News Week of June 24, 2007

Hugo Ortega phones his wife using...

I’ve been hiding from you all wanting to scream out “surprise” and yet the only surprise I had this week was on me. It seems FedEX had clearance delays so my new arrival turned into a new debacle. So with several emails, phone calls, attachments and a recent drive to the FedEX warehouse I am proud to say that the HSDPA Raon Digital EVERUN is with me!

I will be posting a GottaBeMobile InkShow later this month regarding the EVERUN and once again am asking for your diligent involvement. Let me know you need me to find out/test and explore. As you’ll see from the video HSDPA is plug and play (at least in Australia).  (Source: Hugo Ortega Blog)
Posted Friday, June 29, 2007 by ChrisD
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Gateway Updates Its Convertible Notebook with Leading Graphics Technologies, Making it the Ideal Platform for Digital Artists

Wacom Pen and Digitizer Make Digital Content Creation Natural and Intuitive

Gateway today refreshed its award-winning convertible notebook with several new technologies, providing digital artists with a secure and powerful electronic palette ideally suited for creating a wide range of art forms.

Featuring a pen and digitizer from the industry leader of digital pen technology, Wacom, the E-295C also includes an optional finger print reader, next generation graphics from ATI and a bright 14-inch widescreen display. Combined with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor and chipset, the E-295C is a powerful tool sure to please the most discriminating Professional customer. Gateway will also offer a version of the product for home and home office customers, the Gateway® C-140.

"Digital artists who rely on the latest and greatest technology as a medium for expressing their work will appreciate the benefits of our newest convertible notebook," said Gary Elsasser, Gateway senior vice president, products. "Its ergonomic design and advanced capabilities make it an extremely intuitive and practical mobile device for digital content creation of all types."

Pen and Digitizer from Industry Leader Wacom Delivers Best in Class Technology

Gateway's new convertible employs Wacom's latest pen sensor technology, delivering a natural, intuitive way to navigate and communicate with the computer. The pen provides creative control, comfort and freedom not inherent with other input devices. Drawing, sketching, jotting notes and navigating are a breeze.

The battery-free Gateway executive stylus is pressure sensitive, and is ideal for simulating paint on canvas. With 256 levels of sensitivity, users can easily achieve a wide range of effects, making it ideal for simulating either fine or thick brush strokes.

For pencil sketches and line drawings, the Wacom pen allows artists to write or draw at varying angles without the ink disappearing when the pen is slanted.

The Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) is a Gateway customer that has been using Gateway's tablet PCs for several years. This school is particularly excited about the E-295C and Wacom technology, due to the benefits previous Gateway tablet PCs have brought to the classroom. Faculty and students in the animation department are especially tech-savvy, and have found tablet computing to be tremendously useful in their discipline.

"Tablet computing brings remarkable benefits to student productivity and learning," said Dan Seely, Department Chair. "Traditional animation drawing with pencil and paper is a multifaceted and time consuming process. But with the use of animation software and electronic ink and paper, our students have quickly overcome the 'paper scan bottleneck,' which can make it difficult for them to get work done."

By inputting drawings directly into a computer, the overall workflow and timeline has been streamlined. In the past, animations had to be retraced on paper several times, then scanned into a PC. Lines often had to be redrawn, cleaned up and filled in with color. But using a digitized pen and touch screen, students can now see individual frames progress and transition immediately, so they can adjust for motion and depth, essentially perfecting their work in real time.

Not only does the use of technology assist students in their daily studies, it also helps prepare them for the real world. "Wacom's technology is the industry standard, so our students are learning to use the same technologies and processes employed by major animation houses," said Seely. "It makes for an easy transition and equips them with the skills they need to move into a professional environment and become productive employees almost immediately."

Not only has tablet computing assisted the college with student learning, it also supports RMCAD's campus-wide green initiative by removing a large amount of wasted paper as it moves toward a digital, paperless environment. "Currently, student work in the animation department is done 90 percent on paper," said Jonathan Stiles, director of campus technology at RMCAD. "Over the course of the next year, we will be reducing that amount to 10 percent, an enormous overhaul that will positively impact the environment and benefit our students at the same time."

Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, located in Colorado, offers fully- accredited BFA degrees in: Sculpture, Painting + Drawing, Illustration, Animation, Interior Design, Art Education, and Graphic Design + Interactive Media; including specializations in: Green Design and Children's Book Illustration. To view artwork and animations created by students, visit http://www.rmcad.edu/galleries/animation.aspx.

Advanced Low Power Graphics Maximize Battery Life

Unlike other convertible notebooks on the market, customers can configure their system with different graphics options, depending on their needs. Delivering some of the best graphic capabilities available in a convertible notebook today, the E-295C features the ideal combination of high-performance graphics and battery life. Customers have a choice of an ATI Mobility™ Radeon® HD X2300 with 256MB PCI Express Graphics(1) video controller, or the energy saving Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, which delivers enhanced video quality at speeds twice as fast as the previous generation.

The PC can be configured for mobility through the use of a lightweight battery option or for extended operation, for up to 10.6 hours of battery life(2).

The convertible notebook features a spacious 14-inch widescreen display with a wide viewing angle. This shows more area on the panel at different angles.

And with constant connectivity through a choice of either integrated Intel 802.11a/b/g WiFi or optional Bluetooth 2.0 wireless options, artists can stay connected in local hot spots while they are out of the studio. This can be especially useful for artists showcasing their work at local coffee shops or art studios.

Designed for Durability and Comfort

The new convertible notebook features an ergonomic and durable design, making it easy to use in any environment and durable enough to go just about anywhere. Sketching from a mountaintop or in an artist's loft, the PC's ergonomic design makes it comfortable to hold while standing or sitting. The system easily adjusts for right-hand or left-hand use, while the battery acts as an ergonomic hand grip that makes the unit easy to grasp and carry. The display is flush with the surrounding frame, making the entire surface a smooth, even work space, similar to paper or canvas.

Built for strength, it also features a scratch-resistant glass screen and magnesium lid and internal frame. The swiveling display is attached with an alloy hinge, which is securely anchored in magnesium, while a pair of magnetically-activated latches keeps the display securely locked in place.

Security Features Protect Priceless Artwork

New to Gateway's convertible notebook line, an optional UPEK® Biometric Fingerprint Reader assures customers their information is secure from theft.

Gateway also offers Absolute Software's Computrace® Complete notebook security and tracking software, providing the ability to track down the PC if it is stolen. And like all Gateway Professional notebooks, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 hardware is integrated onto the motherboard, safeguarding data and email communications through encryption and authentication(3).

Pricing and Availability

The Gateway® E-295C and C-140 are available to order now with a starting price of $1,549 and $1,099.99 respectively. For more information, customers can visit http://www.gateway.com/ or call 1-800-GATEWAY. Solution providers and value-added resellers (VARs) interested in partnering with Gateway through the ProNet Partner Program, can find more information at http://www.gatewaycom/pronet.  (Source: Press Release)

HP Pavilion tx1150ea Review

The screen’s design means the notebook can be transformed quickly into a tablet PC, and the high spec and multitude of features make it as versatile as it is portable. (Source: T3 Magazine)
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007 by ChrisD
Rating: 3.25 (Rate it) 1 Lowest 2 3 4 5 Highest Comments (0)

Fujitsu unveils the T2010 and N6460

At Fujitsu's recent launch event at Vivocity in Singapore, the Japanese PC maker also offered journalists sneak previews of two of its upcoming notebooks, the LifeBook T2010 and LifeBook N6460.

The LifeBook T2010 (left image below), which is expected to sport one of the brightest displays for a convertible tablet PC, will make its debut in August. The 1.5kg T2010 will also come with a 12.1-inch screen with bi-directional swivel, Bluetooth and fingerprint sensor, though it seems there will not be an onboard Webcam. It will be running on the Santa Rosa platform.   (Source: CNet Asia)
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007 by ChrisD
Rating: 4 (Rate it) 1 Lowest 2 3 4 5 Highest Comments (0)

Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 Tablet PC First Look Review

Fujitsu has made many users happy with the release of their newest Tablet PC, the LifeBook T4220, and guess what we got our hands on one. That's right we have had the chance to have a little hands-on with the LifeBook T4220 that was delivered to our office this afternoon. The T4220 is much like its predecessor the T4215, but it is built on the Santa Rosa platform.

Front view of the LifeBook T4220.  (Source: Tiffany Boggs, TabletPCReview.com)

Religious teachers witness 'Tablet PC' demonstration

Over 300 teachers from religious schools throughout the country and some officers took the opportunity to know more about the uses of Tablet PCs in Education in a demonstration held yesterday at the hall of the Seri Begawan Religious Teachers Training College.  (Source: Azlan Othman, Borneo Bulletin)
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007 by ChrisD
Rating: 1 (Rate it) 1 Lowest 2 3 4 5 Highest Comments (0)

Avnet Electronics Marketing Helps Bring Rugged Ultra Mobile PC to Market

In 2005 Justin Dyster and Shane Lewis saw a need for a rugged handheld computer that was a little more advanced than anything else currently available on the market. The two engineers left the major defense and aerospace systems contractor they worked for, moved from Tucson to Chandler, Arizona, and began their quest to design and build the world’s first rugged ultra mobile PC. They turned to Avnet Electronics Marketing for help getting off the ground. Now their company, Black Diamond Advanced Technology, is set to bring the SwitchBack Ultra Mobile PC to market.

Larger than a PDA but more compact than a tablet PC, the SwitchBack is designed and built around military specifications to withstand extreme shock, moisture, vibration, dust and extreme temperatures. It is designed to meet an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of IP67 (designated for ultra rugged designs), which classifies the level of protection that the electronics casing provides against the intrusion of solid objects or dust, accidental contact and water.

One might think that getting the backing and support of suppliers and distributors to produce such a product would be easy. However, being a small start-up company left the founders with limited resources to put product on the shelf. Avnet Electronics Marketing recognized Black Diamond’s vision and helped the company with parts procurement and samples, and provided field applications engineers for technical support -- all under tight time constraints. “Avnet really demonstrates how it looks past the pocketbook and issues like minimum quantity orders, in order to recognize the vision of its entrepreneurial customers and act like a technology partner,” said Justin Dyster, president and co-founder of Black Diamond. “What the Avnet team has done really says a lot about how it is truly helping to identify and promote disruptive innovations in the marketplace.”

“Avnet is really proud to play such an integral role in getting Black Diamond and the SwitchBack PC off the ground,” said Ed Smith, senior vice president of sales for Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. “It’s exciting to see a product evolve from the design stage, to production, to being utilized in the marketplace. Avnet is committed to helping Black Diamond and other small companies just like it make their dreams come to fruition through the design chain and supply chain products and services we provide.”

Additionally, Avnet will provide supply chain support as the company brings its product to market. “As we move forward we see the partnership between Black Diamond and Avnet being one that is very strong and one we will grow and nurture as we move forward,” added Dyster.

Weighing just three pounds, and small enough to fit inside a cargo pant pocket, SwitchBack gives users the power of a desktop computer in the portability of a handheld. Users include a broad spectrum of field workers from the public safety, military, warehousing and logistics, and field service industries. All need a device that is ruggedized and will work in extremely cold temperatures or the scorching hot temperatures of the Middle East. In addition to being ultra mobile and ultra rugged, the SwitchBack is also extremely versatile. The SwitchBack can add to it just about any device a user needs with its customized BackPack Module. For example, a police officer might customize the device with a BackPack that is used to scan a driver’s license barcode, photograph a crime scene, process a thumbprint or be used as a breathalyzer.

The first SwitchBack is expected to roll off the assembly line between late August and early September and the company plans to build 3,000 units in the 2007 calendar year. For more information on Black Diamond and the SwitchBack PC, please visit www.switchbackpc.com/.   (Source: Press Release)

Students' Posture While Using Computers May Be as Important as Total Hours of Computer Use With Regard to Musculoskeletal Discomfort

Researchers at the Office Ergonomics Research Committee (OERC) Marconi conference reported that students who reported frequently assuming awkward postures when working with a computer, were, compared to other students, more likely to report musculoskeletal discomfort in several body regions, including the eyes, neck, and back. Dr. Carolyn Sommerich, of The Ohio State University, recommends that, "Similar to the recommendations provided to adults, children should be encouraged to take periodic breaks from any computer they use, in order to give eyes and other body parts a break from sustained, and sometimes awkward postures adopted while using the computer." Sommerich, who is studying computer usage among high school juniors and seniors in a high school with a well-developed technology program, found that 92% of the participants reported using a Tablet PC "daily or almost every day." A sample of 13 students who used special software to monitor their daily computer use averaged about 1.7 hours of active computer use (e.g., mousing and keying) per day.

Dr. Karen Jacobs, of Boston University, who has been studying notebook computer usage among seventh- and eighth-grade students in Maine, used similar software to monitor average daily computer use and found it to range between 3 to 5.5 hours per week. Jacobs reported that ergonomics training, which included recommendations for desirable postures, information on breaking up long periods of computer use, and the use of auxiliary keyboards and mice, was effective at improving students' computing work habits.

Adele Diepenmaat, an epidemiologist with the Municipal Health Service of Amsterdam, Netherlands, has also been studying musculoskeletal discomfort lasting four or more days per month, which she found to be common among adolescents. In a broad survey of 12-16 year old students (N=3485), Diepenmaat found that, while the students reported computer use ranging between none and more than three hours per day, there did not appear to be a relationship between time spent using computers and musculoskeletal discomfort. Interestingly, students who were physically active, which was defined as at least one hour per day of activity such as biking or swimming, were no more or less likely to experience musculoskeletal discomfort than were less active students. Although Diepenmaat's survey did not assess postures during computer use, it did include questions designed to assess the students' perception of stress and symptoms of depression, both of which were found to be predictive of musculoskeletal discomfort.  (Source: Press Release)

SpeedScript: One year for free!

Dear mobile enthusiast,

SpeedScript is the ideal text input method for touchscreen devices. Nearly every week, an even more powerful device is released.
Users need an ideal text input method to really get the most out of it.  
SpeedScript enables mobile communication and mobile work: on PDAs, Smartphones, Tablet PCs and UMPCs.

You can now download SpeedScript smart for Windows XP/Vista and use the fully functional beta version one year for free. Download it here:
SpeedScript smart for UMPC
SpeedScript smart for Tablet  PC

If you need a download link for the left-hander version or if you have any questions, please write us at
write@speedscript.biz.

Your
SpeedScript Smart Writing Team

Did you already see the YouTube clip (Source: Press Release)

Fujitsu Unveils 12.1" Tablet PC With SSD Option

Fujitsu today announced a new 12.1" Tablet PC for the Japanese market. The Santa Rosa-based FMV-T8140 gives users the choice of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 or Windows Vista Business.

The FMV-T8140 is powered by a 1.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor and comes standard with 1GB of DDR2 memory (512MB on the Windows XP model). The 12.1" screen features a screen resolution of 1200x800 and is powered by Intel's GMA X3100 integrated GPU.  (Source: Brandon Hill, Daily Tech)

Review: Samsung's Q1 Ultra -- Mobile, Yes, But Is It Fully Functional?

The design of any portable PC is a set of compromises, and the smaller the device gets, the greater the number of compromises. Therefore, it's no surprise that a device as small as the 1.5-pound Samsung ultramobile PC, the Q1 Ultra, involves quite a few compromises. What's surprising is how useable it is in spite of them.

The Q1 Ultra is the third generation of Samsung's UMPC devices -- it follows on last year's Q1 and Q1b, which were among the first handheld devices based on the Origami specification jointly developed by Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, and other companies.

If you've ever used a Pocket PC or Palm PDA, some of the features -- and limitations -- of the Q1 Ultra will seem very familiar. Its 7-inch, 1020-by-600 touch screen is about four times the size of the typical PDA screen, but it's still small. The device doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard you can touch type on. And while it's got an 800-MHz Intel processor, performance can feel slow. (Source: David DeJean, InformationWeek )

Toshiba Portégé® R400 Tablet PC Review

Toshiba's Signature Tablet PC for the successful professional

What makes the Toshiba R400 Tablet PC stand out from the crowd?   Unparalleled styling, the simple elegance of the high gloss piano white finish combined with high gloss Piano black trim of the R400 makes a for a great first impression.  Add to that the most amazing display I've ever seen on a Tablet PC and built in EVDO and you have one spectacular Tablet PC in your hands.   (Source: Linda A. Epstein, TabletPC2.com)

How to read RSS feeds 50% faster on a UMPC or Tablet PC

Recently, I've been asked by several jkOTR readers for RSS reader recommendations. It's a matter of personal preference to be sure and after experimentation, I've stuck with Google Reader since early this year. I do such a large amount of feed reading on my seven-inch UMPC that I need something easy to navigate and use. With Google Gears now adding offline capability, it's going to be hard to displace this service on my Q1P.

While Google's RSS reader is among the easiest and quickest to navigate, it works best with the many keyboard shortcuts but there lies an issue with a slate-style UMPC or Tablet PC: no keyboard.  (Source: Kevin C. Tofel, jkOnTheRun)

SoftBrands Partners With TabletKiosk to Provide Mobile Software to Hoteliers

SoftBrands, Inc. (Amex: SBN), a global supplier of enterprise application software, announced today that it has signed a distribution agreement with TabletKiosk for their portable workstation solution. SoftBrands has selected TabletKiosk's Sahara Slate PC line to launch this initiative. The units are blue-tooth/wireless Tablet PCs and run on the Microsoft Windows operating system, including Windows Vista, Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

Coupling the TabletKiosk product with the SoftBrands suite of products will provide SoftBrands' customers the freedom to move about the property and deliver services without being tied to a reception desk or service station. Using the Sahara Slate PC by TabletKiosk, SoftBrands' customers will be able to check-in a guest, book a spa appointment, make dining reservations, place food and beverage orders or reserve a tee-time, all the while un-tethered from a desk or station that uses a traditional PC workstation. In addition, as the units provide the full functionality of the Windows operating system, many third party applications can be accessed on Sahara throughout the property or enterprise.

"Hotels increasingly want their employees to be free to interact with guests without the confines of a desk or counter " said Steve VanTassel, senior vice president and general manager, SoftBrands hospitality. "We are very pleased to be working with TabletKiosk and Microsoft to provide the freedom and flexibility needed to help our customers further personalize their guest's experience."

"We are delighted to partner with SoftBrands and Microsoft to expand and explore new opportunities for mobile computing in the hospitality industry," said Martin Smekal, president of TabletKiosk. "The convenience of running the SoftBrands' suite of products on the Sahara Slate PC offers hospitality professionals newfound mobility while providing guests with an enhanced guest experience."

"Mobility enablement is becoming more and more important as hoteliers look for ways to increase employee productivity and improve guest service," said Matthew Shigenobu Muta, industry director for Microsoft's Worldwide Hospitality Group. "We are pleased with SoftBrands' and TabletKiosk's joint integration of Microsoft software into valuable mobility solutions that empower hospitality employees to strengthen guest relationships and generate new revenue streams."  (Source: Press Release)