Roundup Of Microsoft Corporation Windows 10 Devices

Four days have gone since Microsoft Corporation held its Windows 10 hardware event in New York. New hardware was unveiled, which will complement its recently introduced Windows 10 for PC platform and the long awaited Windows 10 Mobile platform. We take a look at the plethora of products, which will hit markets in the coming weeks. However, there are some major issues the company has overlooked and might well prove to be a factor that will affect the success in the long term. Microsoft’s Windows 10 for PC have been adopted by users on over 100 million devices all over the globe. However, the company was yet to introduce any hardware specifically designed to cater to the new platform until Tuesday. While rumors of some of the products might have surfaced around the news for months, the company has truly outdone itself when compared to its previous releases. The Redmond based company unveiled the all new Surface Pro 4, its new Lumia smartphones, the new Microsoft Band 2 and the unexpected Surface Book, which will go up against Apple Inc.’s series of MacBooks in the near future.

Surface Pro 4

It had been a year since we were introduced to the Surface Pro 3; the release of its successor was more or less expected. More so, Apple’s decision to introduce the iPad Pro in a bid to woo the enterprise market with a two-in-one only fuelled such rumors. Microsoft is considered the pioneer of the two-in-one market and it was hard not to see it competing for it.

With the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has incorporated high-end computing power with a much more refined external design when compared to its predecessor. The company has continued with the symbolic Kickstand, which allows the device to be placed at almost any angle, which improves user experience and feasibility. The latest iteration of the Surface Pro series features the Intel’s latest sixth generation core CPU together with Windows 10 Pro.
Although the company has refined the external design quite a bit, it’s the internals of the device, which have undergone massive overhauls. The entry level version of the Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch PixelSense touch screen display, which has an impressive resolution of 2763 x 1824 pixels. Users have the option to choose amongst different variants. They can chose to power it by either an Intel sixth generation Core M3/ i3/ i7 CPU, which is paired with 4, 8 or 16GB of RAM and an SSD of 126, 256 or 512GB. The Surface Pro incorporates an 8MP shooter at the back whereas a 5MP front camera will prove to be useful for video calls.
The Surface Pro 4, unlike the iPad Pro ships a stylus alongside. More so, the device provides 9 hours of battery life and weighs just a little less than 2 pounds. The only bad news for fans is that they are asked to shell out an extra $129 to get their hands on the Type Cover keyboard. The basic version of the Surface Pro 4 is priced at $899 whereas the topped up model is available for $2,699, that too without a keyboard.

Microsoft Band 2

The world might be inclined towards FitBit and Apple when it comes to fitness oriented wearable devices. However, Microsoft has brought about a revamped version of its surprisingly well received Microsoft Band. The company has brought forth major design changes with the incorporation of metal and a curved OLED display, which is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. This allows it to withstand a few brushes off walls and natural environments. The fitness tracker is expected to work seamlessly with Cortana, the Windows 10 digital assistant and with the Windows Mobile platform.
What makes the new Microsoft Band 2 stand out is that it will be compatible with devices that run on iOS and Android too, apart from Windows Phones. It is moderately priced at $249 when compared to the Apple Watch, which is more than twice as expensive.

Windows 10 ForXboxOne

Microsoft has plans to transform its Xbox One gaming console to a complete home theatre media player console for some time now and it finally did after it released the new Windows 10 for it. This update isn’t categorized as new hardware. However, it transforms the plastic box, which was only used to play games to an almost full-fledged PC. The new update will be rolled out to the Xbox One this November. More so, the company will bring backwards compatibility again to its premium gaming console. This will surely help those interested to buy the device in this holiday season.

Lumia950 AndLumia950XL

Microsoft hasn’t experienced much success in the smartphone market. This has been down to its inability to comply with the volatile trends and more so because of the way Apple and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) have established a foothold in the industry.
Microsoft’s mobile division is one that struggles to make it big for quite some time now; its smartphone market share is almost non-existent. However, that didn’t stop the company to launch its new high end Lumia smartphones. Many see the new Lumias as the company’s last throw of the dice to revive its smartphone business. The introduction of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL can be seen as the first step forward after being forced backwards for so long.
With the new Lumias, Microsoft has imitated Apple’s strategy to introduce two variants of its flagship at the same time, one a smartphone and the other a phablet. The Lumia 950 features a 5.2-inch WQHD OLED display that has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 808 alongside 3GB of RAM. The Lumia 950XL, on the other hand, supports a 5.7inch OLED display that has the same resolution as its variant. Both smartphones feature high end 20MP PureView rear cameras and 5MP front shooters. The Lumia 950 is supported by a 3000mAh battery unit whereas the larger 950XL is powered by a 3300mAh unit.
The likes of Apple and Google have taken to fingerprint scanners in smartphones much like other manufacturers. However, Microsoft has taken an innovative route to introduce an Iris scanner that allows users to unlock their device by looking at it. Both Lumia flagships have USB Type-C ports, which have become the standard in the technological world. The phones will run on Windows 10 Mobile when they hit markets next month.

Surface Book

By far the most worthy feature of the Microsoft event was the introduction of the Surface Book. It’s beyond many as to how the Redmond based company managed to keep it under covers for so long, but as they say, secrecy is the key. Microsoft’s latest notebook can act both as a tablet and a laptop; unlike the Surface Pro 4 it packs with itself a keyboard together with LED backlighting and a glass track pad. The hot feature is that it packs with itself extra battery, which will prove to be useful for many on-the-go users. More so, the highest end configuration packs a dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics card with GDDR5 makes it stand out.
The Surface Book features a 13.5-inch touchscreen Pixel Display that supports resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels. The Surface Book features almost the same high-end specs and is available in the same variants as the Surface Pro 4. However, it will give users 12 hours of battery life, more than the Pro 4.
With the purchase of the Surface Book, users will get their hands on the keyboard, a Digitizer Pen and Windows 10 Pro. The entry level Surface Book is priced at $1,499 and goes all the way up to $2,699, the same for the top end Surface Pro 4.

It remains to be seen as to how Microsoft will differentiate the Surface Book from its Surface Pro 4, since both can act as hybrids. However, the notable difference between the two is based on external design and that the Surface Book is much more powerful when coupled with its keyboard.
Microsoft’s above mentioned plethora of devices are likely to take the industry by storm when they will hit markets next month. It remains to be seen whether the company will maintain its position at the top of the pile in the computing world and also to turn around its fortunes in the smartphone market.

Credit: Bidness