Satya Nadella CEO Microsoft gives keynote at Microsoft Windows 10 Device Event today in New York City (Click Image To Enlarge)
We’ve been talking about Windows 10 for over a year now and today we started our next chapter, with new devices designed for Windows 10.
Today I stood on stage in NYC along with members of my team and had the honor of unveiling a new era of Windows 10 devices from Microsoft. We introduced new Surface, Lumia, and Band devices and shared the latest from HoloLens, and Xbox. I’ve been using these devices for months and couldn’t wait to share them with you today.
Windows 10: Off to the Hottest Start in History
In just a few short months, it’s been incredible to see more than 110 million devices already running Windows 10. I’m personally humbled and excited to see people around the world loving Windows 10. Thank you for your feedback – the team and I love reading it and using it to help us shape the future of Windows.
We’re seeing a great response from IT professionals, with over 8 million business PCs already running Windows 10.
I’ve also been thrilled to see the response from developers and people enjoying everything our new Windows Store has to offer. With over 1.25 billion visits, developers are seeing the benefits – with developer revenue per download increasing four times since Windows 10 launched. This early activity is attracting new universal Windows apps to Windows 10. Today, we announced Facebook will be building universal Windows apps for Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. And, we’re excited to welcome new universal Windows apps for Box, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Flipagram, NASCAR, Uber and many, many more.
New Windows 10 Devices from Microsoft
Our approach to hardware is to create and reinvent categories – like we did with Xbox and Xbox Live, with Surface being the tablet that can replace your laptop, with Lumia and Continuum, with Surface Hub, and of course with HoloLens being the only platform enabling you to mix holograms into your world.
Today, we unveiled a range of new devices, all built to make the most of Windows 10:
Surface Book – the new, ultimate laptop from Microsoft brings together best in class performance with the versatility of pen and touch.
The Surface Book includes a 13.5-inch display with a pixel density of 267PPI. That display is optically bonded to the glass, which means it should look good. Microsoft says the Surface Book is housed in a machined magnesium body — basically, it's a silver metal laptop, but it manages to look far different than a MacBook, despite its similarities in name. Perhaps the standout design element here is the Surface Book's hinge. Microsoft calls it a "dynamic fulcrum." From the side, it appears to almost flex as it bends. It leaves a slightly awkward gap when the Surface Book is fully closed, but it also elevates the display at an angle when the screen is flipped around for use as a tablet. A button on the side releases the display, which detaches from the top of the hinge.
Microsoft says the Surface Book is for someone who wants a bigger screen and "the perfect typing experience" of a laptop. For one, that includes a backlit keyboard. There's also deeper keys, with 1.6mm of travel. Microsoft is kind of freaking out about this keyboard. It's calling it "perfect" and saying it'll type almost silently. Beneath all that, the Surface Book includes a glass trackpad with five points of touch sensitivity.
The Surface Book will work with Microsoft's Surface Pen stylus as well. As for why you'd want to use this device as a tablet, Microsoft is talking about it as a "digital clipboard." That's not the most compelling phrase, but it's really everything that the Surface line has always been: a very powerful tablet that runs desktop Windows. This one just happens to do a much better job of transforming into the laptop that it really wants to be.
On the inside, the Surface Book has the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, from the Skylake family. There's also an Nvidia GeForce GPU with GDDR5 memory, however that's located in the base, so you'll need to keep the display docked to tap into its power. The dock also includes two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot.
All together, the machine is supposed to keep running for 12 hours on a single charge. Microsoft claims.
"Ounce-for-ounce, pound-for-pound, this is the fastest 13-inch laptop ever made anywhere on any planet."
Microsoft says it'll actually be twice as fast as the MacBook Pro.
Checkout the Surface Book's technical specs compared with the Surface Pro 4 and Apple Macbook Pro below:
Click Image To Enlarge
The Surface Book will go on sale October 26th with prices beginning at $1,499. Preorders will begin October 7th.
Surface Pro 4 – the tablet that can replace your laptop just got thinner, lighter and faster.
The Surface Pro 4 is now official, and it's thinner, lighter, and more powerful, while also having a larger display than its predecessor. Intel's Skylake processors and Microsoft's own Windows 10 are at the heart of the Surface Pro 4.
Panos Panay introduced the Surface Pro 4 by reminding us how transformative this line of devices has already been:
"This challenge of the tablet and the laptop... which do you buy? Remember that problem? It's gone."
There's a fingerprint sensor on the keyboard and Cortana integration inside the new tablet, which fits a 12.3-inch display in the same physical footprint as the older 12-inch device. The Surface Pro 4 is therefore compatible with existing keyboard accessories, though Microsoft has done a ton to upgrade its keyboard covers this year. And yes, there's an all-new Surface Pen as well, which also has an eraser on the end of it. The new pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity and attaches magnetically to the side of the Surface Pro 4 when not in use. It comes in a variety of colors and even has Cortana integration: you can activate Microsoft's voice assistant by holding the button on the stylus.
Microsoft says this is the "thinnest, most powerful" Intel Core PC ever shipped and it's "not even close." To make that possible, the company has tweaked and optimized multiple aspects of the design that are invisible to the user, such as the 0.4mm-thick Gorilla Glass 4 covering the front. Microsoft has even developed a special G5 chipset to run the optical stack. The promise is that this is the best, most natural touchscreen out there. Notably, though, Microsoft isn't comparing the Surface Pro 4 against other tablets, with Panay saying that they're just not in the same class. Compared against Apple's MacBook Air, however, the Surface Pro 4 is claimed to be 50 percent faster, while it also has high-end specs that wouldn't be out of place on an ultrabook laptop. Storage goes all the way up to 1TB and you can get 16GB of memory to go with that Intel 6th-gen processor.
See the Surface Book (above) for technical specifications for the Surface Pro 4.
The Surface Pro 4 is available to preorder now, starting at $899. It will be available on October 26th.
New Lumia Phones – the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL combine Windows 10 innovation with our most powerful hardware and top-of-the-line imaging to help you be more productive. And the Lumia 550, our most affordable 4G LTE smartphone running Windows 10.
Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL both run Windows 10 and combines powerful hardware and top-of-the-line imaging (Click Image To Enlarge)
Lumia 550 runs Windows 10 and is Microsoft's most affordable 4G LTE smartphone (Click Image To Enlarge)
Microsoft VP for Surface Computing Panos Panay unveils the new Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones during today's live demonstration in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015 (Click Image To Enlarge)
Panos Panay, Microsoft V.P., formerly in charge of the Surface product line, and now the head of engineering for all premium Microsoft hardware, said on stage.
“We want to put Windows in your pocket. If you haven’t thought about these phones, wake up!”
The Lumia 950 comes with octacore and hexacore processors and liquid cooling technology. The smaller version has a 5.2-inch display, while the bigger cousin features a 5.7-inch display. These are OLED displays with a pixel density of 564 ppi and 518 ppi respectively.
The Lumia 950 and the XL versions run 20-megapixel cameras with a natural flash. Like on the iPhone 6s, both can shoot 4K video and include fifth-generation optical image stabilization technology and a dedicated camera button.
They come with 32GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and a new USB Type-C connector. Finally, you can charge them up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
The two devices will ship in November exclusively through A&T in the U.S. for $549 and $649, with the XL version costing $100 more.
Panay finally hinted at the power of this device. Why would you need liquid cooling for just a phone? Because it’s more than a phone. You can actually plug your Lumia 950 to a dock and use it with your display, mouse and keyboard. It runs a nearly full version of Windows 10.
Called Continuum, the dock has an HDMI, DisplayPort and three USB ports. It looks like a good old USB hub, it’s very tiny and easy to put in your bag. The tile interface in the Start menu copies your phone’s start menu so that you get the exact same apps on your computer and on your phone. Universal apps, such as Mail and Word are scaled up version of the mobile apps.
Microsoft Band 2 – the new Band can help you live healthier and achieve more with a new curved screen, a barometer, and apps for email, text, running, biking, the gym, and golf.
Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition – designed to help Windows developers mix holograms into their world.
Windows 10 is the first platform to support holographic computing with API's that enable gaze, gesture, voice, and environmental understanding on an untethered device.
Microsoft HoloLens is the first fully untethered, holographic computer, enabling high-definition holograms to integrate with your world. Unlock all-new ways to connect, create, collaborate, and explore.
Microsoft Hololens holographic headset (Click Image To Enlarge)
This Microsoft Hololens Project X-Ray demonstration at today's NYC event, dramatically illustrates how Hololens can bring the world of holographic games into your living room.
Xbox One – At the Microsoft event this morning, the company’s No. 2, Terry Myerson, announced that the company will be upgrading all of its Xbox One systems to Windows 10. That means the company’s fans will be able to play Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One.
The company is also introducing limited-edition consoles inspired by games. The Halo5 console, Myerson’s favorite, comes with 1 terabyte of storage and will retail for $499. Rumors have been that this will be dropping in November, but Myerson did not give a specific release date.
With the announcement, Microsoft comes one step closer to completing its promise to bring Windows10 to all hardware classes.
Myerson told the breathless (if somewhat groggy) crowd.
“Xbox One is going to bring some serious fun this holiday.”
Microsoft Xbox One Elite Bundle includes the Console with 1TB hard drive and Controller, but does not come bundled with any game software (Click Image To Enlarge)
Microsoft Xbox One comes bundled with a variety of different games at different price points to appeal to both novice gamers on a limited budget and and more advanced players who want more variety and are willing to pay for the privelege.
- Xbox One Ultimate Edition (bundled with Gears of War game, the console and controller come in black with a 500GB HD) - $349 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Ultimate Edition (bundled with Gears of War game, the console and controller come in white with a 500GB HD) - $349 (Walmart)
- Xbox One Electronic Arts Sports Bundle (bundled with EA Madden NFL 16 football game and one year free EA Access to play older EA games, the console and controller come in black with a 1TB HD) - $399 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Electronic Arts Sports Bundle (bundled with EA FIFA 16 soccer game and one year free EA Access to play older EA games, the console and controller come in black with a 1TB HD) - $399 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Forza Motorsport 6 Bundle (bundled with Forza Motorsport 6 racing game and a promo code for a free Ten Year Anniversary Car Pack, the console and controller come in blue with a 1TB HD) - $399 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Halo 5 Bundle (bundled with Halo 5 shooter game, the console and controller come in two-tone silver and black with a 1TB HD) - $499 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Rise of the Tomb Raider Bundle (bundled with Rise of the Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition games, along with a Tactical Survival Kit Content Pack for the new game, the console and controller come in black with 1TB HD) - $499 (Microsoft Store and Best Buy)
- Xbox One Lego Movie Bundle (bundled with the Lego Movie Videogame, the console and controller come in black with 500T HD) - $349 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Fallout 4 Bundle (bundled with Bethesda Softworks Fallout 4 post-apocalypse game, the console and controller come in black with a 1TB HD) - $399 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Holiday Bundle (bundled with three free games: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Rara Replay (with 30 older games from Rare made to work on the Xbox One) and Ori and the Blind Forest, the console and controller come in black with 1TB HD) - $399 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Kinect Bundle (bundled with three free games (Dance Central Spotlight, Kinect Sports Rivals, and Zoo Tycoon) with its latest Kinect bundle, the console and controller come in black with 500GB HD) - $499 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
- Xbox One Elite Bundle - Sold without a free game. The Xbox One Elite Bundle comes with a 1TB hybrid hard drive and controller both in black with a solid state componant that will reportedly load games up to 20% faster. - $499 (Microsoft Store and Amazon)
COMMENTARY: I am very impressed with Microsoft's Windows 10 product unification strategy and new lineup of products running Windows 10. Microsoft gambled that by offering computer users a free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10, that they could create a huge base of Windows 10 users has proven to be an overwhelming success. 110 million Windows 10 is some kind of a record for a new Windows operating system, and will only rise as diehard Windows 7 and 8 years will eventually upgrade their computer devices to newer devices pre-loaded with Windows 10.
Microsoft's strategy has always been a Windows-based product unification strategy similar to what Apple has done with iOS and OSX and what Google has done with Android. The ability for desktop and mobile devices to be able to "talk" with each other in a seamless fashion is a huge advantage because the interface works similarly on all devices, and makes it easier for Microsoft to sell its customers more goodies loaded with Windows 10. It also keeps customers grounded and loyal to the Microsoft brand and makes it harder for them to switch to Apple or Android.
For Microsoft's Windows-based product unfication strategy to work, you must have great products and ancillary products to support each product line. This time around, Microsoft has an outstanding group of new Windows 10 products. They are incredibly well designed and are truly head and shoulders above those of other competitors, including in my opinion even those of Apple. The Microsoft Surface Book notebook/tablet combination and Surface Pro 4 and Pen will give the Apple Air, Apple Macbook Pro and iPad Pro a run for their money from a design, features, price and performance standpoint.
Microsoft's Windows-based product unification strategy also works well with large enterprise users who depend on the compatability of Microsoft's Office Suite and other productivity software across both desktop and mobile devices. This new product unification strategy makes it least likely that enteprise users will switch to Apple, who has been eyeing enterprise users for some time now. It may even make a few Androids mobile phone users switch to the Lumia line of smartphones, but we shall see.
I recently purchased a new Asus touchscreen notebook, and like it very much, but if I had my druthers, I would've purchased the new Microsoft Surface Book. It is not an Apple-killer, but comes as close as it gets.
I was particularly blown away by the demonstration of Microsoft's Hololens and X-Ray Project hologram games. Google and Apple just filed holographic patents and appear to be moving in the same direction. Facebook's acquisition of Oculus and recent partnership with Samsung to market the Gear VR headset (see my previous blog post) hopes to make virtual reality games affordable and mainstream. With Hololens and X-Ray Project, Microsoft has suddently become a major player in VR.
In conclusion, this is as good as it gets for Microsoft, so I hope that there are no hardware or Windows 10 glitches to screw things up. Kudos for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella who engineered this Windows 10 product unification strategy. We could be seeing Microsoft's transition from a strictly software-driven company to a hardware and software powerhouse like Apple did under Steve Jobs. Is Satya the next Steve Jobs? He just might be.
Courtesy of an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in Microsoft Windows, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in TechCrunch, an article dated October 5, 2015 appearing in Windows Central, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in Xbox.com, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in Microsoft Hololens site, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in TechCrunch, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in The Verge, an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in The Verge, and an article dated October 6, 2015 appearing in Business Insider
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