Best new Android & Windows smartphones at MWC 2015

Samsung, HTC, Sony and others debut brand new smartphones at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.

Best at MWC 2015
Samsung, HTC, Sony, Microsoft and others are using the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona to debut their latest smartphones and other gear. Here’s a look at the new Android and Windows devices.

Samsung Galaxy S6
The latest Galaxy Android phone swaps out its plastic frame for one made of metal and glass. The 5.1-inch screen size hasn’t changed since the S5, but resolution has been improved to 1440x2560. Other features: 5mp camera on front, 16mp camera on back; Samsung octo-core processor; 32/64/128GB storage options; 3GB RAM; integrated wireless charging. Missing: water resistance, microSD card slot and user-replaceable battery. Available globally April 10. Pricing hasn’t been disclosed.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
This premium edition of the S6 has most of the same specs as the regular S6, but sports a screen that curves around its left and right sides.

HTC One M9
The company’s flagship Android 5.0 phone is based on a Snapdragon 810 processor running at 2GHz, includes 3GB of RAM and boasts a 5-inch screen. It features a 20mp front camera and 4pm rear one. HTC has partnered with Dolby to provide great sound. Best Buy lists a 32GB version for use on AT&T’s LTE network in the US for $650.

Silent Circle Blackphone 2
The Swiss company’s privacy-focused device will be targeted at enterprise customers in July, probably for about $630. The phone will have an 8-core processor, 32GB of memory and a 5-inch screen. What separates it from other phones is a hardened Android-based operating system dubbed PrivatOS as well as Silent Meeting, a secure conference-calling system, and a company-vetted app store. A new Blackphone+ tablet is on the way as well

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
This waterproof device is a midrange Android offering that will cost about $335 when it launches in Q2. It has a 5-inch, 720x1280 pixel screen, a Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor and integrated support for LTE. The phone has a 13mp camera on the back and a 5mp camera on the front. Sony boasts of a two-day long battery life, but didn’t get into anymore specifics.

Acer Liquid M220
Acer says its new phone will come with Windows Phone 8.1, but will be upgradeable to Windows 10 when the operating system is released later this year. This $89 phone has a 4-inch screen, dual-core processor, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, two SIM slots, and 5mp rear camera and 2mp front camera. It comes chock full of Microsoft apps like Cortana and OneDrive. It does not support LTE.

ZTE Grand S3
The unique thing about this phone is its biometric authentication system, which enables users to log in via eye scanning using EyeVerify technology. Down the road, the feature could work with apps. The smartphone runs Android 4.4, has a 5.5-inch screen, a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage that can be expanded to 64GB via a microSD card. The back camera is 16mp and the front one is 8mp. The phone is initially available in China for about $480.

Microsoft Lumia 640 and 640 XL
These midrange Windows phones have 5- and 5.7-inch screens, respectively, and are upgradeable to Windows 10 when it is released later this year. Other specs: 1GB of memory, a quad-core Snapdragon processor running at 1.2GHz, an 8mp camera on the 640 and 13mp camera on the 640 XL. LTE support available on dual-SIM models. The 640 rolls out in April, the XL – a small phablet -- in March. Pricing is expected to be in the $300 range for both.

LG Magna
LG revealed this new phone ahead of MWC, but gave people a first chance to play with it at the show. This Android smartphone has a 5-inch, 720x1280 pixel screen and 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz quad-core processor. It has an 8mp front camera and 5mp back one, plus 1GB of RAM and 8GB of integrated storage. Extended battery life and support for LTE are also touted by LG, which is expected to price the phone no higher than $250.

Lenovo A7000
This Android 5.0 smartphone has a 5.5-inch display, plus Dolby Atmos technology for audio. Powered by a MediaTek True8Core processor and supporting LTE, the phone has a dual SIM card slot for allowing use of separate phone numbers. The A7000 goes on sale in the US in March for $169.

Lenovo VIBE Shot
This is a camera-first Android phone that includes a 16mp rear camera with a six-piece modular lens and superfast shutter speed, as well as an 8mp selfie camera. Powered by a Snapdragon processor, the phone has 32GB of storage expandable to 128GB. It will sell for $350 when it becomes available in June.

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16 tips for Mac users who must use Windows

 I was forced to use a Windows PC the other day. It was a shock, particularly because search engines generally generate tips for switching from Windows to Mac when queried on this. It made me suspect Mac users may sometimes need a little help when they use Windows because they can't get to a Mac. I assembled these short tips to help such temporary migrants:

Right-click
Not so different, on your Mac you'll Control-click items to access commands or perform actions in the shortcut menu, on Windows you Right-click the mouse.

How to launch an app?
Use the Start menu and the taskbar to access programs (applications), folders and files.

Where's the Menu?
The application menu on OS X is in the same place as the Finder at the top of the display. On Windows the application menu sits at the top of the active application window -- flick through different windows and you'll see the contents of that menu change.

Where's my stuff
Mac users use Finder to track down their files and apps. On Windows Mac users should use Windows Explorer.

Where's my flash drive?
On a Mac you'll see external connected drives appear in a Finder window, on Windows you need to open File Explorer and use the My Computer (This PC on Windows 8) command to access various drives.

Quick launch
On Macs you can launch apps and return to active applications using the Dock. On Windows you need to use the Windows Quick Launch icons at the bottom of the screen in the Windows Task Bar.

How do I cycle through open apps?
Cycle through open apps: Alt-Tab

How do I quit?
You can quit Windows apps by clicking the red X at the upper right corner of the window you're in. You can quit unresponsive apps using Ctrl+Alt+Delete (but you probably knew that -- there's even songs about it).

Finder or File Manager
The My Computer dialog lets you access Windows File Manager which lets you access all the files on the drive, while Windows Control Panel is the equivalent of System Preferences.

How do I rename a file?
On Windows you Rename documents by clicking Rename this file in the File Tasks menu.

Keyboard confusion
Windows is the equivalent of Command on your Mac.

Alt is the equivalent of Option.
Backspace the equivalent of Delete.

Window control
Maximize windows using the button on the top right, but beware: unlike on a Mac the red button closes the application.
On a Mac you minimize a window using the yellow button in a window, it is very similar on Windows where you click the minimize box.
You can resize an application window by grabbing it at the side, rather than using the lower right corner (OS X).

Keyboard shortcuts
Show Desktop: Windows+M or Windows+D
Close current window; Ctrl+W

How do I cycle through open apps?
Cycle through open apps: Alt-Tab

How do I trash?
Pretty simple: just move unwanted files and folders to the Recycle Bin.

How do I quit?
You can quit Windows apps by clicking the red X at the upper right corner of the window you're in. Or get another Mac.

These short tips do not constitute a complete guide to help Mac users make temporary use of Windows. Some features may differ on some Windows installations. If you have additional helpful tips you'd like to add, please share them in comments below.

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Windows will be crucial to a PC market revival in 2015

Gartner projects Windows XP upgrades will stop the PC market bleeding next year

Microsoft's Windows OS could play a crucial rule in returning worldwide PC shipments to modest growth next year after multiple years of decline, Gartner said on Monday.

PC shipments could reach around 317 million in 2015, increasing from 308 million units expected to ship this year, the research firm said in a study. Shipments this year are expected to decline by 2.9 percent compared to 2013, which is lower than previous yearly declines.

The "revival" of the PC market will be driven by upgrades of old business PCs with Windows XP, which are no longer supported by Microsoft, said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. He estimates that roughly 60 million PCs will be upgraded this year.

Businesses are largely upgrading to Windows 7 and avoiding Windows 8, which is viewed more as a tablet OS. Microsoft could release a new OS sometime next year, which could supplant Windows 7 as the OS of choice for businesses. However, it takes time for companies to test and deploy PC OSes, as happened with Windows 7, which took more than a year to find a foothold in businesses.

Counting PCs, tablets and smartphones, Gartner said overall shipments of computing devices are expected to reach 2.4 billion units this year, increasing by 4.2 percent compared to the previous year. Shipments will further increase to 2.6 billion units in 2015.

After the first iPad shipped in 2010, tablets were increasingly adopted as alternative computing devices to PCs. Gartner is projecting tablet shipments to increase to 256 million this year, up from 207 million last year. Tablet shipments will reach 321 million in 2015, overtaking PCs, Gartner said.

Tablets will get cheaper and more functional, Atwal said, adding that these trends will continue to drive adoption in the coming years.

Worldwide mobile phone shipments will be 1.86 billion units this year, rising by 3.1 percent compared to the previous year, Gartner said. The worldwide growth will continue in 2015, with shipments totaling 1.95 billion units.

Android will continue to be the dominant OS across devices, according to Gartner. The OS will be installed in 1.17 billion devices shipped this year, an increase of 30 percent. Apple's iOS will receive a boost from the new iPhone due later this year, and the company's iOS and Mac OSes will be in 271 million devices shipped this year, increasing by 15 percent compared to the previous year. Microsoft's Windows desktop OS and Phone OS will be in 333 million devices shipped this year, rising slowly from 326 million the previous year.

But Windows will be in 373.7 million devices shipped in 2015, overtaking the combined shipments of Apple's iOS and Mac OS, which will be in 301.4 million devices, Gartner said. Android will remain the dominant OS, installed in 1.37 billion devices shipped next year.

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Microsoft boasts favorable Windows numbers at Computex

Computex is a hardware show, but Microsoft was there to promote Windows as a platform, including recent developments like Windows with Bing, Windows 8.1 Update, Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows universal apps.

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The keynote was presented by Nick Parker, Microsoft corporate vice president responsible for device partnerships, and Tony Prophet, corporate vice president of Windows Marketing. The numbers they listed were impressive.

OK, so he glossed over a few problems. Windows Phone remains stalled at 4% market share, Windows 8.1 numbers were nowhere to be found, and he didn't get into Xbox One, which is currently lagging behind the PlayStation 4.

What these figures have in common is online/cloud. The OneDrive numbers are not a good measure because a) not every Windows 8 user is using it and b) other platforms like Windows 7 will account for some users. The Bing numbers are not too surprising; Microsoft is focused only on the U.S. for now. If the number was worldwide, that would be far more impressive.

Parker showed off more than 40 new Windows devices on stage, including all-in-ones, laptops, 2-in-1s, tablets, and smartphones, including new devices exclusively for the Chinese market. His talk focused on how Microsoft and its partners can build the next 1 billion devices together. This includes steps like no charge for Windows for devices smaller than 9 inches, relaxed certification requirements, the release of Windows 8.1 Update, Windows Phone 8.1, and Windows universal apps.

Dr. Hsiao-Wuen Hon, managing director of Microsoft Research Asia and distinguished scientist at Microsoft, joined the two on stage to discuss future computing and key areas of investment for Microsoft Research. They include Big Data, machine learning, datacenter, sensors, computer vision and natural user interface.

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