Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft Devices launched its first Lumia handset without the iconic Nokia brand name in India for Rs 9,199. Featuring the Microsoft logo, the Lumia 535 has a 5-inch display, 1.2 GHz quadcore processor and 1GB RAM. Along with 8 GB internal storage and 15 GB of free OneDrive storage, the device supports expansion up to 128 GB through microSD cards. “The new Microsoft Lumia 535 sets the benchmark in bringing the best of the Windows Phone ecosystem at an accessible price point to consumers in India,” said Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik.

Microsoft Ventures in India has announced the graduation of 11 technology start-ups from the fifth batch of its Accelerator Program. Congratulating the graduating companies, Ravi Narayan, director, Microsoft Ventures India, said: “This batch has made considerable progress during the four months with us, with seven of the 11 closing deals with clients outside India. Overseas VCs and investors are showing keen interest in our start-ups.”

Raghuvesh Sarup, Director-Marketing at Nokia India Sales, said in an interview that Microsoft is rebranding its new smartphones to convey the importance of software as a differentiating factor for the company. Detailing Microsoft’s plans to compete with Android, he said, “Windows phones in their current avatar were launched at the end of 2011 and they reached most parts of the world by mid-2012. In the world of iOS and Android, the new Windows OS for phones is an infant. However, in these two years, the Windows OS has gained a 10% market share in several countries.”

The Dropbox and Microsoft integration — which brings the ability to edit Office files from within the Dropbox mobile app — has now started rolling out to both Android and iOS users. Once users have updated the Dropbox client, they will see a new “Edit” option, which will allow them to quickly switch over to the new mobile Office apps to make changes to an Office file. As soon as the file is saved, the changes are saved and synced across all Dropbox devices automatically. officials Shobhit Sahay and Chris Nguyen in a blog.

Speaking at the 38th Skoch Summit that deliberated on Digital India focused on improving citizen-government interface and making governance efficient and transparent, Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Microsoft India, emphasised on the need for creating a digital identity for every citizens. “The goal of the government should be to digitally empower at least one person in every household. This will create the capacity on the ground that will make the vision of Digital India a reality,” he said.

Microsoft has refined how Office 365 handles bulk promotional emails from vendors like Amazon and eBay, adding what it describes as a “simple, intuitive control” to the security engine in Exchange Online so that Office 365 admins can fine-tune the treatment of these messages for their domain. “Bulk email can be a real nuisance for users. We hope that this feature will help you better manage the amount of bulk email your organization receives,” wrote Microsoft officials Shobhit Sahay and Chris Nguyen in a blog.

A customized video approach developed at Microsoft Research India prefers local people for training farmers instead of agricultural experts. “It’s a unique way of doing really targeted behavioural change,” said Julia Lowe, programme officer with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is helping fund the programme. “It will be particularly meaningful when it comes to more personal behaviours—health practices, household decision-making.” Digital Green was founded by employees of Microsoft Research India, which conducts research in computer science and software engineering.

The annual Time magazine best invention of the year round-up is out and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 finds pride of place in it. The report says Microsoft’s latest “hybrid” bundles the power of a laptop into a svelte 12-inch tablet and can run desktop apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. “That, as well as a slim, detachable keyboard cover and a built-in stand that makes the Surface usable on a desk, makes it more suitable than other tablets for professionals like doctors and businesspeople,” the report said.

Microsoft India on Friday sent invites for an event scheduled on Wednesday, where it is expected to launch the first Microsoft-branded smartphone, the Lumia 535. The invite sent by the company reads, “Five days to magic of triple 5”. That, of course, is a pointer to the “5x5x5” Microsoft Lumia 535, which, the company says is their “’5x5x5’ smartphone package bringing a 5-inch screen, 5-megapixel front- and rear-facing camera, and free integrated Microsoft experiences (such as Skype and OneNote) to more people at an affordable price”.

Microsoft India in partnership with Ubisoft, announced a new Xbox One “Assassin’s Creed®” bundle with Kinect featuring “Assassin’s Creed Unity”. Priced at Rs 45,990, the Kinect bundle will be available exclusively on Amazon.in. Anshu Mor, Director – Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India, said, “Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest franchisees on our platform and we’re excited to deliver exceptional value and choice for our fans in an effort to help make Xbox One the best place to play.”