Windows 9 changes and new features:

Microsoft is all set to officially unveil Windows 9 at a special event on September 30 — and so we thought it would be a good time to run through everything that we already know about Microsoft’s new operating system. Most of these features and changes are reliably sourced from people close to the development of Windows 9 or from leaked builds of the Windows 9 Technical Preview. We’ll also update this story with an official list of Windows 9 features when Microsoft starts releasing public beta builds next week. In short, if you want to find out about Windows 9, this is the place to be.

After the very poor response to Windows 8, and the bitter taste it left in the mouths of millions of users, Windows 9 is a very important release for Microsoft. On the one hand, it needs to rectify Windows 8′s wrongs and offer normal PC users a reason to upgrade from Windows XP or 7. On the other hand, Microsoft continues to lose ground in the mobile sector as well. Windows 9 will actually have to be the jack of all trades, rather than Windows 8′s rather ignominious status as the master of none. How will Microsoft do this? Well, let’s take a look.

Windows 9 for desktop and laptop users

The Start menu returns. After a few years of claiming that the Metro-style Start screen was just as good for mouse-and-keyboard use as touchscreen use, Microsoft has finally backed down. Windows 9 will have a Start menu on the Desktop; the left side will look a lot like the standard Windows 7 Start menu, but the right side will have the option of being populated with Metro-style live tiles. The left side of the menu will adopt a new Metro-like look, too — though you may be able to configure it to look like the good ol’ Windows 7 Start menu.

Virtual desktops. In Windows 9, you will have the option of using virtual desktops. Right now you just have one desktop per monitor — but with virtual desktops, you can switch between as many desktops as you like. This is a popular power user feature that has been present on some Linux window managers and via third-party Windows tools for years — but now it’ll be native in Windows 9.

Metro apps on the Desktop. Rather than forcing you into the full-screen Metro interface, Windows 9 will let you run Metro apps on the Desktop in a window. In theory this will mean that mouse-and-keyboard users might now actually use Metro apps, which in turn might kickstart the arrival of some better apps in the Windows Store. Or not.

Windows 9 Desktop, showing a new, very flat Explorer (note the new icon too)

Desktop interface overhaul. It’s not entirely clear yet, but it seems the Windows 9 Desktop will receive a graphical overhaul, to make it even flatter. The leaked Windows 9 Technical Preview shows some flatter icons and thinner window borders — and I suspect we’ll see some further UI changes in later preview builds. (If you recall, the first Windows 8 Developer Preview still looked a lot like Windows 7, and became more flat and less opaque as the development process went on.) Curiously, there does appear to be a drop shadow behind the Explorer window in the Windows 9 screenshot above — Windows 8 got rid of a lot of shadows, so it would be interesting if they made a return.

The Metro interface may be removed. In the last few months, there has been rumblings from Redmond that the Windows 9 experience might be formally split in two: A Metro-only experience for touchscreen/tablet users, and a Desktop-only experience for mouse-and-keyboard users. One of the biggest complaints of Windows 8 is the way it forces you into the Metro interface when you’re using a mouse and keyboard, and the Desktop interface when you’re using a touchscreen. It isn’t clear if the Metro interface will be removed entirely from “Windows 9 for the Desktop” — more realistically, to cater for users of hybrids and touchscreen laptops, there’ll just be a check box somewhere for “never show me the Metro interface.”

Lots of other tweaks to the Windows 9 Desktop. In addition to all of the above, the Charms bar is also being removed (from the Desktop interface at least; it might hang around on touchscreen devices). The Technical Preview has a Notifications panel that pops up from the bottom right corner (video above), though I don’t think this is its final format or placement. There will also likely be tweaks for multi-monitor and high-res (hi-dpi) setups, too.

src:extremetech.com

Qualcomm: Microsoft's Surface 2 can't compare to Nokia's Windows tablet

The Nokia Lumia 2520 runs Windows RT and uses a Qualcomm processor.

(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

Nokia's new Windows RT tablet turns the Finnish handset maker into Microsoft's rival, but at least one Nokia partner says there's really no competition.

Nokia earlier this week unveiled the Lumia 2520, the company's first tablet and the second current device in the market to run Windows RT. The other is Microsoft's Surface 2.Microsoft is in the process of buying Nokia, and the product release puts the two in an awkward position.

But executives at chipmaker Qualcomm say Nokia's tablet has a clear advantage over the Surface 2 in everything from processor speed to graphics, video playback, and wireless connectivity.

Of course Talluri is biased -- Qualcomm provided the processor for Nokia's device while Nvidia made the Surface 2 chip. But in terms of sheer speeds and feeds, the Lumia 2520 does have some things to offer beyond the Surface 2. For processors, Microsoft's tablet houses a 1.7GHz Nvidia Tegra 4, whereas Nokia went with a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 for the Lumia 2520. As CNET noted Thursday, the 2520 seems poised to be a more capable gaming machine than the Surface 2."The performance on [the 2520] is brilliant," Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm's application processors, told CNET. "It's really at the next level. It's not even really a contest [compared to Surface 2] ... In every area, it's much bigger, faster, and lower power."

Talluri and Stephen Horton, a Qualcomm executive who works on product management for tablets and other computing devices, said Microsoft largely went with an Nvidia chip for Surface 2 because of timing.

"Let's put it this way," Horton said. "They're buying the company that did [the Lumia 2520] device. They clearly are very excited about it."

Microsoft and Nvidia declined to comment.

There will be no clear winner, however, until consumers vote with their wallets. Up to this point, few have chosen Windows RT products.

Windows RT is the first version of the operating system that runs on low-power chips normally used for cell phones. Those include processors from Qualcomm and Nvidia based on ARM Holdings technology. Making Windows compatible with such processors was Microsoft's attempt to better address the mobile market, an area where it has traditionally struggled. The lower-power chips allow thinner and lighter designs.

The Microsoft Surface 2 uses an Nvidia chip, much like the first version of the tablet.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

However, Windows RT has some big drawbacks compared with Windows 8. For one, it's not compatible with many older applications, including iTunes. Few companies have introduced products running the operating system. Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard are several who dropped their Windows RT plans.

"We have a longer term view on these things," Talluri said. "The RT of today may not be the RT of tomorrow. But the vision of a device that's both your entertainment and productivity device that you want to carry with you is going to be there. We invest for the longer term."

In smartphones, meanwhile, Qualcomm is the undisputed king. It either provides the wireless chips, such as 4G LTE, or the application processor in most major devices on the market, including the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S4. It also is the chip provider for Windows Phones, partnering closely with Nokia over the years. However, Qualcomm has lagged rivals when it comes to tablets. That recently has started to change, with Qualcomm providing chips for recent hot tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the Google Nexus 7.

Qualcomm said partners are working on more than 40 tablets using its processor that should hit the market within the next year. A big reason companies are choosing Qualcomm chips is the ability to support high screen resolutions, Talluri said, and many who work with Qualcomm on smartphones find it easy to shift to tablets with the chipmaker.

"Once you make the phone, it's an easy step to make a great tablet because you've already done the hard work and the same processor can support both," Talluri said.

And Horton pointed out that the first Android devices, such as the T-Mobile G1, also were panned.

"Google and Microsoft are very capable organizations, [with] lots of technologies," Horton said. Microsoft "didn't hit a home run out of the gate on the very first product, but they're working on it."
src: cnet.com

BSNL low cost android tablets

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) on collaboration with Noida-based company Pantel Technologies, has launched three tablets which  includes one 7-inch screen tablet with resistive screen and it runs on Android 2.3 operating system, while the second comes with 7-inch screen and the third tablet comes with an 8-inch screen, both of which are capacitive but with a higher price.

These tablets are designed keeping in mind the students need, the tablet come with a promotional offer of 3 month free data download. BSNL is also giving 2G SIM along with all the tablets.

Developed by the Noida based company – Pantel technologies. The tablet will be sold at data plans from BSNL at reduced cost. The cost of these tablet will be Rs 3250, Rs 10,999 and Rs 13,500. more.. 

You can order your T-Pad by going to this link – BUY BSNL TABLET.

src: www.bsnltablet.in