Leaked Images Of New Microsoft Nokia Smartphone

Leaked Images Of New Microsoft Nokia Smartphone

Microsoft recently announced three smartphones with Nokia branding, named Lumia 830, 730 and 735. However, this launch was soon followed by reports of Microsoft doing away with Nokia branding on future mobile phones. And now we have the leaked photos of the first smartphone sans the Nokia name.

The images, leaked by French website Nowhereelse.fr, show a big-screen smartphone with ultra-thin bezels, suggesting it may be a top-end device as most manufacturers keep such design innovations for their top models.

Above the display where usually the Nokia name is seen is the branding of Microsoft. Thus, this smartphone may be the first one to bear the Microsoft name. However, the smartphones in the upcoming range will continue to be called Lumias, reports suggest.

Earlier, a report said that Lumia 830, 730 and 835 will be the last smartphones to hit the market with Nokia branding. As part of the deal with Nokia, Microsoft can use the Nokia brand on its mobile phones for a period of 10 years.

It also said that Microsoft will do away with the 'Phone' in the name of its mobile operating system Windows Phone. In July, CEO Satya Nadella had announced that all major versions of Windows will eventually merge into one platform.

According to the rumor mill, the next major version of Windows operating system will integrate various Microsoft software together.

Microsoft renovates MSN For Android's

Microsoft renovates MSN ahead of Android and iOS launch

Microsoft has redesigned its MSN portal and optimised it for mobile ahead of the launch of its iOS and Android apps

Microsoft has unveiled a revamped version of its MSN portal – which aggregates news and lifestyle content from leading media outlets, as well as offering access to Microsoft productivity tools – ahead of a planned launch on iOS and Android in the coming months.

The new MSN, which is currently available in beta, features a 'Me Stripe' at the top of the page, which provides quick access to Microsoft services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, OneNote and Skype, as well as popular third-party sites like Twitter and Facebook.

It also aggregates content form over 1,000 of the world’s most authoritative sources, including The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent and Sky News in the UK, The New York Times in the US, and Le Figaro and Le Monde in France.

Content is organised into 10 sections including sport, news, health and fitness, money, travel and video, and is curated by MSN’s editors for individual markets and cultures. In an echo of Microsoft's Windows 8 'Metro' interface, content is organised in a grid layout and pictures are displayed prominently.

New tools allow users to personalise their MSN homepage and track up-to the minute news on any topic, from 'Game of Thrones' to celebrities, sports teams, or share prices. They can also browse over 300,000 recipes, and convert ingredients into a shopping list on their mobile phone with the touch of a button.

Microsoft said that the new MSN is "designed from the ground up for a mobile, cloud first world". While it is currently only available on the web, Microsoft is planning to release a suite of MSN apps (previously known as Bing Apps on Windows 8 and Windows Phone) across Windows Phone, iOS and Android.

The move to revamp MSN has come as a surprise to many, given that Microsoft had largely abandoned its MSN brand in favour of Windows Live and Bing over the past few years. However, MSN.com still receives a lot of traffic, due to it being the default homepage on several versions of Internet Explorer over the years.

"Boasting an audience of more than 425 million people across 50 countries, MSN has long been an essential part of peoples’ online lives," said Frank Holland, corporate vice president of Advertising and Online business at Microsoft, in a blog post.

"Reimagined for a mobile world, the new MSN will help people around the world to connect with the content that most interests them while at the same help them make the most of every minute."

Raided Again: Microsoft And Accenture

Microsoft, Accenture offices raided again in China

A Chinese anti-trust regulator conducted new raids on Microsoft Corp and partner in China Accenture PLC, the agency said on its website, after saying last week Microsoft is under investigation for anti-trust violations.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) raided offices in Beijing, Liaoning, Fujian and Hubei, it said. The SAIC also raided the Dalian offices of IT consultancy Accenture, to whom Microsoft outsources financial work, according to the regulator.

Microsoft and Accenture declined to provide immediate comment.

Last week, the SAIC said it was formally investigating Microsoft for breach of anti-trust rules and had raided four of the software firm's offices in China.

Microsoft has been suspected of violating China's anti-monopoly law since June last year in relation to problems with compatibility, bundling and document authentication for its Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software, the SAIC said last week.

Microsoft deputy general counsel Mary Snapp was in Beijing to meet with the SAIC, where the regulator warned Microsoft to not obstruct the probe.

But industry experts have questioned how exactly Microsoft is violating anti-trust regulations in China, where the size of its business is negligible.

The US company has taken a public beating in China in recent months. It has been subject to wider scrutiny against US technology firms in China in the wake of former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's cyberespionage revelations.

It has also seen service for its OneDrive cloud storage service disrupted in China, and had its latest Windows 8 operating system banned from being installed on the central government's new computers.

The Microsoft investigation comes amidst a spate of anti-trust probes against foreign firms in China, including mobile chipset maker Qualcomm Inc and German car maker Daimler AG's luxury auto unit Mercedes-Benz.

China is intensifying efforts to bring companies into compliance with an anti-monopoly law enacted in 2008, having in recent years taken aim at industries as varied as milk powder and jewellery.

In recent months, regulators have ramped up probes in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to electronics. A number of multinational companies including Mead Johnson Nutrition Co and Danone SA have been slapped with substantial fines following similar investigations in the past.

China on Wednesday said it will punish foreign car makers Audi, owned by Volkswagen, and Fiat SpA's Chrysler as well as some 10 Japanese spare-part makers for anti-trust violations.

Microsoft bring a civil action against Samsung

Microsoft brings a civil action against Samsung 

Microsoft said Friday it is suing Samsung for threatening to stop paying Microsoft royalties for patents behind the Android operating system.

The two companies came to a deal in September 2011 to cross-license each other's patent portfolios. Samsung wound up paying Microsoft royalties on a series of patents.

Analyst Rick Sherlund of Nomura Securities has estimated royalties on its Android patents bring Microsoft nearly $2 billion a year.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, says more than 25 companies are licensing the patents, including Samsung, Acer and ZTE, covering roughly 80 percent of the Android-based smartphones sold in the U.S.

Microsoft Corp.'s deputy general counsel said Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. decided to breach its contract after Microsoft announced in September it was acquiring Nokia's devices business.

After initially refusing to pay royalties in the second year of the deal, Samsung made a late payment in November but did not add on interest, according to a redacted copy of the complaint filed in federal court in New York and provided by Microsoft.

The complaint also alleged that Samsung has asked South Korean competition authorities to change the contract to reduce or eliminate its payments to Microsoft.

Samsung said in a statement, "We will review the complaint in detail and determine appropriate measures in response."

Microsoft To Give Away Windows 9

Will Microsoft give away Windows 9 for free 

to Vista, XP users?

Will Microsoft go as far as giving Windows 9 away for free to Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users? This may well be the case as the focus moves away from Windows 8 towards its successor, which is expected to land in spring 2015.

Rumors say that Microsoft could be offering "some kind deal" to users of the three operating systems to entice them to move away from legacy platforms. Such a deal, she writes, could be in the form of a free upgrade.

Microsoft has offered such deals to kick start transitions from older platforms to newer ones in the past, but given the large contingent of Windows XP users out there, a freebie might lure them to Windows 9 - rather than Google Chrome or Apple's OS X.

According to Foley's sources, Windows 8.1 Update 2 is expected to land on August 12, on the company's monthly Patch Tuesday. It's said to be a minor one and won't be mandatory, and its content is expected to include minor design changes, but nothing spectacular.

Instead, the focus will be on Threshold, also referred to as Windows 9, which is expected to place a particular emphasis on getting some crucial features - like a new start menu

Hats offff...

Google sells 1 million Chromebooks to schools in Q2 2014  

Google has revealed in a post on its official enterprise blog that US schools have purchased more than one million Chromebooks in the second quarter of 2014, positioning the brand as the third major platform for education providers, alongside Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X.

Nearly 10 years ago, the spiritual predecessor to the Chromebook, the One Laptop Per Child project, forced Intel and Microsoft to come up with the Netbook format which went on to marginalise Nicholas Negroponte's project (originally called $100 laptop).

Tablet turn

Netbooks became a major success for both Intel and Microsoft but the form factor died out when Apple launched the iPad and popularised the tablet format.

Google's Chromebook can be credited with forcing Microsoft to offer a cheaper version of Windows and radically change its licensing structure for manufacturers.

Devices with displays smaller than nine inches get Windows 8.1 for free, and those offering Windows with Bing and an assortment of Microsoft services get it at a discounted price.

This allowed manufacturers like Dell to offer Windows 8.1 laptops for under £200 and tablets for under £100.

Conclusion: Hats off to Google to bringing up this idea....

Another Cut....

Microsoft's global job cut next year to have marginal impact in India

NEW DELHI: Microsoft's move to cut up to 18,000 jobs globally over the next year, its sharpest ever, will marginally impact India operations where the software giant has about 6,500 employees. The global job cuts come as the US software major integrates newly-acquired Nokia's handset operations while creating a leaner organisation.

"We are not in a position to disclose the exact number or other details, but we can confirm that the number is small," a Microsoft spokesperson said in response to ET's queries. "As you know Microsoft has 6,500 employees in the country. And we are committed to this market". When asked if the headcount reduction would be close to 500, an official said on the condition of anonymity that it would be far below it.

The latest job cuts across Microsoft globally, including in India to eliminate overlaps after its Nokia acquisition adds to the gloom surrounding Nokia's employees in the South Asian nation. Almost all of the 7,500 employees at Nokia's Chennai manufacturing plant have been given voluntary retirement with just a few administrative positions remaining, as the factory could not be transferred to Microsoft as part of the deal due to an ongoing tax dispute with the Indian government.

Watch out this

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Kills Nokia's Android Phones:-

Microsoft announced Thursday it will abandon Android in a new line of Nokia phones that launched this spring.The Nokia X line of phones, which launched before Nokia was officially acquired by Microsoft, ran a modified version of Android packed with Microsoft services like Outlook, Bing, and Skype instead of the Google services that come with most Android phones.

The move was highly controversial at the time because everyone knew Nokia was about to become part of Microsoft, and Microsoft is all about the Windows Phone platform. One Microsoft source told Business Insider at the time that Nokia's decision to use Android was "embarrassing."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a memo to employees Thursday that the Nokia X smartphones will shift to Windows Phone instead of Android. 

The announcement was part of Nadella's plan to eliminate up to 18,000 jobs, most of them from Nokia.

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