The ten most important things from today's Microsoft event

[matwoodson]

Microsoft Event: Top ten unveils

I think it is quite interesting that Microsoft is making some major changes to their phone and "tablet" market, and that they are also releasing a real laptop.  The new Surface book will redefine how new 2 in 1's are made, with a discrete Nvidia GPU in the keyboard, while the CPU and all other components are in the tablet portion.  

 

Story and imges from www.theverge.com
 

Links: 

 

The Verge:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9460935/microsoft-event-windows-10-device-announcements

 

Ars technica:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/hands-on-the-surface-pro-4-is-a-design-thats-settled-down/

Windows Central:

http://www.windowscentral.com/new-microsoft-band-official-and-its-curved?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=wp

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-announces-surface-book?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=wp

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-surface-pro-4-official?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=wp

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-lumia-950-and-lumia-950-xl-smartphones-officially-announced?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=wp

Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/06/microsoft-surface-book-hands-on/

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/06/surface-pro-4-hands-on/

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/06/high-end-windows-phones-make-a-comeback-with-the-lumia-950-and-9/

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/06/hololens-project-x-lets-you-blast-robot-armies-with-a-ray-gun/

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/06/microsoft-band-2-hands-on/

 

 

 

The 10 most important things from today's big Microsoft event
Lumia phones are back, and Microsoft now makes laptops


Microsoft is still relatively fresh off the launch of Windows 10, which — as presenter and Windows team head Terry Myerson pointed out — happened less than three months ago. Now, the company is getting ready to release its smartphone variant, Windows 10 Mobile. And while the operating system isn’t out yet, we just got our first look at the phones that will run it: Microsoft’s two flagship Lumias, along with one budget option.

But the most interesting parts of the presentation weren’t about phones. One was a fast-paced shooter played on the HoloLens augmented reality headset — to be clear, it was fairly misleading about the HoloLens’ limited field of view, but that doesn’t make it less cool to watch. The other was Microsoft’s announcement that after years of touting the Surface tablet as a laptop replacement, it’s now outright making Surface convertible laptops. We haven’t seen Microsoft’s presenters look this excited about Windows hardware for years.

 

THE LUMIA 950: A WINDOWS 10 MOBILE FLAGSHIP
Nokia and Microsoft's Lumia phones had uniquely colorful designs and high-powered cameras, but their Windows Phone operating system never reached the popularity of iOS or Android. Now, Microsoft is promoting the new Windows 10 Mobile with another Lumia device: the 5.2-inch Lumia 950. The Lumia 950 is a flagship phone with a Snapdragon 808 processor and, more unusually, a liquid cooling system for its components. It's also got a 20-megapixel PureView rear camera and an infrared sensor for "Windows Hello," which unlocks a user's phone by checking their face. We'll have to wait a little while to see any of this in action, though: the 950 is launching in November for $549.

 

THE LUMIA 950 XL: MICROSOFT'S REALLY BIG PHONE
The Lumia 950 isn't exactly tiny, but the 5.7-inch 950 XL is its bigger sibling. Under the skin, it's got a different processor but a similar feature set to the Lumia 950, including the 20-megapixel rear camera with image stabilization and support for Windows Hello. (It's also actually a slight step down from the 6-inch Lumia that was released in 2013.) Like the 950, the XL will be released in November; it will cost $649.

 

 

THE LUMIA 550: IT'S VERY CHEAP

The big news was the flagship devices, but Microsoft covered the cheaper side of the product line with the new Lumia 550. The 5-inch device features a quad-core processor and a 5-megapixel camera, and effectively replaces the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL. In December it will be available for $139 for budget-minded customers looking to join Microsoft's mobile ecosystem. We still don't know how many people that will be, but having products to sell is the first step towards actually selling them.

 

 

 

THE DISPLAY DOCK: A NEW ATTEMPT TO TURN PHONES INTO PCS
The dream of transforming a smartphone into a desktop PC isn't new, but with the Display Dock, Microsoft's new phones could be getting closer. The chunky little brick plugs into the new Lumia phones with a USB Type-C cable, providing ports for HDMI, DisplayPort, and three full USB ports. On a monitor, the experience scales up to what looks like a Windows 10 desktop and apps — because under Windows 10, they're supposed to be universal apps anyway. Is it a true desktop experience? Of course not, but it's clear where Microsoft is heading.

THE SURFACE PRO 4: A NEW VOLLEY IN THE TABLET WARS
With Apple's recent iPad Pro announcement, all eyes were on Microsoft for the Surface Pro 4, and Redmond didn't disappoint. With a 12.3-inch display and reduced bezels, it has a bigger screen without becoming a bigger device, and it's available with up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM. Microsoft also spent some time talking up its new customizable Surface Pen — with no shortage of jabs at the Apple Pencil — and a series of performance tests against the MacBook Air, pitching its tablet as the real option for professionals. The Surface Pro 4 is available October 26th, starting at $899.

THE SURFACE BOOK: AN ACTUAL LAPTOP FROM MICROSOFT
Remember when Microsoft was just a software company? Today, the company moved even further away from that with the Surface Book, a convertible laptop version of the Surface. It has a 13.5-inch display that supports both stylus and touch input, along with 12-hour battery life, a Microsoft-designed keyboard, and a glass trackpad. It also has a crazy, snaking hinge that Microsoft calls the dynamic fulcrum hinge, letting the screen flip around or be safely detached to create a standalone Surface tablet. The Surface Book is available on October 26th and starts at $1,499.


FACEBOOK: NOW A UNIVERSAL WINDOWS 10 APP
Microsoft's universal app strategy only works if there are actually, you know, universal apps — and Facebook is helping the company push that initiative forward. The company is building new versions of Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram for Windows 10, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying his company is "all in" on the platform. Getting these apps onto smartphones is a big step up from Windows Phone, which drove users towards third-party tools for things like basic Instagram functionality.

MORE SURFACE ACCESSORIES
Along with the new Surface Pro 4, Microsoft announced its updated Surface docking station, which adds four USB ports, two 4K DisplayPorts, and ethernet to the Surface Pro 4 (it also works with the last-gen Surface 3). On the cover front, Microsoft announced a new Type Cover with a bigger, glass trackpad, fingerprint reader, and integrated backlit keyboard. Yes, we said glass trackpad.

 

THE NEW MICROSOFT BAND: AN ANSWER TO SMARTWATCHES
Microsoft positioned the new Band as the ultimate fitness device, with an array of sensors and a barometer to track elevation, all of them feeding information to the Microsoft Health app. It's also got an OLED screen in a curved Gorilla Glass display, with an aluminum color scheme. But perhaps the biggest news is the array of third-party partners: Subway, Starbucks, Twitter, and Uber were all listed. It's coming on October 30th for $249.


HOLOLENS DEVELOPMENT KITS WILL COST $3,000
The HoloLens has always wowed us in concept, even if the actual implementation hasn't quite lived up to expectations. Today we got another jaw-dropping (if still overhyped) game demo — Project X-Ray — and there's also some important news about the promised development kit. For $3,000, devs will be able to get their own HoloLens kit in the first quarter of next year. Microsoft promises these kits will be "fully untethered" — meaning no cables or connection to a PC required once apps are loaded onto it. If you're a prospective augmented reality developer, you can put in an application starting today.

What's next
After years of confusing strategic decisions, canceled products, and embarrassing mobile miscues, Microsoft is clearly reinvigorated and focused under CEO Satya Nadella. It’s making some big moves with exciting products, and isn’t afraid to throw punches or draw stark comparisons with competitors. Most importantly, after today’s presentation it’s also clear Microsoft has a charismatic stage presence to communicate those messages to the public in the form of VP Panos Panay.
 

The New Microsoft needed to present a cohesive vision today, one of integrated software and hardware that looks ahead to a future of usable devices and ecosystems, instead of simply sitting back and counting on tired brands like Windows to do the heavy lifting. Mission accomplished.

 

[ApolloX75]

As a mobile user I really want to hurt you.

*edit: much better, thank you.

[Guest Kloaked]

Can you fix your formatting please

 

Click the button at the top left of the editing box to switch to the code, and just remove the formatting. Fixing the quotes would be great too.

[iamdarkyoshi]

fix formating. When you paste, use ctrl shift V and it pastes it as plain text.

[Sharp_3yE]

[matwoodson]

Can you fix your formatting please

 

Click the button at the top left of the editing box to switch to the code, and just remove the formatting. Fixing the quotes would be great too.

 

 

fix formating. When you paste, use ctrl shift V and it pastes it as plain text.

 

 

As a mobile user I really want to hurt you.

*edit: much better, thank you.

All fixed

[Sharp_3yE]

All fixed

Could you do 4 more things? Sorry if I am being picky.

 

1. Add pictures into your posts. I think people would like to see the new hardware that was shown today.

 

2. Add links to articles. This provides further information and reading material for the forum members. http://www.windowscentral.com/ has some as well as http://arstechnica.com/ and http://www.engadget.com/ plus others

 

3. Change the title of the post with "Microsoft Event" as the first two words then followed by "Top Ten Unveils" so that you can attract the people who are looking for news about the microsoft event by putting that first and keeping it short to know what your post is about.

 

4. Bold the titles of the topics to help distinguish the title vs the information. It just looks better that way.

[matwoodson]

Could you do 4 more things? Sorry if I am being picky.

 

1. Add pictures into your posts. I think people would like to see the new hardware that was shown today.

 

2. Add links to articles. This provides further information and reading material for the forum members. http://www.windowscentral.com/ has some as well as http://arstechnica.com/ and http://www.engadget.com/ plus others

 

3. Change the title of the post with "Microsoft Event" as the first two words then followed by "Top Ten Unveils" so that you can attract the people who are looking for news about the microsoft event by putting that first and keeping it short to know what your post is about.

 

4. Bold the titles of the topics to help distinguish the title vs the information. It just looks better that way.

Better?

[Doobeedoo]

Surface Book and Lumia 950 XL sure are lovely.

[Snadzies]

Not one of those 10 things were of any interest to me.

[atrash]

I was quite surprised with the replaceable different sizes nib for the Surface pen and when Panos showed the Surface Book being undocked from the keyboard?

[matwoodson]

I was quite surprised with the replaceable different sizes nib for the Surface pen and when Panos showed the Surface Book being undocked from the keyboard?

Sounds like they took a hint from Wacom.

[dizmo]

Why would you keep the content of the article in a spoiler?
That doesn't really make any sense at all.

 

I hate the formatting of this article.

[matwoodson]

Why would you keep the content of the article in a spoiler?

That doesn't really make any sense at all.

I hate the formatting of this article.

Because otherwise it would be a huge article.

[elfensky]

Why would you keep the content of the article in a spoiler?

That doesn't really make any sense at all.

 

I hate the formatting of this article.

 

Because mobile users.

[dizmo]

Because otherwise it would be a huge article.

Point? It's a news article. Blowing it up by clicking on the Spoiler thing is no different.

 

Because mobile users.

...who cares?

[elfensky]

...who cares?

 

mobile users.

[Sharp_3yE]

Better?

Heck yea man. Looks much better. Thank you very much for putting in the time. It does take time and effort for this stuff so I really appreciate it.

 

For the surface book, could you also add that there is a Nvidia GPU in the keyboard and that the screen pulls off to become a tablet(or what ever word they said).

 

Great descriptions otherwise.

[Sharp_3yE]

Not one of those 10 things were of any interest to me.

Really, NOTHING?

 

A laptop that converts to a tablet, where a Nvidia gpu is located in the keyboard dock itself and when the tablet part is connected to the keyboard dock you get the added gpu performance of a discrete gpu chip. It also has touch and pen with plenty of ram and storage and 13 in very high resolution screen.

 

A couple of phones that can turn into a desktop experience, that are very powerful as well with very nice specs and exchangeable backs

 

A new surface pro tablet that is lighter, thinner, more powerful which has windows hello (logs into your accounts using either facial recognition aka the camera just has to see you to log you in or using a fingerprint to log in) with a better keyboard and better more usable pen.

 

None of these things interest you at all?

[JohnnyCorporalTech]

Linus should do a review on the surface book.

He should give it to one of the editors to replace their desktop for a month and see how it performs. 

[Lazmarr]

-snip-

The surface book is essentially a surface pro 4 with a keyboard dock that allows for a much better GPU. The keyboard half contains a secondary NVidia GPU and the tablet half contains its own intergrated GPU that it uses when it's not docked.

[RagnarokDel]

Man, I really wish I hadnt changed my phone now. the Lumia 950/XL looks interesting

[matwoodson]

Heck yea man. Looks much better. Thank you very much for putting in the time. It does take time and effort for this stuff so I really appreciate it.

 

For the surface book, could you also add that there is a Nvidia GPU in the keyboard and that the screen pulls off to become a tablet(or what ever word they said).

 

Great descriptions otherwise.

There we go, some of it anyways.  So many edits

[MEC-777]

Is it bad that I don't really care about any of this news?

[atrash]

Is it bad that I don't really care about any of this news?

Nah. That's because you have no intention of getting any Microsoft products or anything like it anytime soon which is fine. I care about the new Lumia phone announcement since L925 is already long overdue for an upgrade.