News Week of December 2, 2007

OQO unveils mobile broadband UMPC

Ultra mobile PC manufacturer OQO has launched a new device which includes embedded HSDPA mobile broadband.

OQO claims to make the world's smallest fully-functional PC supporting Windows Vista, XP and XP Tablet PC Edition.

The new e2 runs on a 1.6GHz Via technologies CPU, with 1GB of DDR2 Ram and up to 120GB of hard drive space. The device features a touch screen, slide out keyboard and track stick.  (Source: Ian Williams, vnunet.com )

LiveSide asks Bill Gates a question (how cool is that?) LiveSide asks Bill Gates a question (how cool is that?)

BILL GATES:My daughter happens to go to a Tablet PC school, so she knows more about Tablet PC than I do. I get her homework, her graded homework every day, I see what she got wrong at dinner, I can know whether we have to discuss scientific notation or whatever it is, and she's just so much more -- for her it's so natural to use the pen and just be reading everything online. They got rid of the textbooks, and it's a phenomenal thing. And this year it's all based on OneNote where they use the collaborative synching of OneNote where they're updating their thing, and the teacher sees it. Anyway, that's a pretty phenomenal thing.  (Source: Barbara Duck, Ducknet)

The Third Annual Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards

But that doesn't stop Tablet PC, UMPC, and mobile computing enthusiasts one bit. Their passion keeps pumping with great vitality on the pages of blogs and forums. This year, in addition to honoring that passion for Tablet PCs and mobile computing, I'm adding some other categories to honor some other things and people that I find interesting or worth noting. As usual the rules for inclusion here are my own. Recognition here comes from things that strike my fancy or I think merit attention, praise, or ignominy. Some things are included just for the fun of it. Some are "best of breed." My good friend, Mark, "Sumocat" Sumimoto was the first to christen the Ink Blot Awards with the nickname, Blotties. I still can't afford to have a big celebration where we can all get blotto while celebrating the Blotties, but until then, have the beverage of your choice, kick back, and enjoy the Third Annual Life on the Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards.

Cue the dancing girls. Enjoy!

2007 Holiday Tablet PC Buying Guide

With the Holiday shopping season in full swing and so many choices out there for consumers, we thought a Holiday shopping guide may be helpful for our users. Tablet PCs are becoming more and more popular each year and this year is no different. There are so many tablets on the market that it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for your college student or business professional.

To make it easy, we've decided to organize the Tablet PCs primarily by price, but have added a couple of other categories for those of you who know the specific type of tablet you're looking for. This isn’t a list of every Tablet PC available ... we just wanted to give you a list of some of the more popular tablet options. Regardless of your computer know-how or your budget, there is a Tablet PC out there for you.   (Source: Tiffany Boggs, TabletPCReview.com)

GBM 5 Years of Tablet PC: SoftwareView,guid,8e75b21c-3ec3-431c-9b0d-500a44f9e8b9.aspx">Innovations in Tablet PC Software

When Microsoft and their partners launched Tablet PC five years ago, there was a lot of hope that new user interfaces and applications would be spilling out like ink from a fountain pen. Initial excitement was high among independent software vendors ( ISV ) to be among the first of a potentially explosive new growth area. Microsoft launched a contest to spur innovation and development ( called Think In Ink ), and strongly encouraged developers to begin making their existing applications ink-aware and ink-enabled. Microsoft wanted developers to be thinking outside the box about how ink could be used. The proverbial writing was on the wall. For Tablet PC technology to really take it off, there needed to be a library of software ready to take advantage of it. For ISVs to sink labor into new and existing applications, it needed customers who were going to be buying Tablet PCs in droves. The pump was primed and ready. Five years later, though, Tablet PC software appears to have stagnated.

Before we go any further, let's take a look at some of the vendors of the past five years: (Source: Rob Bushway, GottaBeMobile)
Posted Monday, December 3, 2007 by ChrisD
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