"This article in Mass High Tech describes work being done at MIT on Multi-Domain Sketch Recognition software. The technology allows users to draw basic shapes, and then applies rules to determine what objects the shapes represent and how the objects they represent should behave. The example given is that a user draws two circles on the bottom of a rectangle, and then draws a tiny circle inside each of the two big circles, the software recognizes the big circles as wheels, the little circles as axles and the box as a structure supported by the wheels. Microsoft is thinking about including the tool with the PowerToys for its Tablet PC operating system." (Source: NooFace)
Posted Saturday, August 2, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Tablet PC Sales Nonexistent Heck, there are Mac models that sell better than this. A recent report by Canalys sharply contradicts Microsoft's overly-positive Tablet PC sales figures, noting that the nascent notebook category is, in fact, barely selling. The Tablet PC market is so small in fact, that's it's dwarfed by the "beleaguered" and "desperate" market for Macintosh computers. Canalys says Tablet PC sales barely eek out 1 percent of the overall market for notebook sales, and have sold less than 100,000 units since the devices went on sale by several PC makers last fall. The market leader, HP, sold just 7550 Tablet PCs in the most recent quarter, while second ranked Fujitsu sold only 3460, both sharp drops from previous quarters. Having used half a dozen Tablet PCs, I can tell you what the problem is: They are too underpowered, have disappointing battery life, and have absolutely no value outside of select niche markets. Let's face it, handwriting is "cool" until you start getting ink emails, and virtually anyone can take notes faster at a keyboard than they can with a stylus. Still, Microsoft being Microsoft, expect the software giant to keep at it with ever-improving versions of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition which, by the way, is excellent and underappreciated. Also expect new Tablet PC models with Centrino chips to finally overcome the performance and battery life issues. Even still, it looks like the Tablet PC will continue as a niche product for quite some time."(Source: Paul Thurrott, WinInfo)
Posted Saturday, August 2, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
MUIRP Announcement Affects Sales in EMEA
One part of the story that the Canalys study articles do not address is that the Windows XP, Tablet PC operating system is only available in English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese as well as Iberian Spanish. On March 12th 2003, Microsoft announced that the Multilingual User Interface & Recognizer Pack (MUIRP) http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/mar03/03-12MUIRecoPackPR.asp would be available around the beginning of 3rd quarter. The MUIRP adds Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Clearly this would have a negative impact on sales because users would want Windows XP, Tablet PC Edition in their native language. (Source: Chris De Herrera, Webmaster, Tablet PC Talk) Tablet PC Talk Exclusive
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Despite a much-hyped launch, tablet PCs aren't flying off the shelves, according to new figures from Canalys. The analyst firm suggests Microsoft could help out.
The nascent tablet PC market is underperforming even the most conservative expectations, according to a recent report. Shipments of tablet PCs were 23 percent lower in the second quarter of this year than they were in the first quarter, even though more manufacturers entered the market in that period, according to a report published this week by analyst group Canalys. The tablet PC market is small, representing less than 1 percent of notebook sales with shipments of less than 100,000 units since the category launched last November, according Canalys. However, it has been the subject of much publicity by Microsoft, which jump-started the product category in late 2002 with its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system. Backing has also come from manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Acer as well as from new entrants such as China's TDV Vision. " (Source: CNet News, Business Week)
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: 3
"As if suites at Safeco Field needed more luxury, the Mariners are installing portable computers so people can order food, watch instant replays and buy merchandise without leaving their upholstered seats.
The specially equipped Tablet PC computers were developed by Cursivecode, a Seattle company that hopes to install them at stadiums across the country in the next two years." (Source: Brier Dudley, The Seattle Times)
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"'The growth of Tablet PC sales to education doesn't surprise us,' said RM spokesman David Hunt. 'Very early on we saw the great potential for this technology in education and worked with Microsoft to bring an appropriate solution to the market. We also worked with our hardware partners to ensure we provided the product at a price point that was attractive to education and this in fact resulted in what we believe is the cheapest Tablet PC pricing in Europe if not the world.'" (Source: PC Pro)
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
The company has scheduled an Aug. 11 event in New York where CEO Carly Fiorina will outline the new push, which will focus on linking HP's broad portfolio of technology, from PCs to printers to cameras."
"Among other promotions, HP plans to start selling a new tablet PC at retail stores, as well as new notebooks with DVD+RW drives. Before the end of the year, HP will sell a notebook with a 17-inch screen, company executives have said." (Source: Ina Fried and Michael Kanellos ,CNET News, ZDNet)
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Loren posts a list of things he recalls that Microsoft has done to try and promote the Tablet PC platform. A good list with some valid points. At least Loren remembered a lot more than I did.
Of course, as is the case with tablet-related lists lately, fun must be poked at them (is this some new rule of thumb?). Thus we have Chris Coulter's latest rebuttal with "Happy Fun Mode On".
And since I always gripe that Microsoft doesn't promote tablets enough, I thought I'd comment as well:" (Source: Tabula PC)
Posted Friday, August 1, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Who needs a $2,000 writing pad? As Microsoft's Tablet PC operating system hits the nine-month-old mark, with new applications and second-generation devices coming to market, it's a question a growing number of people are asking. I decided to see how a Tablet PC meets the needs of a heavy-duty note taker who uses both a laptop and spiral notebook to do my job. My assessment: The sooner I get a Tablet PC, the better.
The Acer TravelMate C100 that Microsoft loaned me for a few weeks proved to be a better way of taking notes during meetings, but even more important, it promised to vastly improve the way I organize those notes when I get back to my desk. No longer would hand-written pages stack up in my office, with only a chance of being found later. Using a Tablet PC, I could store everything as electronic files, arranged by subject or date, for easy retrieval. For a journalist whose notes are often part of the information-gathering process, this goes beyond being a nifty convenience." (Source: John Foley, InformationWeek)
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Also new is ability to support ink devices, such as a Tablet PC. If you are using a device that supports handwritten input, you can use the tablet pen to take advantage of these functions in Word. This allows you to mark-up a document with handwritten comments and annotations, incorporate handwritten content into a Word document, and send handwritten e-mail using WordMail in Outlook." (Source: Patricia Fusco, Small Business Computing.com)
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Intel has today announced a major deal with British Gas to equip 850 British Gas service engineers with Panasonic* CF18 notebooks powered by Intel(r) Centrino(tm) mobile technology. This initial deployment of the new laptops will enable British Gas� engineers to work more quickly, streamline procedures and enhance customer service. In 1996, the adoption of mobile technology helped the company to lead the gas appliance servicing market. By the end of 2004 British Gas intends to further rollout 8000 notebooks based on Intel Centrino mobile technology to its employees, ensuring they are supplied with the technology best fitting their needs for future business growth in the market.
�British Gas strives to take full advantage of the advances in technology and we see mobile computing as an integral part of our success,� explained David Kendle, British Gas� Director of Home Services Operations �We have always used Panasonic notebooks powered by Intel processors and, with the introduction of Intel Centrino mobile technology, we can offer our customers a truly mobile workforce that is highly responsive to their needs.�" (Source: Unstrung)
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Iomega has developed a new magnetic storage disk for use in portable multimedia devices that is the size of a large coin and can store 1.5GB of data.
The Digital Capture Technology (DCT) system is still in the prototype stage and Iomega isn't planning on launching the first products until at least the second quarter of next year. When it is launched, the company hopes the removable DCT disk, with its associated drive, will find favor among device manufacturers who are looking for an alternative to solid-state memory storage.
One of its biggest selling points is price: Iomega estimates a DCT disk will cost around $10. Removable memory cards currently cost between $175 and $400 for 1GB of capacity and even with price reductions over the next year are still likely to cost several times that of a DCT disk at the time of the scheduled launch." (Source: Martyn Williams, IDG News Service, PC World)
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"'We've not seen any analyst sales data reporting a decrease in sales for the second quarter of '03 on a global level,' the company responded. 'We continue to see new hardware OEMs such as NEC and Panasonic develop Tablet PC models; we also believe that new technology advances such as Intel's Centrino processor will make the Tablet PC an even more attractive product for businesses of all sizes as they plan for future computing needs." (Source: PC Pro)
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"AUSTIN, TX and TORONTO, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Xplore Technologies(R) Corp. (TSX: XPL), a leading international developer, producer and distributor of rugged wireless tablet computer systems, and Wistron Corporation, a $2.4 billion global ODM-OEM supplier to the PC Industry, today announced a distribution, private label and service agreement for Xplore's rugged iX104 family of Tablet PCs.
Under this multi-year agreement Wistron, in addition to strengthening their current production relationship with Xplore, can also market and distribute Xplore's rugged Tablet PCs to military and other approved customers in Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. The license agreement allows Wistron to private label and sell the iX104 under other brands. Wistron will provide sales and technical support, as well as warranty service to its customers.
"With Xplore products we can offer our customers an excellent, rugged Tablet PC," stated David Shen for Wistron Corporation. "Customers can benefit greatly from the durability, functionality, performance and mobility of Xplore's unique iX104," Shen added.
"We are very excited to have Wistron produce and offer the iX104 as their 'product of choice' for their customers wanting an advanced, rugged Tablet PC. Wistron is well recognized worldwide as a leading provider of high quality products within the PC industry," commented Brian Groh, President and CEO at Xplore Technologies."" (Source:Press Release, PRNewswire)
Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2003 by Adam Rating: n/a
"WAREHOUSES ARE STILL full of Tablet PCs and less people are buying them before, a market research firm said today. Canalys said that tablet shipments in the European, Middle East and African market fell 23% in the second calendar quarter of this year, with less than 100,000 units shipping since they launched last November." (Source: Mike Magee, The Inquirer)
Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Existing portable storage solutions in today's consumer electronics products are too expensive, too slow, too fragile, or too power hungry for the coming generation of mobile devices," said Werner Heid, president and CEO of Iomega, in a statement. "Iomega's new DCT platform is different. It is being designed to offer the industry a low-cost drive with high capacity in a convenient form factor. It is a product designer's dream because it can provide high capacity, rugged, shock-resistant storage at low power consumption for small portable devices such as next-generation camcorders, personal video recorders, and tablet PCs." (Source: Sebastian Rupley, PC Magazine)
Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"NEC Electronics America, Inc. today announced that sample shipments of the 8.4-inch XGA thin-film transistor (TFT) color liquid crystal display (LCD) module (part number NL10276BC16-01) will begin in August 2003. This module, announced during Society of Information Display (SID) 2003, incorporates NEC's ultra-advanced SFT (super-fine technology), is based on in-plane switching (IPS) technology, and achieves a wide viewing angle range of 170 degrees. With an XGA resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, brightness is 350 cd/m2 with a high contrast of 500:1. Response time is 25 milliseconds (ms) with a wide color gamut of 72 percent of NTSC. The 8.4-inch XGA TFT display's advanced feature set makes it suitable for a variety of applications, many of which have been slow to make the transition to LCD usage. Through fast response time, reduced color shift and a wide viewing angle, entertainment and broadcast equipment needs are met with this product. The high resolution, reduced color shift and high contrast ratio are ideal for instrumentation applications and portable medical/patient monitors. The XGA resolution also enables graphic-intensive Microsoft(R) Windows(R)-based applications, making this display ideal for portable monitors and tablet PCs as well." (Source: Newswire)
Posted Monday, July 28, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Acer America Corporation, one of the leading worldwide suppliers of personal computing solutions, today announced their first ever joint nationwide reseller roadshow showcasing the Acer Authorized Reseller Program. The Acer breakfast events, co-hosted by Intel(R) Corporation, will include demonstrations of Acer's award-winning family of TravelMate(R)Convertible Tablet PC's and TravelMate notebooks with Intel(R) Centrino(R) mobile technology, Veriton(R) desktops featuring the Intel Pentium(R) 4 processor with HT Technology and Altos(R) servers. The Acer/Intel breakfast events will begin on August 12, 2003 and continue through November 13, 2003. Event attendees at each city will be eligible to win cash sales prizes of up to $1500. Attendees will also be entered into a drawing for an Acer TravelMate 290LCi notebook computer which will take place in November. Additionally, resellers who attend will also receive details on how to win one of ten monthly cash prizes of $250 by participating in online Intel Centrino mobile technology training. These breakfast meetings will take place at 16 cities across the country and will include the following locations:
LOS ANGELES, CA August 12 SAN FRANCISCO, CA August 14 SEATTLE, WA August 19 PORTLAND, OR August 21 SAN DIEGO, CA September 16 DENVER, CO September 18 PHOENIX, AZ September 23 ST. LOUIS, MO September 25 DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX October 14 HOUSTON, TX October 16 MIAMI, FL October 21 TAMPA-ST.PETERSBURG, FL October 23 CHICAGO, IL November 4 DETROIT, MI November 6 PITTSBURGH, PA November 11 PHILADELPHIA, PA November 13 " (Source: PRNewswire)
Posted Monday, July 28, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Windows for Tablets still falls far short of its potential -- and may continue to until 2005
The big hardware news is the release of a low-voltage version of Intel (INTC )'s already power-thrifty Pentium M processor. I tried a Gateway (GTW )-branded version of the Motion Computing M1300 Tablet, which features about a 15% boost in battery life, to a bit more than three hours -- an improvement, but still not enough -- and a considerable bump in speed. Handwriting recognition and Tablets' heavy use of graphics demand a lot from a processor, and the first models were sluggish. Expect new Pentium M-based Tablets this year from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) Fujitsu (FJTSY ) Toshiba (TOSBF ) Acer, and Sharp (SHCAY )." (Source: Stephen H. Wildstrom, BusinessWeek Online)
Posted Monday, July 28, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
"Offering Complements Dell's Portfolio of Products Tailored for the Federal Government
AUSTIN, TX July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Xplore Technologies Corp. (TSX: XPL) announced today that Dell is now the exclusive vendor of its General Services Administration (GSA)-listed rugged tablet PC to the United States federal government.
Dell will market Xplore's rugged iX104G Tablet PC, ideally suited for the tough working conditions in the military and homeland security markets, through its GSA schedule contract (No. GS-35F-4076D) and other Dell contracts available to the U.S. federal government.
"The Xplore iX104G Tablet PC complements Dell's portfolio of products tailored for federal government, as it provides the durability, reliability, performance and mobility required by Dell's federal government customers," said Tom Buchsbaum, sales vice president for Dell's federal sector.
"With more than 30 unique design elements, we think the iX104G is the most rugged Tablet PC available," said Brian Groh, president and CEO of Xplore Technologies. "Dell's proven sales and marketing approach and commitment to customer satisfaction, together with our innovative Tablet PC systems, provide a powerful solution to U.S. federal customers."" (Source:Press Release, PRNewswire)
Posted Monday, July 28, 2003 by Adam Rating: n/a
"When Microsoft (MSFT ) Tablet PC made its debut last year, it seemed a bit like a solution in search of a problem. Notebook computers and slates that let you enter data in handwriting and store it either as "digital ink" or convert it to text had a big "wow" factor, but it was hard to see their practicality outside of some specialized markets. While I still think it will be a couple of years before Tablets become truly mainstream products, new hardware and software show glimmers of an interesting future.
The big hardware news is the release of a low-voltage version of Intel (INTC )'s already power-thrifty Pentium M processor. I tried a Gateway (GTW )-branded version of the Motion Computing M1300 Tablet, which features about a 15% boost in battery life, to a bit more than three hours -- an improvement, but still not enough -- and a considerable bump in speed. Handwriting recognition and Tablets' heavy use of graphics demand a lot from a processor, and the first models were sluggish. Expect new Pentium M-based Tablets this year from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) Fujitsu (FJTSY ) Toshiba (TOSBF ) Acer, and Sharp (SHCAY )." (Source:Stephen H. Wildstrom, BusinessWeek)
Posted Monday, July 28, 2003 by Adam Rating: n/a
Allchin also mentioned a few details about the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which is one of my most common email questions these days. "We are having Service Pack 2 for Windows XP coming out this fiscal year," he said, a release that is "primarily not [about new] features, but there will be a few things that we're adding to that". Those new things, by the way, include the ability to have two interactive users working off the same XP Professional box at the same time, one at the machine, and one remotely using Remote Desktop. The feature is geared toward Smart Display owners, however. Allchin also said that new XP Tablet PC Edition and Media Center Edition release would ship this year too, though we already knew that." (Source: Paul Thurrott, iTNews Australia)
Posted Sunday, July 27, 2003 by ChrisD Rating: n/a
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