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Desktop & Mobile Archive

March 12, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010 2:36 PM/CST

Windows Smartphone Market Share Tumbled After Mobile 6.5 Release

Microsoft's share of the smartphone operating system market tumbled 4 percent in the three-month period ending January 2010, reports analytics company ComScore, casting into doubt the abilities of Windows Mobile 6.5, released in October 2009, to be the market-share retainer that Microsoft needs until Windows Phone 7 Series, its newest smartphone OS, is released near the end of 2010.

March 10, 2010

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:09 PM/CST

Microsoft's Slow but Steady Bing March Continues

Data from analysis company ComScore suggests that Microsoft Bing is incrementally gaining in the U.S. search engine market, along with Google, while Yahoo is falling. While that speaks positively of Bing's long-term prospects, it remains to be seen how well the search engine will fare once it expands more into international markets.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 3:12 PM/CST

Microsoft Technical Fellow Honored with A.M. Turing Award

Microsoft Research technical fellow Charles Thacker was named the winner of the 2009 A.M. Turing Award for his work designing the Alto, the first modern personal computer. Thacker developed the Alto at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) in 1973, and went on to contribute to the development the Ethernet, as well as multiprocessor workstations, snooping cache coherence protocols, and tablet PCs.

March 8, 2010

Monday, March 08, 2010 5:11 PM/CST

Microsoft's Courier Tablet Depends on iPad, HP for Success

More video and photos have leaked of what's purportedly Microsoft's Courier tablet PC, a dual-screen device that not only allows Web surfing and e-reading, but also functions like a traditional paper notebook. However, given Microsoft's oft-stated desire to play in high-volume market arenas, the eventual release of a Courier device will likely be determined by whether tablet PCs succeed as a segment, something that may be determined by the upcoming Apple iPad and its competitors.

March 4, 2010

Thursday, March 04, 2010 3:48 PM/CST

Opera Debuts Browser Optimized for Windows Mobile

Opera Software announced the launch of the Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x smartphones on March 4, suggesting that this particular version of the mobile browser would run particularly fast on those operating systems. With Windows Phone 7 Series approaching by the end of the year, will third-party developers continue to build products for Windows Mobile?

March 3, 2010

Wednesday, March 03, 2010 4:50 PM/CST

Microsoft Shouldn't Think About a Twitter Acquisition

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seemed noncommittal at the Search Marketing Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., over whether his company would consider purchasing microblogging service Twitter, with which it has an agreement to incorporate results onto Bing. But as Microsoft's recent dealings with Yahoo have shown, sometimes a simple partnership with a company can extend at least some of the benefits of an acquisition without the drain on cash and energy.

March 1, 2010

Monday, March 01, 2010 1:22 PM/CST

Microsoft Exec Offers First Look at Windows Phone 7 Series Device

Microsoft showed off the prototype for its first Windows Phone 7 Series device, manufactured by LG and featuring a sliding physical keyboard, at The Engadget Show on Feb. 27. The phone apparently includes a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a headphone...

February 27, 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010 1:49 PM/CST

Talking Windows Phone 7 Series on Fox News

A group of technology journalists talked about Windows Phone 7 Series during a spot on the Fox News show "Gadgets and Games" on Feb. 26. Among the discussion points was how Microsoft is attempting to create a serious differentiator in the smartphone OS space, and the potential obstacles that Windows Phone 7 Series faces as it heads toward launch.

February 24, 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 4:34 PM/CST

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series Could Come in Three Flavors

Reports indicate that Windows Phone 7 Series could come in a limited number of form factors upon its release at the end of 2010, including one with a full touch screen, another with a sliding keyboard and a third with a "candy-bar"-style configuration. Limiting hardware configurations could help Microsoft with branding its new line of devices, which it hopes will allow it to regain market share in the smartphone OS arena.

February 23, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 3:59 PM/CST

Microsoft Signs Patent Agreement with Amazon

Microsoft announced a cross-licensing agreement with Amazon.com to open at least a percentage of their patent portfolios to each other. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, patents from Microsoft could potentially help Amazon.com build more robust e-readers, as both companies position themselves to compete against Apple's upcoming iPad tablet PC.

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