forbes.com - The death of Windows Phone is not a sign of Microsoft's weakness, it's one of the most promising signs that CEO Satya Nadella has turned the company around to a new way of thinking.
With only 4.5 million Lumia devices sold in Q4 2015, Microsoft' mobile hardware reached the heady heights of a 1.1 percent market share. The guiding principle of 'cloud-first mobile-first' is evident in Microsoft's approach - and the key takeaway is that it says 'mobile' and not 'Windows Phone' (or even 'Windows 10 on s smartphone').
Of course Microsoft's mobile hardware ambitions (then with Windows Phone, now with Windows 10, but always with the Lumia brand name) have been on the slide for some time. The appointment of Satya Nadella as CEO brought a renewed focus on getting everyone to use Microsoft's cloud-based software platform, moving away from the blinkered view of using only Microsoft's own hardware platforms.
In theory Windows Phone could be licensed, but in practice Windows Phone was all about running Microsoft's code on Microsoft's hardware. Consumers had to want Microsoft's services and be prepared to buy and use Microsoft approved hardware. For smartphones that meant living with Steve Ballmer's view of mobility: 'if you want to use Microsoft you have to buy everything from us.'
That's no longer the case. If you want a Microsoft service and you have an iOS or Android device, then you'll have access to Microsoft's cloud, you can use your music subscription, you can sync OneNote, you can use all of Microsoft Office. The cloud is no longer limited by your hardware or operating system choices.
It's far more accessible for Microsoft to offer its services and software on iOS and Android than the old strategy of ignoring the dominant mobile platforms to force people into Windows Phone. Nadella's move to put the cloud first, no matter the device the consumer has, is not only commendable, but has given Microsoft a long-term strategy that doesn't rely on wishful thinking.
Microsoft continues to lose money on every Lumia device sold, but it makes a profit on the users in its cloud-based system. It has lifted the average revenue per Windows 10 user significantly compared to the income from Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. Minimzing losses, pursuing ongoing revenue from users, and maintaining a presence on mobile is the key to its future.
Windows Phone bridged a gap and kept Microsoft involved in the mobile space as it worked on a new company-wide (and arguably internet-wide) strategy. With Windows 10 coming on-stream on the desktop that mobile that bridge is no longer needed. Hence the drop in numbers on Lumia sales witnessed in Q4 2015.
Microsoft makes money from users. It's making more money from them on Windows 10 than on other platforms. But if a user is not on a Windows-based OS, Microsoft can still offer them services and find the profit. Windows 10 is one gateway to its cloud, no matter if it is in a smartphone, an OEM laptop, or the latest Surface tablet (or even Surface Phone). Nadella has made sure that Windows 10 is not the only gateway.
Windows Phone is dead. Lumia can fade away. But Microsoft has already moved on.

computerworld.in - Charles Darwin once said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change." IT companies have embodied this philosohphy in their very veins.
Driven by the two major necessities of optimizing resources and bringing in business agility, more than 40 percent of organizations across major industry verticals in India considered this change of adopting mobility as top enterprise IT strategy for the upcoming year, according to a recently published research by IDC.
Following the lead, Shalil Gupta, Consulting and Insights director at IDC, shares his insight on this changing business dynamics, and how CIOs need to respond to them.
How has enterprise mobility evolved and what will this year bring for this domain?
If 2014 and 2015 were the years of the initial & nascent steps into enterprise mobility (EM) both from the perspectives of development and adoption, 2016 and beyond are going to set the stage for enterprise mobility 2.0 and potentially enterprise mobility 3.0.
Shalil Gupta, Consulting and Insights director at IDC
IDC predicts that a large swathe of enterprises will adopt enterprise mobility; provided, some key considerations and value additions are orchestrated in its manifestation.
What are the top three trends which will drive enterprise mobility in 2016?
The three trends that we see emerging this year are regionalized and customized aspects, user interface and user experience, and cloud-based enterprise mobility.
Regionalized & Customized: As enterprises are setting up shops across the length and breadth of the country and with regional workforce, cultural and regional aspects of language will have to be addressed.
Preference will become increasingly important as organizations have more flexibility in building their workforces-office-bound, remote or a regional mix-and as more workers have the tools to choose to work remotely.
UI & UX (User Interface and User Experience): With greater demands for ease of navigation and usability, enterprise mobility modules will see a drastic change in form factors with increased intuitive navigation. Developmental focus on design will be important while addressing the need for innovation in driving intuitive, engaging and inspiring apps.
With the consumerization of IT, consistent user experience across devices and ecosystems is imperative; which is symbolic in the advent of notifications becoming the new user interface.
Cloud-based Enterprise Mobility: For enterprise mobility's sustained adoption and use in a multi-platform enterprise mobility management without comprising on security or performance, it is imperative that enterprise mobility modules move to the cloud.
With business leaders and executives needing anytime - anywhere access to business data in a secure manner, enterprise mobility on cloud is going to be a reality inasmuch it is the predominant way to provide integrated solutions. It is viable, cost effective and serves developing cutting edge innovations for customization to clients. Complex IT infrastructure will be systematically replaced by cloud technologies that are viable as well as lead to higher customer satisfaction levels.
How important will this technology be in 2016?
Enterprise mobility adoption will, in the future, be a true reflection of the real needs of an evolving and mature workforce - that demands an experience that is always connected, secure, rich and convenient to use.

channelworld.in - Mobility, as a technology, has become an integral part of our lives which now drives interactions with our business systems. Enterprises today recognize the value of enabling their workforce and employees to work anytime and anywhere through its usage.
The two main drivers of mobilizing the workforce are the increased number of scattered employees and the desire for greater efficiency. Mobilizing the workforce has become an inevitable requirement for most enterprises today, and with the expanded workforce outside office, employees prefer not to be restricted to desktop-based applications, as they need to collaborate and work as a team.
By 2017, 100% of the applications used by LoB in customer-facing roles and 75% of apps used by LoB in internal-facing roles will be built for mobile-first.
The key benefit of mobilization is the improvement in productivity brought on by mobile apps, as they provide real time information, allow last minute changes, and reduce communication time. Stressing on the rapid proliferation of mobility and its impact on businesses, Paul Daugherty, CTO, Accenture, says, "According to some recent reports, out of the total world population of 7 billion, there are already 5 billion mobile subscriptions, which means approximately two-thirds of the globe is mobile-enabled. In terms of India, these statistics convert to almost 900 million mobile users. India is definitely a huge potential market to be tapped into, and organizations must leverage this technology for their own benefit."
Also, the need to enable this technology is causing friction among enterprises, irrespective of their verticals. Sandeep Phanasgaonkar, President & CTO, Reliance, defined the two dimensions of mobility. "Mobility has two important facets-one is customer-facing and the other is employee-facing. In the first, we are required to push content to customers' devices, providing them with self-service capability, and introducing new business solutions. In the latter, we create new ways which let employees work anywhere, anytime. Desktop computers are slowly starting to lose their significance in the current scenario."
It is not surprising that organizations are incorporating mobile technologies into their businesses workflows to make the most of their IT infrastructure. And the transformative effect of mobility on different enterprise functions has been prevalent.
Expanding on the main point, A. Koteshwara Rao, ED-IT, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation says, "ToBusiness-benefits-with-enterprise-mobility monitor mobility and punctuality of our field employees, we have installed special tracking systems in approximately 1,300 vehicles in Hyderabad. We then send the same information to our customers for their ease. We have expanded our operations in other major cities as well. Our aim is to monitor vehicles which provide long-distance services, night services, and inter-state services."
Enterprise mobility helps in expanding business processes beyond the brick-and-mortar boundaries of workplace by providing an increasing mobile workforce with access to organizations' actionable information anytime, and from anywhere. Cementing business engagement, improving customer satisfaction, easing business processes, and enhancing transparency are some of the goals of mobility.
Given the fluidity of enterprise mobility, as well as the several other benefits, IT decision makers believe that opening up digital channels through enterprise mobility should be a priority for organizations, with a significant proportion of employees not sitting inside offices.
Acting right now not only means developing a competitive advantage, but also preparing for the future where every employee, whether at a desk or not, will be digitally enabled.

itsecurityguru.org - Three quarters of the Western European workforce will be mobile by 2018 and require the ability to access and process information quickly and securely in order to maintain and increase productivity, a new whitepaper from the analysts IDC has found.
In addressing this changing environment, the IDC whitepaper states smart multifunction printers (smart MFPs) need to provide the option to digitise documents while safeguarding sensitive company data against any threats or viruses by providing secure printing from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
Titled: 'Are your business processes stifling your market opportunity? Cost-efficient print and document management through smart MFPs', the whitepaper was compiled by Jacqui Hendriks, IDC's Head of European Managed Print Services and Document Solutions research and consulting practice.
In order to manage the continued increase in mobility, the whitepaper confirms that organisations need to have control over how people work from their own personal (BYOD or 'bring-your-own-device') and business mobiles. They must protect a company's intellectual property while still allowing employees 'anytime and anywhere' access to maintain efficient working practices through the use of mobile print applications and configured data access.
In 2013, an IDC European usage study on print services market trends found that a third of companies allowed their employees to use their own personal smartphones, laptops and tablets. When IDC asked SMBs about their opinions on business process efficiency, a high number agreed that they needed to improve their processes, with employee mobility being a strong driver in support of digitised processes.
Confirming the role of smart MFPs in the modern business workplace, the whitepaper points out that: "Smart MFPs extend the utilisation of the device to a customisable digital transformation tool. They can act as a platform for growth by providing cost and time-efficient workflow solutions aligned with and in support of companies' business objectives, such as improving compliance and security while supporting mobility and cost-cutting initiatives."
Tetsuya Kuri, vice president, OKI Europe Ltd, added: "BYOD has changed from being a business trend to business reality. The fact that smart MFPs can be configured to streamline workflow and simplify document distribution and management makes them an important asset in the management of BYOD and workforce mobility."
OKI Europe's portfolio of smart MFPs include a range of powerful, smart devices that offer businesses the freedom and flexibility to print directly from smartphones, tablets and other devices, helping busy professionals to stay productive.

cnet.com - A new iOS update is brewing, coming soon to your iPhone. iOS 9.3 is now available for developers and includes some welcome upgrades that'll help you sleep better and stay organized.
For now, iOS 9.3 is available as a developer preview, meaning it's not completely finished. There's no word on when it will arrive on your iPhone or iPad just yet, but Apple typically releases a preview just a few months before the final version.
In the meantime, read up on the top new features below before they arrive.
Stay up late with your iPad
You may have heard that your phone's screen is ruining your sleep quality and yet you still fall asleep with it every night. Apple's trying to help you get a better night's rest with Night Shift, a setting that changes the colors on the screen at night.
Researchers believe that blue light emitted by LED screens halts the production of melatonin, the hormone that tells our brains to sleep. Switching from bright white and blue undertones to warmer colors (like red, orange and yellow) is said to be easier on your eyes and allow your body to follow asleep naturally.
Apps like Flux and Twilight can already do this for your computer and Android phone. Before 9.3, you'd need to jailbreak your iOS device in order to alter the screen colors. Night Shift will be built into iOS 9.3 and let you customize the feature by changing the color temperature (cooler or warmer) and schedule it to run until sunrise.
News you'll (probably) want to read
Apple tried to give us a one-stop shop for news last year with the News app. It's getting more personal with 9.3, showing stories that are more tailored to your interests. You'll see more articles the app thinks you want to read, plus suggested trending topics of news. The app will also get performance updates, so it'll load faster and watch videos from the feed.
Lock up your notes
The humble Notes app gets some love with 9.3. You can now password protect your notes to keep important info safe from prying eyes. You'll also be able to finally sort notes by date or title. Hardly revolutionary stuff, but it does make this simple app much more useful.
Apple really wants you to use the Health app
Still wondering how to use that Health app? Apple will now highlight third-party apps you can connect to this wellness dashboard to keep tabs on your workouts, weight and sleep quality. And if you have an Apple Watch, you'll be able to see the movement data it collects from the Health app.
CarPlay gets better tunes
Apple's in-car entertainment and navigation system CarPlay gets upgrades courtesy of Apple Music and Maps. You'll get to browse suggested songs and artists in Apple Music before you head out. While you're on the road, a new Nearby feature uses Maps to find food, fuel and other services.
Smart tools for teachers
iPads can be incredible teaching tools and now they get extra features to help them better fit into a classroom. The Classroom app helps teachers deliver lesson plans and track their student's progress. Students can share a single iPad by logging in with different accounts to personalize what they see. Apple is also introducing Apple IDs for education that are created and managed by school administrators.
Everything else
iOS 9.3 adds many more smaller new features and improvements. On the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, there are new 3D Touch shortcuts for the Weather, Settings, Health, App Store, iTunes Store and Compass apps. You can also duplicate photos in the Photos app, if you want to edit one copy and keep the original. Siri now supports Hebrew, Finish and Malay.
We'll be checking out the iOS 9.3 beta to see all of the new features and keep you posted on when the update is available for all. Until then, check out all of our Apple coverage and the latest rumors on the next iPhone.

zdnet.com - Amid the slew of products that Samsung is introducing at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, you won't find the next Galaxy flagship. If the company holds to form, however, it's just around the corner with a likely introduction next month.
Given that sales of the Galaxy S6 line haven't grown Samsung's bottom line, it's clear that some changes need to be made. And some of them will be a return of features that Samsung stripped out of prior models, much to the chagrin of many Samsung fans.
Trusted supply chain sources tell SamMobile that the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will have 5.1- and 5.7-inch displays, helping to differentiate the two models.
Those screens may have an "always on" function that uses just one percent of battery life per hour. I'd guess that that's not a fully active display but intelligent use of Samsung's OLED screen tech that can show information by only lighting some of the screen's pixels.
More importantly, however, is the reported return of the microSD card slot to at least one, if not both models; something Samsung removed with the Galaxy S6 line, which didn't sit well with many potential buyers. That addition should be helped by Android 6.0 which provides improved support for external memory cards. You can virtually merge the additional capacity with internal storage as if it were all one and the same.
Several sources, including Venture Beat, have suggested that Samsung will backtrack on the image sensors in both Galaxy S7 handsets, moving from a 16 megapixel sensor to one capable of capturing 12 megapixel images. That may sound counterintuitive since the Galaxy S6 line ranks among the top handsets for taking pictures.
But as we all (hopefully!) know by now, more megapixels doesn't necessarily mean better images.
Case in point: The 12.3 megapixel sensor inside Google's Nexus 5X and 6P take excellent pictures by using sensors with larger pixels. The lens and aperture also have much do with image quality - as does imaging software - and the Galaxy S7 are expected to use an f/1.7 aperture to allow more light to hit the sensor.
SamMobile's sources also suggest Samsung will make the Galaxy S7 phones water-resistant as well; another feature found on the old Galaxy S5 but removed for the successor handsets.
Unsurprisingly, Samsung is expected to use its own processor inside the phones - the Exynos 8890 - along with 4 GB of memory. Samsung has previously used Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips for some models but last year moved to its own processors for the flagship line.
And to address any potential complaints of battery life, Samsung is said to stuff a 3,000 mAh power pack in the Galaxy S7 while the Edge version will have a higher capacity 3,600 mAh battery.
Assuming all of the above is true, it's clear Samsung realizes that removing standout features from its flagships isn't the way to go. Instead, it should be building on functions that buyers want and finding other ways to stand out from the sea of smartphone choices.

money.cnn.com - China's top smartphone manufacturer is ready to prove that it can compete with Apple and Samsung at the higher end of the market.
Huawei presented several new mobile devices on Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including two smartphones, two smartwatches and a tablet -- all of which are markedly different from its past offerings.
This is an especially big moment for Huawei in the United States, where it has largely been known for building cheap phones for carriers like T-Mobile (TMUS) and AT&T (T, Tech30).
But Huawei is now moving to sell devices under its own brand. The new Mate 8 smartphone and the Elegant and Jewel smartwatches show Huawei's strategy of building eye-catching products that satisfy specific user needs -- at around the same price of its competitors.
"Huawei Mate 8"
The Huawei Mate 8 is made for people who want a powerful and sleek smartphone that lasts more than a day without charging.
Huawei claims its 6-inch phone will last a day and a half on a full charge with heavy usage (28 hours of 3G calling or 20 hours of 4G Internet browsing).
In comparison, Apple says its iPhone 6S Plus lasts up to 24 hours of 3G talk time, and 12 hours of web surfing.
Huawei also claims the Mate 8 phone's 4,000 mAh battery can charge to nearly 40% capacity in half an hour -- 105% faster than the 6S Plus.
At its core, the Mate 8 contains a super-fast computer chip composed of four 2.3 GHz ARM A72 processors and four 1.8 GHz ARM A53 processors.
Huawei seems to be targeting business professionals who may prefer Samsung devices. The Mate 8 has native features like a split-screen function and a built-in business card scanner that recognizes 17 languages.
There's also a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, password lock for microSD cards, and three microphones for audio recording and directional playback.
One of the phone's coolest features may be its ability to record a video of the screen. To do so, Huawei is introducing a new way to interact with a phone: by knocking on the screen twice with two knuckles.
One of the biggest open questions is how well Huawei's customized mobile operating system -- based on Android Marshmallow -- will perform.
The 32GB base model of the Mate 8 costs about $643.
"Huawei Watch for Lady"
Huawei is also trying to win a share of the growing smartwatch market with two new devices designed specifically for women.
The company partnered with Swarovski on the Elegant -- "a more understated" choice -- and the Jewel, which features a lot more bling around the watch face. Both watch cases are plated in rose gold, use Swarovski crystals and are compatible with iPhones and Android phones.
While Apple and Samsung have both focused on making their smartwatches companion pieces to their smartphones, Huawei is going after those who view a smartwatch like an accessory or a piece of jewelry.
Huawei's new smartwatches are in the same price range as the Apple Watch: $499 for the Elegant, and $599 for the Jewel.