Apple rumored to refresh iPad hardware and internals next week

An update to the third-generation iPad with added Lightning connector is the latest rumor to come out of Apple's announcement next week. This is after whispers that the iPad would receive an upgrade to the A6 chip currently in the iPhone 5.

Apple’s upcoming announcement on October 23 has spawned a nauseating amount of rumors teasing which products will be unveiled and others that will simply be repackaged with improved internals.

Unless you’ve been avoiding the rumor onslaught — and who could blame you? — the iPad Mini is the new device everyone expects to be announced next week. But in light of recent evidence provided by 9to5 Mac‘s sources, it seems Apple will be refreshing its full-sized iPad line at the same time. This refresh won’t be considered a true successor to the current iPad, but more of a 4S-style upgrade.

Allegedly confirming previous rumors about an iPad refresh, the sources say the new iPad will keep the same price scheme ($500, $600, and $700 for WiFi-only) at the same respective storage sizes (16GB, 32GB, 64GB). It’s also suspected the new iPad will incorporate the Lightning connector that debuted on the iPhone 5 and Apple’s newest iPods. Global support for LTE may be tossed in for good measure as well, and (if the rumor is true) Apple may decide to bump up other specs like processor speed or battery. The supposed proof is in a list of leaked barcodes, half referring to the current iPad generation and the other half to an updated line.

Whispers of an iPad refresh began back in early October, when MacRumors posted that a developer had found evidence of a device called the “iPad3,6″ that targets the new ARMv7s architecture used in the custom A6 chip. This older rumor combined with the newer one above seems to point to a new and improved iPad with a beefed up processor and Lightning connector.

If the rumor ends up coming true, it could be a deadly blow for Microsoft, which has its own Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 announcements scheduled around the same time as Apple. Looking to previous iPad reveals, it’s fair to assume the refreshed tablet would spread like wildfire as consumers gear up for the holiday season. But as with every rumor, we have to look at this one with the appropriate amount of skepticism. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Apple will undoubtedly make a killing if it unleashes an iPad Mini and a new iPad right before the holidays. 

Do you think there’s any truth to this rumor or is the evidence too much of a stretch to be considered fact?

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-rumored-to-refresh-ipad-hardware-and-internals-next-week/

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These five apps turn your static address book into a feature-full social network

The address book is a smartphone staple, but it's a tired one. Check out these apps that take your boring old contact list and turn it into an engaging, iterating social network.

Everyone’s familiar with the contact exchange drill — we know it all too well. You meet, you trade numbers or names, you look new friends up on Facebook or Twitter, or get an email address if it’s a more professional meeting. With this ever-expanding list of people to manage, meet with, and remember, a new concept to turn address books into their own type of social network is sweeping the app ecosystem. So where can you turn for social-friendly contact lists? Here’s our hands on impression of a view options. 

Brewster

Brewster is a beautifully designed address book app that pulls in and combines contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, your address book, and your email client.

The information presented on your contact’s page (email addresses, phone numbers, where a person lives) is digestible and easily accessible. You can even call, text, or email them from within the app.

Right after signing up, you’re prompted to select your “Favorite” contacts. We recommend you select at least a few contacts for this list, if only to get rid of what’s otherwise a big empty white space every time you open the app. This is also a big part of Brewster’s function: Giving you quick, easily digestible information about your connections. 

The app focuses on maintaining your relationships. In the “Lists” tab, where contacts are curated, people that you haven’t talked to in a while are filed under “Losing Touch;” people that you talk to on a regular basis are found under “Frequently Contacted.” And you can even view the contacts that you have the “Most Mutual Connections” with.

Additional features include the latest updates about your contacts, including birthday reminders, updated cities, and group messaging.

Brewster is available on iOS devices. Check out our hands on impressions for more info. 

Ringya

Ringya is a privacy focused app and intentionally doesn’t automatically pull your contacts from your social networks and email account. In fact, you can only add individuals strictly from existing contacts on your smartphone’s address book. Adding contacts onto Ringya who aren’t on your phone already is tedious since you’re forced to plug in names manually one-by-one. But some of you might prefer an address book where you’re more likely to be selective with the contacts that you’re adding — and if you feel like your address book as is functions well for your contact needs, then you’re good to go.

The app isn’t the most visually appealing, however, and we were somewhat disappointed with the scarce information available on our contacts’ pages. The basic information like email address and phone number are there, but that’s about it.

To the app’s credit, group messaging is a cinch and it offers a unique feature that digitizes paper lists. You can digitize fifty names and email addresses from a piece of paper in one fell swoop by photographing the page with Ringya. The contact information on the page is processed and uploaded to your contact list. Users can also import lists of contacts from an Excel, Word, or PDF document.

Ringya is available on iOS devices.

Gather 

Gather is a newcomer among address book apps and hits the social approach hard, focused on interacting with your contacts. Gather is a social address book so connected with networking that it could be used as a limited third-party social media client. The app supports uploading contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your address book. Users can message, call, or email contacts through the app.

Gather’s emphasis on social media became more apparent while we tested out the app. There’s a personal newsfeed called “Message,” where you can read posts you’ve publish to your social networks as well as post content to LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Gather shares a few similarities with Brewster. Under a tab titled “Compass” contacts are curated by default categories including your friends’ likes, companies, and location. And because Gather is focused on social, you can also view the “Image of the Day” or see the most discussed topics among your friends, supplied from your connections’ social networking posts and updates. 

As an added bonus, there are a few bells and whistles that heavy networkers and conference-goers might enjoy: Users can add contacts by scanning a business card or QR code, for instance.

Gather is available on iOS devices.

Youlu

Youlu was developed by a Chinese company based out of Beijing and is among the leading address book apps on the market. When you first dive in, the app is admittedly not the easiest to use. It packs an arsenal of features, and in general Youlu is best described as a hybrid between SMS messaging and an address book app, and the result makes it sort of a Jack of all trades, master of none.

Its address book features are nothing out of the ordinary, looping in email addresses, social media profiles, phone numbers, and offering options for calling, texting, as well as FaceTime access. The app even adds a QR code that’s associated with each of your contacts, which makes it easy to share their information with someone else.

There are a couple of features that users might find confusing about Youlu. The first is the far left navigation button on the app which opens up a traditional dial pad. But it isn’t used for making direct phone calls — instead it launches an in-app search engine for finding your contact by phone number or name. This ended up being more annoying than anything else. 

Second, updates made on the app aren’t automatically synced to your phone. Instead you’re required to manually sync the latest changes on Youlu, which then gets pushed to its cloud. For those of you spoiled by automated services, this alone might prove to be a turn off.

On the other hand if you’re interested in talking to your friends that also have Youlu installed, you can chat using its push-to-talk or text-based messaging service, share pictures, and invite up to 50 people to one group chat. But there are other messaging apps out there that offer a less confusing experience, like Whatsapp, Kik, and WeChat.

Youlu is available on Android, iOS, and Symbian OS devices.

Smartr

Smartr offers users a clean, easy-to-use interface, if being a bit unremarkable. Like many other address book apps, you can import contacts from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, email, and your phone address book. It connects all this information for your connections, and you can call, message, and email contacts using the app. But the powerful search engine under the hood makes up for where it’s unexceptional.

The homepage of the app displays a search engine where you can find contacts by company, company title, name, and email address. Where the app distinguishes itself is in explicit information that it’s able to pull about your relationship between you and your contacts. For example, an “analytics dashboard” displays the number of messages that have been exchanged between you and your contact, what it was you talked about during the first conversation, and the email threads that you’ve shared exclusively with them.

That feature alone is a powerful service, especially if you’re talking to new people on a daily basis. Smartr can help you remind you about the type of professional relationships you have with your contacts.

Smartr is available on Android, iOS, and BlackBerry.

The Verdict

If you’re looking for a productivity address book app where you’re looking to quickly index a large number of contacts (especially on paper) and send messages to the appropriate groups, Ringya might be your best bet.

Brewster is useful for managing existing relationships with our contacts. It’s a favorite of ours, but the caveat is that it’s currently only offered for iPhone.

If you frequent conferences and need a quick solution to publish posts to your social network, find trends in your contact’s social activity, or digitize a physical business card, Gather might suffice. However we found that the app was particularly slow to process our contact list and business cards.

Youlu, fails to provide a single feature worth using that we couldn’t find elsewhere. Searching for contacts on a traditional dial pad and manually syncing our updates to Youlu’s services is inconvenient, and the app doesn’t offer any dynamic features like algorithmically curating the address book. Its messaging service isn’t convincing us anytime soon to retreat from the messaging apps that we’re using already. For us there isn’t much here that other apps couldn’t offer us.

If we had to recommend an address book app, Smartr would be our pick. While the app is unremarkable, it manages our contacts with a robust algorithm and it’s stripped of bells and whistles while still getting the job done. Smartr is also available on three different types of operating systems, which can’t be said for the other four address book apps.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/hands-on-with-5-address-book-apps/

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Weekly mobile wrap: Coca Cola phones and how we pay too much for data

Apple can't catch a break these days, and Microsoft is more than happy to take advantage of the void in the spotlight. Meanwhile, mobile device owners have plenty to complain about regardless of brand. Plus the best apps and games of the week.

 The mobile market may be entering a brave new world in the coming years. New phones that improve upon old technology come out all the time, but those are little changes. We’re talking big things here — massive movements. There’s a lot of cases where companies stay within their own borders or region, whether it be with a service or a product. But not anymore. This week saw one of the biggest moves to unifying the global market. Our world will be rocked thanks to a cell phone that is powered by Coca-Cola. Take that, everyone who said corn syrup isn’t a viable fuel source. Oh, also Sprint was purchased by Japanese carrier Softbank, creating the world’s third largest mobile network. But seriously: Coke phone. This week: Apple’s looking forward to the future because it’s present isn’t going so well, Microsoft is hoping the near future holds lots of tablet sales, and current cell users just want to stop getting shafted now. All that plus the best apps and games from the week of October 14-19, 2012.

Apple can’t win…

Apple might be the most profitable company of all time, but man has it been missing its target lately. The iPhone 5 is a full month old now, but there are still people with their pockets filled with nothing but promises. International customers have it even worse than the American market, as Apple has halted its international rollout in countries not named in its initial launch. Until MacGyver makes his way into the Foxconn facility and starts putting together phones with paperclips and glue, we get the feeling the rollout won’t pick up, and Apple probably won’t talk about it either. It’s pretty fitting, as Apple’s been quiet about a lot of things lately. Most notably, the court-ordered statement that the Cupertino company has to make to inform consumers that Samsung did not copy the iPad. We’re going to go ahead and assume Apple’s October 23 announcement isn’t going to be a public apology. Even the latest acquisition of Apple is a bit of a blunder. Purchasing the remnants of Color Labs will bolster the Apple patent portfolio, but that company just has bad mojo.

Phone owners can’t win either

Early adopters of mobile technology are often the first to experience some of the fastest-changing advancements in consumer tech. The mobile industry moves fast, but some things might not be changing quick enough. For example, anyone with a smartphone or tablet that has 16GB or less of memory is probably starting to notice their device flash “System memory full” quicker than usual. We can thank the growing size of apps and games. While their functions are often improving, the size of these downloads has increased by 42% over the past 6 months. That takes a toll on memory. For Americans, it hits the wallet hard, too. Studies reveal that Americans pay a significant amount more for LTE networks than most countries. Sweden’s service costs 1/10th what U.S. providers charge, but their version of Siri is the Swedish Chef so it’s a trade off. 

Microsoft tries not to scratch Surface

Microsoft is doing its best to gain back some ground in the mobile game, and so far it appears to be working. The tech giant has been doing its best to make a case for its Surface tablet, and customers may be buying in. With a price tag comparable to the the iPad and an operating system that looks like it may be hip to be square, Microsoft executives may spend launch day doing more dancing than the Surface ads. Of course, not everyone is impressed. While the basic 32GB pre-order is now delayed three weeks, the models that come with the Touch Cover case are still available for the October 26 launch. Apple’s doing its best to rain on the parade with a press conference that is likely to be tablet related a few days before the Surface surfaces but other consumers just aren’t sold on it. Microsoft may be hoping that a voucher that reserves a Surface tablet on launch day will incentivize potential buyers, likely by showing them just how much more functional a tablet is in comparison to the piece of paper. Whatever it takes, guys.

Fresh New App of the Week

 

Muse Me (Free, iPhone) – Got a question about an outfit your putting together or a a purchase you’re going to make? Let your friends be your better judgement with Muse Me. This app allows you to take a picture of anything that you’re trying to decide between — shoes, brands of yogurt, paintings — and put them to a vote. Assuming your friends don’t lead you astray, this app will help you make those tough choices that may require a second opinion…or third, or fourth, or fifth.

Ever2Drop ($2, iPhone) – Get the full potential out of EverNote and DropBox by combining their functionalities with this helpful tool. 

BeatBang (Free, Android) – An interactive map that takes users through the history of electronic music with samples, stories, and in-depth backgrounds of the popular genre.

Fresh New Game of the Week 

Carmageddon ($2, iOS) – Carmageddon skips over all the waiting and teasing that comes with normal racing games and gets right to the heart of what we all truly want: giant, explosive crashes. Based on a PC game from the late ’90′s, Caramgeddon makes a come back on the portable screen of your iOS device. With tons of cars and environments to totally destroy, you can experience every part of the game that was once banned around the world. Like you need a bigger selling point, you rebel.

Hum This (Free, iOS/Android) – Part Draw Something, part name that tune. Hum a song and send it off to a friend to see if they can guess it. 

Cracking Sands ($3, Windows Phone) – Take the road less travelled with this off-road racer. There are no laws or rules on these roads–just do what it takes to win.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/weekly-mobile-wrap-2/

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LG Nexus 4: release date, news and rumours

It's sparkly... let's hope there's no Twilight tie-in

It's no secret that there's a new flagship handset coming from the search giant, and while several rumours have pointed to multiple Nexii, only the LG Nexus 4 (or Google Nexus 4 by LG, depending on how the two brands have decided).

The smart money is on the phone being the poster boy for Android 4.2, which will still be known as Jelly Bean - and while we're yet to get anything approaching confirmation about this new OS, features such as a double notification bar, for quick access to settings, seem pretty much nailed on.

But what of the phone, we hear you cry? There's a lot of info spewing out of the rumour mill at the moment regarding the next generation of Nexus phone, so we've waded through it all to bring you the most likely things we'll see later this month - and help you find out what stories you should say both 'Tish!' and 'Pah!' at when you see them mentioned.

LG Nexus 4 design

Nobody gave the rumour that LG would be chosen as the new flagship partner for Google, but after a litter of leaks, the smart money is on the Korean brand as the next in the Nexus clubhouse.

But how will it actually look? Well, with a litany of leaks spewing from the internet with increasing regularity, it seems pretty likely we know what the Google Nexus 4 will actually look like.

One of the most interesting pictures of the Nexus 4 is one with a worryingly sparkly back, bearing the moniker 'with Google' on the rear.

There's no notion of the Nexus name on there, but that's in line with the usual leaks – Google doesn't affix the brand name on it until the last minute usually.

The phone will be similar to the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus in shape, with the rounded corners encasing a larger screen; in this case expected to be around 4.7 inches in size.

LG Nexus 4 name

The LG Nexus 4 is the name currently being bandied about for the handset, thanks to a leak from a retailer database, and given it's the fourth iteration of the Google Nexus brand there's a lot of logic to it – especially as the first phone was the Nexus One.

Add to that the EXIF data from some recent snaps has indicated that the phone will be called the Nexus 4 as well (although it's worth noting it's not too hard to fake such info) and the name seems to be pretty much nailed on.

Of course, it will be a bit of a confusing message to consumers – the Google Nexus 7 is so called as it's named after the size of the screen, and given the LG Nexus 4 won't be launching with an iPhone 5-sized screen, the naming will be pretty interesting.

LG Nexus 4 specs

Specs-wise, it seems almost certain the Nexus 4 will have quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, an 8MP rear camera, 2GB of RAM and of course the latest version of Android.

Wireless charging would be an innovative new feature for the phone too, but of course we'll have to put up with the same non-removable battery and lack of microSD card slot too.

Google has a history of basing phones on other devices from the chosen manufacturer: the HTC Desire from the Nexus One, the Nexus S on the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Nexus loosely taking cues from the S2.

With the LG Optimus G recently popping out from Korea (you can check one of the world's first hands on: LG Optimus G reviews if you want to know all about this new powerhouse) it seems likely that the internal specs will be largely the same, so the aforementioned specs make a lot of sense.

This could also mean that we'll be treated to 32GB of internal storage too, which is the minimum we think users should be entitled to these days, but the notion that we'll only see 16GB and 8GB Nexus 4 variants seems more likely given Google's previous strategy.

LG Nexus 4 release date

One thing we can pretty much agree on is the fact that there's a new Nexus phone in the offing, and right on cue Google has announced a special event on October 29 to show off something.

What does that mean for a Nexus 4 release date? Well, it seems that we'll get something in the region of mid-November before we get anything on the shelves in preparation for the Christmas rush.

LG Nexus 4 price

If the Nexus 4 price is anything like the labels attached to previous Galaxy phones, then we're in for an eye-watering outlay to get your hands on the new handset.

The Galaxy Nexus came in at £41 a month before you could get a free phone, which would put it miles ahead of the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 or HTC One X, which are the main competitors on specs at least.

At least the phone would come down in price pretty soon, as that's what happened most of the time with the other Nexii… but perhaps the Nexus 4 can blaze a trail and, wow, we don't know: actually come in at market value.

LG Nexus 4 competition

There are many rumours about other handsets are launching at the same time as the Nexus 4, with a number of phones being unveiled at once.

The HTC Nexus 5 was one of the first mooted, but that has since been shown as the HTC J Butterfly, the super-phone that will only be available in Japan.

Next up was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 2, but this was simply due to the model number that fitted in the Nexus line up being spotted online. The Samsung Galaxy Premier was also 'shown' in benchmarks, but given the lack of Nexus name it's unlikely.

And finally we've seen the Sony Nexus X – but this was proven to be an elaborate hoax by a 3D renderer.

So it seems that there won't be anything other than the Google Nexus 4 by LG on its way – at least there will probably be other tablets to talk about in the shape of a 3G, 32GB Google Nexus 7 on offer too.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/lg-nexus-4-release-date-news-and-rumours-1105898

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Words With Friends, Draw Something as real board games can’t end well

Zynga and Hasbro recently linked up to offer gaming apps Words With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille, and Draw Something a board game translation. The only question is, why? Or rather, who wanted this?

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the mega-viral hits that were Draw Something and Word With Friends. After the former blew up sometime in spring, causing Zynga to buy out game developer OMGPOP for $200 million, Draw Something has been on a steady decline and I’m not even sure I know anyone who still actively plays the game. Words With Friends, on the other hand, is still vaguely played but rarely discussed. So explain to me the rationale behind turning these two games, which were clearly inspired by physical versions of the board games Pictionary and Scrabble, into … well, physical board games.

This is not a concept, folks, Draw Something and Words With Friends are officially board games you can pick up at your local toy store. Other Zynga hits, such as FarmVille and CityVille are also getting converted into physical games, with the former playing like Hungry Hungry Hippo (uncomfortably enough, Zynga’s version is called Hungry Hungry Herd) and the latter like Monopoly. Was there no one at Hasbro, the official maker of these toys, who jumped, waved furiously, and attempted to say, “Hey, guys, this might get us sued?”

Well, there are some distinguishable differences between the original game and Zynga’s version. For example, Words With Friends plays on a 15 x 15 square tile board and contain a total of 104 tiles. Scrabble, in comparison, has 100 tiles. WWF’s scoring system for each letter is also slightly different than Scrabble‘s although the point multipliers remain generally the same.

Draw Something, on the other hand, looks relatively original — coining the cartoon pencil as the packaging and paper pads for friends to doodle upon. Unlike Pictionary, players in Draw Something can show their friends letter cards to help them guess the word — just like the mobile app offers. Players win by collecting the most amount of coins, and you can get there sooner by drawing words with higher difficulty levels.

Why anyone would buy these board games over the original versions of what inspired the Zynga mobile games is unbeknownst to me, but if you are interested in pranking someone for Halloween or giving someone the worst Christmas gift ever, the selection of games are available on Amazon or Hasbro starting at $15 per game.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/words-with-friends-draw-something-as-real-board-games-cant-end-well/

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Why Microsoft needs an epic Windows 8 launch

With Windows 8, Microsoft faces the same make-or-break pressure it once persevered through with Windows 95. But the market has changed, and it won’t have the luxury of any post-launch slipups.

Next week, Microsoft will launch Windows 8, an absolutely pivotal release for the company. The implications of this big day got me thinking back to another pivotal launch — Windows 95 – where many things initially went well, and eventually turned out so badly. Let’s go back in my mental time machine to revisit the Windows 95 launch, and consider what will make the Windows 8 launch just as important – but also very different.

How Microsoft shined with Windows 95

I became an external analyst in November of 1994, and Windows 95 defined much of my early career. I became the lead launch analyst as a result of publishing the first five-year operating system forecast ever attempted. It was controversial, to say the least. I predicted that Apple would decline through the rest of the decade (it did), OS/2 would go away (it did), Netware would go away (it did), and UNIX would decline (that, too). The only winner was Windows and, as you can imagine, Microsoft loved me. Virtually every other CEO — not so much.

Windows 95 was the iPad of its time. Every major network and newspaper all over the world did regular articles on it, Microsoft jumped to become the most powerful technology company in the world after it launched, and Bill Gates became the world’s richest man. It was their day in the sun, and the folks at Microsoft reveled in the fame and excitement.

The launch itself was amazing. The clouds in the sky over the Microsoft campus were identical — not close, identical — to those in the graphic on the box. The campus was laid out like a circus with each tent having more amazing displays of things imagined for this new platform (most of which would never come to be).

Jay Leno was on stage and the Stones did “Start-Me-Up” as the product’s theme song. People were lining up to buy the software, and the biggest problem was there simply wasn’t enough to sell.

Apple was caught napping. The company had no concept of how many customers it would lose over the following years. This created the same pressure that would eventually force it to buy back Steve Jobs.

How Microsoft failed with Windows 95

Despite this great start, Microsoft took the most powerful launch in the history of the company and destroyed it. To this day there are few things I’ve ever seen that have been so foolish.

Right before shipping, Microsoft made some changes to the OS, causing problems that hadn’t shown up in the beta test. Lots of hardware was shipped with rushed and buggy drivers, and millions of people suddenly called Microsoft help for assistance. Microsoft was so overwhelmed, the woman who headed service helplines blocked the calls so her metrics wouldn’t look bad. We’ll never know how many really pissed off people that created. Lines at stores morphed into massive piles of unsold copies, and all of that momentum grinded to a near complete halt.

Nevertheless, this operating system became the spark that caused Microsoft to create Internet Explorer and keep Netscape from taking its spot at the top. It helped people see Microsoft very differently. It was no longer a little company under IBM’s shadow but a major player — hell, the major player — in the market.

Windows 8

Over the last decade, Microsoft has diminished in relevance, so much so that its employees regularly ask Bill Gates to return. (That’s why he has to keep publicly saying he won’t.) Apple and IBM have returned to power equal to or greater than they were prior to Microsoft, and it appears that Google has most of the power that Microsoft once had. Eric Schmidt, in his latest talk at All-Things-Digital referred to the company as “irrelevant.”

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s platform to make them relevant again, but it’s breaking into a market very different than the PC market Windows 95 came to dominate. In mobile, Microsoft is far behind Apple, which leads the phone and tablet markets with its iPhone and iPad. In fact, Apple is planning to launch its 7-inch iPad Nano (or Mini) right before the Windows 8 launch to make Microsoft’s 10-inch tablets appear out of date. Apple CEO Tim Cook has even openly disparaged Windows 8, referring to hybrid and convertible tablets (the signature Windows 8 form factors), as the unhappy marriage between a refrigerator and a toaster. This time, Apple, not Microsoft, owns the perceptions surrounding tablets, and it doesn’t plan to give that ownership up.

That means to even have a chance of success, the Windows 8 launch will have to be massively better than the Windows 95 launch, and that’s a very tall order.

I’ll be there

I’ll be on the ground in New York on October 26, because I have little doubt that the Microsoft folks know what they are up against — which means the launch will be memorable, even if it doesn’t meet these lofty expectations. Either it will restore Microsoft to relevance, or it will show that relevance is no longer within the company’s reach. Either result will create changes in the current market that we can’t even begin to imagine.

I’ll let you know how it goes, but this one will be epic.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-microsoft-needs-an-epic-windows-8-launch/

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