Windows 8 and Surface Wins Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Product Award

We are 3 weeks away from the Windows 8 public release and the Surface RT tablet release,but These two products from the Software Giant have already joined the awards lists.

As reported earlier by Neowin Popular Mechanics Recently announced the breakthrough performers of the year 2012 for various categories including products,Innovations etc.Windows 8 along with Surface Tablet has already made to the list of breakthrough product of the year 2012 just weeks before the  official release.

The new Windows 8 operating system reinvents the operating system erasing the distinction between desktops and the touch screen based  tablets,giving the users the choice of using touch input as well as the conventional keyboard and mouse input and the choice to switch between the Modern Ui and the desktop mode,while for the Surface the keyboard doubles up as a protective cover,while the tablet gets a PC functionality courtesy the powerful Intel based processors(for Windows 8 Pro based Surface).

Though the selection of these devices and operating system before the release might feel a bit odd,since Popular Mechanics couldn’t have got ample of time with the device to play before giving this verdict,so it’s unsure on what basis have they awarded these products for this years list.
Nevertheless its’s a good sign of things to come for Microsoft's products as we inch closer to the mega launch on 26th October where we will see Surface RT release along with an array of devices from manufacturers like Dell,Samsung,Acer,Asus and HP.

Source[PopularMechanics]

Microsoft Details in App Advertising in Windows 8 apps

Windows 8 will hit general availability on 26th October and we will see a surge in  the applications downloads from the Windows Store for Windows 8 which will feature a number of Modern UI based applications.

Advertising is an important aspect of revenue generation for the developers,especially when they are making the app availale as a Freeware for the consumers.Recently Microsoft detailed the scenarios of Windows 8 in App advertising,to give the users an idea about how they will see the advertise in an interactive manner in their Windows 8 apps.

Take the UP ad for example,the Advertise which is featured in the NBC news application of Modern UI.Delta Airlines which is launching new ad Campaign “UP” thats all about uping the ante of traveling with their airlines.So when the user is in the NBC app,user can touch on the advertise to expand the ad tile!user can also swipe up the advertise to  continue the visual journey of travel experience—from checking in at the airport, to bags going up the ramp, until the plane is up in the sky—that is simple and aspirational.After the experience is closed, users are returned to the NBC News app content.Agency partner for this Delta campaign is Razorfish.

Another interesting in app advertising campaign is from Papperidge Farm,Who are looking to expand their reach to the teens.Y&R Group who are handling this campaign has come up with a great idea for this advertising in Slacker Radio.This Concept allows users to stay tuned to the app and enjoy the branded experience without leaving the app.They have created a “Music Visualizer” with GoldFish Crackers,so the GoldFish Crackers jump and dance to virtually any track which you are playing on the Slacker Radio app

Image Credits[Microsoft] There are some more advertising campaigns like the one from FinishLine in the L.A.Times app,then there is a Ford Fusion campaign in the Chicago Tribune and the Jeep campaign in the Accuweather app.

You can checkout the Video which features the concepts in Windows 8 in app advertising. 

Source[Microsoft Advertising Blog]

Firefox Preview for Modern UI Released,Features Detailed

First of all,those who are running the Windows 8 RTM Can right away download and enjoy the Modern UI based Firefox on their systems.

Mozilla has been working on the Modern UI version of Firefox which would run on the Windows 8 operating system.The latest build i.e Firefox 18.1  can be downloaded for those who already have a Windows 8 RTM up and running.

Brian Bondy recently updated his blog post with a list of new features of this version of firefox for Windows 8.

• Metro browser registration capable installer
• Zip builds which do registration upon setting default browser from within Firefox
• Updates enabled
• New navigation URL bar inspired by the australis theme
• New tab bar with tab previews (double swipe from the top edge or bottom edge to expose the tab previews)
• Alternate tab bar with always visible tabs
• Auto complete screen with tile suggestions as you type
• New touch optimized start screen with tiles
• Windows 8 App bar with common functionality
• Changes to the default theme to fit into Metro
• Various new touch capabilities
• Various keyboard shortcuts
• On screen keyboard handling
• Gesture support
• In-page text selection
• Crash reporting
• Telemetry support
• Context sensitive default handling, if in Metro stay in Metro for link clicks
• Sync support with browser through remote Firefox sync (Set it up through settings)
• Support for the share data contract to share the current page with another Metro application
• Support for the search contract to search inside Firefox whether or not Firefox is already open
• Support for the settings contract accessible via the settings charm
• Support for snap and filled states, to use Firefox and another Metro application at the same time
• Metro open and save file picker support
• Support for secondary tiles (pinned websites to your start screen)
• View current page on desktop functionality
• Support for pdfjs: In content PDF viewer built in JavaScript
• Spell checking enabled

Since the browser is currently in its early stages of development there are some of the features which are disabled in the current build like Flash has been disabled but We will see it in future updates,while Add-On support has also been disabled for this version and will be added via Add-On SDK later on.

Among other things Panning and Zooming support is also disabled,while mouse scrolling is not working at the moment,so users will have to use either the keyboard or the touch input for scrolling through pages.Windows 8 is the only supported operating system for this browser while There is no support for DirectX 9 as of now.

You can download the Browser from MozillaWiKi.

Panasonic announces AX Series Windows 8 Hybrids

Panasonic has recently revealed their upcoming version of Windows 8 devices with their AX series of notebook+tablet hybrid devices.These devices will hit the stores along with the public release of Windows 8 on October 26th and will be initially available for consumers in Japan.

Image Credits[Engadget]

The Foldable Hybrid devices will feature a 11.6″ display With 1366×768 resolution,sports two USB 3.0 ports along with HDMI,Ethernet Jack,SD Card reader,the keyboard is Similar to the one’s found in business laptops these days.

The device will be available in 3 variants, with 1.7Ghz or 1.8Ghz  based i5 processor or a 1.9Ghz based core i7 processor.Though other specifications like 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD are common for all the variants.

While the faster version of i5 and i7 based devices will be bundled with extra cells and the top end hybrid will also sport a projector for business use.Though the pricing is not available at the moment,but since it will release by the public release which is almost 3 weeks away from now,we can expect a word on that sooner rather than later.

Source[Engadget]

Acer’s Powerpacked Iconia W700 Windows 8 Tablet Starts at $799

As we inch closer to the Windows 8 public release its about time for the hardware manufacturers to reveal more details on the pricing and specification details of their Windows 8 based devices.

Acer who will be bringing the Iconia W700 powered by Windows 8 operating system will Go on sell from October 26th,the base version will cost $799 while the higher end version will cost $999.

Too costly for a tablet? Well if you consider the hardware they are bundling with it,it looks like quite an appropriate cost because the tablet has a comparable hardware to any notebook out there in the market.

Talking about the hardware it will feature a 11.6″ IPS screen with Full HD resolution and will be powered by Intel’s i Series of processors i.e core i3 and core i5.The device will come in two storage options either 64GB or 128GB SSD.There is also a pair of cameras with a 5megapixel rear camera with 1080P video support and a front facing camera with 720P video support.

In terms of accesories and ports it has a bluetooth keyboard,a MicroHDMI to VGA adapter.It also features integrated G-Sensor, E-Compass and Gyro-Meter and of course WiFi 802.11 a/g/b/n.The tablet has a battery life of 8 hours and the booting time is said to be as fast as 6 seconds courtesy the Acer Green Instan On Technology.

Checkout the Official Press Release Here

Fujitsu Prepping a Waterproof Windows 8 Tablet!

We have already seen a lot of Windows 8 tablets from various manufacturers like Dell,HP,Asus,Acer,Samsung and of course Microsoft’s very own Surface Tablets,all of them  with similar features like their competitors and so far we haven’t seen any Exceptional feature from those tablets.

Image Credits[Engadget]

But Fujitsu Thinks otherwise,as reported earlier by Engadget,Fujitsu at a Recent Trade show in Asia showcased their upcoming version of Windows 8 Arrows Tablet,this tablet is on the similar grounds of their last years Android 3.0 offering which was shown off at CEATEC last year and like its older rother this one is also a waterproof tablet as confirmed by the booth worker.

The device features a pair of front and rear facing camera,a Micro USB port,a Micro SD card slot,no other specification or pricing details were revealed about the tablet.The device is However slated for late October or November timeframe,as we already know that Windows 8 will be released for public on 26th October so we can expect the device to be released within a few days of the official Windows 8 release.

Dummies Contest for a Surface Tablet,Hints at a $350(or less) Pricing?

Dummies has been one of the most popular books brand from the late 90′s,well known for its how to books on almost everything,ranging from setting up a PC to developing your first application for the same and many other things in life.

With Windows 8 public release around the corner its just aout time for how to books on the same,Dummies is coming with two books this season with one being “Windows 8 for Dummies” and “Surface for Dummies” and not just that they are holding a giveaway this time around  not just for the books but with a grand prize of Free Surface Tablet !

What makes it more interesting is that,the Contest hints at the Surface pricing as well,with Approximate  Retail value of the prize is being listed as $350.If we cut the books from the total price of the contest then it would bring the pricing further down to an approximately $300 price tag.

Though there is no official word on the Surface Tablet pricing,but as we already know that a couple of weeks ago Steve Ballmer hinted about the $300-800 price range for the surface RT tablets,so this might very well turn out to be the pricing for the entry level surface tablet.

The contest will run Through the last day of the year 31st december 2012 and is only restricted to 50 states in the United States including D.C ,UK and Canada(excluding QueBec).

You  can enter the contest from the official Dummies Contest Page.

Via[Neowin]