While Microsoft's E3 media event may not have satisfied those with an incessant craving for new, power-laden hardware, the were still plenty of presentations to arouse the interest of us tech fans, and none perhaps were more exciting than the software maker's SmartGlass.
When big companies collaborate - especially within tech circles - the initial hype generated seldom equates to good products, and two companies which appear to be perfect partners "on paper" often cannot unite in discovering the magic formula required to push successful products.
In this wonderful modern world that we live in, there isn't really a great deal that can't be proved or disproved by applying science and logic to the situation, but what about those instances when we want to generate results by using concrete? Yes, you heard me, concrete. Common sense should really dictate that when it comes to smartphones, gravity and rock solid concrete, there will really only be one victor, but when has common sense ever stopped us from doing anything?
About a month ago, it became known that Microsoft was going to host a Windows Phone Developer Summit in San Francisco that will span two days. Well, Microsoft has followed up and opened registration for that Windows Phone Summit while also reducing it down to a one day-long event on June 20.
EA has been especially busy during the opening half of this year, and that work ethic shows no sign of petering out with more details emerging about the upcoming Battlefield 3 Premium service. Gone are the days when a game would be sold and that was that, publishers are now really upping their game (pun intended) in offering additional content for the hardcore players, and the Battlefield 3 expansion looks rather tasty indeed, although will set gamers back a cool $50.
On top of debuting one rumored product - SmartGlass - the company also dropped news of yet another pretty major service: Microsoft's rumored "Woodstock" music streaming service is real, and it's called Xbox Music. Announced by Yusuf Mehdi at the E3 stage, Xbox Music is a service that will be available not just on the console, but on Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices as well. Without delving into too many details, Microsoft did share that the service will offer 30 million tracks to boot. The Smart DJ service that is available on the current Zune service will also live on within Xbox Music. Again, not much details were revealed during the demo - or teaser, rather - or even now after the show, but all that could be seen is a Metro-styled music service that looks rather similar to the Zune.
Not long ago, there was a rumor that Microsoft was going to announce a feature called SmartGlass for tablets and phones at E3, allowing users to interact with content on the Xbox using their "second-screen" devices. Well, that rumor has panned out to be true; during its E3 keynote, Microsoft did officially announce the service.
As well as concentrating on bringing a host of new services and products to consumers, Microsoft has been placing a lot of emphasis in improving what it already has. The lack of progress of Internet Explorer over the years has seen the likes of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome become the front runners - despite the fact that 90 per cent of computer users run Windows, and thus have Internet Explorer installed by default.
While the US is usually first in line when it comes to product releases, the release of Samsung smartphones goes spectacularly against the grain. The release of the Google Galaxy Nexus (manufactured by the Korean electronics giant), was delayed by months as stateside tech fans waited on an apparent whim for the landmark release.
When Siri was launched back in October along with iOS 5, many iDevice users - myself included - were a tad bemused that Apple had decided to make its exciting new voice assistant a feature exclusive to the then brand-new iPhone 4S. The Cupertino claims of older devices being unable to facilitate the eloquent (albeit often mishearing) voice-activated sidekick were questioned by many, but with the iPhone 4S frenzy having died down, we all expected March to bring a new iPad inclusive of Siri.
