The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Microsoft continues to reassert itself this year as a leading player in the computer software and mobile-technology industry with the recent release of the newest version of its beloved suite of office applications and its latest, Windows 10-powered smartphones, both of which promise to give professionals a much easier time in doing their jobs, on and off their desktops.
During a media event at top Apple retailer Power Mac Center’s branch at the Power Plant mall in Rockwell, Makati City, on November 27, officials from Microsoft Philippines and Power Mac Center jointly launched three Microsoft Office 365 bundles—Personal, Home and University—for Apple computers and mobile devices that act as users’ “complete office in the cloud.”
“This partnership [with Power Mac Center] is a key milestone for Microsoft Philippines as we make Office 365 available across all platforms in the mobile-first, cloud-first world,” said Jerry Bongco, Microsoft Philippines’ consumer-business division director, in a statement.
“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organization to achieve more—and we’ve taken this to heart by breaking down ‘competitive barriers’ and partnering with Power Mac Center,” he added. “We want to make Office accessible across all platforms, most especially in a wide range of Apple devices.”
For his part, Power Mac Center marketing director Joey Alvarez said the retailer is “truly committed to provide Filipino consumers the complete Apple experience.”
“We are always looking for ways to support their needs, which is why we know that a lot of our loyal patrons have been anticipating the Office 365 for [Mac] OS and iOS,” he added. “Aside from familiar applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Office 365 has a lot of new and improved features…[that are] optimized for OS and iOS devices.”
Power Mac Center said the newest version of Microsoft Office 365—which has a subscription period of one year that can be renewed and, depending on the bundle, can be installed in at least one Mac or personal computer (PC) and one tablet—presents “the familiar Office experience paired with the best of Mac.”
The suite is “also cloud-connected, so users can quickly [access the] documents they’ve recently used” on one device and continue working on them on another.
Microsoft Office 365 for Mac “offers unparalleled compatability” with [the suite installed] on non-Mac computers, tablets, smartphones, and online.
This allows users to not only share documents easily with their colleagues without using e-mail, but also to edit and comment on those documents with them at the same time.
Also, Microsoft Office 365 provides a new application, dubbed OneNote, that lets users “capture [their] ideas in digital notebooks and access them on any device” and “find things quickly with [its] search engine” that tracks tags, indexes typed notes and recognizes text in images and handwritten notes; 1 terabyte of free online storage, called OneDrive, where users can save their files to and access them anytime, anywhere on any device; and one hour of free Skype calls every month to landline and mobile phones in over 60 countries.
Other noteworthy features in the suite include Word’s new Design tab that permits users to easily apply designer-quality layouts, colors and fonts throughout their documents; Excel’s PivotTable Slicers, which help users filter large volumes of data and discover patterns; and PowerPoint’s improved Presenter View, which gives users full control of what they present by showing them the current and next slide, speaker’s notes and timer on their Mac screen, while the audience only sees the users’ presentation on the big screen.
PC-like phones
At a separate event at The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, on December 1, Microsoft Philippines unveiled the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, which, the company said in another statement, “deliver a familiar and consistent experience that extends across [users’] Windows devices,” including the Microsoft Surface Book laptop, Surface tablet and Surface Hub interactive whiteboard.
Described by Microsoft product-marketing officer (Asia-Pacific region) Juha Werkkala as phones “that work like your PC,” the latest Lumia models boast of features like Windows Hello beta and Continuum, as well as sharp high-definition (HD) displays, impressive cameras with triple LED (light-emitting diode) natural flash, and improved processing power.
“We designed Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL for people who want the most productive smartphones running [on] the most productive operating system, John French, general manager for Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales (Asia-Pacific), said in the statement.
“Mobile professionals who want a premium phone that can work like a PC now have the perfect partner for their Windows 10 devices in Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL,” he added.
Both handsets have Continuum for phones that’s enhanced by an optional accessory called the Microsoft Display Dock. This Windows 10 feature allows people to use each phone like a computer by connecting it to a monitor and transforming it for bigger-screen entertainment, or adding a keyboard and mouse to work like a PC with Windows 10 programs, like Microsoft Office, while taking calls or doing other tasks.
They also have QuadHD Amoled (active-matrix organic LED) displays with up to 564 pixels per inch. This means that photos and videos taken with the smartphones are assured of showing up well, even in sunlight.
Microsoft’s PureView technology is built into the cameras of the two Lumias, with each boasting of a 20-megapixel sensor and the triple LED natural flash. These cameras capture images, even in the most challenging conditions, that can be automatically synced across all Windows 10 devices with the Windows Photo app and shared easily with loved ones.
Both models are integrated with Cortana—which works across Windows 10 gadgets and can be set up to give news updates, calendar reminders, messages, appointments, and even flight information—and have the latest-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon processors to get these things done faster. ALVIN I. DACANAY
Microsoft Office 365 Personal (P2,730), Home (P3,500) and University (P3,360), as well as Office for Mac Home Student 2016 (P7,650) and Home and Business 2016 (P14,500), are now available at Power Mac Center stores. For more details, call (632) 855-8888 or visit www.powermaccenter.com.
The Lumia 950 (P28,990) and Lumia 950 XL (P32,990) come in both black and white, and are expected to be available now at authorized Microsoft Authorized Reseller and Nokia stores. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/en-ph/ or www.facebook.com/MicrosoftPhilippines.