This week we video reviewed the HP Elite X3, a handset that is design to deliver high end experiences plus management and security capabilities that appeal to end users and IT departments alike. Start a task on the go and finish at your desk without saving, syncing, or restarting with the Elite x3, Microsoft Continuum, and the desk dock included.

The HP Elite x3 Desk Dock works as a charging station for your phone, and it gives you the option to connect your HP Elite x3 to a monitor, TV, or other display, using the Microsoft Continuum feature. You can also connect a keyboard and mouse to the desk dock for use on an external display. These features give you the option to move between a mobile experience and a PC experience, depending on your needs.

Use the following steps to set up the desk dock:

1. Connect the AC adapter to the desk dock, then connect the AC adapter to a working power outlet.
2. To charge your HP Elite x3, sit the handset in the desk dock.

Connecting to an external display using Microsoft Continuum

Microsoft Continuum is a feature that allows you to connect your phone to a larger display, creating a more productive work environment. Use supported apps (Office apps, for example) from your phone on the external display.

To connect your HP Elite x3 to an external display with the Microsoft Continuum feature, use the following steps:

1. If you are using a TV as the display, make sure the input is set to the corresponding cable type (DisplayPort, for example).

2. The desk dock comes with a DisplayPort connection. Connect a DisplayPort cable or adapter to the desk dock, then connect the same cable (if using DisplayPort on the external display) or the adapter cable to the display.

 

3. Connect the phone to the desk dock.

4. From the Welcome screen, tap Got it.

5. From the HP Display Tools screen, tap Tap to control (name of your display) The external display shows the message, Welcome to Continuum.

6. If you see the Welcome to Continuum message on the external display, select I see it on the phone.

7. An introductory video shows on the external display. Tap Skip video when you are done watching the video.

8. Tap Done to close the setup and start using Continuum.

Find out more here

Purchase the HP Elite X3 today, available with UK and international delivery. 

Microsoft announced last week that they were releasing the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 14342 to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. Some of these improvements and updates add functionality to Cortana, so we take a look at Microsoft’s virtual assistant to see what she offers over Apple’s Siri.

To start enjoying the benefits of Cortana you need to activate her. Here’s how:

1. Click in the search box next to the Start menu button.
2. In the window that appears click the “I’m in!” button.
3. Read the privacy terms and click “I agree”. If you don’t agree you can’t use Cortana.
4. On the next screen choose whether you want to enable “Hey, Cortana” to allow your PC to always listen for you voice, which allows you to speak your commands to Cortana without clicking anything first. If you want to enable this, click “Yes please”.
5. Now, on the final setup screen, enter your name, or what you would like Cortana to call you and click “Use that” to confirm it.

So just how does Cortana win over Apple’s Virtual assistant Siri?

1. Microsoft’s virtual assistant maintains a list of the users’ preferences, its “notebook,” to provide relevant information to the user. What’s more, Cortana’s notebook currently has about 15 customisable categories of information to make Microsoft’s assistant smarter and more life like, including everything from the user’s academic background to their favorite sports teams.

2. Cortana has been designed to recognise context, allowing it to understand follow up requests and provide useful answers even when you phrase things differently.

3. People Reminders will remind you of important information when you next have a call or message conversation, for example, you’ll be reminded of your mother’s birthday as you call her on that date.

4. Developers have the ability to hook into Cortana’s functionality via common APIs, meaning apps can have voice control without complex programming.

5.  Cortana is tied into different apps, allowing it to check out your boyfriend’s Facebook feed for you, or tell you the calorie content of your lunch, adding it to your calorie tracker.

Experience Cortana for yourself on the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL.

Microsoft announced last week that they were releasing the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 14342 to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring with a range of new features for us to test out, including Cortana improvements, swipe gesture in Microsoft Edge and website toggle opening in their apps.

Peter Skillman, the general manager of the Core Ux team for Windows, posted a possible date for the Windows 10 Mobile preview build on his Twitter feed.

So let’s take a brief look at what’s new for the Build 14342:

• Swipe navigation in Microsoft Edge
• Apps for websites
• Feedback Hub improvements
• Cortona Improvements: you’ll have the ability to play any song from the entire Groove Music Catalog by saying “Hey Cortana, play <song name>”, “Hey Cortana, pause” etc
• Use Cortana to set a timer to go get a snack, take a break etc.
• Updated Sticky Notes
• Compass now on the ruler
• General improvements to the Windows Ink experience

Grab a Microsoft Lumia 950 or 950xl to experience Windows 10 Mobile for yourself, and enjoy a free Microsoft Display Dock and 1 year subscription to Office 365 Personal.

If you have purchased or are thinking of purchasing a Microsoft Lumia handset, we’ve got great news.

Windows 10 is being made available to the following Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1 Denim: Lumia 1520, Lumia 930, Lumia 830, Lumia 735, Lumia 640 XL, Lumia 640, Lumia 635, Lumia 535 and Lumia 435.

With Windows 10 on your handset, you’ll be able to take advantage of some exciting new features, including the improved Action Centre, distraction free reading experience from the Microsoft Edge browser, as well as built in apps like Maps, Calendar and photos.  With Windows 10 on Lumia smartphones you’ll also be able to use Outlook like you do on your PC, to create emails and schedule meetings on the new Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar apps

Once you upgrade your handset to Windows 10, Microsoft will continue to provide updates and new features as they occur.

It’s important to note that if you are purchasing a new Lumia 550, Lumia 650, Lumia 950, or Lumia 950 XL you will be able start enjoying the benefits of Windows 10 right away, as these particular handsets come with Windows 10 straight out of the box.

Get the Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor app to upgrade your handset or  Read more about Windows 10 on Lumia here.

With the release of the Lumia 550, we see Microsoft offering the first budget handset to run on Windows 10. But with a price point under £100 can it really live up to the Windows expectations?

The Lumia 550 is a light and resource efficient handset, with an impressive 4.7 inch display offering 720p resolution, and a sharp pixel density of 315ppi. It matches up to previous generation Lumia handsets, with LTE support and a sleek minimalistic polycarbonate casing. We can’t help but notice a similarity to the Lumia 640 in terms of spec, and the latest flagship Lumia 950 in terms of exterior styling.

Under the hood:

Running on Snapdragon 210 chipset, with quad core 1.1 GHz Cortext A7 CPU and Adreno 304 GPU the handset has decent specs for the price point. There is 1GB of RAM and 8 GB of in built storage within the handset, however the Lumia 550 does offer expandable memory via a microSD slot.

Cameras:

Cameras include a 5 megapixel rear offering, with auto-focus, 7 2.4 aperture, LED flash and 720p video recording (at 30 frames per second). On the front is a 2 megapixel camera, 480p.

Connectivity:

Connectivity includes 4G (also impressive for the price), Wifi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou and FM radio.

Measurements and Battery Life:

Microsoft’s Lumia 550’s dimensions measure up at 136.1 x 67.8 x 9.9 mm and 142 grams in weight. Equipped with a 2100 man Li-Ion battery, the 550 promises up to 14 hours of talk time and up to a whopping 670 hours standy.

Windows 10:

The Lumia 550 is one of the first handsets to come with Windows 10 Mobile out of the box, which is extremely generous considering the price. The usage is very similar to that in the Xbox One’s Windows 10, and the interface has a familiar feel thanks to the tiled homescreen. But we can’t help but notice that nearly 5GB out of the 8GB storage is taken up by the new OS (leaving us very grateful for that expandable micros SD slot). You’ll also be able to enjoy Microsoft’s new web browser, Edge, on the handset too, which offers some nice new features such as bookmark sync and reading mode.

Conclusion:

All in all the Microsoft Lumia 550 is a great choice for those looking for the benefits of Microsoft Windows 10 mobile without the hefty price tag of the Lumia 950XL and 950.

Here’s the specs at a glance:

• Size: 136.1 mm x 67.8 mm x 9.9 mm
• Weight: 141.9 g
• Memory: 8 GB (expandable via MicroSD card)
• User data storage: In device, OneDrive cloud storage, App and data storage on memory card
• Display: 4.7 ”, HD720 (1280 x 720), TrueColor (24-bit/16M), LCD, 315 ppi
• Battery capacity: 2100 mAh
• Standby time: up to 28 days
• Talk time (4G): up to 17 h
• Music playback time: up to 60 h
• Wi-Fi network browsing time: up to 10 h
• Video playback time: up to 7.1 h
• User interface features: Glance screen, Tactile feedback, Vibrating alerts, Voice commands
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 210, Quad core
• Main camera: 5.0 MP, Auto focus, 2 x digital zoom, 1/4 inch digital zoom, f/2.4, LED flash
• Other Camera features: Auto and manual exposure, Auto and manual white balance, Automatic photo upload to web services, Full resolution photo and video upload, Full screen viewfinder, Geotagging, Touch focus
• Front camera: 2 MP, f/2.8, : Still image capture, Video call, Video recording
• Main camera video resolution: 720p (HD, 1280 x 720)

Purchase the Microsoft Lumia 550 Sim Free today, and check out the Mozo Lumia 550 back cover case for added grip and high quality impact absorption.

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Yesterday saw the launch of the Microsoft Lumia 650, a budget friendly Windows 10 handset, with a decent set of specifications for the price tag. Marketed by Microsoft as a budget friendly, smaller alternative to the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950xl we take a look at what this has to offer in comparison to the flagship handsets.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL are the more powerful of the Windows devices being compared, but they also have the higher price tag to match. The Lumia 950 offers 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory with microSD expansion and a Snapdragon 808 processor. The larger Lumia 950 XL offers the same as the 950 in regard to RAM and memory, but runs on has the Snapdragon 810 chip.

The more budget friendly Lumia 650 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with microSD storage expansion. This is obviously a compromise in spec compared to the flagships, which is also seen  in terms of camera and battery capacity, but in our opinion it does offers more than the other budget friendly Lumia, the Lumia 550 in most specifications.

When comparing cameras on the handsets, the Lumia 650 does reveal it’s budget friendly price tag, with a mere 8 megapixels – quite a drop from the 20 mega pixels of the 950 and 950xl. However all models offer the same 5 megapixel front facing camera, which is useful when holding FaceTime meetings or capturing selfies.

The recently released Lumia 650 is the thinnest and most lightweight Windows 10 device currently on the market, making it good for those who travel frequently. The 650 offers an AMOLED display similar to the flagship handsets, but it is slightly smaller at 5-inch, with a pixel resolution of 1280 x 720.

All handsets offer the best of Windows 10, including OneDrive and Office allowing you to be more productive thanks to the ability to sync across Microsoft devices. However, Microsoft have left some disappointed with the lack of one useful Windows 10 feature from the new Lumia 650: Continuum.

Microsoft has responded to the lack of Continuum, stating:

“We are aiming to deliver the most productive Windows 10 Mobile devices at all price points,” said an official Microsoft Spokesperson. “With the Lumia 650, our goal was to create a beautiful device that’s affordable for businesses to buy and deploy.”

“In this price range we are giving customers smart business tools, including seamless Office and OneDrive integration and Cortana, so users can stay productive and synced across all Windows 10 devices. We encourage users looking for Continuum productivity features to explore the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL.”

You can purchase the Lumia 650 Sim Free and the Mozo Back Cover Case for the 650 with next day delivery today.

If you decide on one of the flagship handsets, don’t forget to check out our Mozo cases for the 950 and 950XL to keep your device sae.

Windows 10 is more than just a desktop operating system as the latest Windows 10 Mobile is now coming to your phone. The Lumia 950 and 950XL have been officially launched and both these devices will enjoy the full Windows 10 experience on the smaller screen.

The tile based interface can easily be personalised by adding your own background wallpaper image and navigating the device is easy too. Windows 10 Mobile shares its “Settings and Action Centre” menus with the desktop version of Windows 10 making the mobile screen instantly familiar. You can easily switch between Skype messages and SMS and notifications will be synced with your PC.

You can dictate emails and messages via Cortana and with Office Apps such as Word, Outlook and Powerpoint you have an office on the move. Files will stay in sync across Windows 10 devices with free OneDrive cloud storage.

All your favourite apps, music and games are all in one convenient place. Download from the Windows Store onto your Lumia device for complete enjoyment across all your Windows 10 devices. Windows 10 Mobile features Continuum which allows the mobile device to be used as a PC by simply plugging the phone into an external monitor, plugging in a keyboard and mouse, the user interface will then scale up to resemble a PC desktop.

Microsoft will continue to provide updates and will offer new and exciting features to Windows 10 Mobile, so, enjoy all the benefits of Windows 10 straight away with the brand new Lumia 950 and 950XL.

We have the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950xl shipping out to customers from 2nd December for delivery on the 3rd December.