The mobile community has waited a long time for Microsoft Office to finally begin supporting devices other than the Redmond's own range, and today, the launch of the famed productivity suite on Android begins. Although there's not yet any support for Android tablets, the smartphone community on Google's mobile OS can today enjoy Office on their handsets, provided they're running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher. Details after the break.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the most popular handsets on the market right now; some might say the hottest smartphone released this year so far. But if you're a Mr. Du from Hong Kong, you're probably wishing it wasn't quite so hot, as this poor man's prized Samsung device caught fire and burned down his entire apartment. In one of the more bizarre stories to hit the blogosphere today, the Du's Galaxy S4 spontaneously combusted, caught fire to his sofa, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Microsoft is well known for throwing out deals to entice users into long-term adoption of its flagship products, so it should come as no surprise to see the Redmond outfit use a free Xbox LIVE subscription as leverage for those signing up to Office 365. The productivity suite has been the subject of heavy promotion of late, and if you were tempted to subscribe to Office 365, you now have twelve more reasons to go ahead and take advantage.
Microsoft has stepped out and confirmed that the Xbox One games console will indeed allow gamers to begin playing games before the entire download has completed. An unnamed Microsoft rep has spoken with Polygon to convey the news to the on-looking gaming world, and although we'd long since suspected as much, it's nice to have the confirmation there enabling us to draw a line under any uncertainty.
As part of Microsoft's continued endeavor to boost sales of its Surface RT, the Redmond company has slashed the price of the tablet across markets in Europe following a similar move across North America just a short while ago. The deal sees the cost of the ARM-powered slate reduced by up to a third, with prices ranging from £279 in UK, or €329 in Germany.
As soon as I am done getting this news to you, I am heading out to the nearest Staples store. Oh wait – that’s not really needed until July 14, because that’s when the pricing for all Surface RT models is being cut by $150.
Windows 8.1 RTM release date for OEM partners has been confirmed by Microsoft. More details can be found here.
As per a blog post by Xbox LIVE's Larry Hryb, otherwise known as Major Nelson, Xbox 360 users are now invited to try out the "2013 Xbox Live Update for Xbox 360 Public Beta," which adds many performance enhancing updates. Notably, users will be able to make purchases using real-life currency, with the current Microsoft Points system being discontinued later on this year with the Xbox One on the way.
The Xbox 360 may have enjoyed a slight victory over the PlayStation 3 in terms of market share, but when it comes to Japan, there is only one winner. What with Sony being a Japanese company and all, there's a very lopsided favoritism towards the next-gen PlayStation 4, which is perhaps why Microsoft doesn't seem too bothered about getting the Xbox One out to that particular market. According to Yasuyuki Higuchi, a Japanese VP of the Redmond-based outfit, the Xbox One won't be reaching Japan until 2014, with the nation having been dealt the rather unflattering label among the software maker's "tier two."
Microsoft's Surface Pro hasn’t really enjoyed relative success since its official launch back in January, and according to a new retail listing, a 256GB variant is soon to be headed to the U.S. market. In what will certainly go down as a win for power users looking for vast quantities of storage real estate, the device will cost $1199, and since the leaked listing has been sourced through one of the Redmond's authorized resellers, should be available very, very soon.
