Windows 8 is fantastic, in my opinion. The Metro interface is by far the best change I’ve seen in an operating system. It feels current and really bridges the gap between desktop and mobile computing. What it’s really missing are the Metro versions of proprietary software packages. In my last article I noted how amazing using the Metro interface was and what a big change it is from desktop view. I even thought that it was better to just forget everything ...

Update According to reports on WP Central, Microsoft has officially stated that the listing of the HTC Titan III seen by Xbox Live users was a typo. The post was intended to say Titan II. We'll take Microsoft at its word for now, but the question still begs. Why list the Titan II? which runs WP 7.5, when HTC have released the 8X, which runs WP8. Doesn't quite make sense, we'll be sure to keep all readers of the Gear updated ...

In an effort to make Windows Phone the go-to device in emerging markets, Microsoft's Developer Blog has announced that the company will be opening up online stores in 42 new countries. These countries cover most of the globe, with a specific focus on emerging markets. A pretty smart move considering Apple, Samsung and Android have the markets in first world counties cornered at the moment. This development will see the Microsoft lock horns with RIM, as BlackBerry is still the favoured ...

Somehow the Toshiba LX830-10F feels both current and out of date at the same time. The idea of an all-in-one PC that sits in the front room and handles media, games and even office programs with ease, all packaged up with an interface that's easy and intuitive to use on a touchscreen, is an attractive one. But for years they've been lumbered with operating systems that might be fine with a keyboard and mouse, but just don't work well with ...

Microsoft has confirmed prices for its Surface Pro tablet. People can expect orders and shipping for the Windows 8 flagship device to begin January 2013. Although Microsoft saw a strong user uptake of its earlier release, the Surface RT tablet, it did not go over with the public as well as expected, with many users citing build quality issues for the watered down Windows OS the product offered. Microsoft will be hoping users are far more receptive to the Surface Pro as ...

The HTC HD2 has defied the odds once again. It's a little known fact that this smartphone, which originally made its debut in 2009 running Windows Mobile 6.5, has now been hacked to operate with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 OS courtesy of hackers extraordinaire Dark Forces Team. This is not the first time that the HD2 has been modified by DFT, having setup the once flagship smartphone to run every single iteration of Windows' mobile OS since 2009. Pretty impressive ...

According to certain sources close to the Microsoft Xbox family, the new Xbox will be released in time for Christmas 2013, reports Bloomberg. Rumours of a Quad-Core processor, 8GB Ram, Blu-Ray, Kinect 2.0 and more have been floating around for a while now. Speculation says that Thanksgiving 2013 would be the most likely date as the Xbox 360 had very good sales on the same day when released. Yet the Xbox has seen declining sales in the ever-changing world of ...

Having just released Windows 8 in October, a rumour that Microsoft will be rolling out a low-cost OS to users in mid 2013 is doing the rounds. This low-cost alternative is said to be part of Microsoft's plan to release an annually updated OS, in the hopes of competing against the likes of Apple and Google. This latest iteration of Windows is said to be a more standardised OS and set to contain an entirely new user interface. Could there be ...

Samsung were the first manufacturers to unveil a WP8 device with the Ativ S in August at IFA 2012, but it looks set to be the last to reach consumers. The Ativ S was one the many newly designed Windows Phone 8 smartphones shown off by Steve Ballmer at a WP8 event in October. According to Sam Mobile, the device has suffered another delay, now scheduled for a late December release. Week 52 to be more precise, just in time to ...

Early adoption is often fraught with peril, in this case for Windows Phone 8 users, it took the guise of devices randomly rebooting on multiple occasions. Disgruntled users took to the forums to voice their displeasure. When we first reported on this issue, Microsoft had done little to address the problem. The company has now stepped up to the plate and acknowledged the rebooting anomaly that many WP8 users experienced in the past few weeks, particularly HTC 8X and Nokia ...