Windows 9 planned for April 2015 release

Weve heard some rumors about Windows "Threshold" which is planned to unify at least two of the three major versions of Windows - Phone, RT, and # (7, 8, etc.). Now, Microsoft super-newsman Paul Thurrott is saying that Threshold will officially be called Windows 9, and it is planned for release in April of 2015. Unfortunately, its unclear if Microsoft knows about these plans.

Thurrott says that this coming April at the BUILD 2014 developers conference, Microsoft is planning to announce details of Windows 9, and that Windows 9 is planned to be released in April of 2015. Rumors have said that Windows 9 will include the return of the Start menu, as well as options to run Metro apps on the desktop. Of course, the big news as far as our readership is concerned is the potential merging of Windows Phone and Windows RT.

The trouble is that Microsoft may not be aware of these plans, because InfoWorld is reporting that Microsoft hasnt actually started coding Windows 9 yet. It took Microsoft six years after Windows XP to release Vista, two years after Vista to release Windows 7, and three years after Windows 7 to release Windows 8. If it is true that Microsoft hasnt started work, it could be cutting it close if April 2015 is really the aim. PhoneArena

Read More..

Samsung Galaxy S5 due by April maybe with iris scanner

The Korean companys next-generation flagship Android phone will be more distinctive than predecessors. Also coming: a smaller, more powerful Gear successor.

 

Samsung introduced the Galaxy TabPro, an Android tablet with a large 12.2-inch screen, at CES 2014.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) 

  Samsungs Galaxy S5 will be stylistically distinct from S3 and S4 predecessors, and the next-generation flagship Android phone could include an iris scanner when it ships in March or April, according to the companys mobile-products leader.

"Many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology... We are studying the possibility," said Young-hee Lee, executive vice president of marketing for Samsung mobiles division, in a Bloomberg News interview at the CES conference in Las Vegas published Thursday.

Iris scanners can identify a person based on patterns in the eye, and adding one would be a competitive response to the fingerprint scanner in Apples iPhone 5S and HTC One Max. For the iris scanner to be more than a gimmick, though, it would have to work effectively to avoid criticisms such as those leveled at the HTC One Maxs fingerprint authentication mechanism.

Samsung had planned to include a fingerprint scanner in the Galaxy Note 3, a phablet released in September, but backed off the idea because it wasnt reliable enough, sources have told CNET.

Related stories

• Samsung Galaxy NotePro kicks up productivity
• Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 gets Android 4.3, retro redesign (pictures)

The S5 should look different, too: "When we moved to S4 from S3, its partly true that consumers couldnt really feel much difference between the two products from the physical perspective, so the market reaction wasnt as big," Lee told Bloomberg. "For the S5, we will go back to the basics. Mostly, its about the display and the feel of the cover." 

The S5 will be released a year after the S4, in March or April, Lee said. At the same time, a successor to the Gear smartwatch will arrive thatll be less bulky and have more advanced features, according to Lee. Sources have told CNET that the Gear successor is due in March, including a higher-quality screen.
Lee also said a new Galaxy Note smartphone for higher-end customers will arrive in the second half of 2014.

Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-35299_1-57616942/samsung-galaxy-s5-due-by-april-maybe-with-iris-scanner/#ixzz2q6d0BjWC

Read More..