Tuesday, 27 January 2015

New Microsoft Office In Second Half Of 2015

Microsoft Office 2016 Scheduled to Release in Second-Half of 2015

Microsoft's next version of Office for desktop will be called Office 2016, and is scheduled for general availability "in the second half of 2015."

During the Windows 10 preview on Wednesday, when Microsoft unveiled the touch-optimised version of Office for Windows 10 - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook - for mobiles and tablets, it didn't say anything about Office for desktop.

Later in a blog post on Thursday, Julia White, Microsoft's Office General Manager, while detailing the touch-optimised Office, also shared details about the upcoming Office suite for desktops.

"Simultaneously, we are hard at work on the next release of the Office desktop suite that will be called Office 2016. (Unexpected, I know!) We will have more to share on Office 2016 in the coming months, but this suite will remain the comprehensive Office experience you're long familiar with, best suited for a PC with keyboard and mouse," said White on Office blogs. "We expect to make Office 2016 generally available in the second half of 2015."

While White didn't reveal any features that can be expected in the upcoming Office 2016, it was last September when the purported screenshots had come out detailing about the next version of Microsoft Office, then thought to be called Office 16.

It was reported that the screenshots of Office 16 were from an early build being distributed to partners, and it only featured 'fairly minor' changes.

Some of new elements that were seen in the purported Office 16 screenshots had included the most-requested dark theme option (alongside the light grey, dark grey and white themes); automatic image rotation in documents (based on image metadata), with the ability to manually rotate it afterwards; as well as new syncing options for the Outlook email client to support devices with lower storage capacities, with download options including 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, or 14 days, when the earlier minimum was one month of email.

Windows 10 Features

Windows RT Update Will Add Only Some Windows 10 Features: Microsoft

Microsoft is reportedly working on a Windows 10 update for the versions of its Surface tablet that run Windows RT, however the update will only bring some of the functionality of Windows 10.

After the Windows 10 briefing on Wednesday, it was assumed that Windows RT is pretty much dead, because Microsoft announced that the new Windows 10 OS is not for Windows RT-based Surface tablets. Not just that, the Surface 2 tablet on Microsoft official store in the US went out-of-stock the next day, giving more fire to rumours. But a report from Cnet on Wednesday suggests that there is still an update in the pipeline.

During Q&A at the Next Chapter event the company had only said that it is "working on an update for Windows RT as well." But later in a statement to Cnet, Microsoft noted that "Surface Pro 3 (and the entire Surface Pro lineup) will update to Windows 10. We are working on an update for [the Windows RT version of] Surface, which will have some of the functionality of Windows 10. More information to come." Microsoft declined to comment further.

(Also see: Windows 10 to Be a Free Upgrade for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 Users)

Last year in July, Microsoft had released a test patch to fix failed automatic and user updates from Windows RT to Windows RT 8.1, and since then, there has been no activity from the company's side for Windows RT.

S6 And G4 Rumours

Samsung Galaxy S6 to Launch on March 2; LG G4 Due After MWC: Reports

As we approach MWC 2015, which is scheduled to take place from March 2 to March 5, the rumours and leaks about the devices expected to launch at the tradeshow are increasing. So far, the Sony Xperia Z4, HTC One (M9) aka Hima, and Samsung Galaxy S6 are expected to launch during MWC.

Now, a report on Wednesday by a Korean publication cites a Samsung executive to confirm the firm will launch the much-anticipated Galaxy S6 on March 2, on the first day of the MWC 2015 tradeshow in Barcelona, Spain.

No further details are attributed to the Samsung executive but the Koreanpublication, Chosun Ilbo, goes on to cite an employee of a Samsung sub-contractor to add that the firm is has developed several Galaxy S6 prototypes, and has yet to decide which to move forward with. One of the prototypes features a metal casing, while another features the much-anticipated dual-edge display.

Chosun Ilbo also claimed some new information about the flagship smartphone from the other South Korean consumer electronics giant, LG, once again citing a company executive.

The LG executive is reported to have said the LG G4 will not be unveiled at MWC, and pointed out that the G3 was unveiled in May 2014 last year, so the company still had some time to perfect the new flagship smartphone before its launch.

Instead, LG will unveil new wearable and IoT devices at MWC, including the new Open webOS smartwatch spotted at CES.

HTC's next flagship is expected at the company's March 1 event, for which the company sent invites earlier this week. The MWC-launch of the Sony Xperia Z4 is in-line with the company's six-month release cycle, after releasing the Sony Xperia Z3 atIFA last year.

Windows10 Flagship Later In 2015

Windows 10 Flagship Smartphone to Launch 'Later This Summer': Report

Last month, reports came out suggesting that Microsoft has no plans of introducing a Windows Phone flagship device until H2 2015. Now, according to Windows Central, the company has confirmed that the new Windows 10 flagship smartphone is likely to come "later this summer".

On Wednesday, Windows Central reported that Ifi Majid, Director of Product Marketing for Microsoft Mobile Devices, has mentioned that a flagship Lumia is likely "later this summer". The US summer period lasts from late June to early September.

Though the report didn't include any other details on this, it is worth noting that the time-frame coincides with the Windows 10 update release period for other Lumia smartphones.

To remind you, Microsoft on Thursday clarified that "not every [Lumia] phone will upgrade or support all possible Windows 10 features."

Answering a question about which of "today's Lumia devices can be upgraded to Windows 10", the company's Corporate Vice President of Sales for the Microsoft Mobile Devices group, Chris Weber, said that "We're making it as easy as possible to getWindows 10. Windows 10 has been designed to run well on today's Lumia phones. Like any upgrade to a new platform, not every phone will upgrade or support all possible Windows 10 features, and certain features and experiences will require more advanced future hardware. Our goal is for the majority of the Lumia phones runningWindows Phone 8 and 8.1 to join the Windows ecosystem along with an expected hundreds of millions of PCs, tablets and other devices running the next generation of Windows."

Although Weber didn't share any list of devices that will get updated to Windows 10, he pointed out that "the budget-friendly Lumia 435, the selfie-happy Lumia 735, or the gorgeous gold-edition Lumia 930" will be able to get update to Windows 10 as it becomes available.

Oppo U3

Oppo U3 With 5.9-Inch Display and 64-Bit Octa-Core SoC Launched

Almost a week after the launch of the Oppo Mirror 3 and Oppo R1C, the Chinese smartphone maker as expected has launched the Oppo U3 smartphone. The smartphone has been announced for China without pricing information, and no global availability details have been provided.

The dual-SIM Oppo U3 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat with ColourOS 2.0.1 UI on top. It features a 5.9-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution display and is powered by a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 SoC and 2GB of RAM.

The Oppo U3's rear camera features a 13-megapixel Sony IMX124 sensor.The smartphone also sports a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. 16GB of inbuilt storage comes packed in the handset along with the option to expand storage via microSD card (up to 128GB).

The mid-range smartphone is backed by a 3000mAh battery, which the company claims can be charged up to 75 percent in 30 minutes with the help of a bundled Oppo's VOOC fast-charging technology. The smartphone will be available in Black and White colour variants. It measures 156.8x81x8mm and weighs 195 grams.

The firm last week launched the Oppo Mirror 3 and Oppo R1C smartphones in China. While the Mirror 3 features slightly lower specifications, the R1C shares almost the same features as the Oppo U3. Since the specifications are nearly the same, the U3's price might revolve around CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 25,000) price tag of R1C.

Lately Oppo has made its mark in the smartphone market by launching the Oppo R5, which is currently the second slimmest handset in the world with a thickness of 4.85mm after the Vivo X5Max (4.75mm). The smartphone was launched in India last month at Rs. 29,990.

Oppo U3

Display

5.90-inch

Processor

1.7GHz

Front Camera

5-megapixel

Resolution

1080x1920 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.4.4

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3000mAh

Lava Iris X1 Grand

Lava Iris X1 Grand, Iris X1 Mini With Android 4.4 KitKat Launched in India

Lava expanded its Iris X1 smartphone series on Tuesday by introducing two new handsets, namely the Iris X1 Grand and Iris X1 Mini. The two devices are variants of theLava Iris X1, which was launched in May last year. While the Lava Iris X1 Grand will be available starting first week of February at Rs. 7,326, the smaller Iris X1 Mini will be available around the same time at Rs. 4,348.

The larger Lava Iris X1 Grand (seen above) runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box and features a 5-inch FWVGA (854x480 pixels) resolution IPS display. The firm promises that the handset will receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop update in future. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6582M processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.

The Iris X1 Grand sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera is powered by a BSI II sensor and can record videos in full-HD. It features 8GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). The handset is backed by a 2200mAh Li-Po battery.

The Lava Iris X1 Mini (seen above) runs on the same Android OS version with no word on its Android 5.0 Lollipop update. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA (480x800 pixels) resolution IPS display. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz processor (unspecified) coupled with 512MB of RAM.

The smartphone houses 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via a microSD card (up to 32GB). The Iris X1 Mini also features a 5-megapixel rear camera with a PureCel Sensor and LED flash, besides a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. A 1750mAh battery backs the handset.

"We are overwhelmed with the great response that we have received for our Lava Iris X1 over the past 6 months. In an endeavour to continue to give our users the same experience with upgraded features and form factor we have decided to add two new members to the Iris X1 family. Iris X1 Grand & Iris X1 Mini have been launched considering high consumer demand for this design in 4-inch and 5-inch screen size devices. With additional features like Intelligent flip cover, Smart Wakeup, Gestures and smart covers these smartphones will surely deliver a delightful user experience," said Navin Chawla, Vice President & Head Product, Lava International Ltd. during the launch.