Aug 26 2010

Microsoft’s Wireless Mobile 4000 mice get a sassy new coat of paint

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 12:18 pm

Is your mouse too boring? Does your hand routinely fall asleep while resting on it? Well, Microsoft, known for sexying up its mice with all manner of wild patterns, has struck again — this time, with the Wireless Mobile 4000 series. The six new designs are seriously spiffy looking, so if you’re in the market for a new version of your favorite peripheral, who could resist names such as Micro, Botanic, Cosmic, Downtown, Crania and Pirouette, who could resist? These bad boys will be available starting in September for $39.95 each. There’s one more shot below — hit up the source link for the full set.

Continue reading Microsoft’s Wireless Mobile 4000 mice get a sassy new coat of paint

Microsoft’s Wireless Mobile 4000 mice get a sassy new coat of paint originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 18 2010

Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse revealed?

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 9:17 am

It’s not official until Microsoft says it is, but the image above of the rumored Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse was just snagged off a German online store. Amazingly, the mouse arches its back for comfortable mousing before packing flat for easy transport. The mouse features touch-scrolling, a battery indicator, the ability to track on most any surface, and a 2.4GHz nano transceiver that no doubt plugs into your laptop’s USB port. Yours soon for €69.99 ($69.95 rumored)… right, €0.99 more than Apple’s Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad sells for in Germany. Ships in 5 to 10 business days according to notebooksbilliger so expect this to get official real quick.

Gallery: Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse revealed?

Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse revealed? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 09 2010

Microsoft’s Menlo is a Windows CE device, nothing to see here folks

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 9:18 am

Mary Jo Foley had us all fired up about the potential of Microsoft’s mysterious Menlo, but it appears that the project’s not yet a groundbreaking mobile OS — it’s just a prototype slate. Menlo V1 made its cameo debut in a Microsoft Research paper destined for MobileHCI 2010, where it’s listed as a 4.1-inch device with a 800 x 480 capacitive touch screen, a 3-axis accelerometer (and a barometer, for some reason) all running on the comparatively boring Windows CE 6.0 R2. According to the paper, which tested out a Silverlight-based app that allowed users to follow a trail of virtual breadcrumbs back to their parked car, the device didn’t even have a magnetometer at the time of testing — thus the throwback compass you see immediately above — and it’s actually never referred to as a phone. We’ll keep you abreast of any future developments, but even if the project were leagues more exciting we’re not sure if we’d put our hearts on the line. Once burned, twice shy.

Microsoft’s Menlo is a Windows CE device, nothing to see here folks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 05 2010

Microsoft’s Kinect patent application goes public, reveals gobs of fine print

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 7:17 pm

Not like it matters much now — after all, Project Natal has had time to incubate and come out as Kinect — but those wondering about the inner workings of the motion sensing system now have more one outlet to investigate. A patent application filed on February 23, 2009 was just made public today, describing a “gesture keyboarding” scenario where users can make gestures that are caught by a “depth camera” and then converted into in-game controls. Of course, those paying close attention could’ve read between the lines when we toyed with a camouflaged PrimeSense demo at GDC, but here’s the fully skinny in black and white. And a bit of blue, if you count the buttons. Give that source link a tap once you’re settled in.

Gallery: Microsoft’s Kinect patent application

Microsoft’s Kinect patent application goes public, reveals gobs of fine print originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12 2010

Microsoft’s Windows Phone Developer Tools package goes to beta

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 4:19 pm

Early versions of the tools Windows Phone 7 developers will use to craft their wares have been floating around since Microsoft’s MIX event in March, but it looks like things have finally gotten robust and feature-complete enough this week to bless the kit with a beta label. In fact, Microsoft is coming out and saying that this release “represents the near final version,” which we take to mean you can develop with some confidence that your world won’t be turned upside down when the time comes to prep your apps for shipping devices and firmwares. The actual API has been tweaked and Expression Blend is now fully integrated with the tools, though there are apparently still a few controls that aren’t ready for primetime and will be added over the coming weeks. Oh, and if no emulator is enough to satisfy your intense cravings, you might be excited to learn that more developer devices are slated to ship next week — so keep an eye on your mailbox and your porch if you signed up to get one.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone Developer Tools package goes to beta originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30 2010

Microsoft’s new ‘dual display device’ patent re-opens old Courier wounds

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 12:18 pm
Microsoft's new dual display device patent re-opens old Courier wounds

We were just starting to get over the Courier, moving on after the tantalizing first reveal, the delish conceptual walkthrough, the heartbreaking cancellation, and the inevitable fallout. Now, Microsoft is dragging us back down memory lane with the receipt of a new patent covering the design of the thing. It was filed back on January 19, right after the CES that we’d (futilely) hoped would give us a glimpse of Courier in the flesh, and that patent has just now been approved. So, Microsoft officially owns the design of the thing, and the question now is whether they’ll ever actually do anything with it other than sprinkle mementos like this about from time to time and remind us what might have been. You’re a cruel mistress, Steve Ballmer.

[Thanks, Basil]

Microsoft’s new ‘dual display device’ patent re-opens old Courier wounds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 25 2010

How would you change Microsoft’s Kin One and Two?

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 10:17 pm

Hey! Microsoft debuted two new phones earlier this year! Remember that? Okay, so there’s a fair chance that Microsoft actually moved fewer Kin One / Two handsets than Fusion Garage did JooJoo tablets, but we’re pretty confident that a few of you fell for the whole “my life is so social, so I’m buying in” thing. We’re still personally trying to figure out why the full Windows Phone 7 wasn’t used here instead of an OS that’ll likely be forgotten by the time you finish reading this, but enough of our rambling — this space is all about you. Did you pick up one of the Kin brothers? How’s the experience? Are you still kosher with paying the same data plan price as future Droid X users? Have you gained more friends than you know what to do with? Starred in your own commercial? Tell us below, tweeps.

How would you change Microsoft’s Kin One and Two? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 23 2010

Bing Entertainment integrates Zune Marketplace purchases, improves Microsoft’s media swagger

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 4:19 am

Bing, Microsoft’s “decision engine,” is wading into the entertainment realm today with the revelation that searches for music, lyrics, games, TV shows, and movies will get a new special sauce treatment from here on out. You’ll now be able to play 100 basic games right in your search results, along with full-length streaming of songs (first time only, 30 seconds thereafter) from a 5 million-strong catalog. The latter is augmented with “one-click” purchases from the Zune Marketplace (directly through the web, no need to launch the app), Amazon, or iTunes music libraries. Movie tickets are promised to be similarly easy to buy, though the biggest new feature might well be the Bing.com/entertainment page, which acts as a portal into your media consumption with a selection of the most popular content in each category. It doesn’t look terribly different from the iTunes storefront, but given its partnership with Apple’s digital music shop, we doubt Bing’s Entertainment section is perceived as much of a threat — not yet, anyway. As to that other search giant, Google’s been said to already be putting together a music store of its own. Man, all this integration and interconnectedness — just where will it end?

Gallery: Bing Entertainment

Continue reading Bing Entertainment integrates Zune Marketplace purchases, improves Microsoft’s media swagger

Bing Entertainment integrates Zune Marketplace purchases, improves Microsoft’s media swagger originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 21 2010

Kinect for Xbox 360 now listed for $150… at Microsoft’s own online store

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 11:18 pm

Listen Microsoft, we know you’ve been wanting to stay absolutely mum on Kinect’s price since its official E3 unveiling, even as GameStop and Walmart say $149.99. Included is the Kinect sensor itself, power supply cable, manual, and WiFi extension cable (huh?), and it shows up in our virtual shopping cart just fine. So, now that your own official online store is giving that price tag on a pre-order page, don’t ya think this guy deserves something akin to a legitimate press release for its MSRP?

[Thanks, Steven W.]

Kinect for Xbox 360 now listed for $150… at Microsoft’s own online store originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 17 2010

Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor

Category: Industry Happenings — admin @ 2:17 pm

We’ve become so familiar with the “Project Natal” codename over the years that our tongues are still having a little trouble wrapping around Microsoft’s new Kinect moniker for it. Still, what’s in a name? Microsoft has finally shown us what matters with real games, real gameplay, and real hardware, and after spending some time with it using our very own human flesh to control the on-screen action, we feel like we’re starting to get a pretty good grip on the experience. Follow after the break as we break down the complicated workings and emergent gameplay of Kinect.

Continue reading Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor

Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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