Twitter Launches An “Alpha” Testing Program On Android, Invites Users To Give Feedback And Collaborate Directly

Twitter launched a beta testing program on Android which allows users to opt-in to try out early versions of the Twitter application and other unreleased features which are being considered for inclusion in the official Twitter mobile applications. Now it seems the company is taking this testing one step further – or rather, one step back – with the launch of an alpha testing program for Android users.

Alpha versions of the Twitter app “will include earlier iterations of experiments,” says Twitter in a post to the Twitter for Android Alpha Program Google Group, where it shares announcements about its testing programs.The program will also give users the opportunity to provide direct feedback and collaborate directly with the company via a forum, the message explains.

That’s much more involvement that the beta program allows for, as beta users generally just receive a new build of the Android app for testing purposes, but don’t really interact with the company beyond sharing bug reports. Alpha testers, meanwhile, may have the ability to actually influence the direction Twitter heads.

The program will have limited space, and it will be accepting requests on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those who are invited in will receive an email confirmation in a few days if they’re able to get in. Note that joining a test group like this is not for those who rely heavily on the Twitter app working perfectly all the time. An alpha build of an app will have stability issues and far more bugs than the beta or public releases.

Twitter is not the only company to turn to Google Groups and the Android platform to gather up app testers. Other companies have also begun running tests there in recent months, including both Snapchat and Facebook. But Twitter is keen to experiment with its mobile interface, having added a number of new features and changes just ahead of yesterday’s IPO event, including rich media-filled Twitter Cards, a blue line to connect conversations, interaction buttons on the mobile timeline, pre-expanded images, and more.

Not all the changes have been warmly welcomed by Twitter’s user base however – the blue line, in particular, irks some to no end. But with Twitter’s alpha program, there may be room for Twitter’s most vocal and engaged users to have a say in these changes earlier on.

Apple and Microsoft sues Google and most big Android manufacturers

Many companies including Microsoft, Apple, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry filed lawsuits again Android manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei, Asustek, and ZTE, as well as other Android manufacturers. All the lawsuits target Google as well, if only indirectly, and one mentions the company by name, saying its core money-maker, Adwords, violates a 1998 patent.

The company is called Rockstar, and was established as a consortium in 2011, to bid on the trove of technology patents left behind by the bankrupt Canadian technology company Nortel. Back then, Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony teamed up to bid for almost 6,000 of Nortel’s patents, many covering mobile technology. The so-called Rockstar Bidco consortium eventually won the acution, with a bid of $4.5 billion. The other big competitor in the auction was Google, who bid $4.4 billion before giving up. Later, Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion, and its own treasure trove of patents was reportedly one of the main reasons behind the acquisition.

Rockstar was widely expected to attempt to monetize the 6,000 patents it bought from Nortel, and this week the company made its first move by filing lawsuits against Google, Asustek, HTC, Huawei, LG Electronics, Pantech, Samsung, and ZTE. The suits were filed in the Eastern District of Texas, a district that is well known for favoring plaintiffs in patent cases.

The complaint against Google involves six patents related to serving ads in a search engine describing “an advertisement machine which provides advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network”. The technology isn’t related to mobile, but it’s a frontal attack to Google’s bread and butter business, AdWords. The oldest patent precedes Google’s founding, being awarded in 1997, while the newest was awarded in 2011.

Rockstar attacked the group of Android manufacturers with a batch of seven diverse patents, including ones that pertain to navigation through electronic interfaces or to an integrated message center. The stakeholders of Rockstar claim that the consortium acts independently. And, because Rockstar doesn’t have any operations of its own, Google, and other companies in its sights, can’t retaliate with a countersuit, like Samsung did with Apple.

Because Rockstar is a distinct entity, it can even sue companies that its owners have patent agreements with – for instance, Apple and HTC signed a 10-Year patent licensing deal, but that didn’t shelter the Taiwanese company from Rockstar’s suit. Sony, as a stakeholder in Rockstar and a major Google Android partner, is also in an interesting position.


Patent lawsuits can take years to finalize, and it’s not clear yet if the patents that Rockstar yields as a weapon against Google and Android OEMs are essential to their business. In other words, there’s a long way to go before these lawsuits have any tangible effects. However, the fact that Rockstar has finally commenced its attack should be worrying for consumers, who have absolutely nothing to gain from it.

HTC Desire 500 launching in india with Android 4.2, Sense 5.0

HTC launched a new phone in its Desire series - the HTC Desire 500 for Rs 24,290 today. The mid-range model features a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, HTC Blinkfeed and Video Highlights.

“The Desire 500 is perfect for people who are always-on-the-go, it enables powerful multitasking and live-streaming of important and interesting information, and it boasts an excellent camera and that bring your important moments to life.”

Camera:

- An 8MP camera combines with the dedicated HTC Image Chip processor to take pictures 

- A 1.6MP front-facing camera

Video Highlights

This feature allows you to take stills and videos from one event or days’ shooting and compiles them into a 30-second reel, set to music according to one of five themes.

Blinkfeed

The HTC Desire 500 brings HTC’s acclaimed BlinkFeed to the Desire range. Transforming the home screen into a customisable stream of live information, HTC BlinkFeed is displayed on a 4.3inch display and aggregates social streams and news.

Processor and memory

Sporting a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, the HTC Desire 500 offers high-speed multitasking, super-fast web browsing and graphic-intense gaming on the move. With 4GB onboard memory and support for microSD cards of up to 64GB, you need never run out of space for the photos, videos, apps and games that matter most.

Availability

The new HTC Desire 500 will be available with major retailers at MOP of Rs. 21,490, and MRP of Rs 24,290 across India market. The HTC Desire 500 will also be available with dual SIM support and NFC in select markets.

HTC Desire 500 detailed Specs

SIM CARD TYPE

micro SIM

MEMORY

Total storage : 4 GB, available capacity varies

RAM : 1 GB

Expansion card slot supports microSD™ memory card for up to 64GB additional storage (card not included)

NETWORK

2G/ 2.5G - GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

900/1800/1900 MHz

3G/ 3.5G - UMTS/ HSPA:

900/2100 MHz with HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps

GPS

GPS/AGPS

SENSORS

Accelerometer

Proximity sensor

Ambient light sensor

CAMERA

8 MP camera with auto focus, LED flash

BSI sensor, Sensor size 1/3.2"

Dedicated HTC ImageChip

F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens

Smart Flash: Five levels of flash automatically set by distance to subject

Front Camera: 1.6 MP with BSI sensor

720p video recording

Gallery with Video Highlights and HTC Share

Continuous shooting and VideoPic

Slow motion video recording with variable speed playback

BATTERY

Removable rechargeable Li-polymer battery

Capacity : 1800 mAh

Talk time :

Up to 12.1 hours for 3G

Standby time :

Up to 435 hours for 3G

AC ADAPTER

Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz

DC output: 5 V and 1 A

Android phablets Optima Smart OPS 80 and OPS 80Q in India

Sunstrike Telecom has introduced two new phablets for the Indian market under its Optima Smart series, dubbed OPS 80 and OPS 80Q. However, the company has not revealed the pricing for both the devices.

Optima Smart OPS 80 and OPS 80Q

The Optima Smart OPS 80Q measures 142x72.2x9.9mm, and features a 5-inch qHD (540x960 pixel) IPS display. The phablet runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with flash while there is a 2-megpixel front-facing camera. The device includes 4GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. It includes an 1800mAh battery.

On the other hand, the Optima Smart OPS 80 features a 5.3-inch WVGA (480x800pixel) display, and is based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and also includes a 1.3-megapixel front camera. It comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. The device includes 2600mAh battery.

Commenting on the launch, Capt. Chanpreet Singh, Managing Director, Sunstrike Telecom Pvt. Ltd. said, "We are proud to announce our entry in the premium smartphone market in India and we are sure that our innovation based products will charm their way into the hearts of young Indians. Our innovation based devices have wonderful features that are most sought after today and are certain to please the Indian consumer."

Star Wars R2-D2 Really Smart Safe

                                 Star Wars R2D2 Smart Safe

 If you have valuables, then R2 is the droid for the job. He also lights up and makes sounds. He’s exactly the droid you are looking for.

"An extremely well put-together little droid."

You can say that the most accomplished astromech droid ever in terms of its lifespan would be R2D2, having made an appearance in just about all of the Star Wars shows, The "Star Wars R2D2 Smart Safe" works great as it is able to integrate itself seamlessly with your smartphone, be it of the Android or iOS persuasion. The Star Wars R2D2 Smart Safe relies on sensor based technology.This officially licensed product is powered by a trio of AAA batteries, so make sure you always have spares around the house!

Sony’s Xperia Mini Pro

Xperia Mini Pro is the perfect phone for those who desire a small yet feature-rich phone. The Xperia Mini Pro is the successor to the Xperia X10 Mini Pro phone, which also features a slide-out keyboard.It has a customized UI with launcher similar to the one in Xperia Arc.





It certainly does manage to impress the ones who look for eye candy. The animations and transitions are beautifully done.The phone has a 5 mp camera which is capable of recording videos at 720p resolution.It comes with 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU and Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon.The music player is simple and easy to use with basic features. It has an equalizer and Sony Ericsson’s so called Infinity button.The QWERTY keypad is the major feature of this phone.

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Samsung is launching the 32GB variant of it's flagship smartphone for the year, Samsung Galaxy SIII at a Price of Rs.41,500!!

On September 6, Samsung announced four new colors for its flagship Galaxy S3 phone:

Amber Brown, Titanium Grey, Sapphire Black, and Garnet Red. Up until now, AT&T has retained the exclusive for the red shade, but Samsung is opening up the color, along with the three other earthier tones, to certain markets across the globe.

Samsung and its carrier partners haven't announced availability yet for the new hues, and not every region will get each shade. Until then, read my full review of the Samsung Galaxy S3 for all the details.

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Samsung asks iPhone users,"Can your phone do this ?"

Samsung hits the streets to challenge iPhone users with Galaxy Note

Samsung marketing executive Younghee Lee recently said she wants consumers to be “obsessed with the company and its products.” The ironic thing is that her company Samsung is obsessed with Apple and its iPhone. In a new series of web videos called Street Challenge, Samsung once again goes after iPhone users and asks them if their phone can do things the Galaxy Note can.

Read more ....

Compared to Samsung’s Super Bowl ad, this clip actually does a good job of highlighting the unique features of the Note’s S-Pen and showcases some real examples of what it can do. Check out the video below and let us know what you think.

Speaking of the Super Bowl ad, Samsung has actually been uploading a bunch of awesome videos for the Galaxy Note. The first 60-second clip below would have probably cost about $10 million less to produce than their 90-second ad, and it does a much better job of showing off the product.

So, anyone pick up the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note yet?

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Microsoft's secret weapon in mobile gaming: DirectX on Windows Phone 8

Not many people remember this, but the original Xbox got its name from Microsoft's plans to deliver a "Direct X Box" to the home console market. Feeling the need to counteract the growing influence of consoles at the turn of the century, Microsoft sought to bring DirectX — its proprietary collection of programming interfaces (APIs) used to build games for Windows — to the living room. 

While its first attempt was rightly derided as a chopped-down desktop PC dressed up in home entertainment garb, the consequent Xbox 360 has been a runaway success with users, and its slim second iteration has also been a fantastic feat of hardware engineering to boot. And it all started with that seemingly innocuous group of APIs. Now, Direct X is coming to Windows Phone.

Before we all get too far ahead of ourselves, let's recall just how many years it took Microsoft to perfect its home console recipe with the Xbox. Wading into a new market is always difficult, mistakes will inevitably be made along the way, and progress will be slower than interested observers will want it to be. So no, you won't soon be taking your Crysis 2 gaming session on the road with just the Windows Phone handset in your pocket. But the potential is most certainly there.

Whereas the commonalities between the original Xbox and the desktop PC were initially scorned, with Windows Phone 8, being similar to Windows is the point. Obviously not in hardware terms, but Microsoft's message from the Windows Phone Summit is crystal clear: the software underpinnings of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 have a "shared core," which is composed of the same kernel and multiple other coding interfaces that make it easy for developers to port apps between the two. The reason I consider DirectX the most critical one among them should by now be self-evident, but it's easy enough to illustrate by pointing out that DX incompatibility is the main reason why the Mac has long trailed far behind Windows in terms of desktop and laptop gaming.

WITH WINDOWS PHONE 8, BEING SIMILAR TO WINDOWS IS A GOOD THING

Microsoft has already signed up third-party middleware providers like Havok and Autodesk to support WP8, with yesterday's Summit including multiple demos showing off the Havok Physics engine. The most encouraging aspect came at the end, when Head of Product Management Andrew Bowell noted that it took Havok" under three weeks" to port its rather gruesome "full fat" body simulation asset.

Yes, Havok already supports Android, iOS, and plenty of other platforms, but it's just another solid piece in the mobile gaming puzzle that Microsoft is putting together. Adding native development support, giving game makers access to the low-level APIs that they've wanted and been denied on Windows Phone until this new version, is going to drive a lot of interest. Microsoft is still going to face challenges in increasing its smartphone market share, but at least now games like Shadowgun won't be prevented by technical barriers from appearing on its platform.

Beyond giving devs access to mature and familiar tools in DirectX, Microsoft offers another big advantage over Android: a consistent hardware platform. Calling Android fragmented may sound like a tired and ancient complaint, but it remains sadly valid. If Android devices could offer consistent baseline specs to game developers, we wouldn't need things like the Tegra Zone or Play Station Mobile to tell us where to find games with higher-quality graphics. Microsoft may be in the midst of performing another hardware reset with Windows Phone 8 — the lack of backwards compatibility to Windows Phone 7 devices is a bitter pill to swallow — but its continued focus on standardized specs gives game makers a set of goalposts that isn't shifting as rapidly as on Google's platform.

THERE'S A LOT OF WORK STILL TO DO, BUT WINDOWS PHONE'S GAMING POTENTIAL NO LONGER HAS A CEILING

In choosing the snapdragon S4 Plus as the processor and a high-res 1280 x 768 as the max resolution, Microsoft is going for the best currently available technology with its new platform. That's a lesson learned from its initial launch of Windows Phone 7, which ran very smoothly in itself, but was released on a Snapdragon core that was immediately superseded by faster and more efficient parts.

None of the foregoing factors are guarantees for success, as Microsoft's timing and execution with Windows Phone 8's release will still be decisive, but there's great reason to feel encouraged about the future of mobile gaming on Windows Phone 8. Whereas Android has a massive and hungry audience and seemingly no consistent way to sate it, Microsoft looks to have all the pieces in place to deliver compelling new gaming experiences. The former is the opportunity, the latter is the tool with which to exploit it.

Now it's just a matter of convincing game makers to make games — shouldn't be too hard, right?

Google Earth, now in 3-D!

 

With 3-D imagery, expanded street view, and offline access, Google Earth and Google Maps got a pretty major boost this week. Rumor has it that Google is beefing up their services before Apple launches its own competing map app.

 

   Google announced a new offline Maps mode which, when paired with a little foresight, will let you use the service even when you don't have Internet access. Just save an area of a map while you're connected, and you can call it up later no matter how deep in country backroads you are.

 

 Offline Maps support was just one of the new features Google announced on Wednesday. It's also going to start offering high-resolution 3-D imagery, or what the company calls the "next dimension" of maps, in the Google Earth program. Google is putting Earth cameras on a number of small planes, which then fly around buildings and over strips of cities, snapping thousands of images from different angles. Google then stitches all the images together to make a 3-D map of, say, a city skyline.

Google Earth has featured 3-D images of certain buildings for a while now (to see an example, enable the "3-D buildings" layer in Google Earth, then take the program's "sightseeing tour" of famous landmarks), but the new technology can show a whole metropolitan area in 3-D. For now, you're limited to zooming around the San Francisco skyline on the mobile Android app, but Google promises to have 3-D coverage of more cities and suburbs -- covering at least 300 million people -- and a roll-out to the desktop version of Google Earth by the end of the year.

Google is also turning its attention to less-populous areas with the new Trekker service, which aims to do for foot-accessible areas what Street View did for streets. As the service expands, hikers and bikers will be able to get a ground-level view of trails and locations that can be reached by foot. Trekker is powered by a 40-pound, backpack-sized Street View camera that captures 360-degree views of any place you can hike to.

 

There's a long string of rumors suggesting that Apple is preparing its own mapping service, which could be unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week. If that's the case, then Google's launch this week is probably aimed at showing just how committed they are to Maps. Currently, iPads and iPhones ship with Google Maps pre-installed, but it's no secret that Apple doesn't particularly enjoy having to rely on Google to provide mapping on the iOS platform. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the new version of iOS will contain Apple's own mapping service, and that Cupertino will begin encouraging app developers to use their maps, in place of Google's, in applications.

Are you excited about the new Google Earth features? Are you expecting Apple to roll out something even better? Let us know in the comments section below.

 Follow us on www.networkupdate.blogspot.in for more tech news.

 

Apple's war with Google heats up

When Apple Inc kicks off its annual conference for software developers on Monday, all the power players in the Apple universe will be on hand, save the one that is in many ways driving the agenda: Google Inc. 

More than ever, the consumer electronics juggernaut finds itself in a pitched battle with the online search giant - in smartphones, cloud computing and the never-ending competition for the hearts and minds of the best software developers.

Apple is expected to announce its own mapping application, challenging the position of Google Maps as one of the most-valued features on the iPhone. It will unveil closer integration of its iPhone apps and iCloud storage service with all its devices, the latest riposte in its battle with Google's Android smartphone software.

When Apple Inc kicks off its annual conference for software developers on Monday, all the power players in the Apple universe will be on hand, save the one that is in many ways driving the agenda: Google Inc.
More than ever, the consumer electronics juggernaut finds itself in a pitched battle with the online search giant - in smartphones, cloud computing and the never-ending competition for the hearts and minds of the best software developers.

Apple on Monday is expected to announce its own mapping application, challenging the position of Google Maps as one of the most-valued features on the iPhone. It will unveil closer integration of its iPhone apps and iCloud storage service with all its devices, the latest riposte in its battle with Google's Android smartphone software.

It may promote the latest in Siri, the voice interface that the company thinks can continue to set the iPhone and the iPad apart from the Android pack.

And there will likely be a new line of Macintosh laptops too - underscoring the leverage that a full line of hardware products can bring to what is mainly a software war with Google.

Apple is looking to differentiate its mobile devices from Google's Android by further enticing consumers deeper into its app ecosystem, said Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner Research.

"It's all about loyalty and basically leveraging the opportunity of selling more to them," she said. "I don't think the consumers in the mass market are necessarily tied into the Android ecosystem in the same way that consumers on the Apple side are."

Battling in many arenas, the rivals employ different weapons. Apple's vise-like grip on its ecosystem - with the closely managed app store and its seamless integration with the hardware - stands in sharp contrast to Google's free-for-all approach.

An Apple computer is shown on Google's company campus in Mountain View, California February 9, 2010.

The open system approach, reminiscent of Microsoft Corp's hugely successful strategy of creating standard-setting software that runs on a variety of hardware, has allowed Android to capture the market lead in smartphones (albeit with nothing close to Apple's profit margins).

Android has also helped create several potent hardware rivals to Apple. Samsung Electronics' Android-driven Galaxy S III is drawing favorable comparisons to iPhone and Amazon.com Inc's cheaper Kindle Fire is challenging Apple in tablets and digital content.

Apple's expected move to replace Google Maps with its own mapping application is a particularly dramatic example of how the rivalry between the companies has been evolving.

Google has invested huge sums in its mapping technology over the years, and about half of its map traffic now comes from iPhones and iPads. Among other things, the traffic from those devices reveals valuable location data that helps improve the mapping service and provides features like real-time traffic reports.

Apple has spent three years preparing to take mapping back. It has integrated technology from acquisitions such as 3D mapping company C3 Technologies, Canadian startup Poly9 Group and mapping service Placebase, said ISI analyst Brian Marshall.

"As Apple builds out its Siri service, they build out the iCloud infrastructure and more capability into its operating system, location data is going to become important," said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu.
"This could help their advertising business too."

MULTI-PRONGED BATTLE

In what was seen as a pre-emptive move against Apple's upcoming maps service, Google on Wednesday showed off its own mapping capabilities, including soon-to-be-launched 3D features.

While Google executives avoided any comment on the possibility of being ousted as a default service on Apple devices, one executive said the integration with Google's search engine provides a mapping service that is far more useful than a product that simply uses a "geocoder.

Apple began to use its own geocoder - technology that uses geographic coordinates to create a digital map - for the Google-based maps on its smartphones late last year, a move that was seen as a precursor to Apple using its own map software.

Another software upgrade that fans and developers are hoping for is Siri, a popular voice-enabled personal assistant service that Google has yet to match.

The service could come out of its beta testing phase and show up on the iPad when Apple unveils iOS6 or the next version of its mobile operating software.

Siri, which has been plagued with connectivity and other issues, is still in beta test version.

Apple's global war on Google and Android in the courts is one sign of how seriously it is taking the potential threat. The consumer device giant is seeing limited success, though, in courtrooms for various patent infringement cases it has against Android manufacturers.

Apple said this week it is mulling a legal order to stop the U.S. launch of Samsung Galaxy S III phone later this month. Samsung is one of the biggest Android phone manufacturers.

In another of the many lawsuits worldwide pitting Apple against Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, a federal judge canceled a scheduled trial as neither could prove damages. That decision particularly hurts Apple because the iPhone maker was seeking an injunction barring the sale of Android products, said Brian Love, a professor at Stanford Law School.

"The Android side is likely thrilled to simply have the case go away," Love said.
Apple declined to comment on the case.


MACBOOK REDESIGN IN THE WORKS


Where Apple has the upper hand is in its hardware - groundbreaking in design, vastly popular with consumers for its ease of use.

The redesigned MacBook laptops to hit the stage next week are expected to include high-definition screens and Intel Corp's Ivy Bridge cutting-edge processors. Some even expect the iPad's "retina" display to show up on the MacBook line.

This would be Apple's first big redesign of the MacBook Pro since mid-2009. With the new lineup, it hopes to fend off budding competition from rival manufacturers who are pushing a spate of new, thinner laptops called "Ultrabooks."


Windows 8, a new version of Microsoft's flagship operating system that runs on tablet computers as well as PCs, will bolster PC makers' ability to offer premier computers rivaling Apple's MacBook line.

Already, about 20 touch-enabled ultrabook designs with various styles of foldable, detachable or sliding keyboards running the new Windows 8 system are in the pipeline.

The MacBook line generated 13 percent, or about $5 billion, of Apple's fiscal second-quarter revenue. Unit sales of the aging lineup were up 7 percent from the previous year but were down 23 percent sequentially.



 Whatever the case, Apple fans and partners can look forward to a fairly action-packed week.
"Apple is very serious about getting far in front of Windows 8 and Ultrabooks," said Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes. But "software and services will be the focus, with major enhancements to Maps, iCloud and Siri, which developers and users can take advantage of."

Microsoft’s on{x} pushes mobile automation to new heights, but only for Android users [video]

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a new app and set of APIs called on{x}, which pushes smartphone automation to new heights. The app allows users to write custom scripts that automate various smartphone functions based on time, location and a number of parameters similar software does not currently support. On{x} opens the door to a wide range of functionality that isn’t widely available anywhere else, but for the time being, users with smartphones powered by Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform won’t have access to any of it.

In a demonstration video posted by Microsoft on Tuesday, Microsoft researchers provide a number of intriguing examples of functionality that might be automated by on{x}. In one example, the app automatically sends a text message to the user’s boyfriend when she leaves work to let him know she is on her way to meet him. In another, the app’s “modeOfTransport” API is utilized to make a smartphone automatically adjust its settings based on whether the user is walking, running or driving a car.

While writing the scripts to trigger various actions does require some programing knowledge, Microsoft includes a number of “recipes” for various actions on its on{x} website that can be pushed to devices without any alterations needed on the part of the user. Users can manage all of their recipes on the on{x} website as well, and new ones can easily be sent to devices right from the site’s control panel.

So what’s the catch? In an interesting twist, on{x} is only available for Android devices.

Microsoft set to release Office for iOS and Android tablets in November

BGR has learned from a reliable source that Microsoft is currently planning to release the company’s full Office suite for not only Apple’s iPad, but for Android tablets as well. The company is targeting November of this year for both launches. Additionally, our source has seen Microsoft Office running on an iPad first-hand and has said that it looks almost identical to the previous leak from The Daily a few months back, despite the fact that Microsoft flat out denied that the app was authentic. It is also plausible that Microsoft Office will be coming to the iPhone and iPod touch rather than only the iPad, as we’re told the loading screen in the app clearly said “Office for iOS” and not just iPad.