Have you seen Microsoft lately? That nerdy guy in the corner with the glasses and ill-fitted clothing? Well, he started working out and he’s lookin’ mighty fine. Microsoft has always been the weird step child in anything fashionable when it comes to Tech. You have Apple, owning the whole sleek universal look, while Microsoft just struggles to look cool. The Zune is a big example of one of it’s failed attempts at the “cool” factor, but this past week they revealed things that showed that it may have finally figured it all out.
Jun 25
Jun 06
Some new things at E3 will work with both used and refurbished cell phones, which is a great surprise! A couple days ago I let you all in on what Nintendo showed off at this years E3, the Wii U tablet controller console. One question I asked was what Microsoft or Sony’s response would be to this game changer. Well, seems Microsoft didn’t just have a response, they had a counter! Microsoft has really been pushing the Xbox as an all around media hub for your household, but it normally stopped in your livingroom… Not if Microsoft has anything to say about it.
Jun 04
Nintendo is known for innovation, especially when someone looks at the Wii and see’s how the other two big console companies reacted. They both raced to have their own motion control systems, and the only survivors of this battle seems to be Nintendo and Microsoft, as Sony’s Move is viewed as a massive failure. But what’s next in Nintendo’s future? Well, E3 is this week and Nintendo unveiled the final build of their next console, the Wii U.
May 03
What does Xbox 360 and Verizon have in common? Well they both provide a service where you buy a device at a discount with a two year contract. that’s right, Microsoft will start selling the Xbox 360 at a discounted price so that you, the consumer, can have it on the cheap as long as you pay a monthly fee for two years. Is this deal worth it and will other companies like Sony and Nintendo follow suit?
Oct 18
Ah prototypes, they can sometimes be really really cool devices that will never see the light of day, then there is this… I don’t know what to make of this. Microsoft, probably using some of the tech they used with the Xbox Kinect, is showing off a prototype of their “OmniTouch” projection interface. It tracks depth with short range depth camera and projects images onto any surface, be it your hand or your kitchen wall. The way they showed it off was by having it attached to someones left shoulder and projecting on that persons arm, notebook or wall right in front of them. The thing I find interesting is that I would see this as being more useful on someones wall at home, or their home theater system. Think of having your end table beside your couch as your remote, projected from the ceiling. It could show you updates on sports, weather and control your entire entertainment system. Instead they screwed it to some woman’s shoulder, but that’s cool too.
Oct 03
So it seems some department stores are already hanging up their Christmas decorations, and you know what that means! That’s right, new gadgets being announced and released rapid fire for the next couple months. We here at TheBlueDot.net are passionate about all things electronic, so we wanted to show off the few new goodies we are keeping our eyes on.
Kindle Fire
The iPad has been dominating the tablet market even though there are dozens of other cheaper tablets to choose from. The problem was there wasn’t a big marketable name slapped on to the other tablets to compete with such a powerful brand. This is where Amazon and the Kindle Fire comes in. Touting the Android OS, the Kindle Fire (priced at a comfortable $199) may actually shake things up a bit in the tablet world. It has the Kindle brand behind it, and the price point is two fifths the price of the iPad. Why spend $500 on a tablet you may or may not use when you can get one for $200 that may do the exact same thing. It only boasts 8GB of storage, but with the ability to sync your data online it may not matter. We here at TheBlueDot can’t wait to get our hands on it and give it a whirl.
iPhone 5
Of course Apple has something around the corner, they always do. Apple has yet to announce the iPhone 5, or even release many details on their new phone. But everyone has been making guesses on what it may have, and what it probably will have. A better camera, better screen, Near Communication Technology and much much more. We don’t have much information on this up coming phone, like everyone else. But we will be keeping a close eye on the official announcement. Before the announcement, and after, you cantrade in your old iPhones to TheBlueDot to help with your new iPhone purchase.
Microsoft updates
though these are separate things, they are both much needed updates. The Kinect has been a hot buy for the XBox 360, even though it lacks a library. The biggest fault though is in it’s lack of interface with the 360 dashboard. The Kinect Dashboard is incredibly limited, leaving almost no reason to wave at your device and use it over a controller. But that may soon change within the next few months. Massive updates to the software will add more menu options and , hopefully, better video control.
The other update coming out of Microsoft is Mango for the Windows phones. That’s right, there is another smart phone OS choice out there, just not one that has made any waves, until now. The Mango update has an alleged 500 feature additions, which is just too many to list here. The biggest change is to it’s better social media integration, which is a must have in the smart phone world. Reviews are already starting to spill out, so give them a look and consider the Windows OS phones when looking for a new phone.
Ice Cream Sandwich
No, not the dessert, the OS update for Android. Well, not all Androids. All Androids released this past year (and a few beyond) will be getting the much anticipated update by Google. Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t been released yet, but leaks have made their way to the general public. Most f the updates seem to be superficial, but there are a few menu updates and multitasking updates that many will be happy to see. We’ll wait for a bit more information, but so far none of the Google updates have let us down.
We’ll try to keep you all updated as more and more news trickles out on all these devices and updates.
