Late last year, in November, rumors suggested that Microsoft was working on Office for the iPad and the Mac App Store but no solid details surfaced during that time. On Wednesday, The Verge reported that a Microsoft product manager released comments to Czech site IHNED.cz [Google translation] that Microsoft is in fact working to bring Office to iPhone and iPad in March 2013. In its report, the publication noted a press release from the Microsoft’s Czech Republic team that confirms that Office for iOS will be arriving soon.

In addition to Windows, Office will be also available on other operating systems, Windows Phone, Windows RT, Mac OS, Android, iOS and Symbian,” says Microsoft, while separately noting that there will also be a new version of Office Web Apps too. […]

The press release also mentions that Office 2013 will be made available to businesses in December, with a consumer launch scheduled for the end of February 2013. “Office 365 services and other Office products for mobile (phones and tablets) will be released from March 2013,” says Microsoft.

Soon after the announcement, numerous people began to refute the claim, including Microsoft head of PR Frank X. Shaw who mentioned that the Czech statement was not credible.

The information shared by our Czech Republic subsidiary is not accurate. We have nothing further to share.

With all of the rumors popping up on the web since late last year, it is very likely that Office for iOS will be arriving in the March/April timeframe and Shaw is refuting the claims in order to contain the rumors about the arrival of the suite of software to the iOS platform.

{Via MacRumors}

Microsoft, although having a string of failures in the smart phone market, has gained a large market percentage in video games with its Xbox 360 and Xbox Live services. On Wednesday, in a statement published by Forbes, it was revealed that Microsoft is now looking to bring its Xbox Live app to the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone is still new to the market and is slowly growing in terms of adoption and does not pose a threat to either the iPhone or Android as yet. Therefore, it is natural to assume that Microsoft also sees the opportunities in Apple’s App Store. If Microsoft ports their Xbox Live service over to iOS, games such as Halo could also make an appearance in near future.

With Apple’s focus on the advancement of graphics performance in their devices, Microsoft has the perfect mobile platform to bring their services to.

CNET on Wednesday reported that Verizon is looking to make 4G LTE compatibility a requirement on all smartphones released in the future. Verizon’s 4G LTE provides faster data speeds and would be a major step up from 2G and 3G speeds currently operating on many smartphones.

This report has led to speculations about Apple releasing a 4G LTE compatible iPhone 5 in order to comply with Verizon’s network standards. Verizon’s proposal of “a hard requirement” to make all phones 4G LTE does have some exceptions, with the company noting that their Push to Talk network will remain operating on 3G speeds until further notice.

From now on, nearly every smartphone, wireless hot spot, tablet, and Netbook that Verizon offers will come with LTE guns a-blazing. Yes, Virginia, that includes Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices, too.

There will be the occasional exception, however. For instance, phones on Verizon’s push-to-talk network are 3G-only for now, and will remain that way until further notice.

Verizon’s clear, unyielding stance on 4G–“a hard requirement,” according to Verizon–may partially explain why it has picked up only one Windows Phone so far.

The report also goes on to mention that Verizon is leading the market with deployment of 4G LTE, with over 200 million people in 190 markets. Verizon plans to complete its LTE roll out by late next year, and is now pushing its slow roll-out by forcing users to 4G LTE enabled smartphones. AT&T has also announced plans for a 4G LTE network but has not set any specific goals for smartphone plans and accessibility’s with the network.

By late 2013, 4G LTE may become the standard on many US carriers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, making 3G the current 2G. As smartphones demand more speed and reliability, 4G LTE is definitely the next big step in cellular data.

{via MacRumors}

According to a new report published by Neowin Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has unveiled plans at their Worldwide Partner Conference for an additional 75 stores in the US, bringing the grand total of retail stores to 86 stores. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has around 350 retail store locations and continues to add stores in cities all over America, allowing the company to stay ahead of the game and dominate the retail market.

Microsoft (MSFT) has attempted to enter the retail atmosphere in the past, and failed to provide a common theme for their store that customers could relate to. As a result, the 11 Microsoft Retail stores currently in the US, faded away in the shadows of Apple’s (AAPL) retail empire. Now, a few months after Microsoft’s Windows Phone entered the market, Microsoft is planning to once again re-enter the retail market and propose a challenge for Apple.

It is, however, evident that Microsoft is adjusting their strategies based of Apple’s and is readjusting itself to an ever changing market. Microsoft has attempted to create inviting places, with wood surfaces, where customers can enjoy the array of products. The products are available for customers to use and even allows them to ask questions about them at the “Answer Desk”, essentially Microsoft’s form of a Genius Bar.

Microsoft has yet to announce any further plans that they may have, but until they do, it is clear that they are following closely in the footsteps of Apple.

Do you think Microsoft’s new retail stores will pose a threat to Apple? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Tuesday officially announced in a company press release that they are acquiring Skype for $8.5 billion.

Now, that’s a lot of cash to put down on a company that, just last December left users in the dark before the holiday season, and put fear in investors who were looking towards an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Skype is expected to be integrated into Microsoft’s suite of products that are currently offered to customers, including the Xbox 360 and Kinect support as well as Windows Phone integration.

The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities. The combination will extend Skype’s world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.

Skype was first sold at $2.5b to eBay in 2005, who later sold most of it off to Silver Lake in 2009 at an overall value of $2.75b. It is now being sold to Microsoft for almost triple the amount that it was originally purchased for.

A brand new Microsoft Skype Division will be created in order to accommodate those making the switch over to Microsoft, and current Skype CEO, Tony Bates will be moving with his company to lead the new division. Check out the official Microsoft press release on the acquisition of Skype here.

Now that Apple’s iOS has some major competition when it comes to smartphone operating systems, what would we like to see the company to do to ensure that iOS 5 features stay ahead of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, HP’s webOS, and Google’s Android? Well, we’ve put together a list of 5 things we think Apple could change, improve, or introduce to iOS 5.

See what you think of our thoughts on iOS 5 and leave us a comment to let us know yours!

Notifications

Firstly, we think the way in which our iOS devices currently handle notifications should be a lot different. The current system, although not terrible, could be a much better. My biggest issue with notifications at the moment is a simple but frustrating one: if I receive a notification on my iPhone and I didn’t notice it pop up, when I next unlock my iPhone that notification disappears. 9 times out of 10 I unlock my device too quickly to even notice there was a notification, and once it’s gone, it can be nightmare to figure out what be iPhone was trying to tell me.

A system in which my notifications remain on my screen until I tap to remove them would be nice, or maybe another page to the left of my home screen – where the search function currently lives – that displays a list of my ‘unread’ notifications. That way I can’t remove them accidentally before I’ve even read them.

This isn’t the only problem with the iOS notification system, however. Many have criticized the way in which devices handle notifications altogether, claiming that they are intrusive, ineffective, and abstruse. They currently pop up and disrupt whatever you might be doing on your device, with very little information, and no function other than taking you to the app they are alerting you to.

Customizing the way in which we receive our notifications would be a nice addition to iOS 5. I’d like to decide whether I get a big message pop up on my screen when I receive an SMS, or whether I just get a subtle little icon appear in my task bar next to my clock. And then I’d like to do something with that notification. If I click on it, I’d like to be able to read my SMS and then quickly reply to it without leaving the application I’m already in.

Wireless Syncing

Steve Jobs has already said that wireless syncing will come to iOS, however, we’re still yet to see it. If you jailbreak your device, you can install an application that allows you to sync with iTunes over Wi-Fi, but we think this feature should be a standard part of iOS. If the hackers can make it work, why can’t a multi-billion dollar technology company?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could sync our iOS devices at the touch of a button from our living room, with our Mac or PC located in another room?

Voice Commands

There are already some basic voice commands built-in to iOS 4, but there could be a lot more. I’d like to be able to have a lot more control over my device using my voice. Third-party applications already allow us to compose text using our voice, but it would be great if this was a standard feature of Apple’s iOS. I’d like to be able to reply to emails or text messages safely while I’m driving, or doing other tasks; and I’d like to be able to have some control over my applications by talking to them. Basic functions are already achievable by voice in the iPod application, so why can’t they be used elsewhere?

Multitasking

Now, multitasking on iOS isn’t all that bad. It does the job we want it to do, and previous mobile operating systems have proved that it could be a whole lot worse. However, there’s certainly room for improvement. At present, multitasking allows us to switch quickly between applications, and… well… that’s it. You might argue that that’s what multitasking is for, but we could do more with it.

Instead of having to switch to an application when we want to use it, it would be nice if we could hold down on the application’s icon and get a pop up of different options that allow us to control that app without leaving our current one. For example, if you’re on a Mac and you have iTunes running in the background while you’re reading this article, by simply right-clicking on the iTunes icon in your dock, you can play a track, skip back and forth between songs, and even shuffle your playlist – all without having to leave your web browser.

By having the same kind of feature in iOS we could write tweets, emails, text messages, and more, without leaving the game we’re in; we could quickly sign in and out of applications like Facebook or AIM instant messenger, and we could add a note to the Notes application without having to actually open it. The possibilities are endless, and would make life with an iOS device much more productive.

Lock Screen Widgets

Many other mobile operating systems and have these, and we think it’s about time they came to iOS. Lock screen widgets would allow us to see things like our Facebook or Twitter feeds, our RSS headlines, our to-do list for the day, and what the weather will be like tomorrow, without ever having to unlock our devices. At the moment we have big, beautiful touch screen that are useless and empty while our devices are locked, and they could be put to such great use.

Sometimes it’s a little too much effort to load up an application to quickly see a tiny piece of information. For example, I currently have to open up an app to see my favorite soccer team’s score when I can’t watch the game, I have to open up an app to see if the item I’ve been outbid on an item I want on eBay, and I have to open up an app to see if my friend has replied to my tweet. All of these little bits of information could be displayed on my lock screen for me to quickly glance at whenever I need to.

What Are Your Thoughts?

So those are my thoughts on what Apple can do to ensure iOS 5 stays a cut above the rest. Of course, some of these things may not apply to you, and there may be other things you’d like to see on your iOS device. Leave us a comment with your thoughts!

It did not take much for technical writers, bloggers, reviewers, David Letterman to get in on the action. But one of the most interesting comments about the ongoing antenna issues with the new iPhone 4 were spoken today by Microsoft COO Kevin Turner.

Speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), Mr Turner said: “It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that.” In what has become a staple of mockery for Apple, he went on to say: “One of the things I want to make sure you know today is that you’re going to be able to use a Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you’re holding it to make a phone call.”

While many are calling these comments rude and uncalled for considering the number of issues that Microsoft has had in the past with product launches (who could forget Vista and Microsoft Bob?), it is a perfect representation of how people feel about this issue. One could say that Apple itself invited comments such as this one when they decided to teach the world how to hold a cell phone. What is certain is that by making these comments, Mr Turner has put his company in a hard position. Should anything go wrong with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 launch, these comments are going to come back right at him.

What do you think about these comments? Do you think Microsoft will have a smooth Windows Phone 7 launch? Let us know your thought on this matter.

Top Gear pokes fun at the iPhone 4 Death Grip

Microsoft has today released some screenshots of a couple of 3D games that are currently in development for the Windows Phone 7 Series. Is it just me or is that an awfully big mouthful for such a small device?

Anyway, the images look interesting, but this is not an impressive enough couple of titles to excite people into buying another flavour of handset, in my opinion. Perhaps we’ll see more this week.

First up is “The Harvest” which is a Diablo re-imagining featuring destructible environments. That is under development by Luma Arcade.

Next is “Battle Punks” which is under development by Gravity Bear. This is, and I quote, “a sword-fighting Facebook game”. Your guess is as good as mine!

Microsoft also, unsurprisingly, confirmed that Direct3D is the only graphics API supported on the Windows Phone 7 Series. This seems a super dumb move to me. All current OpenGL apps / Games will have to be ported. Whilst that will be fine by large publishers, and those developers that already work with Direct3D, it will alienate the already very large developer base who are working on Android, Apple and just getting started on Palm’s mobile devices. If you remember I reported recently that Palm have just opened up access to their OpenGL ES API in a new addition to their SDK launched at GDC. Consequently Microsoft are going alone again on their own 3D graphics API “Direct3D”. While everyone else uses OpenGL ES. This will not aid Microsoft in quickly generating a vibrant App Store of their own with contributions from developers out there with successful existing mobile games.

When the Zune Store was announced many successful iPhone developers were approached and courted by Microsoft and turned the software giant away. I can see them having the same reaction to the Windows Phone.

Android already suffers from app market fragmentation because of the multitude of devices with different specifications out there. Apple is heading that way with the two flavours of silicon it already has in it’s iPhone, iPod and iPad. But they all at least use the same graphics API. I know that small indies are not going to want to support yet another API and another set of hardware, especially when frustratingly they know the silicon underneath is the same.

So it seems we will again have two distinct camps in gaming land. This time in mobile gaming land! With XNA developers, inexperienced in mobile game production, having to hit the ground running if we are going to have any real indies producing for this new phone.

Microsoft has been on a mission for quite some time to establish itself as dominant in the games market, at any cost. One of it’s more underhand weapons in this effort is it’s own proprietary graphics API. One would have thought they had learned their lesson, along with Sony, with the advent of the Wii that the gaming landscape is unpredictable nowadays. It’s not a beast which is easily corralled anymore. Right now both Sony and Microsoft are kind of directionless because of the massive shift in the games market over the last two years. Although interestingly it’s now Sony that are picking up speed in the console market. And this is purely speculation on my part, but if Sony are really going to bring their own “iPhone & iPad killers” to market, as is rumoured, I would expect whatever API they choose for 3D graphics to at last have some kind of high level abstraction that is more akin to OpenGL ES than anything else. If not a full OpenGL ES API from day one.

Perhaps Microsoft intend to go the opposite direction to Apple, Google and Palm on this, and instead of encouraging the indie market simply buy up studios, leverage existing IP in house, or even create new studios in a mobile gaming war similar to their XBox campaign. Good luck with that.

The bottom line is all this does is limit choice for consumers, and make developer’s lives harder, while these big companies fight out battles to have different APIs control the same chips!

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