Nokia showcases Lumia's wireless charging capabilities in new advertisement

Nokia UK has released a new video showcasing the Lumia's wireless charging capabilities. In the video, we are shown two characters who have just had one heck of a night. Upon returning to their bedroom, the man attempts to plug his phone (appears to be an iPhone) into the charger, but fails. He ends up falling asleep before he could plug his phone in. The woman, on the other hand, simply places her Lumia Windows Phone device on a charging plate to begin the charging process.
"Say no to the wires jungle in your bedroom.. With wireless charging you can recharge your batteries while your Lumia smartphone sleeps like a baby...or was it the other way around?" the video description reads. We've embedded the video below for your viewing pleasure.
For those of you who have a Windows Phone device from Nokia, with wireless charging capabilities, do you still prefer plugging in your phone into an outlet or do you prefer wireless charging?

 

Nokia Lumia 630 launched in the UK for just £89.95

Microsoft has announced the availability of the budget-friendly Nokia Lumia 630 in the UK. Customers interested in giving Windows Phone 8.1 a run can get their hands on the device for just £89.95, and yes, that's the SIM-free price. It will kick off some competition in the entry-level market, especially after the launch of the Moto E which is already up for sale in the region.
For £89.95, you'd get your hands on a 4.5-inch display sporting a resolution of 854 x 400 pixels, with a quad-core Snapdragon processor under the hood. We understand it comes with a little lower RAM -- just 512MB -- compared to other handsets, but Windows Phone works without any issues even on lower RAM. On the storage side, you get 8GB of internal storage with a microSD card support of up to 128GB.
Other features include a 5MP camera for photos and videos, a 1,830 mAh battery to make sure there's enough juice for the handset, and Windows Phone 8.1. The device will go on sale on May 29th and will be available from most of the retailers such as Carphone Warehouse, Amazon, etc.


 via:techradar

Chinese OEMs still disinclined towards launching Windows Phone handsets

In the past few months, Microsoft added quite a few hardware partners to the list of Windows Phone OEMs, including a bunch of China-based manufacturers. Despite Microsoft's best efforts, it seems the Chinese OEMs are reluctant to enter the Windows Phone market, at least for now. This comes as surprising news, even after the Redmond-giant waived off the license fees for mobile devices below 9-inch display.
The report surfaced from Digitimes, who cites the usual industry sources, so we recommend our readers take this report with a grain of salt. "China-based handset vendors and ODMs are still reluctant to launch Windows Phone (WP)-based smartphones in 2014 despite Microsoft's efforts to promote its WP platform without charging license fees for mobile devices with a below 9-inch display and to bundle sales with Qualcomm's QRD (Qualcomm reference design) platforms, according to industry sources," says Digitimes in a report.
Microsoft also teamed up with Qualcomm, bundling its WP platform with Qualcomm's handset solutions, giving OEMs another incentive to adopt the OS. However, the OEMs are still concerned about the time and production costs needed to adopt and support the Windows Phone OS, compared to Google's Android. They're also complaining that use of peripheral chips and some key components for product differentiation may increase the costs, offsetting the benefits Microsoft offered by waiving off the license fees.
Windows Phone still has a lot to gain in China, which is dominated by Android, thanks to their local smartphone manufacturers, who are throwing in cheap Android handsets every now and then. If Chinese OEMs start releasing Windows Phone handsets in their region, there's a good chance that Microsoft with rack up some decent market share. Until then, it might be a difficult task for the company to attract customers in the region.

Via: 

Digitimes

China bans Windows 8 in government offices, cites security and energy-savings as reasons

Microsoft and China share a long and controversial history and today a new chapter was added to it when China banned the use of Windows 8 from its government offices. While the entire world is moving away from Windows XP to the newer operating system,  China has issued a ban citing use of energy-saving products. 
The news came from Xinhua news agency which stated that this move is to address computer security concerns, which arose after Microsoft ended support for its 12-year old operating system, Windows XP. As shocking as this move may seem, it’s not surprising.
Apart from the tense relations the US giant and China share, a few weeks ago, China was working closely with local security firms to build a secure operating system. "China's decision to ban Windows 8 from public procurement hampers Microsoft's push of the OS to replace XP, which makes up 50 percent of China's desktop market," said data firm Canalys.
Around 50% of computers in China are still booting to Windows XP. By banning the use of Windows 8 in the government, Chinese government is making it hard for Microsoft to expand its user base in the country.
Neither Xinhua nor the China government explained how this move ensures data security, or power savings. We've contacted Microsoft and shall update the post as we receive more information. 

Via: 

Reuters

Microsoft unveils 12-inch Surface Pro 3, a tablet that can replace your laptop

Satya Nadella took the stage to open up the Surface event in New York City today, speaking about the "mobile first cloud first" strategy. He spoke about "an obsession" of powering every individual and organization with the ability to do more. "We want products and technology that enable people to get more out of every moment of their life - that's the mission we are on," he adds.
The Surface "takes the best of the laptop and the tablet, to read, to create, watch a movie, make a movie, enjoy art, and create art." Microsoft's Panos Panay also took the stage after Nadella's opening words and unveiled the Surface Pro 3, a tablet that can replace your laptop.
The 12-inch Surface Pro 3 is faster than the Surface Pro 2, and features a multi-position kickstand. The device features a 2160x1440 display, with a 3x2 aspect ration screen.
The device is also 800g in weight, making it feel lighter even though the device is bigger. Panay compared the weight of the Surface Pro 3 with a Macbook, only to see the Surface Pro 3 clearly defeat the Macbook.
The Surface Pro 3 also features an Intel Core i7, in a thin package, offering a fanless experience making it 30% more efficient. It's 30 percent more efficient than any other fan in the market today.
Microsoft has compromised nothing in order to make the Surface Pro 3 better than the Surface Pro 2.

Nokia's Cyan update will let you further tweak brightness levels to your liking

Windows Phone 8.1 brought numerous new enhancements to the table, enabling consumers to take full advantage of Cortana (depending on region settings), a Notification Center and more, but there's more to come if you own a Lumia smartphone. Nokia will be rolling out a forthcoming firmware update, titled Lumia Cyan.
One of the improvements in Cyan will be the addition of a brightness slider, perfect for those power users who require more settings to configure and reach a perfect Windows Phone experience.
These sliders enable you to tweak the screen brightness level to your liking at each level of intensity, be it high, medium or low. If you don't like the presets available on Windows Phone in their current form, these new sliders will let you dig deep and configure them individually.
The update is set to arrive this coming summer and Nokia is preparing for its release. We'll have more details as they come to light moving closer to the release of Cyan.




Source: Reddit, via: WinBeta;

Microsoft is getting ready to launch Android phones

First things first: no, Microsoft is not ditching Windows Phone and switching to Android. Curiously, however, the brand new smartphone vendor apparently does have plans to develop and sell a line of Android-powered smartphones that will be offered alongside its newly acquired Windows Phone lineup from Nokia. Microsoft is currently developing a next-generation series of Android phones. The handsets will succeed the Nokia X Android phones that Nokia released earlier this year.
Nokia’s Android line of smartphones was thought to be a secret weapon the company used to force the sale of its phone business to Microsoft. The phones then launched unexpectedly, however, and Microsoft did not discontinue them when it acquired Nokia’s devices division.
Little is known about the next generation of Nokia X phones, though reports does note that they will include physical home buttons and will be priced above dirt-cheap white label Android phones but below Microsoft’s entry-level Lumia smartphones.

Android, Microsoft, Nokia