Summary:

1. Xbox Ones updated to Windows 10 by holiday season
2. Hololens mixed reality gaming demo was impressive – this will be v big in 2016
3. Band 2 looks cool – I want one and will just have to ignore that it is positioned as a fitness device
4. Lumia – Continuum demo was very cool.  Will this “make the strengths of the competition irrelevant”? (Blue Ocean Strategy).  NO MENTION of the iOS and Android sandbox. Overall a pretty upbeat push on the phones.  They are not dead yet.
5. Surface Pro 4 – talk of reinventing again, but really (and very impressively) a better SP3.  Availability 26th Oct (no mention of where though – US only initially?)
6. AND THEN THE SURPRISE – Surface Book. A powerful laptop with (very thin) detachable screen to use as a tablet. Lots of clever tech and 12 hours battery life.  Again available Oct 26th (but where).

02:45 Satya on stage. Repeats the aspiration to move people on a journey “from needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows”

The focus is on the user and the mobility of their experience, not mobility of the device.

From Raspberry Pi to Hololens Windows 10 provides a single experience.

Building the most productive phones on the planet – the Lumia 950/950XL with Continuum allow you to run your business on a phone.

He closes at 02:52 (Sydney time)

02:40 SURFACE BOOK – nobody predicted that before the event. Super fast (claiming fastest ounce for ounce of any device) and 12 hours battery life.

The ultimate laptop – with detachable and reversible keyboard

The GPU is in the keyboard base

Surface Book vs MacBook Pro – 2 x more powerful.

Also works with Surface Pro docking station.

Available October 26^th (US only I am guessing!!!)

02:19 Surface – with 98% of Surface Pro 3 users recommending the product to their friends and family – do we improve the product or re-invent it?

Pen storage – dismisses the old loop, but the solution is still a magnetic external connector.

Big push on the pen – clearly something that Microsoft are positioning as a key business differentiator. 5 colours of pen and interchangeable pen tips (like a felt tip or a fountain pen)

Surface Pro 4 vs Surface Pro 3 – 30% faster

MacBook Air, called out as a great product, but SP4 is 50% faster.

8.4mm “thin” and only stopped there so they could keep the full capability of USB-C

Surface Pro docking station (compatible with SP3)

Surface Pro type cover (compatible with SP3) – 40% larger track pad. Includes fingerprint reader.

Available October 26th

01:55 Continuum demo.  Windows Hello beta on the L950.

Microsoft Display Dock – Continuum has the potential to be the game changer – to use language from “Blue Ocean Strategy” this can make the strengths of the competition irrelevant.  The phone is now acting just like a PC, including keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl-C for copy and access to external drives via the dock.  Full 1080p HDMI connector through the dock driven from the phone.

Great demo

01:36 Lumia

Panos Panay: positioning Lumia as reinventing a product category, just like the Surface.  He is taking up the passion behind Lumia and how it brings life the Windows 10 ecosystem and Microsoft software e.g. Office, Cortana

Hardware: adaptive antenna technology to ensure a phone does it’s most basic task of staying connected.  Lots of camera tech to keep the Lumia ahead of the game (my wife gets me to take pictures with my L925 rather than her iPhone 4s).  USB-C connector – v quick recharge, v quick data exchange.

01:33 Microsoft Band – total focus on this as a fitness and health product.  Highlighting the more “comfortable” design.  Barometer is the 11 sensor – see how far up the office staircase you can get!!

Microsoft Health provides the big data analytics in the background.  The algorithms allow then to track VO2 max without having to go to  full blown aerobics lab.

Talking to the virtual golf caddie capability – and more than just distance to green.

Integrated to various 3rd parties e.g. one touch and Uber are on their way.

Band 2 will be available by end Oct for US$299

01:18 Now Hololens and Project X-ray a mixed reality gaming experience. Pretty impressive.

01:11 amazing – have a #windows10devices column in tweetdeck and the tweets are coming in so fast I cannot even scan them.

Confirmation that there will be lots of announcements from OEM partners, but today is about Microsoft first party devices.

First device of the block is XBOX 1: all xbox consoles updated to Win10 by holiday season.  Including backward compatibility with XBox360 games

01:05 and we are off – was starting to worry I had got my setup wrong….

00:50 It’s very early in the morning down under in Sydney so I’m all setup in the spare room waiting for the briefing to begin.  Just hope my broadband doesn’t fall over (massive contention issues up on the Northern Beaches and just waiting for the exchange to be upgraded.  Hopefully this time of night everyone else has gone to bed!!!