Microsoft's 'Show of force': 5 big announcements made at its Windows 10 event

    5 big announcements made at Windows 10 event
    1/10

    5 big announcements made at Windows 10 event

    Text: Karan Bajaj and Hitesh Raj Bhagat, ET Bureau

    It’s not been an easy run for Microsoft with smartphones. The much-derided acquisition of Nokia failed to get things going and as of Q2, 2015, global market share for Windows Phone powered smartphones was a weak 2.6% (reported by IDC).

    Now, Microsoft has leveraged their core strengths to step up their game. Primarily of interest to us is the announcement of the two flagship Lumias (950 and 950 XL) and the entry-level Lumia 550 (priced at an affordable $139). These are the first phones with Windows 10 — with a promise of unifying computing across differently sized screens.

    Other announcements include the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book — the first laptop created by the company. All of this a clear 'show of force' when it comes to Windows 10.

    The New Surface Devices
    2/10

    The New Surface Devices

    Instead of launching a new Surface device every 12 months, Microsoft delayed their Surface event by an additional 4 months this year.

    However, the delay was for good reason -- instead of a single Surface device, Microsoft launched two -- Surface Pro 4 & Surface Book.

    While the Surface Pro 4 is an upgrade to the Surface Pro 3, Surface Book is the company’s first ever laptop offering. Both devices come with Windows 10 and are aimed at road warriors who require power as well as portability.

    However, the chances of the Surface devices arriving in India is very slim - Microsoft has never launched a Surface device in India.

    Surface Pro 4: Improved Type Cover
    3/10

    Surface Pro 4: Improved Type Cover

    The new Type Cover takes care of the previous complaint of the keys being too close together.

    In addition, the keyboard is backlit.

    The size of the glass trackpad on the cover has been increased (it's 40% larger than the Type Cover on the Surface Pro 3).

    Surface Pro 4: Price
    4/10

    Surface Pro 4: Price

    The Surface Pro 4 starts from $899 (with an Intel Core M3 processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD).

    For the top-end Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD, it's an eye-watering $2699.

    Surface Book: Display
    5/10

    Surface Book: Display

    While it is a laptop, the 13.5-inch screen of the Surface Book is removable, so that you can use it as a tablet.

    The screen has a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels and when docked with the keyboard, it can be folded around a complete 360 degrees.

    Surface Book: Hardware
    6/10

    Surface Book: Hardware

    Specifications include a 6th generation Intel core i5/i7 processor, up to 16GB RAM, up to 512GB of SSD storage and up to 12 hours of battery life.

    Microsoft is making some bold claims about the Surface Book: they’re calling it the fastest 13-inch laptop ever made.

    Big trick with Windows 10 for mobile
    7/10

    Big trick with Windows 10 for mobile

    Microsoft has one big trick up its sleeve with Windows 10 for mobile – it’s called Continuum. This means that one of the new flagship Windows 10 Lumia devices can power a full Windows PC computing experience.

    We’ll explain how this works in a moment, but it’s important to realise that this is something that the current market leaders in smartphones, Google Android (~83% global market share; IDC) and Apple iOS (~14% global market share; IDC) can't do. Devices powered by Android can scale up to larger screens but they fall short of full PC functionality. For phones and tablets, Apple runs iOS, a scaled down version of its main operating system, OS X.

    To use Continuum, you need the Microsoft Display Dock. The dock connects to the USB type C port on the phone and provides numerous additional ports: DisplayPort and HDMI to connect a display and three USB ports to connect a keyboard, mouse or external storage.

    This is important for a few reasons. Many have been trying to create a single device that powers multiple experiences. As shown off in the stage demos, these devices do it with effortless panache that will fool you into thinking you're running a full desktop. All the keyboard shortcuts you're used to on a PC will work. And to top it all, the phone continues to stay functional as a phone, even while it's powering a full Windows experience on a separate monitor.

    Microsoft Lumia 950XL
    8/10

    Microsoft Lumia 950XL

    * 5.7-inch quad HD amoled (518ppi) with Gorilla Glass 4

    * Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset (octa core), Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB RAM

    * 20MP f/1.9 lens PureView camera with Carl Zeiss lens, optical image stabilisation, triple-LED flash and hardware shutter button, 5MP front camera

    *32GB storage, expandable (up to 200GB)

    *Global 4G support, USB Type C, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, A-GPS, FM, 160 grams

    *3,300 mAh battery, QuickCharge and Qi wireless charging

    Microsoft Lumia 950
    9/10

    Microsoft Lumia 950

    *5.2-inch quad HDamoled display (564ppi) with Gorilla Glass 3

    *Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (hexa core) chipset, Adreno 418 GPU, 3GB RAM

    *20MP f/1.9 lens PureView camera with Carl Zeiss lens, optical image stabilisation, tripleLED flash and hardware shutter button, 5MP front camera

    *32GB storage, expandable (up to 200GB)

    *Global 4G support, USB Type C, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, A-GPS, FM, 150 grams

    *3,000 mAh battery, QuickCharge and Qi wireless charging

    Microsoft Lumia 550
    10/10

    Microsoft Lumia 550

    *4.7-inch LCD (1280 x 720 pixels; 315ppi)

    *Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 chipset (quad core), Adreno 304 GPU, 1GB RAM

    *5MP main camera with LED flash and 2MP front camera

    s8GB built-in storage, expandable (up to 64GB)

    *LTE Cat 4 (up to 150Mbps), 2,100 mAh battery

    The Economic Times
    User