Tag: Microsoft

Microsoft and their mobile devices, Microsoft Lumia, were in the news again this week and not in a good way.  The company has all-but confirmed that they will be killing off the devices and brand by the end of 2016.  As a long time H/PC, PocketPC, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone users (I started this site back in 2004 writing about Handheld PCs and PocketPCs), it is a shame to see a company with the resources of Microsoft so utterly screw up their mobile strategy around devices.  There are a lot of reasons for this of course and I could spend a lot of digital ink on it.  But the bottom line is, from a device perspective, Microsoft made a long series of major missteps that has led to where we are today:  Virtually no Windows powered phones.  Sure there is the new HP Elite X3 but at the price point it has ($799), it will see very few and really, it’s aimed at the enterprise anyway.

But to suggest that Microsoft’s mobile strategy is dead because their phones are dead is a bit of a stretch and dare I say, false.  Their strategy is very much alive and well across both Android and iOS and proves that you don’t necessarily have to have phones in the mix.  Microsoft’s focus has been pretty clear for the last two years.  First, they want you using Microsoft services on whatever devices you want to use.  Second, they want you to have the apps to make you productive and give you near the same level of functionality as you have on the desktop.  These two things not only make up a mobile strategy but it makes a pretty solid one.

Microsoft has rolled out yet another update to their Android launcher, Arrow Launcher.  The update marks the third significant update to the launcher over the course of the past three weeks as the company continues to improve the performance and information in the app.  This latest update, version 2.3.0.26056 for those keeping score at home, brings a handful of changes with the most notable being IM support on the Recent tab.  Now that tab will show you recent Instant Messages that you have received from Facebook Messenger, Skype and other messaging apps.  Now you don’t necessarily have to open each app to see your latest interactions on those apps.

Microsoft has rolled out a nice update to the Microsoft Office suite of apps for Android.  Excel, PowerPoint and Word for Android have all been updated to build 16.0.7301.1013 for those keeping score at home and bring with it some improvements around file sharing and collaboration.  In fact, in the release notes for each of the apps, Microsoft points out that collaboration is now “front and center” for each of the apps.  So what does that mean?  It means that you can now easily and quickly find documents that have been shared with you in the new “Shared with me” section of the menu.  Here you can see files others have shared with you from their PC, Mac, iOS device or Office online when they used the “invite people” option on a document.  It is a faster way of finding those files without having to search through the app to find that document. This collaboration also means that you can quickly share a document and have the ability to see who is working on it in the Android apps.

If you are willing to do a little work and link some accounts, Disney has a great deal for you.  Right now if you download the Disney Movies Anywhere app for Android, sign up and then link an account, you will get a free copy of Monsters, Inc. added to your account.  If you aren’t familiar with the app, it serves as a central repository for all movies from Disney, from animated classics to the modern remake of The Jungle Book.  You buy movies through the app and they are purchased through whatever app store you have linked to the app.  Then the movie appears in the Disney Movies Anywhere app and in the linked accounts movies.  So for example, I linked my Google account to the Disney app and my Microsoft account.  When I make a purchase of a movie through the app, that movie appears in both my Google and my Microsoft accounts.  I don’t have to repurchase!

The latest update to Skype is rolling out in the Play Store and with it comes bots.  The messaging, text and video call app now has a wide selection of automated services that can be accessed to play games, give you information and help you with tasks throughout your day.  There are dozens of bots to use within Skype and they are accesses from the floating menu at the bottom of the display, the same you use every day for IMs, video calls and phone calls.  Now when you open up the menu you will see the option to chat with a bot.  This new feature is in build 7.13.0.708 for those keeping score at home and if you have Skype installed, you should get the OTA update over the course of the next day or two.

Microsoft and Lenovo have entered into an agreement which will see the Redmond company’s apps appear on the Beijing based company’s future Android phones.  The announcement by the companies will bring Microsoft Office apps, OneDrive and Skype to select Lenovo devices going forward.  Which specific devices is not laid out in the press release.

“Microsoft’s thrilled that our productivity apps will be pre-installed on Lenovo’s premium devices,” said Nick Parker, corporate vice president OEM Division, Microsoft. “The marriage of Microsoft’s apps and Lenovo’s Android-based devices will enable customers around the world to be more productive, more connected and achieve even more.”

For Lenovo, they are gaining access to some of Microsoft’s patents and IP (Intellectual Property) to be cross-licensed in Motorola and Lenovo devices.