Should Microsoft Just Give up Already?

Smartphones have come a long way and overtime, more than the number of handsets, it is the extent of innovation that has dominated this market. The sea of change that smartphones has seen in the past mere half a decade is ridiculously astounding. The latest mobile phone news today is dominated by extensive stories of innovation and fairytales where unknown brands and names have managed to garner attention and sales. Hence, as long as you have innovation on your side, you will surely be able to get enough sales. Unfortunately, it isn’t a fairytale for everyone involved, as even a veteran in the mobile phone market, such as Nokia and Microsoft have been having a rough time simply staying afloat in the smartphone market.

The recent turn of events for Microsoft has not been pleasant and the company has had to take some drastic measures to undo the damage done with Microsoft’s much talked about buyout of Nokia. Of course, Microsoft will never admit that this was an outright disaster and that it should never have entered into territory it was never familiar with to begin with. What’s more, rather than pairing up with a strong player, it opted to take the support of Nokia, a brand that was one that had already seen its golden days well behind it. So, the only thing that could have saved a union of a dying and a novice brand coming together would have been drastic innovation.

This union should have led to handsets that would storm the latest mobile phone news forums and steal focus from other Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen as neither brand really contributed significantly to any kind of revolutionary changes. Instead, the Lumia series continued along the same line and the tiled pattern didn’t impress users.

There’s no denying that Microsoft did try at least some tricks before giving up. It released many Lumia phones, consequently getting rid of the Nokia tag altogether in the process. When the Lumia Denim update was announced, along with many Lumia handset releases, while it did make it to handheld news, where it didn’t make it was into shops and the eventual hands of users. Thus, Microsoft has perhaps begun to face the harsh reality that it really has no chance of making it big in the smartphone sector if things go on like this.

 

Of course, the smartphone sector is a fickle one and you should be willing to enter it only if you are willing to modernize, transform and move at the insane pace that the market moves at. Satya Nadella can always argue that the smartphone market was very different at the time of their Nokia buyout than what it is today, a claim that any channel of handheld news will affirm. However, despite all the excuses that Microsoft can possibly dish out, the truth remains that it may be the end of the road for Nokia and Microsoft altogether in the mobile phone sector.

New Office 2016 for Mac Finally Released.

A union of two big names for all the right reasons is always welcome. After all this time, Microsoft has finally released Office for Mac. It has been half a decade since any major release from Microsoft for the Apple device and with the new release, Microsoft clearly wishes to make its Mac users feel like they are top priority. In fact, Han-Yi Shaw, Microsoft’s head of Office for Mac has reasserted this by out rightly saying “We wanted to make sure that Mac users feel like first-class citizens in the Office story”. The Mac is only one of the additions to the list of latest gadgets news is that Microsoft has been working hard to make the Office as universal an application as possible.

Thus, the much awaited Office 2016 for Mac is finally here and it comes with many updates that favour easy use and enhanced functionality. The update covers the expected five forces of Office – Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and OneNote, all customized and enhanced specifically for Mac. The Word feature comes with a special Design tab which lets users dramatically improve the look of their document by adding effects and designs. The most significant enhancement is seen in Excel, where there are pointers even for relative novices in the field of Excel, as you can get prompters on what chart to use for the kind of data you have. There are also embedded shortcuts and tools to aid users with gaining better insight through deeper analysis and study.

Similarly, Office 2016 for Mac also comes with PowerPoint improvements, which include not only changes and enhancements in the viewing and presentation part but also in animations. Like the extent of animations present wasn’t enough, now there are also added animations to spruce up your presentation. The very organized Outlook has only become more organized with better sorting of mails. Lastly, the OneNote is a pleasant addition to Office for Mac, as users can now jot down notes in digital diaries and can change fonts and add effects to them too.

The best part is that the use of Office for Mac isn’t restricted to only Mac but extends as well to other latest gadgets. News is that every three out of four users of Apple products use Office for Mac on their other devices too, such as their iPads. With the new enhancements and improvements, it looks like Office is all set to make Mac users feel happy and privileged.

This is definitely a step in the right direction for Windows. They should rather concentrate on profitable ventures like these, rather than their hardware debacles like Lumia phones. Microsoft has always been a software giant and it would do well for the company to stick to that. Although it has achieved some success with its Surface range, with the Office and Windows, Microsoft has two horses that are set to run and win in the long run.

Is Microsoft Bidding Farewell to Smartphones?

It’s been a fantastic year for some brands and a tumultuous one for some. While Samsung has managed to brilliantly bounce back from last year’s debacle of the Galaxy S5, unfortunately, things haven’t quite turned around for Microsoft just yet. The Microsoft and Nokia union has only ever spelt doom since the very beginning. Microsoft has tried and has pushed out phones time and again but none of them have been able to compete with the latest smartphones. 2015 has seen the competition heating up and has led many small players to innovate and release phones that rival even those phones released by seasoned players.

Thus, after seemingly all the possible permutations and combinations in terms of specifications and features and adding releases to its list of smartphones, it looks like CEO Satya Nadella has finally given up. After recurring failures and dismal performance of Lumia series in recent times, Microsoft is slowly inching toward the end of its hardware line when it comes to smartphones. Satya Nadella has been taking strides toward this effect from the start and recent developments have only further asserted this decision. After recurring layoffs, Microsoft took a big step and laid off a whopping 7800 employees and also wrote off $7.6 billion, which clearly shows that it is losing faith in its capability to sustain its line of smartphones.

This dramatic move shows that Microsoft is slowly hoping to focus its attention on its more profitable options, such as the Surface and its software. In fact, the smartest move that Microsoft has made in recent times is the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ move. Rather than competing with big fishes like iOS and Android, Microsoft instead made its Outlook and Word available on these devices. This was a smart move as it allowed Microsoft’s entry into these devices.

Satya Nadella is a shrewd man and he has clearly seen the writing on the wall. The list of smartphones released each year, or in fact each quarter is never ending and Lumia has been having a hard time competing, or even coming close to the likes of such devices. They tried to use the volume approach and when the Lumia Denim release was announced, so were a slew of Lumia handsets. Unfortunately, none of these handsets managed to capture the imagination of the youth. Whether it was the bright coloured designs or the ridiculously strong cameras, all the moves made to attract youngsters backfired due to the archaic tiled software.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that Nadella is making attempts to put an end to this tragic comedy that Microsoft Lumia phones have become. So don’t expect any more Lumia names to figure in the list of latest smartphones. 2015 seems to be a decisive year for Microsoft and clearly, Nadella wishes to rip off the band aid as soon as possible. Let’s hope after the recurring debacle of a last year, this is a move in the right direction.

Smartphones to Look Out For in 2015

2015 may just be halfway through but there is still a ton to look out for when it comes to smartphones. This has been the year of innovation, as several brands came out with new and different handsets which sported unique features. However, there are still several new things to look for when it comes to mobile phone specifications. Comparison of handsets released lately with those that came out last year will make you realise the huge gap between handsets and their features.

One of the main handsets that has managed to make waves in the upcoming cell phones market is the LG G4. LG’s G3 was the most ambitious phone from last year, and it came with a new and impressive look. Accordingly, the G4 sports a fancy leather casing, with Snapdragon 808 processor, 5.5 inch HD screen and 32 GB of internal storage, which is expandable. LG is also making waves with its LG G Flex 2.

Just when you thought that HTC couldn’t get any better, the smartphone maker managed to outdo itself with the HTC M9. Last year’s M8 was a big hit, as it managed to really win the market with its excellent mobile phone specifications. Comparison of the M8 and M9 will make you realise that the M9 comes with a 20 MP main camera, Snapdragon 810 chipset and an octa-core processor. The M9 is also releasing as a phablet, with the M9+, which is a 5.5 inch phablet. This is sure to give the likes of Note 4 competition.

Sony too is releasing the Z3+ and the Z4, which aim to be worthy successors of last year’s highly successful flagship Z3 series. And how can one forget Microsoft when talking about new launches. Microsoft is heel bent on ending the name of Nokia but it is still keeping the Lumia series alive. The new offerings from Microsoft include the Lumia 940 and the Lumia 940 XL. These phones too will come with large and bright screens and Windows OS, as has always been the norm with Microsoft and Lumia.

The S6 and the S6 Edge has already managed to make a name for itself with its innovative design and the fact that Samsung managed to finally get everything right, which all went wrong in the S5. The S5 tanked big time and proved to be the biggest embarrassment possible for Samsung. Thus, it’s a good thing that Samsung has really upped its game, as 2015 is sure to give it tons of competition.

This was all about upcoming cell phones & handheld news. There are also several brand names that are swirling in the rumour mills, with claims that many smaller names are also looking to take on the likes of bigwigs. Only time will tell whether this year will see any upsets for the big names.