Category: Microsoft

The Microsoft Garage team (think of it as a developer incubator) has released another new app that is designed to give you news and information based on your unique interests.  The new News Pro app leverages your social network interests to give you more personalized news and information based on your likes on those social networks.  You can sign in with LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook and the information provided to you will be based on your profile on that particular network.  It is a great concept and in playing with the app, it works pretty well.

Microsoft has published a report comparing their newly updated Microsoft Edge browser against the competition and the results indicate that it is far more battery friendly than other browsers out there.  The report is similar to one that the company ran in June and this new report is based on the updated version of Edge in what is commonly referred to as the Anniversary Update of Windows 10 (Build 1607 for those keeping score).  The results indicate that Edge has seen some dramatic improvements since the release of the update.

At the risk of giving away the ending, the results may look familiar! With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft Edge is more efficient than ever, and still the best choice for extending your battery life on Windows 10 – up to 24%-43% more efficient than the competition for general purpose browsing, and lasting up to 23%-69% longer when streaming video.

Microsoft has rolled out a nice update to their Android lock screen app, Next Lock Screen.  The update brings full integration of the company’s Bing search engine (which has had a big resurgence as of late) into the app so you can do search while your phone is still locked. The updated build is version 3.7.1 for those keeping score at home and if you have the app installed, the OTA update for you should be coming over the next day or two.  Once you have it, you will be able to tap on the Bing logo on the lock screen and do a search without having to unlock your phone.  It is a handy feature if you are searching while on-the-go.

While Android devices have quick and easy access to Google search, having alternatives on your phone is never a bad thing.  The Bing search app from Microsoft has been available for Android for a while now and it, like many of the Microsoft apps for Android, continues to grow and mature nicely.  The latest update to the search app brings a music discovery feature that allows you to find the song you hear in your local coffee shop or other location.  Like other apps, you simply turn on the app, hit the Music button and have Bing listen to the song.  Within a few seconds it will return the result, giving you the song title and artist.  You can then tap on that information at the bottom of the screen and get more details about the song, artist and albums that are available from that artist.  On most songs you will also get the lyrics for the song.

Microsoft and Lenovo have entered into an agreement which will see the Redmond company’s apps appear on the Beijing based company’s future Android phones.  The announcement by the companies will bring Microsoft Office apps, OneDrive and Skype to select Lenovo devices going forward.  Which specific devices is not laid out in the press release.

“Microsoft’s thrilled that our productivity apps will be pre-installed on Lenovo’s premium devices,” said Nick Parker, corporate vice president OEM Division, Microsoft. “The marriage of Microsoft’s apps and Lenovo’s Android-based devices will enable customers around the world to be more productive, more connected and achieve even more.”

For Lenovo, they are gaining access to some of Microsoft’s patents and IP (Intellectual Property) to be cross-licensed in Motorola and Lenovo devices.

I’ll be honest: I have an on again/off again relationship with Fitbit.  I’ve been using their trackers for 6 years now and while my first tracker (the Ultra) was rock solid, the two subsequent models (the One and the Flex) have been less than stellar.  I found neither of these tracked exceptionally well and with the One in particular, I was constantly fighting to keep it connected to my Nexus 6 or 6P as the Bluetooth was just not reliable.

Initially, in an effort to find a tracking alternative, I started using Google Fit and my Moto 360 smartwatch to track my activities.  It was, shall we say, painful.  Syncing was not accurate nor were step and exercise tracking.  While Fit has grown up a lot, it still has some growing up to do.  That experiment lasted about three weeks and that was all I could really handle.

Finally I had enough and I decided to step way out of the bounds of what most people consider for a fitness tracker.  I picked up an Microsoft Band 2 and I have to say, it is a solid performing device that is very accurate in tracking your fitness information.  In fact, after two weeks of using it, my Fitbit One is now quietly sitting connected to its charging cable on my desk – untouched and likely not being touched for a while.  I’ve deleted the app from my 6P and moved to Microsoft Health for my exercise and step tracking.

To be sure, the Microsoft Band 2 is not perfect.  It has some things that need improvements, most notably how it tracks stairs and the overall weight of the device.  That said, I’m comfortable in recommending it.  It integrates nicely with Android thanks to the Microsoft Health app (and there is one for Windows 10 users too).  It ties in with other services and apps like Lose It!, MFitnessPal, RunKeeper and Strava, and it has a battery life of a couple of days.  That’s better than most smartwatches today which, in a limited way, the Band 2 can perform for you.

Here is my review of the Band 2 and the companion Microsoft Health app.