News Week of February 10, 2008

Hands on: HTC Shift

HTC’s Shift first saw the light of day last year. But we've not had much time up close with one. The HTC Shift might be a sub-sub-sub-notebook, but isn’t strictly an Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) – that was the first thing made clear to us by Paul Ghent, HTC’s European executive director.

“This is pretty much a new segment," Ghent says. "Most people are referring to this as a UMPC. We’re not. It’s different in a couple of fundamental ways.”

A Shift in perspective

“We’re calling [the HTC Shift] the world’s first truly mobile computer,” explains Ghent. “There’s nothing else you can do this with.” OQO might have had something to say about that... The Shift runs full Windows Vista Business (featuring the touch-screen Origami user interface) and can be used either as a tablet-style device or with the neat fold-out keyboard.  (Source: Dan Grabham, TechRadar.com)

Last day to enter the TabletPc2.com Logo Contest

Win a TabletKiosk  i440D Tablet PC

Helpful Hint: Pay Attention to how TabletPc2.com is written!

Be Sure to check the Questions and Answers page

Entries must be received by later than 11:59 p.m. on February 15, 2008  (Source: Linda A. Epstein, TabletPC2.com)

Battle of the Pavilions, HP tx1000 vs. tx2000

The tx2011 has some really great upgrades and a few lingering annoyances compared to the tx1001. The dual digitizer works great and inking is wonderful. It's as good as anything I’ve used before. Battery life is still a worry, unless you can upgrade to the 6-cell or 8-cell, and the fingerprint reader is plain annoying. Still, if I were making a decision between the two I would go for the tx2011 if the difference were less than $300 - $400. The updated active digitizer make it all worth it, especially if you take notes.  (Source: Gordon Cahill , TabletPCReview.com)

Microsoft Invents a Reason to Buy a Tablet

All that may start to change tomorrow, when a prototype application called InkSeine -- which is, essentially, a digital notebook on crack -- is released for public trial.

InkSeine is being developed by a small team at Microsoft Research. The application is for demonstration purposes only, and not on track to become a real Microsoft product you can buy. But if InkSeine gains traction as a popular enabler of pen-based computing, you can bet it will be productized -- or, better still, built into the Tablet PC version of Windows, possibly as a replacement for the Windows Journal application. Many revolutionary products started out as research projects. Google comes to mind, for example.

Here's what InkSeine can do:  (Source: Mike Elgan, Datamation)

Allegiance Technology Partners With Window Fashion Company

HORSHAM, PA (Jan. 15, 2007) — Allegiance Technology Partners (ALLTP), a computer reseller company specializing in tablet PCs, has been selected by Hunter Douglas Window Fashions to offer customized tablet PCs to all of their dealers.

The partnership allows Hunter Douglas dealers to purchase tablet PCs that were specially configured to fit dealer needs. The tablet package includes a Motion Tablet PC, Disto laser measuring device and the Hunter Douglas DirectConnect^® software.

“This is an exciting opportunity to partner with such an established brand, and one that we think is a perfect fit,” said John Hill, CEO, ALLTP. “There are more than 35,000 Hunter Douglas dealers in North America and our tablet PC solution will truly make their lives easier.”

“When we saw what Allegiance Technology was offering, we were certainly interested,” said Cliff Sparks, National Trainer, Hunter Douglas. “We try to provide our dealers with the best equipment possible and the tablet PC certainly fits the bill.”

ALLTP delivers solutions for mobile professionals that replace desktops, laptops and pocket PCs with a single system. The company offers built-to-order specifications as well as a full accessories catalog to enhance all tablets. For more information, visit www.alltp.com  (Source: Press Release via GottaBeMobile)

Unplugged Family PCs: mobile life

When Mom's Motion Computing LE1700 Tablet PC arrived at the end of December, it was the first of a new set of PCs finding their way into our family. She's been traveling around the country with it - quite happily. It doesn't add much to her suitcase and she can email from hotel rooms. Loren purchased a new Toshiba Portege M700 within the first few hours it was made available in early January. With it's 2.6GHz processor, it has the performance that he needs as a developer. Elizabeth a has Toshiba Tablet PC for college. Layne revitalized a Tablet Kiosk slate, so he could use it as a research notepad as he writes his thesis using his Gateway.

As the PCs in the family get refreshed, the older PCs start looking -- well, old. (Source: Loren Heiny, WhatIsNew)

First Impressions: Toshiba M700 Tablet PC

What do you get when you take the top half of the Toshiba R400 Tablet PC the bottom half of the Toshiba M400, tweak everything in between and give users the option of Core 2 Duo processors from 2.2 - 2.6GHZ. a touch screen and price it beginning at $1449.00?  The Toshiba M700, which is the most powerful Tablet PC available to date. 

This is The Tablet PC users have been asking for. 

More Power being the #1 feature people have been asking about, the new Toshiba M700 is going to make a lot of people very happy. 

When you take the M700 out of the box and feel it in your hand for the first time, you notice how light it is and the new silver metallic finish which gives it a look all its own.    (Source: Linda A. Epstein, TabletPC2.com)

Make way for mobile broadband

Return on investment
In the above example, the salesperson in the doctor’s office plugs in a USB stick that is both broadband cellular modem and storage device: connect, click, click, download, detach, and hand the stick over to the doctor to upload the drug specifications to the office's computer system.

Or, an insurance agent inspecting damage to a house needs more than just a handset, which is too small to comfortably depict the forms the agent must fill out. Instead, the agent uses a tablet PC.

With built-in broadband, instead of heading back to the office at 3:30 to upload the files, with a WAN card -- stick or embedded -- the agent can stay out in the field longer and upload the forms on site.  (Source: Ephraim Schwartz , InfoWorld)

HP Compaq 2710p

It was only a few months ago that HP Vice President for commercial products, Alberto Bozzo, remarked to PC Authority that the tablet PC was ‘dead’ as far as consumer use went. As hard as Microsoft tried, the mass market never took to the idea of pen-driven, touchscreen notebooks, and manufacturers brave enough to devote serious resources to the tablet were forced to look elsewhere. Vertical markets – such as education and healthcare industries – show the most promise. And, weighing just 1.7kg, the 2710p is probably the ideal size for holding in the crook of your arm in a warehouse.

As convertible tablets go, the design is convincing. Apart from the hinge at the back, the 2710p looks like a normal ultraportable and feels well made. The base of the keyboard is solid, and both the back of the screen and wristrest feel equally tough. The keyboard is particularly well made, and typing is both fast and easy. There’s even a white LED that pops out of the screen bezel to illuminate the keyboard.

The 12.1in, 1280 x 800 touchscreen is practical for most applications. The resolution is high enough for office tasks, but the screen isn’t very bright and is characterised by a grainy texture that makes even pure whites appear mottled. It will be fine with normal Windows applications, but you wouldn’t want to work with it for image editing or other colour-critical applications.  (Source: Dave Stephenson, PC Authority)
Posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008 by ChrisD
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Microsoft Research's InkSeine coming this Friday

Ken Hinckley from Microsoft Research has unofficially put together a prototype Tablet PC note-taking application designed and built from ground up around the pen. InkSeine (rhymes with "insane") gives you the ability to easily search the web or your local computer directly from your ink.  Although it's scheduled for a public release on February 15, 2008, Microsoft insists that it is not intended for public consumption: "InkSeine is a research demonstration only, and is not a Microsoft product, nor is it intended to become a product. It is just something we built as a pure research project to explore novel pen and ink functionality."   (Source: Emil Protalinski, Arstechnica)
Posted Monday, February 11, 2008 by ChrisD
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Frankly - we love the OQO e2 - a luscious ultramobile PC

An ultramobile PC is a full PC in a nearly pocket-size unit. OQO, founded in 2000 by ex-Apple engineers, is the most distinctive of the ultramobile PC makers, producing over the years a series of increasingly gorgeous-looking devices, leading up to the OQO e2, a European model with HSDPA mobile broadband, that has the potential to be a really mobile networked PC.

The OQO 01 had good reviews and, following decent sales from online stores, the company launched a Europan version of its next model - the OQO e2 - in late 2007, followed swiftly by an HSDPA-enabled version, which can get up to 3.6 megabits per second (Mbps) from cellular networks.

At the moment, the OQO e2 is available only in Europe, with a typical model costing around £1,200, including 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 120GB hard drive, as well as 802.11abg Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Model 01+ is still available at around £400 inc VAT (with a 1GHz processor, 500M RAM and 30G hard drive, 802.11b and Bluetooth) - but this lacks HSDPA and other new features.   (Source: Peter Judge, Techworld, PC Advisor)