Rumors regarding Microsoft’s buyout of Yahoo have once again begun circulating the web. This time news comes from the New York Times who have apparently gotten in touch with some anonymous sources who say that Micrsoft and Yahoo are definitley in talks, again.

Although the first rumors were regarding a complete takeover, these new rumors point to a partial buyout or possibly even a partnership between the two companies.

Will this be enough to topple Google? Probably not, but if Microsoft and Yahoo were to merge they would be sure to give Google a run for their money.

Read (InformationWeek)

Tags: ads, advertising, Business, buyout, Google, Google, microsoft, microsoft, rumor, yahoo

FLO TV is a service offered by Qualcomm and from what we hear various smartphones will get it including the iPHone. The service will bring you mobile TV via add-on peripherals including an iPhone 3.0-compatible antenna or chip that’s curently being developed. These accessories might not be available right away and they might only hit the market later next year, but at least we know watching TV on the go is going to be even easier in the future.

Qualcomm will also develop similar gadgets for Windows Mobile phones. All that’s needed is a device that connects over WiFi or Bluetooth to get that TV signal in. What do you think? Would you be interested in such a service? How much would you be willing to pay for it?

via Electronista

Tags: Apple, FLO TV, iPhone, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Other Brands, qualcomm, TV, Windows Mobile

I guess some of you folks are waiting the second Diamond, a Windows Mobile able to run Windows 6.5 when it comes out. In case you’re waiting for it in Europe, you will be happy to know that HTC will launch the HTC Touch Diamond2 in Europe sometime in the middle of next month. T-Mobile Germany will probably be the first carrier to offer both the Touch Diamond2 and the Touch Pro2 in the first half of the year. According to rumors the HTC Touch Diamond2 will sell for $600 but we definitely need more info on that.

via Intomobile

Tags: Europe, HTC, HTC, microsoft, Mobile News, Touch Diamond2, Touch Pro2, Windows Mobile 6.5

Are you really anxious to see Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace in action? Microsoft has decided to put together this video here to showcase their upcoming app store. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary here. We will have tons of apps to choose from. We will be able to rate them, browse through them and buy the ones we like straight from our Windows phone. After downloading them we’ll also be able to ask for a full refund if we’re not exactly happy with them. How convenient, right?

And that’s about it. Microsoft’s Marketplace isn’t amazing in any way yet. We’ll be waiting for the official launch for more information. At least we enjoyed that HTC handset which got some free publicity out of this video.

via 1800PocketPC

Tags: App Store, HTC, HTC, microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, video, Windows Marketplace

Windows Mobile 6.5 isn’t even here yet and we have already started to see alleged screenshots of Windows Mobile 7 here and there. Sure we’d like to believe version 7 will be the Microsoft mobile OS capable of making a name for itself in the mobile business but it will be a while until we’re going to see it in action.

Until then we’re left to admire this screenshots here and imagine a better Windows Mobile OS for our phones. And we can’t say yet if any of these pictures represent the real thing or if they’re the result of someone’s bored imagination.

via wmpoweruser

Tags: leak, microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Windows Mobile 6.5, Windows Mobile 7

The current economy status seems perfect for the clip above. Microsoft is taking advantage of our budgets while pointing out to everyone that Apple overcharges people when it comes to laptops.

Although the I’m a Mac series of commercial is funnier, Microsoft seems to get the hang of it. The Windows Laptop Hunters campaign will probably not end here. Now it’s a young woman looking for speed, a comfortable keyboard and a 17-inch screen, and all that for well under $1,000. When she finds it she gets to keep it, no matter if it’s a Mac or a PC. The MacBook was obviously not a match so she ended up with an HP Pavilion which cost Microsoft $699.99. Is Microsoft going to continue the series? We certainly hope so.

via YouTube

Tags: Apple, Commercial, Laptops, Laptops, microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News, video

YouTube has taken the necessary steps to make itself more available to Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 phones. The application will fit in well with most handsets out there and your whole watching experience is going to be significantly improved. You should expect quicker start-up, searching and video load times and improved buffering so you videos will work even in areas with bad reception. Streaming over WiFi has also been improved and the application will automatically detect your device and network capabilities and it will set the highest available stream quality for it. Just go to YouTube from your handset to get the application.

via YouTube

Tags: and Symbian S60, microsoft, Mobile Software, Other Brands, Windows Mobile, youtube

By simply taking a look at the table above you could see the whole mobile action of 2008 through Gartner’s eyes. In case we didn’t mention this before, RIM and Apple have significantly increased their market share while Symbian dropped a few points and Windows Mobile failed to impress. Symbian is still leading the pack, and it will be a long while until someone else takes its place.

via Engadget

Tags: Apple, Apple, Gartner, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Palm, Palm, Research In Motion, RIM, Statistic, symbian, Windows Mobile

Microsoft is just about ready to launch its own app store. And we have hot details for all those developers interested in the future Windows Marketplace. Microsoft will charge developers $99 to be accepted and $99 extra for every application they submit after 2009. This year devs will have the chance to submit five apps for free. Microsoft will charge that fees in order to “run a rigorous certification process to ensure that the end user’s experience is optimal, and that the device and network resources aren’t used in a malicious way.”

After your apps get approve, Microsoft will get 30% off any revenue generated by them. That’s the same percentage Apple and Google also charge. Windows Marketplace will arrive once Windows Mobile 6.5 gets launched in Q4 2009 but you’ll be able to register as a developer in Spring and start submitting your apps this Summer. What do you think? Anxious?

via cnet

Tags: microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Windows Marketplace, Windows Mobile

A few days ago that long-haired Roger McNamee said basically that the Pre will be such a cool phone that it will steal iPhone customers away, and particularly those whose first-gen iPhone AT&T contracts will expire in June. Palm seems not to agree with such a prediction. It has submitted a document to SEC which among other boring things states that:

The statement in the second paragraph of the article that “not one” person who bought an Apple, Inc. iPhone on the first shipment date “will still be using an iPhone a month” after the two-year anniversary of that day is an exaggerated prediction of consumer behavior pattern and is withdrawn.

It seems to me that Palm should learn to grow some balls if they want to make it in the cell phone business. Is this an apology so Apple won’t mind? Microsoft’s CEO never had a problem saying the iPhone basically sucks. So did Verizon’s CEO. Did we just get to that point where people are afraid to upset Apple? First RIM cancels its bold commercial and now Palm writes the paragraph above?

So, iPhone customers? Will you switch to the Pre?

via Palm Infocenter

Tags: Apple, Apple, iPhone, microsoft, microsoft, Palm, Palm, pre, Research In Motion, RIM, Roger McNamee, Verizon, Verizon

Talk about deja-vu! Microsoft is still in love with Yahoo. Microsoft’s COO said that the company is still in talks with Yahoo:

They have a new CEO, and she’s formulating her business plans. We’ve certainly made her aware and the Yahoo! board aware that if they are ever interested in an opportunity to partner with them on search, we’d like to sit down and at least have the conversation. It has to make economic sense to both parties.

Nobody said when will Microsoft buy Yahoo but the deal is back on the table. How much will Yahoo cost this time?

via Times Online

Tags: microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News, yahoo

And we thought Windows 3.1 on an Nseries device had us stumped!  Well, now we know the N95 can take on much more than that.  There are no details on how something like this was accomplished and by whom, but ring us up if you guys ever manage to cram in Windows XP on an N95, alright?

(more…)

Tags: Cell Phones, Crazy Mobile, microsoft, Mobile Software, N95 8GB, Nokia, Windows 98

We’ve just seen the overpriced N97 available for pre-order and now we have found the HTC Touch Diamond2 too. The phone is available with eXpansys and it’s supposed to arrive around April 17. The Touch Diamond2 will sell for $570 which is almost half the price of the N97. The phone will arrive with Windows Mobile 6.1 on board but it will be capable of upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5 later on.

via eXpansys

Tags: HTC, HTC, microsoft, Mobile News, Touch Diamond2, Windows Mobile 6.5

Despite the fact that the iPhone has already been jailbroken and unlocked, it doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t try it out. As a matter of fact, there’s a contest which will award the best iPhone hacker $10,000. Pwn2Own is going to be available at the CanSecWest security convention in Vancouver, Canada from March 18-20. Hackers will be given various other phones to play with. They will have to choose from Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and iPhone and they will be able only to exploit “general actions a normal user would take while using the device.”

Besides the handset hacking, the contest also includes a web browser division. A Sony Vaio running Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8, Firefox and Google Chrome and a MacBook running OS X and Safari and Firefox will be waiting for contestants to hack them. Every successful bug will get the hacker $5,000. Any hackers going to Vancouver to get some money hacking stuff? Let us know how it all works out for you.

via The Register

Tags: Apple, competition, Google, iPhone, jailbreak, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Portable Devices, Pwn2Own, Research In Motion, unlock

Microsoft has a new initiative called Elevate America and it intends to use it. Through Elevate America two million people will be taught computer skills over the next three years. The program will have two plans available, one available from Microsoft and one available from local and state governments working with Microsoft.

Local governments will offer a million vouchers which can be used for Microsoft eLearning courses and select certification exams. What do you think? Do your computer skills need a little improvement?

via BetaNews

Tags: Elevate America, microsoft, microsoft, Mobile News

The video above shows what the future will be like from Microsoft’s point of view. Steven Elop, President of Microsoft’s business division, showed it to everyone attending the Wharton Business Technology Conference. We have touchscreen action, wireless connectivity and futuristic surfaces. These are all logical steps considering the technology available to us nowadays. What do you think? Will future Microsoft products work better as they do today? And how do you like those mobile solutions?

via istartedsomething

Tags: future, microsoft, microsoft, video, Wharton Business Technology Conference

Sure Windows Mobile 7 is coming in 2010, but what about it’s big brother, Windows 7? 

Well, if a PC contractor, who works with HP, Acer, and other big names, is to be believed, we may be seeing the next version of Windows this September.

With the Windows 7 release candidate just around the corner, this is a completely plausible rumor. But, seeing as it is a rumor, please take it with a grain of salt for the time being.

Read (Gizmodo)

Tags: Desktop PCs, Laptops, microsoft, Release Candidate, rumor, software, speculation, Windows 7

Samsung is working on a new Armani Windows Mobile phone and according to Samsung Taiwan’s mobile marketing department director Ryu Jae-hyun, the new Samsung Armani phone will come with the latest Windows Mobile OS. Yes, that’s right folks, the new Armani phone will run on Windows Mobile 6.5 and it will probably arrive sometime in Q3. No news on features and pricing yet, but there’s plenty of time for Samsung to reveal them.

Well, it would be interesting to see what Armani and Samsung will be able to make of WM 6.5. But I don’t really have any big expectations here.

via taipeitimes

Tags: armani, microsoft, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Samsung, Samsung, Windows Mobile

A Polish developer going by the handle of Marcin-PRV has done what can only be termed as useless, if not for a tiny dose of nostalgic introspection when Windows 3.1 brought us the graphic interface that we are so accustomed to today.  Using DOSBox, a freeware DOS emulator, he was able to port over the operating system from the days of yore by Microsoft and work on it too.  Not much utility there except for the “It can be done” factor, I guess.

(more…)

Tags: Cell Phones, microsoft, Mobile Software, n95, Nokia, Nokia, windows

So you liked Windows 7 beta didn’t you? Want some more of that Microsoft action? Well it looks like Microsoft has a Release Candidate 1 which is build 7048. The file you need to look for is going to have a name like 6.1.7048.winmain_win7rc1.090211-1625. Go ahead and get it. Let us know if this version is worthy of installing or should we just wait until April for a different Release Candidate?

See MicroSoft.com

Tags: Desktop PCs, Laptops, microsoft, Mobile Software, Release Candidate, Windows 7