Microsoft and Samsung signed a patent cross licensing agreement.

WorldWide Tech & Science Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft announced a patent cross licensing agreement with Samsung, which will see it receive royalties for the South Korean vendor’s “mobile phones and tablets running the Android platform.” The companies will also “cooperate in the development and marketing of Windows Phone.”

It was reported earlier this year that Microsoft was targeting Samsung as part of its strategy to generate patent licensing revenue from Android device manufacturers, having already secured a deal with HTC and a number of  tier-two vendors. Terms of the current deal have not been disclosed, but a figure of US$10 per handset was previously mooted – if Samsung agreed to a deeper engagement with Windows Phone.

Market watcher Asymco previously said that Microsoft receives more revenue from HTC´s licensing of patents for Android devices than it does for its own Windows Phone platform, and with Samsung closing in fast on the number-one handset vendor spot, the current deal is certainly significant.

Microsoft also has legal actions active with several Android device makers, including (notably) Motorola – which is in the process of being acquired by Google. Indeed, the fact that Microsoft is pursuing this course was seen as an indicator that Motorola’s patent portfolio, one of the motivators for the Google deal, is not enough alone to deter aggressors.

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Steve Ballmer admits Windows Phone disappointment.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, this week acknowledged that with regard to its Windows Phone device line, “we haven’t sold quite as many probably as I would have hoped we would have sold in the first year.”

Speaking at an analyst event this week, Ballmer  said that “I’m not saying that I love where we are, but I’m very optimistic to where I think we can be.  I think with a little bit more effort, a little bit more energy, the level of enthusiasm from the customer base is high enough we've just got to kick this thing to the next level.”

Ballmer highlighted some of the developments which will aid Windows Phone in the future, unsurprisingly making much of the computing giant’s relationship with Nokia. “They're working with us in exactly the way we described, to try to get into new markets, find new price points, take a look at new hardware design.  They're all in on Windows.”

However, he also noted “Google buying Motorola” as an event which has changed the dynamics in the mobile device industry. This deal will see Google acting as both a supplier to vendors through its Android activities, and a competitor through its Motorola business – sparking concerns of a potential conflict of interest.

While Windows Phone has struggled to gain traction in the market, it has been used in devices by vendors including HTC, LG Electronics and Samsung – all of which are also Android licensees, and may be concerned by Google’s shifting position. However, Nokia also now has a deep relationship with Microsoft which could see it becoming dominant in the Windows Phone ecosystem.

With the first devices using the second version of Windows Phone (Mango) set to reach the market imminently, Ballmer acknowledged that “there's just more work for us to do as we move forward to establish Windows Phone in the market.”

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Video: Microsoft unveils Windows 8.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Summary of business headlines: Microsoft unveils Windows 8 as it takes aim at growing tablet market; U.S. retail sales, producer prices unchanged in August.

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Microsoft targets Samsung for Android royalties

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco DE jesús.

Microsoft is reported to have asked Samsung to pay US$15 per Android handset it sells, in order to licence patents it holds which it alleges are infringed by the Google-backed operating system. 

According to Reuters, the Korean giant – which some analysts suggest will become the biggest smartphone seller in the near future – would be given a discounted rate of US$10 per device if it agrees to a deeper engagement with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

 It was previously reported that HTC, which has inked a deal with Microsoft to cover its Android devices, is paying US$5 per handset, with suggestions that the US computing giant was looking to increase this.

Android is proving to be something of a cash-cow for Microsoft, with market watcher Asymco suggesting that HTC alone pays more to Microsoft for its devices using the Google platform than Microsoft has generated in total from its own Windows Phone platform. 

While the company has licensed its patents to four Android device vendors in the last week (General Dynamics, Onkyo, Velocity Micro and Wistron), HTC is the only tier-one vendor to have inked a deal. Microsoft has an ongoing legal action with Motorola about this vendor’s Android device portfolio, and has also filed suits against Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec related to the bookseller’s Nook ereader devices. 

So far, Microsoft has made no moves to sue Google, while the search giant has also declined to come to the defence of its vendor partners.  Google previously said its failed attempt to acquire Nortel’s patent portfolio was an attempt to strengthen its hand in patent lawsuits.

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Telefónica will market and incorporate Microsoft Office 365 to its Unified Communications platform.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Telefonica and Microsoft have signed an agreement to jointly develop the market for unified communications in large companies and public administrations

He is a strategic alliance that combines the leading innovation of Microsoft IT and the communications services Telephone


Office Phone 365-marketed and incorporate Microsoft Lync its Unified Communications platform

-The agreement will help large companies and governments to evolve their traditional communications environments and to maximize the efficiencies of the new collaboration tools

Madrid, July 6, 2011 .- Telefónica and Microsoft just make a new step in their collaboration to jointly develop the market for Unified Communications. Both companies, which share the same mission focused on improving the lives of people and help develop business, had long been providing innovative services based on Information Technologies and Communication.

By signing this agreement, which is applicable in the context of large corporations and government, both companies' solutions together to provide greater customer value. Telefonica's extensive knowledge of their communications services, along with Microsoft's experience in the section Information Technology, resulting in a differential value proposition for this particular market segment.

While there was agreement between the two companies signed in 2008, the development of technology and social relations in recent years have changed the way in which working groups communicate, revolutionizing the relationship between companies, customers and suppliers. Products Unified Communications Microsoft has been adapting to this new reality, using all the collaboration capabilities in the most effective, while services and personalized management of Telefónica have proved the perfect complement to get the first peak potential.

Because the agreement is renewed on three fundamental points.

Firstly, Telefónica, one step further with the signing of the agreement for the marketing of Office 365, suite of cloud services, including Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online, which allows users to work anytime and anywhere, improving productivity of companies. It also incorporates Microsoft Lync as a platform for unified communications services, with which Telefónica approached from two years ago, the evolution of communication environments more traditional corporations. Telefónica has been marketing Microsoft products, such as OCS (Office Communication Suite) or Exchange, adding capabilities such as management or accommodation. This new marketing agreement and Microsoft Office 365 Lync is a step in its corporate communications strategy

The second remarkable point of agreement has to do with the patch that Microsoft has in the last year of mobile operating system, your Windows Phone 7. Telefónica is the first operator in Spain to offer phones with this new operating system, you're getting an excellent response from corporate clients, press and analysts. Phone Windows 7 is the result of an ambitious effort to provide a different phone, since it is a smartphone designed to be used in both the personal and professional and offers the best mobile access to Microsoft collaboration applications .

The third element of this agreement is the design and implementation of a joint commercial approach to clients of both companies to draw, client to client, a strategy for the development of its transport communications to large corporations and public bodies worldwide as a new paradigm that makes the partnership a substantial element of their communications.

In short, this agreement, which takes on the dimension of a strategic partnership reinforces both companies approach the market and a guarantee of success. And now is the time, the technology is mature and who better than Telefónica and Microsoft to help big companies and governments extract real and tangible results of the implementation of our joint proposal of Unified Communications services

Microsoft Ibérica (Spain)
Microsoft Ibérica's Spanish subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to help both the development of talented people and the business potential of increasing their efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. For more information, visit their web pages in Spanish http://www.microsoft.es

About Telefónica
Telefónica, headed by Cesar Alierta, is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world by market capitalization and number of customers. It focuses primarily on business fixed telephony and mobile telephony, with broadband as the key tool for the development of both. It operates in 25 countries and has a customer base of 268 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy. Telefónica is a listed company. It has more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently is divided into 4,563,996,485 ordinary shares traded on the continuous market on the Spanish stock exchanges (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao and Valencia) and the London, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires São Paulo.

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Telefónica comercializará Office 365 e incorporará Microsoft Lync a su plataforma de Comunicaciones Unificadas.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Telefónica y Microsoft firman un acuerdo para desarrollar conjuntamente el mercado de las Comunicaciones Unificadas en grandes empresas y administraciones públicas.

-Se trata de una alianza estratégica que aúna el liderazgo en innovación de Microsoft en TI y el de Telefónica en servicios de comunicaciones

-Telefónica comercializará Office 365 e incorporará Microsoft Lync a su plataforma de Comunicaciones Unificadas

-El acuerdo ayudará a grandes empresas y administraciones a evolucionar sus entornos de comunicaciones tradicionales y aprovechar al máximo las eficiencias de las nuevas herramientas de colaboración 

Madrid, 06 de julio  de 2011.- Telefónica y Microsoft acaban de dar un nuevo paso adelante en su colaboración, para desarrollar conjuntamente el mercado de las Comunicaciones Unificadas. Ambas compañías, que comparten una misma misión enfocada en mejorar la vida de las personas y ayudar al desarrollo de los negocios, vienen proporcionando desde tiempo atrás servicios innovadores, basados en las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación.

Con la firma de este acuerdo, que tiene su aplicación en el marco de las grandes corporaciones y Administraciones Públicas, las soluciones de ambas compañías se unen para proporcionar un mayor valor al cliente. El amplio conocimiento de Telefónica en sus servicios de comunicaciones, junto con la experiencia de Microsoft en el apartado de las Tecnologías de la Información, dan como resultado una propuesta de valor diferencial para este particular segmento del mercado.

Aunque existía un acuerdo previo entre ambas compañías, firmado en 2008, el desarrollo de la tecnología y de las relaciones sociales en estos últimos años, han cambiado la manera en la que los grupos de trabajo se comunican, revolucionando las relaciones entre empresas, clientes y proveedores. Los productos de Comunicaciones Unificadas de Microsoft se han ido adaptando a esta nueva realidad, utilizando todas las capacidades de colaboración de la manera más eficaz, mientras que los servicios y gestión personalizada de Telefónica han demostrado ser el complemento perfecto para sacar a los primeros su máximo potencial.

Como consecuencia se renueva el acuerdo en tres puntos fundamentales.

En primer lugar, Telefónica, da un paso más allá con la firma del acuerdo para la comercialización de Office 365, suite de servicios en la nube que incluye Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online y Microsoft Lync Online, que permite a los usuarios trabajar en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar, mejorando la productividad de las compañías.  

Asimismo incorpora Microsoft Lync como plataforma de sus servicios de Comunicaciones Unificadas, con las que Telefónica aborda desde dos años atrás la  evolución de los entornos de comunicación más tradicionales de las corporaciones. Telefónica ya ha venido comercializando  productos de Microsoft, tales como  OCS (Office Communication Suite) o Exchange, incorporando capacidades  como la gestión o el alojamiento. Este nuevo acuerdo de  comercialización de Office 365 y Microsoft Lync supone un paso adelante en su estrategia de comunicaciones corporativas.

El segundo punto destacable del acuerdo tiene que ver con la revisión que Microsoft ha hecho en el último año del sistema operativo para dispositivos móviles, su Windows Phone 7. Telefónica ha sido el primer operador en ofrecer en España teléfonos con este nuevo sistema operativo, que está obteniendo una excelente respuesta por parte de clientes corporativos, prensa y analistas. Windows Phone 7 es el resultado de un ambicioso esfuerzo por ofrecer un teléfono distinto, ya que se trata de un smartphone diseñado para ser utilizado tanto en el ámbito personal como en el profesional y que ofrece el mejor acceso móvil a las aplicaciones de colaboración de Microsoft.

El tercer elemento de este acuerdo, es el diseño y la ejecución de un acercamiento comercial conjunto a los clientes de ambas compañías para trazar, cliente a cliente, una estrategia para la evolución de sus comunicaciones que transporte a las grandes corporaciones y a los organismos públicos de todo el mundo hasta un nuevo paradigma que haga de la colaboración el elemento sustancial de sus comunicaciones.

En definitiva, este acuerdo, que adquiere la dimensión de una gran alianza estratégica, refuerza la aproximación de ambas compañías al mercado y constituye una garantía de éxito. Y es que ahora es el momento, la tecnología está madura y nadie mejor que Telefónica y Microsoft para conseguir que las grandes empresas y las administraciones públicas extraigan resultados reales y tangibles de la implantación de nuestra propuesta conjunta de servicios de Comunicaciones Unificadas.

Microsoft Ibérica

Microsoft Ibérica es subsidiaria española de Microsoft Corporation. Fundada en 1975, Microsoft es el líder mundial de software para informática personal y de empresas. La compañía ofrece un amplio abanico de productos y servicios diseñados para contribuir  tanto al  desarrollo del talento de las personas como al potencial de las empresas aumentando así su eficacia, productividad y capacidad competitiva. Para más información, puede visitar sus páginas españolas en Internet en http://www.microsoft.es

About Telefónica

Telefónica, presidida por César Alierta, es una de las mayores compañías de telecomunicaciones del mundo por capitalización bursátil y número de clientes. Su actividad se centra fundamentalmente en los negocios de telefonía fija y telefonía móvil, con la banda ancha como herramienta clave para el desarrollo de ambos negocios. Está presente en 25 países y cuenta con una base de clientes de 268 millones de accesos en todo el mundo. Telefónica tiene una fuerte presencia en España, Europa y Latinoamérica, donde la compañía concentra, fundamentalmente, su estrategia de crecimiento. Telefónica es una empresa totalmente privada. Cuenta con más de 1,5 millones de accionistas directos. Su capital social está dividido en la actualidad en 4.563.996.485 acciones ordinarias que cotizan en el mercado continuo de las bolsas españolas (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao y Valencia) y en las bolsas de Londres, Tokio, Nueva York, Lima, Buenos Aires y São Paulo.

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Video: Microsoft's new Office in the cloud.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.







Microsoft is taking its lucrative Office software to the clouds with Office 365, its biggest push into the mobile, Internet-accessible world of cloud computing as it tries stave-off competition from Google

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Microsoft considering to launch own brand Tablet with W8 by end 2012.

World Wide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft is reportedly considering to launch an own-brand tablet PC that features Windows 8 by the end of 2012 with cooperation from Texas Instruments and Taiwan-based OEMs/ODMs, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. However, Microsoft did not confirm the rumor.

Facing Apple's iOS and App Store successful assistance in helping iPhone and iPad to gain shares in the smartphone, tablet PC and even PC market, while Google has also been working aggressively on developing operating systems and establishing its own supply chain alliance, Microsoft plans to copy its branding strategy from product lines such as Xbox 360, Zune, Kin smartphone and TV, to compete in the tablet PC segment.

Although Microsoft has been seeking business opportunities outside of PC-related markets and is aggressively launching own-brand products, Xbox 360 is currently the only own-brand product line that Microsoft has achieved success, while Zune media player, Kin smartphone and own-brand TVs all had unsatisfactory performance. However, Microsoft is still considering to launch an own-brand tablet PC and is proceeding on a low profile, the sources noted.

The sources pointed out that despite the plans to launch its own-brand tablet PC, Microsoft will continue to push its IDP plans for Windows 8.

As for the reaction from Microsoft's system clients, the sources pointed out that the system vendors' dissatisfaction with Microsoft launching own-brand tablet PCs is unlikely to impact Microsoft significantly in the short term.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 to get voice search, YouTube and more live TV.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Voice interface has been on the market for some time, but probably never on such a large scale as announced by Microsoft on Monday during its E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference in Los Angeles. Improvements soon to be brought to Xbox Live include much more live TV and full YouTube access, all easily voice searched via Kinect and the Bing search engine. There's also something for mixed martial arts fans.

According to Microsoft, Bing offers the best solution for searching for anything that Xbox Live service can offer, and searching soon will be as easy as saying the name of the required content. For example, saying "Halo" will bring up anything that is available to download or stream that is associated with the Halo series. The technology is Kinect-powered, so the sensor ad-on will be a must.

There are not many details regarding the new live television service, apart from Microsoft's announcement that ensures its "commitment to expand access to live television programming on Xbox 360.

" Xbox Live has already offered access to Sky TV in the UK, Canal+ in France and FOXTEL in Australia. More TV providers are on the way, Microsoft says. MMA (mixed martial arts) fans can celebrate, as Microsoft teamed up with Ultimate Fighting Championship (an MMA promotion company) and plans to bring lots of fighting-themed content (such as live matches, classic fights, interviews or behind-the-scenes footage).

Microsoft continues to expand video streaming services for Xbox Live with YouTube (in full version) soon joining Hulu Plus, Netflix and Zune, which were already offered for Xbox users. Finally, Microsoft also announced some changes made to the visual aspects of the user interface.

New Xbox Live TV services will be available this Fall (Northern Hemisphere)

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