There's a growing concern that Redmond-based Microsoft is not achieving the kind of orders it had initially hoped or expected of its Surface RT, and it's now looking like the company's orders are petering out - as opposed to increasing - in the run-up to Christmas. CEO Steve Ballmer's note of "modest" sales at launch has done very little to instill confidence recently, and to compound the situation, upstream supply chain sources have revealed the software maker has reduced orders of the Surface RT by half.
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iTunes 11 has just been seeded by Apple after a great deal of delay, and naturally, the tech world is busy trying to dissect all of the new features. Among them, arrives the ability to redeem iTunes Store gift / credit cards by simple means of using your computer's camera. Typing in a long alphanumeric can be a pain in the rear, and unless maximum concentration is applied, mistakes are easy to make, rendering the whole process somewhat seamless. With this new camera snapping system working in much the same manner as your typical QR scanner, you can finally let the tech do the donkey work for you.
With the Surface RT struggling to pick up momentum and sales in the tablet market, Microsoft desperately needs to call upon plan B, and in a move that'll no doubt inject a little life into the Surface brand, the software maker has revealed pricing details of the upcoming Surface Pro. Unlike the current slate, it will run on Windows 8 Pro rather than the - for lack of a better phrase - watered-down offering in Windows RT. Legacy apps will be supported on the Intel-powered device, meaning those looking to really get some use out of the Surface won't need to rely on the very, very slim pickings over at the Windows Store.
Apple just pushed out an improved version of its desktop media player / content hub, bringing the version number up to 11. It was originally presumed that iTunes 11 would drop alongside the iPhone 5, iPad mini or the 4th-gen iPad, but instead, it has been released after many delays which we’ve documented quite well here at Redmond Pie. As well as feeling a lot lighter than it has ever done, some work has gone into reshaping the look of the App Store, as well as iTunes itself.
Google has taken the world of Web browsers by storm in the past couple of years, with its Chrome offering quickly having become the utility of choice for surfers worldwide. The Android version has been solid from the get-go, and with the recent introduction of the iOS iteration, the Big G finally brought its famed browser to the iPhone and iPad. Despite Apple's restrictions on developers bringing their own engines to the iOS fold, the engine certainly isn't the end-all, be-all, and today's updates for Chrome on iOS today prove that point once more.
Every now and then, a new title comes along that breaks boundaries, offering gamers something they've perhaps seen before, but not at such a polished level. Real Boxing from Vivid Games is one such title, and whether you're a big boxing fan, or just looking for an exciting, competitive, and challenging title, this game ticks all the boxes with aplomb.
As with iOS and Windows Phone 8, quite a few Android devices have launched in quick succession over the past couple of weeks, and as such, the famously thriving Android community has been busier than the gadget retailers this holiday. Among the torrent of new Android smartphones and tablets arrived the Nexus 10 slate, and with a toolkit for the HTC One X+, HTC Droid DNA and its accomplice - the LG Nexus 4 - already released, it only seemed a matter of time before the all-in-one arrived for the Nexus 10 tablet. Today, that day has arrived, and if you want to get busy modding and playing around with your shiny new slate, the folk of XDA-Developers have just made things that little bit easier.
In light of Apple and HTC's licensing agreement earlier this month, Samsung took the opportunity to express its desire to never settle with the Cupertino company in such a manner. In light of a recent Dutch court's decision, however, the Korean outfit may be forced to retract that statement, for failure to comply with a sales ban on All Galaxy devices running Android 2.2.1 and higher will leave the LCD specialist forced to pay fines of up to €100,000 ($129,000) per day.
The Samsung Galaxy Note was something of a revelation when it first released last year, and with a ludicrously large display pushing on the kind of diameters we'd only seen with tablet devices, the term "phablet" was subsequently phrased. The surprisingly successful niche product has since evolved into the Galaxy Note II, and as with all of the Korean company's Note products, it has been marketed as a device for the creative mind. Some took the S-Pen stylus and drew some of the most fantastic drawings and sketches ever seen on a mobile device, but others - such as the artists and designers at Steak Studio - have put their heads together and come up with something truly spectacular.
Having met its long-awaited released date on 26th October, Windows 8 is truly here, and as a testament to just how consumers have responded to the new operating system, the 40 million mark has already been passed in terms of licenses sold.
