Recent News

Microsoft has successfully unveiled the Nokia X2, the first Android Smartphone at an affordable price of 99 euros (Rs. 8100). The handset comes with wide range of exotic features and provisions with makes it exclusively predominant. Timo Toikkanen, Head of Mobile Phones, Microsoft Devices Group, said, “The Nokia X family is going from strength to strength, with the Nokia X Smartphone achieving top-selling status in Pakistan, Russia, Kenya and Nigeria, while earning the third-best-selling Smartphone spot in India”. X2 is a much needed update to the highly criticized Nokia X but how far will it repair the damage done is yet to be seen.

Xolo has launched its first Windows Phone-powered smartphone Win Q900s in the Indian market. Xolo Q900s is priced at Rs 11,999. However, the device is available at a special introductory offer price of Rs 9,999 with online retailer Snapdeal. As reported, the device is one of the lightest smartphones in the world, weighing just 100 grams. The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 400MHz Adreno 302 GPU. It has 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, which is expandable via micro SD card up to 32GB.

Sonata has won the 2014 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for India. The company was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. The Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Awards honour partners at the country level that have demonstrated business excellence in delivering Microsoft solutions to multiple customers over the past year.

Global software services and solutions provider, Bule Star Infotech Limited, announced that it has successfully implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP at Komli Media, which is Asia Pacific’s leading digital media technology platform. The implementation is helping Komli Media in fortifying their existing services by gaining control over core business processes, perfecting supply chain and at the same time helping employees to perform effectively across Asia Pacific.

In an exclusive interview Srikanth Karnakota, Director – Server and Cloud Business, Microsoft India, talked about the factors that are fuelling the growth of cloud in India. He also shared the company’s strategy to differentiate itself in the crowded cloud space.

Microsoft India’s cloud offerings such as Office 365 and Azure seem to be finding many takers from among Gujarat-based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Out of the 100 SME clients that Microsoft added through its partner Bitscape Infotech, about 90 were from Gujarat. Manisha Sood, Director – SMB, Microsoft India, said, “The Company is moving towards mobile first, cloud first business ideology. Cloud is becoming a mainstream IT platform for businesses of all sizes. The cost advantages and benefits of cloud computing are so compelling that its adoption in India will continue to grow just as it is in the rest of the world. According to a study by IDC, channel partners selling cloud solutions experience nearly double gross profits, accrue new customers faster and generate 30 percent more revenue per employee”.

From acquiring Nokia’s handset business to new strategies, Microsoft has been in the news for all the good reasons. In an interview to The Hindu, Karan Bajwa, MD, Microsoft India, talked about the impact of these transformations on its operations in the country, the challenges, and growth areas the technology giant is focusing on. Speaking in terms of services and growth, he said, “It is a continuous journey. We do not have a milestone in mind to say that this is it and we are done. On the services side, we are literally leading the play. In terms of cloud, the proportion of market share that we have far outweighs anybody else. Additionally, we are adding about 2,000 commercial customers per month on the cloud, which is a pretty good pace”. He also said that PCs are not going to disappear and that they will hold ground along with smartphones and tablets.

Code for Honor 2014, started by MS India, is a contest for ISVs (independent software vendors) and technology startups drew to close, with Microsoft announcing six winners. The winners, who developed commercial apps and solutions focused on large enterprises, micro / small / medium enterprises, Government enablement and citizen services, took home cash prizes of Rs. 2, 00,000 each. The winners will have access to mentors from an elite panel put together by Microsoft as well as the opportunity to connect with potential investors and customers. Joseph Landes, General Manager – Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India, said, “The contest was designed as an opportunity to provide an accelerator to ISVs and tech start-ups to develop commercial apps on the Windows platform. We wanted to create the same kind of excitement around commercial apps that is usually seen around consumer apps. I see the development of commercial apps as the next big trend in the app development ecosystem in India as it is lucrative and in high demand”.

The upcoming Lumia Cyan update promises to deliver better camera experience. The technology’s front man, Juha Alakarhu and Eero Salmelin, in an open discussion with WP Central, revealed a few more details about what Lumia Cyan will bring for Nokia Windows Phone users. One of those advances would be in the better low-light performance, which is a common problem with owners of the Nokia Lumia 1520. The gigantic flagship was clearly not on par with the rest of the competition when it comes to low light performance and definitely needs a boost in this area. The Cyan update will also bring better colours and continuous autofocus for devices. Video will also be smoother and RAW images will look better as well thanks to a newer approach to utilizing the camera sensors.

ICICI Bank launched its mobile banking application IMobile’ for Windows phones. The new app is available for download on the Windows Phone Store for mobile phones. ICICI Bank, which was the first Bank in the country to launch a mobile banking application six years ago, intends to enhance customer experience through a new user interface on the Windows tile format.