Windows Store ad firm sees evidence of new Surface slates, Nokia tablet in its server logs

A new generation of Surface slates may be headed our way, if a new report by advertising firm AdDuplex is any indication, and Microsoft's self-made tablets may be bringing a friend along with them: A Windows RT device crafted by Nokia.

News of refreshed Surface tablets isn't exactly shocking, as Nvidia has confirmed that a next-gen Surface RT slate in the works and Microsoft has been steeply discounting the first generation Surface tablets in a bid to clear stock room shelves.

AdDuplex claims to "regularly see devices named Microsoft Corporation Surface 2 and Microsoft Corporation Surface with Windows 8.1 Pro" on its network, which provides advertising for 393 Windows Store apps. The first device looks to be a completely new model, AdDuplex claims, but the new Surface Pro device might be a first-gen Surface Pro running an RTM version of Windows 8.1.

That said, the firm claims prior preview versions of the Windows 8.1 update didn't change the reported name of the Pro, and a refreshed Surface Pro is almost a given. The original tablet suffered from poor battery life and a slightly chunky design, and those two problems could be significantly reduced if a Surface Pro with Intel's new power-sipping Haswell processors is released.

Digi-wo.comAn alleged image of Nokia's Windows RT slate, as leaked on digi-wo.com.

Repeated rumors have also had Nokia working on a Windows RT device, and AdDuplex claims that Nokia-made Windows 8/RT devices have been pinging its servers since last October.

The device was named RX-107. Then we’ve seen RX-108. And then RX-113, 114, 115, 116. Interestingly enough we haven’t seen RX-109 through RX-112. So it’s hard to say if all of these are just variations of one device progressing through development stages, or 2 device lines (107-108 and 113-116) or something else .

Monday morning, The Verge reported that Nokia's slate is dubbed "Sirius" and will resemble an oversized version of the company's popular Lumia line of Windows Phones. According to the site's sources, the Sirius tablet will be thinner and lighter than an iPad, with a 10.1-inch 1080p display, 2GB of RAM, and a cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. Even better: Nokia is reportedly shooting for 10 hours of battery life.

If Nokia does release a Windows RT slate of its own, it'll have an uphill climb: Windows RT itself is tanking hard, and thus far, third-party Windows tablets—especially Windows RT tablets—are selling even worse than the Surface line.

Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.
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The state of the Windows Store: How useful are those 100,000 apps?

More than nine months into the great revamping known as Windows 8, a clear vision of its core is finally starting to emerge. The baked-in apps have been streamlined and Windows 8.1 looms, ready to polish the numerous rough edges found in the original release of the operating system. But Microsoft alone can’t improve what is truly the beating heart of Windows 8: The Windows Store.

Windows 8 revolves around the Windows Store. Every Live Tile that glimmers on the modern-style Start screen is the iconic representation of a Windows 8 app—and you can only snag Windows 8 apps in Microsoft’s own Windows Store. As the Windows Store goes, so goes the Windows 8 experience.

A recent Flurry study shows that mobile users spend 80 percent of their time in apps, rather than in a browser.

How, exactly, is the Windows Store doing? The obvious indicators are mixed. Windows RT devices can run only modern-style apps, not desktop apps, and they’re tanking hard. But app submissions picked up steam around the time of Microsoft’s Build conference, culminating in the shattering of the 100,000-app barrier in early July, and they’re still going (relatively) strong.

That’s a great milestone for Microsoft, but it’s still paltry compared to the approximately 1 million apps in Google Play and 900,000 apps in Apple’s App Store. So it’s a good time to take the pulse of the Windows Store again: Is 100,000 apps enough to keep a body happy? As I did last February, I spent days scouring the Windows Store and taking notes in five major categories: games, music apps, video apps, social apps, and a catch-all “other” category—to see how well Microsoft covered each. Here’s how they all measured up.

In my original Windows Store evaluation, I noted that the game selection was an early highlight—and it has only gotten stronger since February. The number of available apps has tripled in that time. While the roughly 13,500 available games don’t hold a candle to the vast Android and iOS libraries, there is more than enough to keep you distracted for months to come. A lot of them are ports from other platforms, but, hey, they play just as nicely on Windows.

In fact, they play so nicely that we’ve had two separate roundups of killer Windows 8 games, with very little overlap. If you open the Games tab in the Windows Store and sort by "noteworthy," you’ll find dozens and dozens of high-quality titles. (I’ve been playing Royal Revolt nonstop recently.) Microsoft Studios in particular has released a bevy of bodacious games like Pinball FX2, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and The Gunstringer.

Halo: Spartan Assault is awesome.

Speaking of which, two games from Microsoft Studios—Skulls of the Shogun and Halo: Spartan Assault—aren’t just a blast—they’re also far-reaching, letting you play with gamers on Windows Phone and Xbox Live as well as with fellow Windows Store shoppers. That sort of cross-platform experience is an exciting tease of the potential of Windows 8 gaming in a One Microsoft kind of world. Here’s hoping it continues.

That’s not to say that all is well in Winny’s world, however. As mentioned, while the Windows Store game selection is impressive, it can’t compare to the selections for iOS or Android—you won’t find any mobile Walking Dead games or Grand Theft Auto ports here.

You mean this game’s not legit? (Click to enlarge.)

More troubling, the Games section, like much of the Windows Store, is filling with rip-off apps designed to trick you into thinking they’re the real deal—such as Sonic’s Ring Challenge - Bomb Dodger and Pac Pac Man. Microsoft actually highlights that last app as one of the top free apps in its Spotlight section. The official Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, a $10 app, is not featured.

Pac Pac Man, right next to Twitter, Skype, Vevo, Google Search, and Adobe Photoshop Express in the Spotlight section’s Top Free apps.

Still, if you’re mindful of what you’re downloading, you’ll find a lot to like in the Windows Store’s Games section. (And to be honest, Pac Pac Man is pretty decent.)

The same general theme applies to the Windows Store’s selection of video apps: It’s not anywhere near as comprehensive as iOS’s or Android’s, but most people will find all they need within Microsoft’s modern-styled walls.

Netflix and Hulu Plus were two of the earliest entries in the Windows Store, where they were joined by Vimeo, Dailymotion, Flixster, TED Talks, and a handful of apps from individual television stations like Nick and Discovery Channel. (Note that as an app, Hulu Plus requires a subscription to use; you’ll need to dive into your browser if you want to catch free flicks.)

Beyond those stalwarts, only a handful of notable streaming-video apps have been added since February, though the additions have been of fairly high quality. Vevo’s music-video service landed on Windows 8 recently, as did Sony’s Crackle, which freely streams many older movies and TV shows. Sports buffs can now tune in to baseball games via the MLB.tv app.

Sony’s Crackle app for Windows 8.

Amazon Instant Video and YouTube are still glaring in their absence, but there’s a cheat for that: Internet Explorer 10’s streamlined interface is superb for streaming video. A plethora of third-party YouTube watchers are also available, and some of them function even better than the official YouTube apps. (I personally prefer Hyper for YouTube; YouTube Touch or YouTube+ are also solid options.)

The Windows 8 Plex app is a superb Plex client. (Click to enlarge.)

Don’t dig subscriptions? Apps for Plex and PowerDVD will scratch your personal-video-collection itch, while the baked-in Video app offers both local playback options and premium digital video downloads (its interface is kind of meh, though). I also have high hopes for the VLC media player app slated to land in the Windows Store soon. If it’s anywhere near as terrific as the desktop version, life will be good for Windows tablet owners. Until then, be wary of rip-off apps designed to look like VLC or Windows Media Player.

The "little extras" are the major stumbling block for the Windows Store. A handy-dandy Redbox app just turned up, but you still won’t find apps for, say, HBO Go, Comcast, Verizon, or the dozens of other niche services out there. If you use them, you’ll miss them, but if you stick mostly to major apps, the Windows Store gets two thumbs-up—especially if you don’t mind resorting to IE10 to fill in the blanks.

Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.
More by Brad Chacos

View the original article here

The state of the Windows Store: How useful are those 100,000 apps?

More than nine months into the great revamping known as Windows 8, a clear vision of its core is finally starting to emerge. The baked-in apps have been streamlined and Windows 8.1 looms, ready to polish the numerous rough edges found in the original release of the operating system. But Microsoft alone can’t improve what is truly the beating heart of Windows 8: The Windows Store.

Windows 8 revolves around the Windows Store. Every Live Tile that glimmers on the modern-style Start screen is the iconic representation of a Windows 8 app—and you can only snag Windows 8 apps in Microsoft’s own Windows Store. As the Windows Store goes, so goes the Windows 8 experience.

A recent Flurry study shows that mobile users spend 80 percent of their time in apps, rather than in a browser.

How, exactly, is the Windows Store doing? The obvious indicators are mixed. Windows RT devices can run only modern-style apps, not desktop apps, and they’re tanking hard. But app submissions picked up steam around the time of Microsoft’s Build conference, culminating in the shattering of the 100,000-app barrier in early July, and they’re still going (relatively) strong.

That’s a great milestone for Microsoft, but it’s still paltry compared to the approximately 1 million apps in Google Play and 900,000 apps in Apple’s App Store. So it’s a good time to take the pulse of the Windows Store again: Is 100,000 apps enough to keep a body happy? As I did last February, I spent days scouring the Windows Store and taking notes in five major categories: games, music apps, video apps, social apps, and a catch-all “other” category—to see how well Microsoft covered each. Here’s how they all measured up.

In my original Windows Store evaluation, I noted that the game selection was an early highlight—and it has only gotten stronger since February. The number of available apps has tripled in that time. While the roughly 13,500 available games don’t hold a candle to the vast Android and iOS libraries, there is more than enough to keep you distracted for months to come. A lot of them are ports from other platforms, but, hey, they play just as nicely on Windows.

In fact, they play so nicely that we’ve had two separate roundups of killer Windows 8 games, with very little overlap. If you open the Games tab in the Windows Store and sort by "noteworthy," you’ll find dozens and dozens of high-quality titles. (I’ve been playing Royal Revolt nonstop recently.) Microsoft Studios in particular has released a bevy of bodacious games like Pinball FX2, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and The Gunstringer.

Halo: Spartan Assault is awesome.

Speaking of which, two games from Microsoft Studios—Skulls of the Shogun and Halo: Spartan Assault—aren’t just a blast—they’re also far-reaching, letting you play with gamers on Windows Phone and Xbox Live as well as with fellow Windows Store shoppers. That sort of cross-platform experience is an exciting tease of the potential of Windows 8 gaming in a One Microsoft kind of world. Here’s hoping it continues.

That’s not to say that all is well in Winny’s world, however. As mentioned, while the Windows Store game selection is impressive, it can’t compare to the selections for iOS or Android—you won’t find any mobile Walking Dead games or Grand Theft Auto ports here.

You mean this game’s not legit? (Click to enlarge.)

More troubling, the Games section, like much of the Windows Store, is filling with rip-off apps designed to trick you into thinking they’re the real deal—such as Sonic’s Ring Challenge - Bomb Dodger and Pac Pac Man. Microsoft actually highlights that last app as one of the top free apps in its Spotlight section. The official Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, a $10 app, is not featured.

Pac Pac Man, right next to Twitter, Skype, Vevo, Google Search, and Adobe Photoshop Express in the Spotlight section’s Top Free apps.

Still, if you’re mindful of what you’re downloading, you’ll find a lot to like in the Windows Store’s Games section. (And to be honest, Pac Pac Man is pretty decent.)

The same general theme applies to the Windows Store’s selection of video apps: It’s not anywhere near as comprehensive as iOS’s or Android’s, but most people will find all they need within Microsoft’s modern-styled walls.

Netflix and Hulu Plus were two of the earliest entries in the Windows Store, where they were joined by Vimeo, Dailymotion, Flixster, TED Talks, and a handful of apps from individual television stations like Nick and Discovery Channel. (Note that as an app, Hulu Plus requires a subscription to use; you’ll need to dive into your browser if you want to catch free flicks.)

Beyond those stalwarts, only a handful of notable streaming-video apps have been added since February, though the additions have been of fairly high quality. Vevo’s music-video service landed on Windows 8 recently, as did Sony’s Crackle, which freely streams many older movies and TV shows. Sports buffs can now tune in to baseball games via the MLB.tv app.

Sony’s Crackle app for Windows 8.

Amazon Instant Video and YouTube are still glaring in their absence, but there’s a cheat for that: Internet Explorer 10’s streamlined interface is superb for streaming video. A plethora of third-party YouTube watchers are also available, and some of them function even better than the official YouTube apps. (I personally prefer Hyper for YouTube; YouTube Touch or YouTube+ are also solid options.)

The Windows 8 Plex app is a superb Plex client. (Click to enlarge.)

Don’t dig subscriptions? Apps for Plex and PowerDVD will scratch your personal-video-collection itch, while the baked-in Video app offers both local playback options and premium digital video downloads (its interface is kind of meh, though). I also have high hopes for the VLC media player app slated to land in the Windows Store soon. If it’s anywhere near as terrific as the desktop version, life will be good for Windows tablet owners. Until then, be wary of rip-off apps designed to look like VLC or Windows Media Player.

The "little extras" are the major stumbling block for the Windows Store. A handy-dandy Redbox app just turned up, but you still won’t find apps for, say, HBO Go, Comcast, Verizon, or the dozens of other niche services out there. If you use them, you’ll miss them, but if you stick mostly to major apps, the Windows Store gets two thumbs-up—especially if you don’t mind resorting to IE10 to fill in the blanks.

Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.
More by Brad Chacos

View the original article here

Apple’s App Store – Now and Then

The world of personal computing went for a spin on 10th July 2008 with the launch of Apple’s App Store, presenting its users with an unfathomable ocean of apps that could now be downloaded from external developers.

Ranging from games to messaging services; sharing data on social networking sites to finding the best eating joints by just a touch;  with the advent of Apple’s latest launch, Apple’s handset is now fully equipped with all the utilities expected of a touch-screen phone.

Gone are the days of filling extensive web forms to avail an app with license based software. The primitive techniques have given way to a mere touch that enables you to purchase any app of your choice without much hassle. The post App Store era now comes with cheap apps that do not involve much of decision making before one purchases or overlooks an app.

“Today, without trial, people are purchasing apps for amusement or to sort their problems,” iOS and Mac developer, Steve Streza propogates.

This venture has proved to be beneficial to the developers producing apps and games individually, who previously remained unrecognized due to the lack of platform. However now, several developers like Streza, who has now started developing apps individually, find a considerably larger audience to showcase their products to.

It is noteworthy that the launch of an app store was nowhere on the cards for the iPhone initially. The debuting model launched in 2007 had just a few apps built by Apple. Apple understood the ongoing developments and launched the first of its kind iPhone OS in the March of 2008. App Store was then launched along with iPhone 3G and a newer, better iOS 2.0.1 in July.

The launch of the App Store saw the 10, 00,000 downloads mark on its very first weekend, which since then has reached to an astonishing 60 billion mark, as recorded in 2013. The Store has also inspired the launch of similar platforms such as the Blackberry App World and the Google Play.

Although it is now easier than ever to create and sell an app to customers, it is also a healthy scope for scammers, since initially the big names such as Microsoft and EA alone ruled the market. The Top Charts feature on the App Store gives access to various apps and games that are just a copy of the original product. It is thus imminent when a consumer prefers to buy the emulation that is offered at a cheaper price rather than the original app.

But the plus points to Apple’s App Store are overwhelming. Not too long ago, consumers had a handful of choices in apps. Now, the developers are able to deliver and update apps immediately, offering the consumers apps and games for anything and everything.

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