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Posts Tagged ‘Glimpses’

Will Windows Phone 7 Series Be A Smartphone for the Enterprise?

We’re seeing a few glimpses from Mix10 of what Windows Phone 7 Series will look like for the enterprise.

Perhaps most compelling is the continued emphasis on creating an experience more so than an enterprise “phone.” It appears that Microsoft has learned a lesson that is more apparent every day. People want smartphones as much for personal use as for business use.

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But Microsoft is saying little about what it does plan for the enterprise with its Windows Phone 7 Series. They say more is to come in the next few weeks but clearly the emphasis is on the consumer market, not the enterprise.

Network World did a little sniffing around Mix10 and did get a few tidbits of what we should expect:

• Windows Phone 7 is no longer enterprise-centric but the user experience is still catching the fancy of independent software vendors that want to sell it into the business market. The iPhone and Google Android are proof enough that people will find relevance for smartphones in the enterprise even if the devices are meant primarily for consumers.
• A developer community is ready and waiting to make applications for Windows Phone 7. Developers can create applications within a development environment they understand. Network World notes:
  “Visual Studio programmers can drag and drop controls onto a Windows Phone surface, bring in existing Silverlight libraries or Azure cloud projects, and wire them up to data sources, behaviors and services, just like they do when writing software for a Windows PC.”
• Microsoft is expected to offer a secure area within its Marketplace to accomodate enterprise applications. The intention wold be to provide a place where enterprise customers could download company specific software or the framework for their own marketplace. This would provide IT administrators with ways to administer applications within the enterprise.
• It’s uncertain what security features will become part of Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has historically provided Microsoft Exchange Active Sync which enables Windows Mobile devices the ability to sync with Microsoft Exchange. Actice Sync has offered a number of security features such as remote data wipe and encrypted connections. Will this rich security framework be kept intact? With such a consumer focus, it’s uncertain what will come of it.
• Windows Phone 7 includes an Office Hub, allowing people to create and edit Microsoft Office documents. Microsoft has put a lot of effort into making Sharepoint a mobile site. Windows Phone 7 will integrate with Microsoft Exchange. It appears users may set up tiles within Windows Phone 7 to edit and share Sharepoint documents.

It appears that Microsoft may not necessarily have to focus on the enterprise. Its rich user experience may be enough to get people interested. Core enterprise features will only help give Windows Phone 7 a chance to compete more effectively.

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Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go

Alright, we’re going to be straight with you: you’re not going to like this. See, Microsoft just showed us a pair of 3D games running on its ASUS Windows Phone prototype and built with its brand new XNA Game Studio 4.0, but wouldn’t let us nab a single photo or video of the process. What we can tell you is that they exist, they work, and at least Microsoft tossed us some screenshots to wave in your face. The two titles are The Harvest (pictured), a good looking touch-controlled dungeon crawler with destructible environments, being developed by Luma Arcade; and Battle Punks, a less impressive one-on-one sword fighting Facebook game by Gravity Bear that’s being ported over. We didn’t get to see any full motion 3D camera moves, since Battle Punks is just composed of two characters duking it out, and The Harvest has a fixed camera and some pre-rendered elements, but there were indeed some real polygons being crunched before our eyes at a full resolution (no upscaling), alpha-rev, choppy framerate, and we were assured that full screen 3D was possible. We also got to see one of our first glimpses of universal notifications on Windows Phone: Achievement unlock notices (also pictured above) that slide down from the top of the screen in a black bar and then slide back, and can’t be interacted with. Follow after the break for some more nerdy details, along with a video of VisualStudio in action, and screenshots of the two games are in the gallery below.

Continue reading Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go

Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.1-equiped Motorola Sholes tablet spied in China as XT701?

No sooner do we get brief corner glimpses of the supposed Motorola Sholes tablet do we get tipped off to this writeup from Androidin.net which has a number of pictures of an eerily similar keyboard-less handset with a 3.7-inch screen, Android 2.1, FM radio, and interestingly enough, only a 5 megapixel camera — last we heard it was going to be 8. Also debatable is a HDMI port, since the image that would show it is a tad too blurry. Otherwise, it seems to be about in line with what we expected, and it also seems destined for China Unicom as the XT701 (analogous to China Mobile’s Motorola Android device). Now how about a few dashes of hope we’ll see this stateside, eh Moto? Two more shots after the break.

[Thanks, yee]

Continue reading Android 2.1-equiped Motorola Sholes tablet spied in China as XT701?

Android 2.1-equiped Motorola Sholes tablet spied in China as XT701? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo’s ThinkPad X100e gets detailed: AMD Neo-based, not a netbook

We’ve already gotten a few brief, mysterious glimpses of Lenovo’s thin-and-light ThinkPad X100e (sometimes known as the X200e), but it looks like things are now starting to get a bit more real. Contrary to previous speculation, this one’s not, it seems, a ThinkPad netbook, but an “entry ultraportable,” which apparently means that it is small, thin and light just like a netbook, and has a “netbook-like price point” — it’s just… not a netbook. Less nebulous are the device’s specs, which include an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 display, an AMD Athlon Neo processor, support for up to 4GB of RAM, up to a 320GB hard drive, optional 3G and GPS and, of particular note to some particular folks, a distinctly ThinkPad keyboard, trackpad and trackpoint. Still no indication of a release date just yet, but it looks like you will at least be able to get this one in your choice of black, red or white, despite its distinctly business-minded nature.

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X100e gets detailed: AMD Neo-based, not a netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aspire 1420p tablet cameos on Acer’s US site, at Chinese press event

He’s twisting away from the camera because he’s shy, obviously. Acer’s Aspire 1420p tablet made an appearance today at a Chinese press event, and our regional Engadget correspondents were there to grab as many glimpses as their cameras would allow. What makes it even sweet, though, is knowing this little guy’s coming to the states, as a rough product page was found on Acer’s US site. From what we read, it’s got a 11.6-inch LED-backlit multitouch screen with WXGA resolution, an Intel Celeron processor with integrated graphics, up to 8GB RAM and 320GB HDD, 802.11b/g/Draft-N, Bluetooth, a multi-card reader, webcam, and optional 3G. Some secrets remain, of course, like price and release date — where’s Encyclopedia Brown when you really need him?

[Thanks, Dennis L]

Read – US product page
Read – Engadget Chinese hands-on

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Aspire 1420p tablet cameos on Acer’s US site, at Chinese press event originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: ‘Droid Does’

We knew Verizon Wireless would soon be throwing caution to the wind in an effort to sway uncommitted smartphone buyers towards Big Red, and it looks like the November-bound Motorola Droid will be VZW’s anti-iPhone. The spot, which launched tonight and can be view in its entirety after the break, is a 30 second clip that begins by mocking Apple’s cutesy music and iconic font typically seen in iPhone plugs. It reels off a number of things that the iPhone can’t do, and then abruptly goes into full-on tease mode by flashing glimpses of a robot-controlled future and a tagline that simply states: “Droid Does.” No shots of the actual Motorola Droid (or Sholes, as it was known in the past) are shown, but a dedicated teaser portal has already been erected; through that, we’re told that the phone will boast Android 2.0 and a 5 megapixel camera. At this point, we’d say the gloves are definitely off — AT&T, have anything to say for yourself, or is the iPhone doing just fine on its own?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Verizon’s anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: ‘Droid Does’

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon’s anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: ‘Droid Does’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver NV mini bike edition routes two-wheeled warriors

iriver’s NV mini has been out and about for nearly a full year now, so it makes sense to think that some sort of successor was just about ready to pop. Sure enough, a next-gen version (of sorts) has been revealed, with the NV mini bike edition (₩188,000; $156) looking to help those out there who suck it up and bike to work / school / etcetera rather than hailing a cab. The 3.5-inch touchscreen (320 x 240) is unchanged in terms of size, but the UI has been tweaked to provide larger glimpses at what’s most important. It’s also designed to respond to gloved fingers, and the “exercise” mode keeps track of distance traveled, speed, time traveled and calories burned. Other specs include an SDHC card slot, 3.5 millimeter headphone socket and Windows CE 5.0 underneath, with an on sale date of “right now” in South Korea.

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: GPS

iriver NV mini bike edition routes two-wheeled warriors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ESA’s Planck probe starts exploration of big bang’s remnant

With the first results from the recently revitalized Hubble now on display, it would be easy to take a NASA-centric view of space exploration. But the European Space Agency has quickly followed on NASA’s success with some major announcements of its own. In just the past week, the first data from the Planck probe were obtained, providing new glimpses into the cosmic microwave background that allows us to peer into the early history of the universe. This announcement came on the heels of findings that confirm that the ESA’s orbiting planet hunting hardware has found the smallest exoplanet yet identified.

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