metro

What makes the Microsoft Surface tablet different? (poll)

Despite Microsoft's best efforts on Monday to demonstrate why Surface is different, it's a crowded market out there.

All of the first-tier players like Samsung, Amazon, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, and Motorola (not to mention a Google-branded device that is expected) have already saturated the Android tablet market.

And then there's the iPad, which is simply shorthand for tablet in a lot of consumers' minds and commands most of the market. And has a two-year head start, to boot.

So, it's a tall order for Microsoft and Windows 8.

That said, the rollout of the 10.… Read more

MetroPCS lands Huawei's first U.S. LTE phone, Activa 4G

Huawei promised CNET some 4G LTE action, and with the Huawei Activa 4G, the phone maker is ready to deliver.

If you're thinking this is the smartphone version of a certain yogurt with bifidus regularis, stop, because the Activa (pronounced "ACT-iv-uh") is in fact Huawei's first U.S. phone to get 4G, and it's available starting today at MetroPCS stores.

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone has a 3.54-inch HVGZ touch screen (480x320 pixels), a 5-megapixel camera with flash, and comes with a 4GB microSD that's preloaded with "Kung Fu Panda 2.&… Read more

Microsoft Office first desktop app to hit Windows 8 store

Dominated by Metro apps, the Windows Store has landed its first desktop program.

Office 2010 is now available through the online store, making good on Microsoft's promise that it would offer both desktop and Metro apps for Windows 8 users. But there is a key difference between the two.

Users can download both the free and paid Metro apps directly from the store. A simple Install button downloads and then installs the app in the background. An alert flashes on the screen once the app is fully installed.

The listings for desktop software serve more as pointers to external … Read more

Computex: Roundup of hottest Windows 8 devices, day 2

Device makers continue to concoct novel designs to take advantage of Windows 8 Metro interface.

On Tuesday at Computex in Taipei, Samsung showed a Series 5 ultrabook running Windows 8 with a 13.3-inch touch display. … Read more

Navigate the Windows 8 Start screen via mouse and keyboard

The more apps you install in Windows 8, the more crowded and wider the Metro Start screen becomes. But PC users can easily steer across the Start screen using just their trusty mouse and keyboard.

By Mouse:

Move your mouse right and left to move to the right and left edges of the Start screen. Moving your mouse's scroll wheel up and down will also move you left and right on the Start screen.

Laptop users can tap into their trackpad. Swipe your fingers up and down the trackpad to move left and right on the Start screen. And … Read more

How to turn Windows 8 Metro live tiles on and off

One of the benefits of the Metro Start screen are live tiles, which can display the latest info from your e-mail, calendar, contacts, and other apps. How do you enable that feature?

You first need to open and potentially set up the app for which you want to see a live tile. Among the apps in the new Windows 8 Release Preview that can tap into this feature are Mail, People, Calendar, Photos, Weather, News, and Sports.

Just opening certain apps will turn on the live tile feature. For example, open the News and Weather apps and then return to … Read more

First look: Acer Aspire 7600U and 5600U all-in-one touch screens

TAIPEI, Taiwan--While all-in-one touch screens have never lived up to the promise, the launch of Windows 8 later this year will mean a rash of new devices hitting the market. Will compelling touch-screen Windows apps for the desktop finally happen?

The bigger 7600U comes in at 27 inches and has a full HD resolution. Here, you can spot a slot-loading optical drive.

The touch screen allows up to 64 simultaneous inputs, which could have fascinating implications for multiuser programs. It can also be tilted flat like a table, and rotated for easy access.

Screen quality was excellent at first glance, and the Metro aesthetic translates really well to the large screen. We're looking forward to seeing if usability is up there as well. The product manager joked that vertically oriented, it's the world's biggest e-reader. From the sharp text we saw, he may not be far off the mark.… Read more

Windows Store, you're still clumsy, despite Windows 8 boost

Yesterday's Windows 8 Release Preview brought a few tweaks to the Windows Store, but shopping at the virtual store still doesn't feel user-friendly.

Those of you who download the new Release Preview will find changes scattered around the Windows Store. Navigation seems to head the list, as described in a new Microsoft blog.

The Windows 8 beta version of the store offered a breadcrumb, a path that shows you where you've been so you can return to a previous page. Microsoft felt that users didn't see or use the breadcrumb, so it removed that in favor … Read more

Dell preps 10.8-inch Windows 8 tablet, says report

Dell's upcoming Windows 8 tablet will break the 10.1-screen-size mold, spanning a roomy 10.8 inches, according to a report. And it's targeted at business -- a market that Microsoft and its coterie of Windows device makers know well.

The "Dell Latitude 10," as reported by Neowin, has some brawny PC-like specs, including a 128GB solid-state drive and up to 2GB of memory -- which, by the way, is what Dell currently offers on its 10.1-inch Latitude ST, also targeted at corporate "enterprise" customers.

A source familiar with upcoming Windows 8 tablets … Read more

LG Optimus M gets a makeover with the M+

In 2010, MetroPCS released its first Android smartphone, the LG Optimus M. We were pretty satisfied with the phone, save for its boxy design and the fact that its specs weren't up to par with its counterpart models carried by other networks.

But two years is a long time in this industry, and MetroPCS recently released an updated version of the M, aptly called the LG Optimus M+. With its 3.5-inch screen, 800MHz processor, and 5-megapixel camera, the bumps in specs in this mid- to entry-level device did not go unnoticed. And, compared with the original M, the … Read more