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Samsung Galaxy S6 reportedly drops bloatware in favor of Microsoft apps
Quite a few smartphone fans will tell you that a Samsung phone's Achilles' heel is its software -- you'll find a ton of (frequently unwanted) apps and features that do little besides chew up space and slow things down. You may get to wave goodbye to that cruft when the Galaxy S6 shows up, however. A SamMobile source claims that Samsung is yanking a lot of its usual pre-installed bloatware, making the GS6 "amazingly fast" compared to a weighed-down phone like the Galaxy Note 4. The titles wouldn't go away forever, but you'd have to download in-house apps if you did want them. Instead, the focus would be on a host of included Microsoft apps: Office, OneDrive, OneNote and Skype would give you some solid productivity out of the box. It's not clear if the Microsoft deal has any connection to a recent truce with Samsung over patent royalties, although it wouldn't be surprising.
Microsoft OneNote comes to Android Wear, gets updated for iOS 8
We'll say this about Microsoft's OneNote team: It's clear they want to be on every device, even ones you might not be buying. Earlier this year, the company came out with an Amazon application in the wake of some truly awful Fire phone reviews. Now, Microsoft is releasing OneNote for Android Wear, Google's still-nascent smartwatch platform. Starting today, if you happen to own a Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live or LG G Watch, you can capture a note by saying "OK Google, take a note."
Microsoft optimizes OneNote for Android tablets, adds handwriting support
Microsoft's OneNote has long been available for Android (among many other platforms), but this latest update makes it easier to use specifically on tablets. The note-taking app now comes with handwriting support that takes advantage of the devices' relatively bigger screens, as well as with better options for formatting your notes. If you're going back to school soon and have a Windows device, though, OneNote for Windows sounds like the better choice with its new ink highlighter, printing support and ability to insert files and PDFs. Finally, the latest Livescribe+ update lets you set up a OneNote notebook where the Livescribe 3 pen can automatically upload what you're writing down on paper. All these changes are rolling out right now, so expect to get pinged for an update soon if it hasn't appeared yet.
Microsoft OneNote Online tells you who else is futzing with your documents
Microsoft has just plumped up OneNote Online, and while it's not exactly a complete overhaul, the refresh adds features critical for cloud collaboration services. For instance, the update introduces a feature called People Presence, which shows all active users working on the same page as you are, so you can ping people if you need a brainstorming session. To prevent collaborators from overwriting each others' edits, Microsoft has also improved the service's syncing capabilities to reflect changes nearly in real time. These updates are already live on Office Online, where you can edit any OneNote notebook you or your friends share on OneDrive or Office 365. And, yes, you can enjoy the features no matter what OS (the software's available on several platforms) your friends used to upload.
OneNote on iOS and Mac now lets you attach files
Like it or not, school is fast approaching. However, Microsoft thinks it can make the fall semester a little more bearable with big updates to OneNote on both iOS and the Mac. Both apps now let you attach files to your notes; you can include audio recordings from a lecture to add some context to what you wrote, for example. If you add a PDF printout, you can also jot down annotations.
OneNote updates let you start notebooks on iPhone, print on Mac
After lavishing much of its recent attention on Excel, PowerPoint and Word, Microsoft is ready to show OneNote some more love. The company has unveiled a big redesign of its iPhone app that brings simpler navigation and, at long last, the ability to create new notebooks and sections on OneDrive; you no longer have to start jotting down ideas on another device. Upgrading also brings Office Lens (already on the iPad) for digitizing real-world documents, and it's easier to start a quick note if you're in a hurry.
Office comes to the Chrome Web Store along with a slew of upgrades
Microsoft isn't done with Office updates just because it released Office for iPad and made Office Mobile completely free -- it has a bunch of improvements in store for Office Online, too. To start with, Office has reached the Chrome Web Store. You can now launch most of the productivity suite's web apps (Excel is due soon) in the Chrome browser or Chrome OS just by clicking a shortcut. Clearly, the crew from Redmond is no longer averse to supporting your Chromebook.
OneNote team goes off-key with Les Mis parody
Sometimes, it's easy to get so excited that you spontaneously burst into song. After all, that's the logic behind most musicals, no? Microsoft's OneNote team took that idea and ran with it, cribbing from Les Miserables in the process. See, after setting its note-taking app free last month, the team had reason to celebrate. Naturally, it picked an upbeat song ("One Day More") from one of the saddest musicals of all time to do so. Video evidence of the team's "Weird Al" skills is after the break, but try not getting the track stuck in your head -- it's for the good of everyone, really.
Daily Roundup: 8GB iPhone 5c rumor, Microsoft OneNote goes free, and more
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Send notes to OneNote with your Livescribe 3 smartpen
Shortly after the news that OneNote will be free starting today, Livescribe has announced a collaboration which will see its newest smartpen integrate with Microsoft's service. Using the Livescribe+ application, Livescribe 3 owners can now easily send notes, drawings and other stuff to OneNote. Better yet, once your scribbles and doodles show up in OneNote, they can also be synced across multiple devices by way of OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive) -- Livescribe states this is all part of its strategy to "make smartpens a ubiquitous and valuable tool." You'll need to have your pen running the latest software, version 1.1.0, for this to work -- and in case you need any assistance with that, take a look at Livescribe's help page here.
OneNote for Mac now available in the Mac App Store
Microsoft quietly released OneNote for Mac this morning in the Mac App Store. As previously announced, the longtime Office component from the Windows side (and presumptive Evernote competitor) is free for all users, regardless of the platform. OneNote for Mac requires OS 10.9. Check it out, and let us know what you think of it in the comments. Could OneNote have a chance to replace Notes, Simplenote, Evernote or something else as your go-to digital notebook?
Microsoft's OneNote goes completely free, launches for Macs
Honestly, we're a little surprised that it took this long for OneNote to land on OS X -- Microsoft's powerful tool for taking and organizing notes has been around for a decade now. Oddly it came to iOS and Android before finally finding a home in the Mac version of the Office suite of products. With its launch on Apple desktops, OneNote is also going completely gratis. The new Mac version is available for free in the App Store and the Windows edition is becoming a free download as well. The Metro-fied version designed for Windows 8 has been free for sometime now, but the full desktop version of OneNote 2013 was a paid part of the Office productivity suite. Premium features, like SharePoint support and Outlook integration still require you to cough up some cash, however.
Microsoft's OneNote may come to the Mac this month
Microsoft's OneNote app has been available on mobile, Windows and the web for quite some time, but Mac support for the note-taking software has proven elusive... at least, until now. Both The Verge and ZDNet hear that OneNote will be available for free on OS X later this month. Microsoft would also release a free desktop Windows app (the Windows 8-native app is already gratis) to better support its own platform. Both versions would include new features, too, including a Clipper service to save web content and a desktop variant of Office Lens' document scanning. We've reached out to Microsoft to verify the claims. It's easy to see why the folks in Redmond might expand OneNote's ecosystem, though. The app is facing stiff competition from Evernote, which is available on most modern platforms -- Microsoft would simply be countering a rival.
Windows Phone's Office Lens app wants to replace your scanner
Need a quick and dirty copy of a receipt, document or restaurant menu? Your smartphone's camera can make a rough facsimile -- but Microsoft thinks that it can do better. According to a Windows Phone Store landing page, Office Lens leverages Microsoft OneNote, optical character recognition and your smartphone's camera to put "a scanner in your pocket." The page seems to only be a placeholder for now, but the idea is pretty straightforward: snapshots are synced to the cloud, saved to your device and automatically adjusted for color and readability. Printed documents can be edited and searched, thanks to the aforementioned OCR technology and the app even has glare and shadow removal features to clean up pictures of your office whiteboard. Unfortunately, the demo page reveals very little about how well the program works, featuring only a single screenshot that reveals... the beta tester's tabletop. There's no word on when this app will be available to the public, but feel free to score a quick tease at the adjacent source link.
Microsoft's OneNote Android app updated with native sharing and widgets
Since its major overhaul back in July, Microsoft's OneNote Android app has languished while the company built out the Windows version of its note-taking tool. That changed today after Microsoft pushed live a new update to the Play Store, which includes new sharing and widget features that Microsoft believes will help you get "more things done in less time." The updated app now integrates with Android's built-in sharing intents, allowing you to pull up a native sharing menu inside apps and immediately add new content to your OneNote account. Microsoft's also added a new OneNote widget, embedding options to let you view your most recent photos, recordings and notes, add new content and pin homescreen shortcuts to your favorite pages or notebooks. With its revamped UI, the Android app is almost at feature parity with OneNote for Windows 8.1, giving us a real reason to consider it over rival note-taking apps like Evernote.
OneNote for Windows 8.1 now uses optical character recognition to search scanned images
It's been about four months since the OneNote app for Windows received a significant update. Today, though, Microsoft is adding several key features, with the biggest being the ability to scan images and then search them using keywords. This new Camera Scan feature, as it's called, automatically crops and rotates photos, removing shadows and sharpening the image where necessary. Then, it uses optical character recognition (OCR) to search for words in scanned images, making it easy to find those meetings notes you took the other day. Additionally, the update now allows you to save things using the Share Charm. And if you want a shot of the entire screen (and not just a specific item, like a recipe), you can use the Share Charm in a Windows app and then select" screenshot" from the Share Charm drop-down. (In desktop mode, screenshots are already the standard option.) Finally, the app now has both a full-screen view and a "Recent Notes" option, which shows all your notes in the order you last used them, regardless of whether you were viewing them on Windows, iOS or Android. These are accompanied by short previews, making it easier to zero in on what you want. And that about sums it up -- to get the latest version, hit up the download link below.
OneNote for Windows 8 gains Office 365 integration, touch keyboard improvements
Hot on the heels of the recent iOS and Android overhaul of OneNote comes an update for the Windows 8 and Windows RT versions which adds Office 365 integration and touch keyboard improvements. The app is available in the Windows Store right now and lets you sign into your Office 365 school or work account and sync notebooks right from within the OneNote app. As for the touch keyboard, it's both invoked and dismissed by simply tapping into any empty space, which makes it easier to use. This allows you to switch seamlessly between inputting text and finger painting -- or basically, just focus on your notes. Hit the source link below for the update.
OneNote for iOS gets an overhaul
Microsoft has announced a complete overhaul of the mobile version of its OneNote note-taking software. The updated version is available for iOS and Android and features a new look and increased functionality. The most important new feature is the increased consistency in the editing experience across different platforms, meaning text, table and layout formatting will be the same across different devices. In addition, the service now features syncing via SkyDrive Pro and SharePoint. Power users will be happy to find the previous 500-note limit has been removed from the app. iPad users get an extra bonus feature, access to the Office Ribbon UI. The app is now available in the US App Store and on Google Play.
Microsoft overhauls OneNote apps for iOS and Android
Skype's not the only Microsoft app that's getting a major mobile redesign this week. The company announced today that the iPhone, iPad and Android versions of its OneNote note-taking software are also getting a ground-up overhaul. At the top of the list of updates is a more consistent rich-editing experience across devices, with formatting like text, tables and layout carrying over, regardless of platform. The redesign also brings syncing across SkyDrive Pro and SharePoint, as well as an end to that 500-note limit imposed by the app. And if you download the new version for the iPad, you'll get access to the Office Ribbon UI. The new OneNote is available now via the App Store and Google Play in the US and other "select" markets. More deets on the updates can be found in the source link below.
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote to ship free with x86 Windows 8 tablets (update: only with those smaller than 10 inches)
During today's Computex keynote, Microsoft Windows chief Tami Reller just announced that new x86 Windows 8 tablets will ship with Office in the box. The executive didn't detail the software offering, beyond mentioning that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote will all be included. Windows RT devices, for their part, will now also include pre-installed Outlook, beginning with the Windows 8.1 update, which is due to arrive as a preview version later this month. Update: Microsoft just put up a blog post saying that these free Office applications will come with "small screen tablets" -- in other words, not necessarily all Windows 8 tablets. Tami Reller didn't specify screen sizes during her presentation, and we don't know if small necessarily means the Iconia W3 degree of small (i.e. eight inches), but we're seeking clarification. Update #2: We tracked down a rep at Computex who said that the bundled software will only come with Windows 8 tablets under 10 inches, which will evidently rule out a lot of devices.
