Microsoft Wedge Keyboard and Touch Mouse

Even before the launch of Windows 8, we are already hearing about the new accessories....Microsoft Wedge Keyboard and Touch Mouse. 

Ahead of the Windows 8 release in October, Microsoft has opted to jump the gun and introduce a new accessory....in the form of the Wedge Mobile Keyboard and Wedge Touch Mouse — two aluminum-clad products with a few unassuming tricks up their sleeves.

Aside from the rock-solid build quality, Bluetooth-connectivity, and Windows 8-specific keys (charms, search, etc.) the Wedge Mobile Keyboard’s magic lies in its cover. The soft rubber surface is meant to be placed against a tablet’s screen when in transit, and the battery compartment of the keyboard pulls double duty as a hand grip so that you can carry that tablet and the keyboard easily with one hand.

This introduction shows the importance that Microsoft places on tablets.

Well, you might not believe it but what was mentioned was simply the first part of the keyboard...Because the cover hides another secret: if you fold it in half, it will hold its shape, allowing you to bend it into a stand for a Windows 8 tablet, ensuring the piece always maintains some utility. Another indicator of how important tablet is in the eyes of Microsoft...

The Wedge Touch Mouse, meanwhile, is a tiny piece of distinctly-shaped technology which also makes use of Bluetooth and Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology. But what hides beneath the buttons is a touch-sensitive surface which allows you to scroll up and down through the Metro UI. Additionally, a minor, but smart feature of the mouse revolves around the battery compartment: once you open its spring-loaded cover with the push of the button, you can’t latch it again unless the battery is placed in the right direction. It’s a little thing, but so, so ingenious.

In addition to the Wedge accessories, Microsoft also released the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard and Touch Mouse, which lack some of the premium styling and functionality of the aforementioned products, but still offer a wireless connection, and ability to navigate through the Windows 8 UI quickly and easily. Furthermore, the Microsoft Touch Mouse, which first landed in consumer hands last year, has been updated with Windows 8 multitouch gestures 

(but can be programmed for Windows 7-style gestures if you like. All the products will begin shipping to retail outlets in August in time for the Windows 8 launch. The Wedge keyboard and mouse will cost $US80 and $US70, respectively, while the Sculpt keyboard and mouse will each cost $US50. The Touch Mouse will still sell for $US80.)

Micromax funbook pro vs funbook Android ICS tablet PC

Micromax Funbook Pro: The first tablet by Micromax is Funbook. It almost covered the minds of Indians by its budget tablet image. Now after the funbook success this company has revealed another tablet PC named as Funbook Pro. Below were the general details about Funbook Pro in India.

Launch date of Funbook Pro – Released on July 2012
Price of Funbook Pro tablet – Rs.9,999 Indian rupee
Screen Size – 10.1 inches tablet
SIM card Slot - No


Funbook Pro VS Funbook: Micromax Funbook labeled with the name entertainment tablet. This new version Funbook Pro labeled as edutainment tablet. So there will option for both entertainment and education in this upcoming Micromax tablet. Best part of this tablet is it has got 10.1 display. Other things such as processor, software, apps and camera specs were same as that of previous version Funbook. Indians expect SIM card facility tablets instead of Wi-Fi. This tablet has got Wi-Fi but no possibilities for SIM card intervention. This thing creates that it has got nothing new than other tablet. But this tablet is marketed with the slogan Edutainment. They made a mark that they have many apps related to education. The advantage of Micromax Funbook pro is its 10 inch tablet with low cost. The disadvantage of Funbook Pro is it is just the dubbed version of previous one. While looking on to the difference between funbook VS funbook pro only screen size matters.

Micromax Funbook Pro tablet Specification:
Another Tablet under the Android ICS list is Funbook Pro. No speech about updates to the latest version of Jelly Bean.
Ports - HDMI port and USB port


Display Specs  :
Since its a budget tablet the size of the screen may be large but not the quality. They can't afford you a budget tablet with good screen quality and huge size.
Display – 10.1 inch
Resolution – 1024x600px
Multitouch facility – Available
Screen type – LCD

Hardware specs
Hardware specs looks no different from other tablet PC. Many 7 inch tablet PC has got good specs compared to this. Comparing to the price the hardware seems to be good.
CPU – 1.2GHz clocked processor
GPU – Dual Mali 400
RAM size – 1 GB RAM.
Internal Storage – 8GB
External Storage – 32GB via microSD
Sensors – none

Camera Specs
VGA camera for video call purpose using apps like Gmail and Skype were available.
Front Camera – VGA
Back Camera - no

Connectivity Specs
There is no GPS in this tablet but you can access google maps as it runs Android.
Wi-Fi – Yes
Bluetooth – Yes
GPS – No
3G – can be accessed through dongle

Battery Charge backup time: 5 hr

WishTel Ira Thing 2 Android ICS Tablet Specification

Ira Thing 2: Wishtel's latest tablet now available in market is Ira Thing 2. Recently just before this month it has launched Ira and Ira Thing tablet PC. Below is the details about Ira Thing 2 in India. 


Launch date of Ira Thing 2 – Released on July 2012 

Price of Ira Thing 2 tablet – Rs.4,505 Indian rupee
Screen Size – 7 inches tablet
SIM card Slot - No

Ira Thing 2 has got many pre-installed apps suited for Indians. Apps like Newspaper, social networking will be available inbuilt. Also special thing about this tablet is it has got Indian Keyboard that includes languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi and all Indian regional language. This tablet is available in six different color. Colors available in this tablet are  black, red, yellow, pink, blue and white.


Ira Thing 2 tablet Specification:
This is a Android ICS tablet no details about Jelly Bean update is available. Mostly there wont be any such updates for this tablet PC. Even newly launched Android ICS tablet by popular manufacturers will also don't have this update.
Ports - USB port and a HDMI port


Display Specs  :
All the display specs seems to be basic. The clarity will be in mid range.
Display – 7 inch
Resolution – 800x480px
Multitouch facility – Available
Screen type – LCD

Hardware specs
Hardware Specs of Ira Thing 2 is nothing new. It has got old but improved specs while comparing to the cost. CPU clock speed looks higher but no GPU. So there won't be any be acceleration to graphics in this tablet.
CPU – 1.5GHz clocked processor
GPU – Not available
RAM size – 512 MB RAM
Internal Storage – 4GB
External Storage – 32GB via microSD
Sensors – none

Camera Specs
Camera available for video calling. There is no rear camera. Video calling is possible.
Front Camera – 1.3 megapixels
Back Camera - no

Connectivity Specs
Good to see that all the connectivity were available in Ira Thing 2.
Wi-Fi – Yes
Bluetooth – Yes
GPS – Yes
3G – can be accessed through dongle

Battery Charge backup time: 4.6 hr

Buy Google Nexus 7 in India

Buy Nexus 7 in India: As I said Nexus 7 will be available only though online means in India. Here I have given the details about where to buy the Nexus 7 tablet PC by google through online. We cant buy this tablet simply by the knowing online shopping. So I have listed the online shops who sells Nexus 7 tablet. Below is the list



Indiatimes
Ebay
Tradus

I have spotted this Nexus 7 only in this three sites. Nexus 7 price in India is 16952 at India times for 7 GB and for 16 GB it costs you 22,500 Indian rupee at tradus. Below I have provided the full tariff details.



Google Nexus 7 cost  at India Times online shopping:
In India Times online shopping site you can buy Asus Nexus 7 for 16,952 as a full payment or you can buy this tablet by means of EMI. For 3 moths EMI you need to pay Rs. 5,651 per month and for six month EMI you should pay Rs.2,825 per month. This site assures you that they will deliver their goods within 15 days. This is a 8GB nexus tablet.

Nexus 7 cost at eBay
There are many sellers who sells Nexus 7 8GBat eBay. Here this tablet cost you Rs. 17,690 as a one time payment. This site also provides you EMI facility with Rs. 5,896 for 3 months and Rs.2,948 for six months. 16GB tablet is not available in this site. But in future you can check to get the one of this type.

Tradus offers for Nexus 7:
Here you can buy the 16GB nexus tablet for Rs. 22,500. For 8GB they cost you Rs. 16,990. EMI options in tradus involves  Rs. 5,663 per month for 3 month installment and Rs 7,500. per month for 6 month installment.

On the whole India Time cost you less. Soon book your tablet. But in other countries it was priced 200 dollars if we convert this to Indian currency it costs only 11,000 Indian rupee. So I think it is good idea to buy from American sites like Amazon. For 16K you can also go for good tablets other than Asus Nexus.

Windows 8 Features that benefits Businesses

Even before the release of Windows 8, which is on the 26th October this year, many have been criticizing regarding the Metro user interface and the decision taken by Microsoft to remove the Start button. 

Some observers and reviews simply say that the Windows 8 is BAD for desktop experience. There are even those who claims that the new OS will reduce productivity in the office.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of new features and improvements that deserve our attention:

UEFI Replaces BIOS to Enhance and Secure Booting

Microsoft will require that new PCs bearing the Windows 8 logo use a new boot solution called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which will significantly improve the boot process and experience. It replaces the archaic Basic Input Output System (BIOS) that we’ve used for decades. For those of you who wonder why the need for change, it was due to an extremely fast booting process...something that will blow your mind when you first use the PC running Windows 8.

You’ll see much faster boot times, on the order of 8 seconds from pressing the power button to being in Windows. This, along with less need for restarts, can help increase productivity in the office and save IT personnel time when applying upgrades or installing software.

Safeguards built into UEFI can also help save the IT department time and resources over the long term. Secure Boot prevents unauthorized operating systems from loading, and Early Launch Anti-Malware (ELAM) protects against boot loader attacks. UEFI will also allow remote diagnostics and repair of computers within the pre-OS environment. So instead of physically sending a technician to visit a PC experiencing boot issues, it might be possible to repair and restore the machine over the network. This is something that can change the work structure in an incredible way.

FULL WINDOWS experience on the Go...using a Tablet!!

This is probably the main reason for the introduction of Windows 8....to enable a full Windows experience on mobile devices such as the tablets...

We’ll likely see the same with x86-based Windows 8 Pro tablets and tablet-laptop hybrids, as they’ll offer the new metro-style Start screen in addition to the full Windows environment. This means that tablet users can have the same familiar Windows applications, including a full copy of Microsoft Office 2013, and Metro-style apps on both their desktop PC and their mobile device. For IT staffers, this means easier device and network management as they can use an existing Windows management infrastructure.

Bear in mind that these benefits apply only to x86-based tablets loaded with Windows 8 Pro. Tablets with ARM processors running Windows Run Time (RT) will support only the Metro-style apps, so they won’t be able to deliver the full Windows experience.

Windows To Go

If you have not heard about Windows To Go, you are missing something unique about Windows 8. 

The new Windows To Go feature in Windows 8 Enterprise will allow you put a clean install or an existing Windows 8 image onto a 32GB or higher USB thumb drive or a portable drive and boot it from another PC. This is similar to what you might have seen with Linux distributions running from a live CD or a USB drive. Although booting up a Windows To Go drive is officially supported only on PCs certified for Windows 7 and later, it might also work on PCs running Windows XP and Vista. Don't think of this as a stripped down Windows...no...this is the real deal...we are talking about having it Windows on the Go.

Windows To Go can be useful for telecommuters and temporary contractors, because they can essentially fit an entire PC environment--loaded with the all the apps, settings, and files they need--in their pocket and boot into it with their own PC. This would be much more efficient than having to carry a physical computer from place to place. Windows To Go could also make the perfect backup OS for PCs that become infected or corrupt. And it can be managed by and secured with standard enterprise management tools such, as SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) and Active Directory group policies, just like an ordinary Windows PC. The USB drive can also be encrypted with BitLocker to prevent data theft if it’s ever lost or stolen.

Networking Improvements Help Network Administrators

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 include many new and enhanced networking features useful for administrators. 

Native NIC (network interface card) teaming provides network connection load balancing and failover by bonding two or more network interfaces. The updated Server Message Block (SMB) protocol improves the availability, performance, administration, and security of file shares and storage resources, with new features like encryption and transparent failover.

The new IP Address Management (IPAM) feature of Windows Server 2012 helps admins discover, monitor, audit, and manage a network’s IP addressing. Finally, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) has also been improved to provide server failover ability and policy-based assignments.

Well, there are definitely more than just these new 4 addition...trust me, Windows 8 will be something exciting, for better or worse...because this is the OS that Microsoft is betting on....Steve Ballmer is putting everything at stake here....to win over the mobile market, to enhance the opportunity for their cloud market and at the same time, maintaining the momentum in the desktop and business environment...so stay tune for more excitement...

Windows 8 "Bad' for Desktop Users?

If you are all excited about the new Windows 8 like I do, please take a step backward to reconsider. 

Analyst firm Gartner has chosen just one word to describe Windows 8 for desktop users, and it is not something that Steve Ballmer would like to hear..."BAD".

Multi monitor

The Windows 8 has gone through a lot of transformation and is probably one of the biggest change in the history of Microsoft.  

Research Director Gunnar Berger put the imminent OS through its paces in a five-part review which found that Windows 8 is pretty good when used on touch-screen devices.  In fact, there are so much positive feedbacks that it seem Microsoft is really going in the right direction. Microsoft loaned Berger a Samsung slate device and he found that Windows 8 gets around some of the problems he's seen trying to get enterprise apps running on a tablet. 

 

Windows 8 also impressed him with a seamless, all drivers present and correct sir installation process on a variety of hardware, “crazy fast” boot time and pleasing appearance. 

Berger also felt that the slate he tested means he can ditch his habit of travelling with a laptop and iPad, as it does the job of both devices more than tolerably well. 

With such positive feedbacks, Windows is really offering something that is of strong substance, with a lot of cool factors in it. But the big problem with Windows 8 is when the end-point isn't touch enabled. The experience in using the new OS without any touch enable is BAD. 


“Extremely important menus in Windows 8 are hidden off screen, easily brought in when using a touch and swiping with your thumbs, are absent when using a mouse … Prior to this incident, I can’t tell you the last time I had to ask someone how to do something in a client OS.” said Berger. 

Remote access to the Windows 8 computer is also a nightmare.
Metro interface on the remote PC would not accept input from the Windows key on his local keyboard. All sorts of keyboard calisthenics ensued, leading Berger to predict Sysadmin scowling.


The punching line to the new OS from Microsoft would be this:


As a desktop guy, he feels the OS will have a hard time on the business desktop.

“Unfortunately, my area of expertise is enterprise desktops, and those desktops have a keyboard and a mouse; and as much as this doesn’t make any sense, it seems to me that Microsoft forgot about this when they designed Windows 8.”

Windows 8 release date - October 26

Well, if you have been following the news, you probably knew that the release date of Windows 8 is confirm to be on the 26th October 2012. 

Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows division, made the announcement during the company's annual sales meeting, according to the Windows Team Blog. 


Microsoft is betting BIG on Windows 8 as the release date on 26 October 2012 is for both Windows 8 PC and upgrades. It will cost $40 through January 31 for users running Windows XP or later. 

No specific launch day hardware was mentioned, but Microsoft's Surface Windows RT tablet should be available around that time

Windows 8 is a major overhaul, with a new Start screen optimized for touch screens and an app store for tablet-friendly "Metro-style" programs.

 
However, for those of you who are expecting of the launching of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together, you might be disappointed as rumors said that the Windows Phone 8 handset will be on the shelves somewhere in November. 
But Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop has told the New York Times that Windows Phone 8 software will be released in October, leading speculation of the earlier release of the devices.