Windows Blue rumored as low-cost, annually updated Microsoft OS

Microsoft's Windows 8 is still fresh out of the gate, but talk is already heating up around Microsoft's next OS, codenamed Windows Blue.

According to anonymous sources, the software giant is taking a new direction with Blue, focusing on more frequent annual updates for a more standardized OS.

The goal is to make a new OS that will be installed by every user, and to that end the sources claim Microsoft will significantly lower its OS cost for Blue - possibly offering the upgrade for free to ensure a large user base.

That standardization will reportedly come in the form of updates to the Windows SDK, which runs across both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

Samsung to ship 16M Windows 8 and Windows 7 tablets, laptops this year

Samsung and Microsoft are about to approach a significant figure for the year, at least according to a South Korean VP.

Jin Park, vice president of IT solutions business at Samsung, said the company will ship 16 million tablets and laptops with Windows 8 and Windows 7 this year.

The report comes from Reuters and while the figures represent some nice hardware sales for the South Korean firm, Microsoft can certainly give itself kudos for its OSes.

By comparison, Apple moved 14 million iPads and 4.9 million Mac computers during its fourth financial quarter. However, Park's remark only covers Samsung PCs running the Microsoft operating system.

A helping hand?

TechRadar asked both Samsung and Microsoft for each companies' take on the figures, and we'll update this story as soon as we hear back.

Of particular interest is what the shipments mean for Microsoft as the newer Windows 8 has reportedly been slow off the starting blocks.

It only hit the market at the end of October, but according to a web analytics firm, Windows 8 Touch has managed to capture a meager 0.02 percent of the tablet market so far. Windows 8 RT Touch has, by the numbers, taken zero percent.

How much Samsung products like the Ativ Smart PC help the OS's sluggish start remains to be seen, but it's got to be better than how the Surface is reportedly faring.

Windows 8 hits 40M licenses landmark, upgrades outpacing Windows 7

Microsoft has claimed that upgrades to its new Windows 8 operating system are outpacing those achieved by Windows 7 in its first month on sale.

Amid reports of slow adoption and a lukewarm response from consumers, Microsoft claimed Tuesday that 40 million Windows 8 licenses have now been sold since the OS went on sale on Oct. 26.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference, Tami Reller, chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows, said this was just the start for Windows 8.

"The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far," she said.

Better news

In a post on the official Windows 8 blog, Microsoft's communications manager Brandon LeBlanc said early adoptions have been assisted by the easy upgrade process and Windows 8's compatibility with existing Windows 7 PCs.

"Windows 8 is outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades," he wrote. "We built Windows 8 to work great on existing Windows 7 PCs. And we also set out to make upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 super easy."

The two pieces of positive news to emerge from Microsoft's Redmond base gives the company an opportunity to put a much-needed positive spin on the Windows 8 launch.

Despite widespread critical acclaim for its new approach, recent reports have suggested than less than one per cent of all PCs are currently running Windows 8.

 

Windows 7.8 coming to Windows 7.5 phones in 2013

Though Microsoft has moved on to bigger and better things with Windows Phone 8, the company hasn't forgotten about the phones that preceded the successful new operating system.

In fact, Wednesday, Microsoft announced plans to bring some of the highly touted features of Windows Phone 8 to its Windows Phone 7.5 devices like the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 900.

Originally speculated to arrive as early as Nov. 28, Microsoft has released a status update on the anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade.

Microsoft will be releasing Windows Phone 7.8 for those remaining 7.5 users in early 2013, and with it comes a bevvy of features designed to keep the older OS looking brand new.

New apps and themes

One of the biggest changes coming with Windows 7.8 will be the Windows 8 Start screen, which will allow users to enjoy the resizable Live Tiles prevalent in the latest OS.

The number of themes and colors will double (to 20), and there will be new lockscreen features like the Bing Picture of the Day and a password lock to help prevent accidental swipes from occurring.

Microsoft also promised highly popular apps like Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Star Wars are on the way.

Windows Phone 7.8 will also be shipping on new devices soon, which will allow Microsoft to expand into more markets.

As of right now, Windows Phone 7.8 will be available in 95 countries, a 30 percent increase in the company's global coverage.

Though the update won't be arriving as soon as originally believed, at least now Windows Phone users have a more concrete timeframe to look forward to.

 

Windows Phone 8 'Apollo Plus' update said to bring new features

The next Windows Phone 8 update is reportedly codenamed Apollo Plus and will bring about new features to convince Microsoft mobile device holdouts to reconsider.

Chief among the features is Virtual Private Network (VPN) support, according to The Verge.

This would allow users to connect to private work or school networks via the internet.

VPN is a welcomed feature for businesses, as Microsoft has been touting its entire Windows 8 line as the ideal "productivity" solution.

Apollo Plus OTA updates, bug fixes

Once Windows Phone 8 users update to Apollo Plus, they shouldn't be required to plug their device into a PC. Over the air updates are supposed to be part of the package.

Apollo Plus may also deliver a Wi-Fi connection fix to let connections always remain on, according to the unnamed sources cited by The Verge.

Rounding out the reported Windows Phone 8 updates, audio tweaks are said to be part of this Apollo patch.

Apollo Plus unveiling in February?

Apollo Plus may take center stage at the Mobile World Congress in February.

However, this update isn't intended to be the next major version of Windows Phone. Instead, it's supposed to patch features missing from the Windows Phone 8 debut last month.

Closing the gap in the meantime, owners of Microsoft's older Windows 7.x handsets - which aren't upgradeable to WP8 - can look forward to an update of their own - a Windows Phone 7.8 update is expected to arrive this week.

Windows Blue rumored as low-cost OS successor

Windows 8 is still fresh out of the gate, but talk is already heating up around Microsoft's next OS codenamed Windows Blue.

According to anonymous sources, the software giant is taking a new direction with Blue, focusing on more frequent annual updates for a more standardized OS.

The goal is to make a new OS that will get installed by every user, and to that end the sources claim Microsoft will significantly lower its OS cost for Windows Blue, possibly even offering the upgrade for free to ensure a large user base.

That standardization will reportedly come in the form of updates to the Windows SDK, which runs across both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The SDK update will essentially force developers to create Windows apps for Blue without the ability to submit apps that only run on Windows 8.

Existing Windows 8 apps would still be supported with the change, but any new apps would need to support the latest version of Blue to get approval for the Windows store.

Windows updates go annual?

Sources claim that the switch to an annual OS release is part of an effort to help Windows compete with operating systems from Apple and Google, which generally update with a new version on a twelve month cycle or sooner.

Back in August word first leaked of a Windows Blue OS, rumored to launch in the summer of 2013. The latest report supports those rumors, claiming a slightly vaguer mid-2013 launch for the new OS.

The sources also note that Blue is only a codename for the shift to yearly updates, and that Microsoft will likely stick with Windows 8 as the official name.

The ideas of more frequent updates and a cheaper price tag would certainly be a shift in the right direction for Windows. However, the rumored Windows SDK policies sound like the convenience for users could come with heavy restrictions for Windows developers.

2016 "Android kalahkan Windows..?"

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