Shortly after Windows 8: Less talking, more doing commercial, Microsoft released yet another video that goes after Apple’s iPad.

This time the ad focuses on multi-tasking, Office package, microSD expansion and printing capabilities. Read more »

In one of its most memorable Windows 8 tablet ads to date, Microsoft utilized the voice of Apple’s own Siri virtual assistant to make a case for its product. The Redmond giant took a jab at the iPad in a parody of one of Apple’s commercials.

Microsoft’s ad puts the spotlight on Windows 8′s Live Tiles, office, and multitasking capabilities by putting the ASUS VivoTab Smart side by side with an Apple iPad. Read more »

Adobe has officially launched its Photoshop Express on-the-go photo editing tool for Windows 8 and RT users.

Photoshop Express comes with the ability to crop, straighten, rotate, flip, remove red eye and other basic functions. The auto-fix feature in the app allows you to adjust brightness, exposure and shadows in one-touch. Read more »

Apple has released a new version of iTunes for OS X and Windows. Among the chief new features is an updated mini player. The mini player got a refresh in v11 but 11.0.3 makes it a bit more usable. There is now a progress bar so you don’t have to switch to the full mode to scroll through the track. Also, clicking on the album art thumbnail expands it.

Other changes include improved Songs view, where you can now view the album art even in the Songs view and multi-disc albums now show as one album in the Album view. There is also a new Update tab for the Apps section where you can view updates for your downloaded iOS apps. Lastly, there are some performance improvements while searching and sorting large libraries. Read more »

We already know that Microsoft is working on the second generation Surface RT tablets. The slates are rumored to be announced in the month of June, according to a report from DigiTimes.

The upcoming Surface RT tablet is reportedly manufactured by Pengatron Technology, using an Nvidia Tegra processor. Furthermore, the second generation Surface Tablets are estimated to be priced around $249-$299. Read more »

HP is following up on its x2 line of tablet/laptop hybrids with two new models – the 13.3″ Split x2, running Windows 8, and the 10.1″ SlateBook x2, running… Android. Both are laptops with detachable screens, which turn into tablets on their own.

The 13.3″ screen of the HP Split x2 is an IPS LCD with 1,366 x 768 resolution. The device is powered by a 3rd generation Intel Core i3 or i5 (Y-series with 7W SDP / 10W TDP) with 2GB RAM (upgradeable), and has a 128GB SSD with an optional 500GB HDD. Read more »

At the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston today, Tami Reller of Microsoft announced that the Windows 8.1 update, previously carrying the Blue moniker, is going to be free.

Microsoft will launch the update through its Windows Store with a public preview becoming available on June 26 (coinciding with the Build conference). In the meantime, the company will unveil the update’s newly added features and fixes. Read more »

You have to hand it to Samsung – it really, really cares about features. The Samsung Galaxy S4 for one is the most feature-rich phone ever and Samsung just keeps coming up with new features. SideSync allows a computer and a smartphone to work as one.

When you hookup a Galaxy phone to a computer running SideSync, files on the phone will be backed up and then the magic starts to happen. Read more »

With Windows 8 not outpacing its predecessor in terms of sales and popularity, Microsoft’s marketing team has been very hard at work to raise awareness of its latest piece of PC software. Their latest attempt is a trio of 1-minute TV ads and there’s no other word for it – they are hilarious.

The large dose of all sorts of weird is mixed brilliant sense of humor and the videos are bound to put a smile on your face. The ad campaign is dubbed “Windows 8 Training Camp” and whatever you are doing right now, you have to spend three minutes of your time to check the ads out. Read more »

We have been hearing about Windows 8.1 for quite some time now. Known originally as Windows Blue, the next update to Microsoft’s desktop operating system is soon expected to be available as a public preview.

Speaking at the Wired Business Conference in New York City, Windows chief Julie Larson-Green revealed that Microsoft will be releasing a public preview of Windows 8.1 in its upcoming Build conference in June. A final version of the OS is expected to be released near the end of the year, as we had originally heard. Read more »

HTC is allegedly working on a couple Windows RT Blue powered tablets, which are codenamed R7 and R12. The “R” in the title indicates that the slates will be running on the latest Windows RT Blue edition.

The HTC R7 is rumored to sport a 7″ full HD display and a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB of RAM. Read more »

A couple of weeks ago we talked about an upcoming Windows 8 tablet from Acer in the 8-inch form factor, which is a first for this platform. The tablet in question is an Acer W3-810, which has now reached a semi-official status after a listing on Amazon ahead of the official announcement.

The listing, which has since been pulled, priced the tablet at $379.99. Read more »

According to a preliminary data from the IDC, the tablet market is set to skyrocket in 2013 with a very promising first quarter. The data is still preliminary, but IDC expects to see a 142% jump in tablet shipments this quarter with a total of 49.2 million units shipped – more than all of 2012′s first half.

Apple continues to be at the top of the tablet sales chart for Q1 2013, managing to ship 19.5 million units, which secured it a 39.6% tablet market share. Year-over-year growth for the company is impressive as well at 65.3%, but not nearly as impressive as the rest of the tablet manufacturers. Read more »

We have been hearing rumors about upcoming 7/8-inch Windows 8 tablets, with Microsoft itself said to be working on one. This leaked Acer tablet, however, is the first to confirm that rumor.

What you see above is the Acer Iconia W3-810, a 7-inch tablet running Windows 8. As you can see the device has been optimized for use in portrait mode, with the Windows button placed near the narrow edge. However, the logo is strangely aligned sideways and favors the landscape orientation. Read more »

Microsoft turned in its report card for the first quarter of the year (which is the third quarter on the company’s financial calendar). The total revenue for the quarter was $20.49 billion with net income growing to $6.06 billion, 19% up from the same quarter the previous year. That was a bit better than analysts predicted.

The company’s CFO, Peter Klein, mentioned that Windows 8 will be coming to smaller devices (presumably with the 8.1 Blue update), but said nothing about Microsoft branding one of them as a Surface device (the rumor mill thinks has it that there is a 7” Surface in the pipeline). Read more »