Microsoft Surface Pro 4 announced

Microsoft at its Windows 10 Devices event has officially announced the Surface Pro 4. It is now available for pre-order, starting from $899 and will go on sale from October 26.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 sports a 12.3-inch (2736 x 1824 pixel) PixelGlass display that has 1024 different pressure sensitivity levels. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 which is only 0.4mm thick. The PixelGlass display is optimized for both touch and pen input.

It comes with a choice of Intel's 6th gen Core processors from Core M3 to Core i5 and Core i7 which are powered by Intel HD Graphics 515, Intel HD Graphics 520 and Intel Iris Graphics accordingly. Microsoft says that the Surface Pro 4 is 50 percent faster than Apple's MacBook Air and 30 percent faster than the Surface pro 3. 

It comes with up to 16GB RAM (4GB, 8GB or 16GB) and up to 1TB SSD storage (128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD options). There is  a full-size USB 3.0, microSD card reader, 3.5mm headset jack, Mini DisplayPort, Type Cover port, Surface Connect and fingerprint scanner. Also on board is a 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front facing camera and a hybrid cooling system.The Surface Pro 4 will offer up to 9 hours of battery life. All this is wrapped up in a body that's just 8.4mm thick. 

Microsoft also outed the Surface pen which comes with a full year of battery life. It comes with a tail eraser with stickiness and friction. The pen includes 1024 levels of pressure and magnetically latches to the side of the tablet. Double clicking on the Surface Pen button will launch the OneNote app and users can hold down to activate Cortana in Windows 10. It comes in five colors and will support interchangeable pen tips to emulate the feel of a pencil, ballpoint and more. It costs $60 and is now available for pre-order. 

There is also a new Type Cover which comes with more spacious keys on the keyboard. It also a glass trackpad which is 40 percent larger than the previous cover. The new Type Cover also has fingerprint sensor, allowing it to work with Windows Hello biometric login feature on Windows 10. Microsoft claims the new Type Cover to be lighter, thinner and sturdier. It works with Surface Pro 4 as well as Surface Pro 3. It is priced $130.

Microsoft also announced a new Surface Pro docking station which is compatible with Surface Pro 3 and Pro 4. It features four USB 3.0 ports, two DisplayPorts (supporting up to 4K resolution monitors and Full Ethernet Port. It is priced at $200 and is up for pre-orders.

Microsoft Lumia 550 with Windows 10 Mobile, 4G LTE announced

Microsoft has announced a new mid-range smartphone dubbed Lumia 550 at its event in New York City today.

Microsoft Lumia 550 features 4.7-inch HD (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display and is equipped with 1.1GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB inbuilt storage, further expandable via microSD card up to 200GB. It runs Windows 10 Mobil and supports 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS/aGPS connectivity.

For imaging there is 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash, f/2.4 aperture and can record 720p videos. On the front there is 2-megapixel camera with f/2.8 aperture and records 480p videos. The device is fueled by 2100mAh battery and comes in Black and White colors. There is a dual sim version- the Lumia 550 dual sim as well.

Microsoft Lumia 550 is priced at $139 (Rs. 9,000) and will go on sale in select European markets in December.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL goes official, priced at $649

Besides unveiling the Lumia 950, Microsoft also announced the Lumia 950 XL, the company's latest high end smartphone. It has same specs as Lumia 950, but comes with a bigger display and powerful processor. 

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XLsports a 5.7-inch QHD display with a pixel density of 518ppi. It is powered by a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC clubbed with 3GB RAM. It comes with 32GB inbuilt storage that's expandable via microSD card up to 200GB. 

There is a 20-megapixel PureView camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), f/1.9 aperture, triple RGB LED flash and can record 4K videos. On the front sits a 5-megapixel shooter with f/2.4 aperture, wide angle lens and can record 1080p videos. It has dedicated camera buttons. 

Connectivity options inlcude 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) MIMO, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS. It also features USB Type-C port (USB 3.1), which can charge 50 percent of the battery in just 30 minutes. It has built-in wireless charging and also has a 3340mAh capacity removable battery.

The Lumia 950 XL also has the adaptive antenna technology which makes it possible for the device to give users the best reception no matter how they pick it up. It also comes with liquid cooling technology which ensures that the phone dosen't heat up. It also supports Windows Hello biometric authentication, that unlocks the device by just looking at your face. The DisplayDock is also supported for Continuum, which lets you use your phone as you would a desktop PC.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is priced at $649 (Rs. 42,340) and comes in Black and White colors. There is also a dual sim variant as well. The device will go on sale in selet markets starting from November.

Microsoft Lumia 950 goes official, priced at $549

At Microsoft's big Windows 10 devices event, the company unveiled the Lumia 950.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 features 5.2-inch QHD (1440 x 2560 pixels) AMOLED display with a pixel density of 564ppi. Inside there is a Hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor paired with Adreno 418G GPU and 3GB RAM. On-board storage is 32GB, further expandable via microSD card slot up to 200GB. It runs Windows 10 Mobile.

There is a 20-megapixel PureView camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), f/1.9 aperture, triple RGB LED flash and can record 4K videos. On the front sits a 5-megapixel shooter with f/2.4 aperture, wide angle lens and can record 1080p videos. It has dedicated camera buttons.

Connectivity options inlcude 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) MIMO, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS. It also features USB Type-C port (USB 3.1), which can charge 50 percent of the battery in just 30 minutes. It has built-in wireless charging and also has removable battery.

The Lumia 950 comes with a adaptive antenna technology which makes it posible for the device to give users the best reception no matter how they pick it up. It also comes with liquid cooling technology which ensures that the phone dosen't heat up.

It also supports Windows Hello biometric authentication, that unlocks the device by just looking at your face. It also has Continuum support, for which Microsoft has outed a DisplayDock- which comes with HDMI and DisplayPort, and three USB ports. This accessory lets you use your device as you would a desktop PC. Of course while using the dock, you can still use your phone independently of the computer.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 is priced at $549 (Rs. 35,810) and will go on sale in select markets in November. It comes in Black and White, there is a dual sim variant as well which is priced same.

Microsoft Hololens Developer Kit coming in Q1 2016 for $3,000

Microsoft at its Windows 10 Devices event  announced that the HoloLens Developer Kit will be available in the first quarter of 2016 fot $3,000. Developers can now apply online to buy a unit of HoloLens starting today from Microsoft's website. Initially it will be sold on an invite-only basis. 

In the event Microsoft showed off a mixed reality game on HoloLens, called Project X-Ray, which adapts to any room the player. The game turns every room of your home into a personalized game level and pits you against a swarm of robots, which pop up out of the walls in the room when you are in.

The HoloLens is a standalone device that includes a custom "holographic processing unit". It is a wearable headset with lens that combines virtual reality, augmented reality and video. Microsoft claims it to be the world’s first untethered holographic computer that does not need any wires, phones or connection to a PC.