News Week of October 12, 2008

HP touchscreen notebook due by year's end

HP is unwilling to comment on the notebook but does acknowledge that it plans to significantly expand its range of touch devices.

The touchscreen computer is nonetheless expected to be marketed much more strongly than the tx2000-series convertible tablets and will be considered important for spurring sales amidst a poor US economy and heightened competition in notebooks, where the similarity in features has forced many to try and offer distinct features. An HP touch notebook would arrive just as Apple's new MacBooks gain extensive multi-touch features but continue to use normal displays.  (Source: macnn, electronista)
Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 by ChrisD
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PhatWare Releases PenOffice 3.0, Advanced Collaboration and Handwriting Recognition for Windows Desktop and Tablet PCs

The new version of advanced pen-based collaboration software features Windows Vista support, new improved feel and look, improved Office markup features, and more.

Mountain View, CA (MobilityNewswire) October 15, 2008 - PhatWare Corporation, a leading provider of software products and professional services for mobile and desktop computers, announces today the availability of PenOffice 3.0, advanced collaboration and handwriting recognition software for Microsoft Windows-based computers and Tablet PCs. The software includes a wide range of new and enhanced features and now supports Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007.

PenOffice has found wide acceptance worldwide among OEMs and end users due to its highly accurate handwriting recognition, easy-to-use user interface, and extensive set of set of pen-based collaboration features. The new version of the application recognizes handwriting in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Spanish, and is designed for use with Windows-based Desktop, Portable, Tablet, and Ultra Mobile PCs. PenOffice also incorporates features that allow users to add handwritten notes to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, embed control gestures into writing, create handwritten notes, utilize fill-screen drawings, and much more.

Top 5 New Major Features in PenOffice 3.0
* Redesigned look and feel in the user interface (UI) - more than 75% of the software codebase is new
* Support for Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 including mark-up in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
* PenOffice Configuration Manager, enabling users to create custom configurations for handwriting recognition functionality
* Handwriting recognition engine with integrated statistical analyzer, Autocorrector and support for additional languages.
* New PenCommander scripting engine and Visual PenCommander IDE

"We are thrilled about the new improvements made to PenOffice 3.0 based on the professional and consumer feedback we received since the previous version release and during the successful beta program," said Stan Miasnikov, president of PhatWare Corp., "Today we are pleased to announce the availability of PenOffice 3.0 with a wide range of new features, including full Windows Vista and Office 2007 support."

While previous versions of PenOffice were available in two editions, English and Multilingual, the new version is shipped with recognition engines for all supported languages. PenOffice 3.0 supports all editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista and can be used with any pointing input device, such as graphic tablet, interactive while board, touch screen monitor, Tablet PC, online digital pen, and even standard computer mouse.

PenOffice Availability and Pricing
PenOffice 3.0 is available now at the list price of $59.95. A free 30-day trial version of PenOffice 3.0 can be downloaded from the PhatWare web site at www.phatware.com/penoffice. All registered users of previous versions of PenOffice will receive the upgrade discount. The upgrade policy can be found on the PhatWare website at www.phatware.com/penoffice.  (Source: Press Release)

Neil Diamond & Mobile Demand xTablet T8700 Rugged Tablet PC Rock the Hollywood Bowl

The amazing clarity of the xTablet T8700's  outdoor screen made it the perfect machine for controlling the sound in the Hollywood Bowl for the 2008 concert season.   In the booth or outside in the bright California sun,  both Fred Vogler, L. A. Philharmonic Sound Designer and Michael Cooper, Audio/Video Department Head at the Hollywood Bowl found the Mobile Demand xTablet T8700 Rugged Tablet PC to be the best Tablet PC they had even had the pleasure of using.  (Source: Linda A. Eptein, TabletPC2.com)

Toshiba Portege M750

As of mid-October 2008, Toshiba Canada is showing a new version of Toshiba's Tablet PC convertible. It is essentially the Portege M700 updated to Centrino 2 technology and reconfigured for a wide-format display. The new M750 isn't on the Toshiba US website yet. When it arrives, it'll likely co-exist with the M700 for a while before replacing it.   (Source: Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, Rugged PC Review)
Posted Sunday, October 12, 2008 by ChrisD
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Fujitsu LifeBook T1010

Tablets do still command a price premium � something's got to pay for the touch panel, not to mention the modifications needed to have a screen that flips and works � but we couldn't help but come away from the T1010 feeling ultimately unimpressed. For the asking price of the T1010 you could clearly have a more functional system if you could forego its tablet capability. Even within the tablet family there are systems that pack in more punch than this, so if you're interested in a tablet system we'd certainly suggest shopping around.   (Source: Alex Kidman , CNet Australia)
Posted Sunday, October 12, 2008 by ChrisD
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