We’ve already seen an 11-minute walk-through video comparing a new Windows 8 beta tablet to an iPad 2 running iOS 5, but there are plenty of features Microsoft is cooking up that didn’t make it into the beta release of the OS. In a new video, Microsoft highlights a handful of currently unavailable applications that make use of the oft-praised Metro user interface Windows 8 borrowed from the Windows Phone platform. In the video, Microsoft shows off several apps including Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging and Photos, which features seamless Facebook and Flickr integration. The People application also features Facebook integration, pulling Facebook friends and address book contacts into a single stream. Microsoft’s full demo video follows below.

According to Apple’s new MobileMe transition FAQ page, users will be able to access their iCloud services from the web. Specifically, the site says:

Will I be able to access iCloud services on the web?

Yes. Web access to iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone will be available at icloud.com this fall.

The FAQ also details some other issues that MobileMe users may be concerned about as their accounts are moved to iCloud. Apple says that photos, apps, music, and books do not count against the 5GB of free storage that comes with iCloud, and users will be able to buy more at a later time. It’s unclear how much additional space will cost, but Apple says it will explain more in the fall. As you’re likely aware, iCloud was announced during WWDC as a replacement for MobileMe. It will automatically store content across all of your devices and keep your mail, contacts, and calendar in sync across all devices. Users will simply need to sign into a new device to pull in all of their settings, photos, and more.

[Via TechCrunch]

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It’s been a long time coming, but the day is finally here. At the end of tonight, the servers that made your Sidekick devices so great — that insanely addictive push email, one of the best AIM experiences, one of the first app stores, and more — will be shut down for good. Since the Danger Sidekick devices were tied directly to the cloud, the devices had limited memory. What this means is that since there will no longer be data on the server, the data on your Sidekick will erase if your phone loses it’s charge. T-Mobile has recommended that Sidekick users go into T-Mobile locations to help get their data backed up, but if you’ve missed the boat, you can hit up your online T-Mobile account at the link below to access and export your data for free.

Note: the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G, the company’s latest Sidekick (Android, not Danger) is not at risk of losing data or service.

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If you’re an AT&T BlackBerry user and you bought a PlayBook, you know that BlackBerry Bridge — the piece of software that wirelessly connects your BlackBerry to your PlayBook and facilitates PIM functions — is not available for AT&T BlackBerry devices. Sure, there are unofficial workarounds, but for RIM’s largest customer to not support this critical feature for RIM’s biggest product launch in ages seems strange (RIM views carriers as customers, sorry guys). Despite its earlier statement, many thought AT&T had ulterior motives in not supporting BlackBerry Bridge, but we have confirmed that the real reason is that RIM didn’t deliver BlackBerry Bridge to AT&T until just days before it launched in RIM’s BlackBerry App World. RIM didn’t hand over a final OS build for the BlackBerry PlayBook until days before launched either, and we saw that first hand with the last minute OS updates to our review unit. In spite of the short testing time — and interestingly enough — all other U.S. carriers have approved BlackBerry Bridge.

Following the close of RIM’s BlackBerry World 2011 conference, the Waterloo Ontario-based cell phone maker on Wednesday issued two video demos showcasing forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook features we’ve been very anxious to see. Of course we already wrapped things up with a slightly more interesting exclusive, but current (and future) PlayBook owners will definitely enjoy watching RIM execs show off the tablet’s upcoming native email client as well as its Android app player. The Android player looks very smooth for pre-release software, and the email app has a great UI that should be very familiar to tablet users. We can also get a quick taste of the PlayBook’s upcoming native contacts, tasks and calendar support in the videos, which can be viewed after the break.

Research In Motion on Wednesday announced its acquisition of social calendar service provider Tungle. Tungle runs a like-named service that allows users to maintain a cloud-based calendar where events and schedules can easily be shared with contacts. The solution works across a variety of mobile and desktop platforms. ”BlackBerry is a fantastic solution for connecting users to the people and information that matter most throughout their day,” said RIM’s VP of Collaboration and Social Networking, Tom Goguen, in a statement. ”By working with Tungle to add cloud-based, cross-platform calendar capabilities to the BlackBerry platform we can further enrich our customers’ experience with BlackBerry and continue to help them get things done.”

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The brood over at PreCentral have managed to acquire a leaked copy of HP’s webOS 3.0 beta 1 software development kit (SDK). Why is this a good thing? Because contained within said SDK rests a TouchPad, webOS 3.0 emulator, of course. While emulators only provide 50% of the TouchPad story — the other half being hardware — it is useful to get a high-level overview of what user interface will look like. If you want to whet your appetite for this summers TouchPad release, hit the jump. There’s an eighteen minute video overview awaiting your scrutiny. Be sure to click through the read link as well for a host of screen grabs.

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On Wednesday Microsoft confirmed with enthusiast blog LoopinSight that it will launch Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 next week. The update will reportedly include performance enhancements, as well as security and stability fixes, but it will also include major changes for Outlook for Mac. After applying the software patch, users will be able to sync their Outlook calendars, tasks, notes, and contacts with Apple’s Sync Services, and it includes support for CalDAV calendars. The update will also add a new redirect and resend buttons. iPhone and iPod touch devices will also stay in sync, Pat Fox, Microsoft’s senior director of product management told The Loop. Service Pack 1 does come with one caveat, though: users will not be able to use Sync Services to sync with the MobileMe calendar beginning on May 5th.

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Following our press briefing with the PlayBook early today, we wanted to get a bit more up-close and personal with the BlackBerry Bridge software. Bridge, for those that don’t know, is the bit of technology that connects the BlackBerry handset to the PlayBook and allows for the use of BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry Email, and BlackBerry Calendar on the PlayBook itself. For the time being, Bridge will provide the PlayBook with all of its email, calendar, and BBM functionality — there are no stand-alone applications on the device. You read that correctly: without a BlackBerry on hand, you won’t be able to access any of your BlackBerry-specific messaging software. Don’t get us started. Regardless of this fact, RIM was kind enough to give us a demo of the Bridge connection and, for what it is, it works just as advertised. Any edits on the PlayBook are mirrored on your Berry, and vice versa. Drafts saved are accessible on both, and because all of the data is routed through the BlackBerry’s data connection, all Enterprise policies will remain secure and intact, which is definitely a concern for security minded companies looking to integrate tablets into their corporate environment. All told, Bridge does exactly what Bridge is supposed to do… the only question is whether you can live with having to tether your tablet every time you want to send a message.

Think you can avoid having corporate email on your mobile device by buying a feature phone? Think again, as today Verizon Wireless announced an update to its feature phone email solution, Mobile Email 4.0. The downloadable application will allow users to connect their non-smartphone devices to Microsoft’s Exchange environment, leverage push email, and utilize an integrated contact list. The service will retail for $5 per month and is available to those with a data plan of at least $15 per month. The software is currently compatible with eight VZW phones, including the Samsung Zeal, LG Cosmos Touch, and Pantech Crux. Hit the read link for the full PR.

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The list of things that enterprise calendaring systems (e.g. Microsoft Exchange) can do that Google Calendar can not do is getting shorter and shorter. Today, the Big G announced a new feature it is folding into its online Calendar implementation: optional meeting attendees. As Google explains:

Guests’ roles in meetings tend to vary as well. Some people have to be there to lead the meeting or help make decisions, whereas others are gathering information they may be able to digest just as well via the notes. Without knowing which attendees are crucial and which are optional, it can be difficult to know which meetings you really need to attend.

With a couple clicks, you can openly communicate the importance of a meeting for each attendee. Click on the “Make some attendees optional link” above the guest list and then toggle the role of each attendee by clicking the icon next to his or her name.

The optional attendees feature should be rolling out to Google Calendar users shortly. Hit the read link to check out the official article.

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A quick note on Sprint’s support site indicates that the HTC EVO 4G will be getting a small software update sometime in the near future. The update lists “calendar event edit issues” and “multiple Gmail account sync” as the two problems it is designed to address. The version number is also listed at 3.29.651.5. You can check for the update by navigating to Settings > System Updates > HTC software update on your EVO 4G.

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Just a quick note here… Google has announced that its calendar desktop syncing conduit for Outlook — Calendar Sync — is now compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2010. The blog writes that Outlook 2010 support has been one of the team’s top feature requests. Currently, only the 32-bit version of Outlook 2010 is supported, but keep your eyes on the Gmail Blog for updates. We’ve got the announcement after the break.

Google Calendar Sync now supports Outlook 2010

Making sure that your calendar is available to you whenever and wherever you need it is important. That’s why Google Calendar works with a number of desktop applications and mobile devices including iCal, iPhone and iPad, Blackberry, Android, Nokia/Symbian, and Windows Mobile phones. Google Calendar Sync for Outlook is also available, but one thing was missing — until now.

Google Calendar Sync now supports Outlook 2010 — our top feature request. Outlook 2010 comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and currently only 32-bit is supported. To start syncing your calendar with Outlook 2010, download Google Calendar Sync version 0.9.3.6. Once you install it, a Settings window will appear. Enter your account’s email address and password, choose your sync optionand sync frequency, and you’re done! (Note: If you’re already using Google Calendar Sync, you’ll still need to download and install this new version in order to be able to sync with Outlook 2010. If you need help, take a look at our getting started guide.)

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Microsoft unveiled its new Windows Phone Live website, a companion site that will be integrated into its upcoming Windows Phone 7 handsets. Similar to Microsoft’s MyPhone service unveiled as a beta in May 2009 for Windows Mobile 6.x handsets, the new Windows Phone Live will offer 25GB of SkyDrive storage space and will let Windows Phone 7 users sync contacts, calendars, OneNote files, pictures and more between their handset and the web. The website will also host the Find My Phone service which provides users with the ability to map, ring, lock and remote wipe a missing handset. Microsoft also confirmed that Windows Phone 7 is on track for a global launch in time for the holiday season. At launch, Windows Phone 7 handsets will support five languages including English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and the Windows Phone marketplace will go live in 17 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK and United States.

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Gmail users get excited as Google has added two new features to Gmail that will make your emailing life a little bit easier. First and foremost is a new drag and drop ability that allows you to drag a document from your favorite file explorer and drop it on your email to add an attachment. No convoluted steps, no browsing for files, just a basic drag and drop which is so simple, it is genius and we can’t believe we’ve lived without it all this time. Next up is a new calendaring feature that allows you to send a Google calendar invitation directly within Gmail. Not only can you compose the invitation within Gmail, the feature allows you to see your invitee’s calendar so you can select the optimal time for your event. Once the invitation is sent, the event is added to both your and your recipient’s Google calendar. Sweet.

[Via Lifehacker]

Read [Drag and drop attachment] Read [Gmail Calendar invitation]