8 things I love about Windows 8.1 (Video)

Posted on by Adam Z. Lein

Windows 8.1 has been around for a couple months now and there’s lots of new tablets, laptops, and PCs available for the holiday season. As you know, Windows 8 was met with lots of criticism for being so different and Windows 8.1 was designed to appease some of those issues and improve upon some others. There are many changes in Windows 8.1; some of them you’ll love, some of them you might hate, and some that might take a while to get used to. I’ve been using it since it was in beta, and I’ve been using the final version since it was released to manufacturing, so ...

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Cyber Monday (and Black Friday) 2013 deal round-up

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Cyber Monday Update: Hope you got what you wanted to on Black Friday, because now we’re into a new week, a new month, and plenty of new deals. We already told you about a number of the Cyber Monday offers that were revealed early, like that $150 Moto X savings (which is so awesome it broke Motorola’s website), but now that the day’s finally arrived, we have some more deals to share with you. We’ve been wondering what to expect from Amazon, and

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This is why productivity tablets haven’t taken off

Posted on by Jaime Rivera

I don’t know about you, but I had my first computer back in 1992. It was really my Dad’s, but I was the only one that used it for many reasons that I’ll explain later. It was a clone PC with a 386 processor, 2MB of RAM, an 20MB HDD, and it ran DOS 4.2. I remember every single DOS command I needed to operate it before we upgraded to Windows 3.1, and I would enjoy playing Price of Persia, Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nuken, and other titles that made this my only game console for years to come. Still, one of the things I remember most about those times is that computers daunted regular ...

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Microsoft exec alludes to platform fusion plans

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Right now, Microsoft finds itself in the uncomfortable position of managing three app ecosystems, none compatible with the others; we’ve got Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and the full-blown Windows 8.1. More and more lately, we’ve been talking about an inevitable merger between at least some of these disparate families, hearing rumors about Microsoft going to a unified app store next year, and discussing exactly ...

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Pocketnow Weekly 071: Lumia 2520, jumbo-phones, and the new iPad mini

Posted on by Michael Fisher

“Avalanches above, business continues below.” That’s a lyric from a very weird song, but it also encapsulates the goings-on in the Pocketnow offices this week – with technology news bubbling up from the outside world even as review devices tumble down from above. We’ll talk about those devices as well as the rest of the happenings in the mobile technology world, and we’ll take questions from your listener mail in the ninety minutes of this week’s podcast. (We’ll also ...

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Nokia offering free Power Keyboard with Lumia 2520 purchase

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Nokia’s first Windows 8 tablet is now here, with the Lumia 2520 finally available for sale. The 10.1-inch slate will run you about $400 with a carrier subsidy, or $500 free-and-clear. We’ve already given you a hands-on look at the model, and our full review is forthcoming. One thing that’s not available just yet, however, is the tablet’s official Power Keyboard, a ...

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Nokia Tablet: a day with the Lumia 2520 (Video)

Posted on by Michael Fisher

It was just a few short months ago that the idea of a “Nokia tablet” was fodder for only the most speculation-heavy episodes of the Pocketnow Weekly podcast. Well, time sure moves quickly, doesn’t it? The Lumia 2520 is the latest in a long line of Nokia devices we’ve covered this season, but as the company’s first-ever Windows tablet, it deserves a close look before it goes on sale at AT&T this Friday. Announced at ...

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Nokia Lumia 2520 unboxing (Video)

Posted on by Michael Fisher

De-packaging gadgets is fun enough as it is, but the joy is multiplied tenfold when the subject of the unboxing is a device you never thought would see the light of day. For months, the notion of a “Nokia tablet” has been little more than fodder for speculative debate on slow-news editions of the Pocketnow Weekly podcast. But now it’s here, willed into solid reality by the events of Nokia World 2013, its sleek rounded edges beckoning from within its staid retail packaging. And by gum, we’re gonna ...

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AT&T confirms Nokia Lumia 2520 retail launch details, announces bundle deal

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Nokia’s first Windows 8 tablet is now a reality, as we saw the Lumia 2520 go official at last month’s Nokia World event. We’re already getting knee-deep in rumors about where Nokia’s tablet plans could be going from here, but before we get ahead of ourselves, there’s still the matter of the 2520 actually hitting the market. Last week, we heard some rumors about the US launch situation, and checked out a leak that seemed to reveal plans for the ...

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Start saving now for Panasonic’s pricey 4K Windows 8.1 tablet

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Samsung may be stretching its tablet lineup to new sizes with the Galaxy Note 12.2, but compared to some models from other manufacturers, even that’s comparatively tiny. Remember all the way back in January, when we were still drooling over everything CES had to reveal? One of the boundary-pushing products we saw announced was a massive twenty-inch tablet from Panasonic, with a 4K 3840 x 2560 panel that put everyone else to shame.

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Dell Venue 11 Pro Windows 8.1 tablet goes up for sale

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Back at the start of October, Dell unveiled a set of four new tablets. The Android models didn’t instill us with a whole lot of desire, but the manufacturer’s pair of new Windows 8.1 tablets – and full-blown, not RT, mind you – really struck a chord with us. Those were the Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro, and we brought you an early hands-on to introduce you to them. Now, we already saw orders for most of these guys open last month, but the ...

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Leaks identify US release dates for Lumia 1520, Lumia 2520

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

What the heck is going on with Nokia’s Lumia 1520 and the phone’s retail availability? We just saw pre-orders open, apparently with the intent to make the handset available on November 15, only to have Microsoft subsequently do an about-face, insisting that the orders went live prematurely, and putting a halt to them. So where does that leave us? Well, if we’re to believe the latest leak, the 1520 is ...

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What to expect from Nokia Video Director for Lumia 2520

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

With Windows Phone 8, we’re well used to seeing Nokia going above and beyond in the software department, gifting its Lumia handsets with exclusive apps that have really helped cement Nokia’s place as king of the platform. Last month, we finally got confirmation of Nokia’s first efforts with Windows RT, as the company announced its Lumia 2520 tablet. Unsurprisingly, it too will arrive with the benefit of some software exclusives, and today ...

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Nokia may still have another tablet up its sleeve: an eight-incher

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

We were only just talking about the phones we got to see (and those we didn’t) at last month’s Nokia World launch event, but handsets weren’t the only products on the agenda back then: we also got to see Nokia launch its first Windows 8 tablet, the RT-running 10.1-inch Lumia 2520. While there weren’t too many surprises there, in the weeks leading up to its launch we found ourselves wondering at least once if

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Surface Pro 2 dock starts selling early, but there’s not many to go around

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

It’s been just over a month since Microsoft launched the 2013 Surface models, along with a bunch of new accessories. While some of that stuff – like the Music Kit – might be of questionable value, one really stand-out addition that was announced was the docking station for the Surface Pro 2. With extra ports for connection to a monitor, wired network, and USB devices, it looked like it would offer users the potential to really tap into the full-on Windows 8 power of the Pro 2 (or the original Pro). The ...

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