Jolla unveils first Sailfish OS smartphone

Finnish startup Jolla has announced its first smartphone, which shows off its Sailfish OS on a 4.5-inch screen. The device integrates the company's unique back covers with the software, allowing the look to change and new features to be added.

Jolla, which was founded by a former Nokia employees who wanted to continue the development work the Finnish phone maker had done on the MeeGo OS, is with the introduction one big step closer to entering the ultra-competitive smartphone market.

The LTE-smartphone—which is just called Jolla, for now—is powered by a dual-core processor and has an 8-megapixel camera. It also has 16GB of integrated storage which can be expanded using an SD card.

The smartphone has been designed to look like two thin slabs that have been bonded together, and users can change the color of the back one with different snap-on covers. The back cover isn't just about the hardware design. It is integrated with the OS and can be used to add features and change the look, a concept Jolla calls "the other half."

The company's core offering is the Sailfish operating system, which Jolla hopes will lure users away from competing platforms. To help boost the availability of apps, the OS will be able to run Android applications.

The heart of the OS consists of thumbnails of opened applications on the home screen from which users also can access multiple features directly by scrolling from side-to-side or just clicking on them to access the main feature.

The Jolla will start shipping during the fourth quarter and cost €399 ($510) including taxes in the EU. It can be preordered on Jolla's website.

The market for smartphone operating systems will get a lot more crowded this year, as the respective backers of Firefox OS, Ubuntu and Tizen are also expected to launch their first phones. The only thing Jolla has got going for it is its small size, which means it doesn't have to sell many devices to survive, according to Francisco Jeronimo, research director at IDC.

All of the new operating systems will have a very hard time even making a dent in Android and iOS' dominance. Firefox OS and Tizen are expected to have a share of less than 5 percent in five years, according to IDC, which isn't even tracking Ubuntu and Sailfish.

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Windows Blue Is Now Officially Called Windows 8.1 & Free

The head of the Windows division at Microsoft officially confirmed that Windows Blue will be a free update to Windows 8 that will be available for download from the Windows Store. This should be music to the ears of many who feared that this may be a paid upgrade.

And not just that, Windows Blue is now officially known as Windows 8.1.

Tami Reller also confirmed that the update will also arrive for the company’s Windows RT platform.

There was more than a fair chance that this upgrade would indeed be free, but there were some voices that suggested Microsoft may charge additional money for existing Windows 8 customers. Nevertheless, it is nice to see this rumor quashed into oblivion.

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Blackberry Messenger coming to Android and iOS this summer for Free.

BlackBerry has just announced that its hugely popular BBM messaging service is going multi-platform: it will be released for Android and iOS this summer. BBM will support iOS hardware running iOS 6 and above; the Android version will be compatible with version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above as a free app in the App Store and Google Play. "It's time to bring BBM to a greater audience," CEO Thorsten Heins said in announcing the expansion, "no matter what mobile device they carry."

The company said that it would be bringing messaging and groups functionality to new platforms first but also has plans to introduce voice features, screen sharing, and its just announced ”social engagement platform” dubbed ‘Channels’ in future releases. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said the company is “committed to making the BBM experience on other platforms as fully featured” as possible.

The app will be fully featured, with key ingredients like group messaging and screen sharing all coming to the rival platforms.

Android and iOS user what do you think? Let me know your mind in the comments below.

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Google+ Hangouts updated with live rewind and instant replay

Google+ Hangouts are getting a little more convenient for viewers with a new update. The video chat service will now let users rewind live broadcasts, allowing those who came late to an event to catch up on the full chat. Recordings of the Hangouts will now be immediately accessible on YouTube as well.

Previously, the chats wouldn't be viewable until a short while after they concluded, but Google says that it's removed this delay and that users will be able to play back their video as soon as the recording is through. A few other small tweaks should enhance the viewing experience for Hangouts as well, including improved video quality on mobile and a quicker time between loading a chat and when it begins to play.

The company notes that the only downside to the series of changes will be for hosts, who may notice that initiating Hangouts takes slightly longer than it used to.

Major Updates Include

Rewind live broadcasts. Regardless when you start watching, you can always go back to the beginning.


Access recordings immediately after your broadcast. Once you're no longer On Air, your recording will be waiting for you on YouTube.

Watch higher quality Hangouts On Air on the go. If you're tuning in from your mobile device, you'll notice better-looking video.

Start live broadcasts without having to refresh. When you visit a page with a Hangout On Air (like Events or YouTube), the video will begin playing as soon as the show starts -- no refresh required.

Source: TheVerge
Via: Google

Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 public preview next month

Microsoft is to release a public preview of Windows 8.1 for anyone who has Windows 8 during BUILD 2013 in June. Head of Windows Engineering at Microsoft, Julie-Larson Green confirmed this today during the Wired Business Conference.


According to previous tips and leaks, Microsoft is close to completing what's believed to be the second internal milestone build, known as the Milestone Preview, of Windows Blue. Shortly after that, Microsoft is expected to make its one-and-only Windows Blue public preview available to consumers.

Earlier this week, Microsoft officials said to expect the company to make Windows Blue available by holiday 2013. I am still continuing to hear Microsoft is on track to release to manufacturing (RTM) Windows Blue by August 2013 or so.

Larson-Green emphasized -- like her Chief Financial Officer counterpart Tami Reller -- that Microsoft plans to be "principled but not stubborn" with coming modifications to the Blue update. Neither Larson-Green nor Reller promised that Microsoft would add back the Start Button to Windows Blue, but neither of them ruled out this possibility.


"The Start Button might be helpful," Larson-Green acknowledged during her remarks at the conference, and provide users with more of a "comfort level." She did note that the team has had "meaningful discussions" about bringing back the Start Button, but users shouldn't interpret that as meaning the old Start Menu would be coming back.

She noted that the Start Button today is basically hidden. "Some would like it showing up on the screen all the time," she said.

Source: ZDNet