do let us know in comments.

Poll: What should a Microsoft tablet be?

2012-06-17T22:26:00.001+05:30

A Microsoft-crafted tablet needs to stand out. But there's at least one obstacle to success: the iPad.

What should a Microsoft tablet be?

If Microsoft takes the plunge, then it believes it can do atablet better than others. So, what exactly does that mean?

All signs are pointing to a Microsoft tablet on Monday. Aimed squarely at Apple's iPad.

In discussions I had Friday with analysts, there was a common theme: If Microsoft does in fact make its own tablet, it's because of the iPad. That product is so dominant that so far competitors can hope for little more than market-share scraps.

Apple's success is due in no small part to its tight control over hardware-software and the well-integrated, finely tuned product that results. That sort of success is hard, if not impossible, to duplicate in the Android camp -- composed of a loose collection of hardware vendors running fragmented software. (And note that one of the most tightly integrated Android tablets is also one of the most successful: Amazon's Kindle Fire.)

"It means Microsoft can control all of the variables and make a product that really works," said Endpoint Technologies analyst Roger Kay. "It's not a good thing for its hardware partners, but Microsoft may have made the calculation that it doesn't matter," Kay added, noting that Microsoft would have obviously made this decision a while ago.

That said, one way Microsoft can avoid excessively teeing off hardware partners -- like Hewlett-Packard and Dell -- is to opt for the version of Windows 8 for ARM processors, called Windows RT. That tablet-centric OS would segment the product a bit more and not pit it directly against the massive Windows-Intel, aka x86, ecosystem.

Conversely, this means Microsoft has Apple directly in its sights. Like RT, Apple's iOS runs on top of ARM processors and favors battery life over performance.

Which brings us to the questions at hand. What does Microsoft need to do to make its tablet successful? (Remember the Zune?) These are pretty easy questions to ask. It's how Microsoft responds of course that matters.

Via: [news.cnet.com]

Google, Facebook, Twitter take on bad ads

2012-06-15T08:19:00.006+05:30

Members of Ads Integrity Alliance will share information about scams and malware distributed via ads.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau are joining forces to keep Web surfers safe from ads that serve up malware or scams.

The companies will announce tomorrow the formation of the Ads Integrity Alliance, which will be led by Maxim Weinstein, executive director ofStopBadware, a nonprofit focused on protecting consumers from sites that lead to viruses, spyware and other malware.

The charter members will share information about scams and malware in advertising and develop policy recommendations and best practices, Weinstein said. "Having formal channels for sharing information about specific threats, trends and bad actors can be a valuable weapon" in stopping criminals and scammers as they move their campaigns to different sites on the Web, he said.

Ad serving systems are built to serve millions of targeted ads on Web sites in a scalable way, which makes it difficult to catch every bad ad before it hits the Net, according to Weinstein. "When you have really large scale automated systems and you also have a criminal element that wants to take advantage of that to deliver malware and commit fraud you need to find ways to balance the need for efficiency and automation with the need to protect users from bad ads," he said. "That has to include some combination of automation and human intervention."

"All complex ecosystems have parasites," said Eric Davis, global public policy manager at Google. "No individual company or law enforcement agency can singlehandedly stop all the bad actors from the entire Web and we think it's important to work with other companies, other parties and organizations, to share the information we can."

Last year, Google disabled more than 130 million ads and 800,000 advertisers that violated policies on its sites and those of its partners' sites, Davis wrote in a post on the Google Official blog.

Asked who came up with the idea, Weinstein said it began with informal conversations between individuals at some of the charter members, who then approached StopBadware.

Notably absent from the group is Microsoft and Yahoo. Weinstein said he hopes those companies will be members in the future as the alliance expands. "We decided to try to move fairly quickly on pulling [the Alliance] together and get something up and launched," he said.

Samsung: No, we're not making a Facebook killer

2012-06-15T08:16:00.005+05:30

The electronics company takes to its global blog to deny speculation that it's working on a Facebook-like service, calling the chatter "groundless."Samsung Electronic today dismissed the notion that it's working on a Facebook-like service.

To make sure there wasn't any confusion, the company posted the denial on its official global blog, calling the speculation and rumor "groundless."

The Korea Times was the first to stir up the rumor, reporting that the technology giant would make its first foray into social networking next year. The report was subsequently picked up by other media outlets.

Running a social network, which relies on advertising, would make little sense for a consumer electronics company accustomed to selling hardware. Despite Samsung's size and reach, it's unclear whether it could attract the droves of users that a Facebook can.

The company has been successful at selling televisions, and is a dominant player in the smartphone arena. But the company hasn't shown a willingness or ability to offer social networking services.

Much of the speculation was based on the belief that Samsung would turn its "Family Story" service into a social network. Samsung noted the service has been around since February, and is meant to tie together its television, smartphones, and tablets with the Internet. The service is focused on the family and allows members to share files and pictures.

Samsung said it was working to upgrade Family Story, but denied that the upgrades would turn it into a "Samsung Facebook."

How did Samsung keep Galaxy S III a secret?

2012-06-15T08:06:00.000+05:30

Locked boxes and no photos helped the handset maker keep details of the highly anticipated smartphone shrouded in mystery.

Samsung went to great lengths to hide the Galaxy S III, even from other company departments.

(Credit: Samsung Tomorrow)

In the weeks leading up to the formal unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S III, the internet was full of rumors, conjecture, and a smattering of "leaks". In some cases we saw dummy displays, and other seemingly legitimate fanboy fodder, but for everything that landed online, no one leak turned out to be 100 percent accurate.

So how was Samsung able to keep the Galaxy S III shrouded in mystery? As Samsung tells us in a new blog post, it was a combination of tight lips, isolation, and multiple prototypes.

Don't say a word
One way to ensure word doesn't get out on any secret project is to simply keep quiet. It's not a new concept, but it's one that works. Indeed, the Samsung team relied on employees to remain tight-lipped. In some cases, family members weren't even sure whether their fathers were involved with the Galaxy S III.

"My eldest son is in 6th grade...knew that I had worked on the Galaxy S and S II... assumed that I'd do S III also. Every time he saw an article on the internet about the Galaxy S III he'd ask 'Dad! You're making the S III, right?' But all I could say was 'I don't really know.' It was really awkward." -- Principal Engineer ByungJoon Lee (Mechanical R&D)

Unlike with previous smartphone releases where Samsung would lump its entire team together to deal with issues and roadblocks, with the Galaxy S III the company created separate labs with security cards and fingerprint readers. That way Samsung was able to keep track of anyone and everyone who accessed the privileged information. And if you're not working on the handset you don't need to see it!

Three Card Monte
Prototype devices were placed in security boxes when moved around, even if it was just a quick trip across the hall. What's more, Samsung created no less than three different designs and treated each as if it would be the final product. And rather than risk a leak through a third partyteam to deliver products to partners and suppliers, Samsung would personally deliver the various Galaxy S III designs. Perhaps this was the reason for so many different rumors for the Galaxy S III?

No pictures, please
Once in front of vendors, Samsung made sure that no pictures were taken. This would prove to be a challenge for all involved as the procurement team had to place orders for parts based on verbal descriptions of materials.

"Because we were only permitted to see the products and others weren't," explained Principal Engineer ByungJoon Lee (Mechanical R&D),"we couldn't send pictures or drawings. We had to explain the Galaxy S III with all sorts of words.

Even without the blog post, it's obvious that Samsung went to great lengths to keep their Galaxy S III a secret. Given the hype building for this summer's Android release, I'd say they did good job of hiding it from the public. With but a few days to go before the Galaxy S III begins hitting various U.S. carriers, I wonder development when they start on the next, next big thing. That is, assuming they aren't already up to something.

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MICROSOFT SURFACE Tablets - Review & Specification

Mystery solved: Microsoft's new Surface tablet (pictures)

Indian IT companies halt lateral hiring

Microsoft to take on Gmail; revamps Hotmail

HTC One S available in India for INR 33K with 1.7GHz dual core S3 processor

Poll: What should a Microsoft tablet be?

What should a Microsoft tablet be?

If Microsoft made its own tablet, what would you like to see the company do?

Google, Facebook, Twitter take on bad ads

Samsung: No, we're not making a Facebook killer

How did Samsung keep Galaxy S III a secret?