Xbox Live Coming to iOS and Android
Last Updated on Friday, 20 January 2012 06:00 Written by Alan Friday, 20 January 2012 06:00
It’s been rumored for a while now that Microsoft would finally end the Xbox Live exclusivity to Windows Phone and bring their gaming technology to iOS and Android, but now it looks like that day is finally in sight. Although Microsoft would love to use Xbox Live as one of the big selling points for their own mobile operating system, making it available for the other major mobile platforms will greatly expand both their user base and their revenue.
While it’s been all rumors and speculation up until now that Microsoft would really make Xbox Live available on any platform besides their own, that has finally changed today as a Microsoft spokesman told the website Inside Mobile Apps that,
“While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.”
As I previously stated, this move makes sense for Microsoft for a couple of reasons. It’s also entirely likely that the Xbox Live maker will keep some juice for Windows Phone by making certain functions and games exclusive, permanently or for for a period of time, to Windows Phone. Once both of these models – Xbox Live on Android and iOS, and Windows Phone exclusives – are in place then Microsoft will have the best of both worlds.
CloudOn Brings Free Cloud Storage and Microsoft Office to the iPad
Last Updated on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 09:42 Written by Alan Tuesday, 3 January 2012 09:42
The iPad is still the number one tablet in the world despite the best efforts of Android to dethrone it. But one thing that the iPad or Android can’t do is run Microsoft Office. There are ways to get the Office functionality into the tablet world with apps like OfficeSuite Pro. Even though Apple, Google, and the open source community have tried to overthrow it, Microsoft Office is still far and away he top choice when it comes to office suites.
Now the iTunes App Store for the iPad has finally got a way for users to run Microsoft Office on their tablet and even get free cloud storage to goo along with it. “CloudOn lets you use your iPad to create, view, and edit files directly in Microsoft Word®, Excel® & PowerPoint®.” CloudOn isn’t really giving away Microsoft Office, but kind of acting as a bridge between the iPad and the Office Live internet app suite. It requires the user to have a Dropbox account, which is free to sign up for.
- Use Word, Excel and PowerPoint to create, edit, and view documents.
- Rename, edit, and delete documents using your Dropbox account.
- Track changes when reviewing Word documents.
- Use pivot tables and forumlas in Excel.
- Do presentations in full PowerPoint mode.
- Open files directly from iPad email accounts or Dropbox.
- Automatically save documents.
The app is free in the iTunes App Store. The user interface is simple and clean just like the online version of Microsoft Office is. Perhaps in the future they will integrate SkyDrive as an option, given that is has more free storage and already works with Office Live.
Microsoft Releases SkyDrive for Windows Phone and iPhone
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 08:06 Written by Alan Tuesday, 13 December 2011 08:06
With the recent release of the new SkyDrive API for Windows Phone and Windows 8, we knew Microsoft was ramping up their cloud services for major integration into the phone and next-generation computer and tablet operating systems. Only a few days after the API release the first Windows Phone app to take advantage of it, Handyscan, was released. Today Microsoft released official SkyDrive apps for, not only Windows Phone, but also iPhone. SkyDrive gives users each 25 GB of free storage for documents, pictures, videos, or whatever.
The new SkyDrive for Windows Phone requires users to be running the latest version – 7.5, also known as Mango. Microsoft has integrated the app into the phone through the pictures and Office hubs. According to Microsoft, “for instance, you can share photos stored on SkyDrive by email, text, or IM, use Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with SkyDrive files, and even keep your phone’s camera roll up-to-date on SkyDrive automatically.” Microsoft is promising even better SkyDrive integration into Windows Phone with this update. Users can now get the “full SkyDrive experience”, which means being able to browse all SkyDrive files, share links to files or folders, delete files, and create folders. The Windows Phone app is is available today worldwide. Visit the Windows Phone Marketplace to get the app.
SkyDrive for iPhone now contains much of the same functionality as it’s Windows Phone brother. Owners of Apple mobile devices can now access and share all of SkyDrive files. “iPhone customers can now access all of their files in SkyDrive, create folders, delete files, and share links to folders and files directly using the Mail app.” The iPhone SkyDrive app is available in 32 languages worldwide. Visit Get SkyDrive for iPhone to download the app to you iPhone.
