News Week of September 30, 2007

Are UMPCs an overhyped trend?

PC World seems to think they are, along with Microblogging and Kitchen PCs. I'll side with them on the kitchen choice, but that's about it. Here's something right out of the November print issue:

"...by delivering a platform that's too small for true productivity and too large for genuine mobility, Microsoft ensured that the UMPC was pretty much dead on arrival, and new designs have done little to around consumer interest..."  (Source: jkOnTheRun)

Tablet PC: Data Ltd Unveils New Technology-Rich Rugged Tablet

Data Ltd Inc, a nationally recognized manufacture of wireless data collection devices and developer of mobile data collection applications, has made public its newest industrial computer, the DLI 8300Data Ltd Inc,at this year’s Promat show held at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

This new device includes a number of features with functionality not previously available in a small-format, ruggedized tablet computer including:

• Choice of OS including Linux , Windows CE 5.0, Embedded XP , XP Pro , Tablet PC edition
• Multiple communications options including wireless radio and cellular independence, as well as embedded iDEN, Skype-based VOiP and GPS
• A wide variety of input and capture options including long-range laser scanner, on-board RFID reader,

color camera, and an integrated biometric reader Built around an AMD LX800 processor with an 8.4” high visibility touchscreen, IP67-rated I/O ports, and expansive memory and storage options, the DLI 8300 provides the power and flexibility to handle the most demanding mobile computing applications. The entire device is sealed for use in harsh environments and is RoHS compliant.

Developed in part from a customer “wish-list” of requested features, Data Ltd expects the DLI 8300 to blur the lines of hand held and vehicle mount devices in addition to the traditional niche markets filled competing rugged tablets.

“We sought to develop a product that would combine the lightweight, portability of a hand held along with the functionality and power of our DLI 8200 industrial computers,” states Data Ltd President, Bryan Wesolek. “By bringing together the best in both of these product classes, we’ve developed a mobile computer that is rugged enough to survive the harshest of industrial environments, yet sleek enough and ergonomically designed to live in a more professional, front-line work space.”

The DLI 8300 is targeted at a wide variety of industries and applications including Warehouse / Distribution and Transportation as a fixed-mount, vehicle-based device and as a truly mobile hand held tablet in the areas of Field Services, Route Accounting, Healthcare, Insurance Claims and Adjustments, and Police/Fire/Safety.   (Source: Press Release)

Fujitsu LifeBook T2010 Tablet PC Review

The Fujitsu LifeBook T2010 has been on the market for a little bit now, and after spending some time with it I can see why many users have been raving over it. The T2010 definitely fits in the lightweight, ultra-portable category considering it has no optical drive and runs an Intel ULV processor, which allows for the slim design. I have to say like the other Fujitsu models I have reviewed the 12.1" display is impressive. The screen is amazing, the colors are bright and vivid and the bi-directional hinge is an added bonus.

Fujitsu LifeBook T2010 Tablet PC.   (Source: Tiffany Boggs, TabletPCReview.com)

PHOTOVIEW: Hands-on with the HTC Shift Windows Vista UMPC

One of my personal highlights of this week's HTC press events was the presentation of the HTC Shift, which was announced some months ago already but which I hadn't seen in person so far. What makes the Shift so interesting for me? Well, it's the combination of being smaller than a Notebook but more powerful than a Windows Mobile Professional smartphone while still connected through UMTS and HSDPA. I'm not using my Pocket PC Phone Editions for voice but I'm using it for mobile data access the whole day but for some tasks, like photo editing, I still need my Tablet PC. So that's where the HTC Shift comes into the game by offering Pocket PC portability with Notebook functionality.  (Source: Arne Hess, the::uwired)
Posted Thursday, October 4, 2007 by ChrisD
Rating: 4.5 (Rate it) 1 Lowest 2 3 4 5 Highest Comments (0)

Linux ultra-mobile PC in the works

Seven companies including Mozilla, Arm and MontaVista have teamed up to develop an ultra-mobile PC - a device smaller than a laptop but bigger than a phone – that runs Linux.

The companies are collaborating on an open-source platform that encompasses chip design, operating system and some applications. They hope that it will make it easier for hardware developers to build devices similar to Nokia's N800 tablet. That Linux-based device is bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop and includes Wi-Fi but not cellular networking.

The group, which also includes Texas Instruments, Samsung, Movial and Marvell Technologies, expects to complete the platform's development in the early part of next year, said Kerry McGuire, director of strategic alliances in Arm's connected mobile computing group. The devices should hit the market in early 2009, she said. (Source: Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service)

Consumers Taking Note Of Tech Note-Taking Aids

Microsoft OneNote

Some call this 4-year-old application, updated last year to the 2007 edition, one of Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) MSFT best-kept secrets. Though bundled with some versions of the software giant's Office suite, the note-taking software has gotten little attention outside a dedicated core of fans and Tablet PC owners.

The software makes it easy to collect information from just about anywhere and store it in one place, organized by, say, college course, topic or project. Users can clip Web pages, screenshots, photos and computer files along with typed or handwritten notes on a tablet PC or some pen-based device.  (Source: Investors Business Daily, via CNN Money)

A day on the Surface: a hands-on look at Microsoft's new computing platform

Microsoft Surface has taken many years to come to fruition. The original idea was developed in 2001 by employees at Microsoft Research and Microsoft Hardware, and it was nurtured towards reality by a team that included architect Nigel Keam. Not content with merely coming up with a new idea, the Surface team is committed to actually releasing it to the commercial market as early as the end of 2007. From there, the team hopes that the product will make its way from retail and commercial establishments to the home, in much the same manner as large-screen plasma displays have migrated out of the stadium and into the living room over the past few years.

Microsoft began the Surface project back in 2001, after the idea had already been proposed by employees in the Microsoft Research division. For many years the work was hidden under a non-disclosure agreement. Keam mentioned that, although necessary, the NDA made it frustrating when Microsoft scheduled the official Surface announcement just days after Apple announced the iPhone. While both projects employ touch-sensitive screens with multi-touch capability, they are very different from each other, and the development timelines clearly show that neither was "copied" from the other. As Keam put it: "I only wish I could work that fast!"   (Source: Jeremy Reimer, ars technica)

Tablet PCs add oomph to ignored category

Microsoft's Tablet PC platform gets no respect. Derided by critics as a niche product and a kludge, tablets have been ignored by most consumers who don't see their value.

But a funny thing happened while people were pointing and laughing at Tablet PCs. They got better.

A lot better.

I've been looking at two new Tablet PCs. Both are small, lightweight and surprisingly powerful. And one of them gets my nod as one of the best notebook computers I've seen this year.  (Source: Dwight Silverman,  Houston Chronicle )

Case Study:  Torrey Pines High School

Students Integrate Tablet PCs into High School Math Curriculum to Improve Learning

Torrey Pines High School wanted to integrate Wolfram Research’s Mathematica 6.0 technical computing software into its curriculum to answer the needs of its advanced mathematics students. Microsoft and Lenovo partnered with Wolfram Research and deployed 30 Tablet PCs running the Windows Vista® operating system for the students’ full-time use. While beta testing Mathematica 6.0, students used the Tablet PC pen and touch technologies for a rich computing experience in manipulating the new program’s interactive graphics and developing complex data models. The class created a series of Mathematica learning tools, which it uploaded to a new Web site for use by teachers, students, and others interested in mathematics. Torrey Pines shows how integrating technology into the classroom can foster creative thinking and create a rich learning environment with real-world relevance.  (Source: Microsoft Website)

Lenovo ThinkPad X61t ultraportable tablet PC

A tidy little 1.9kg unit, the tablet version of Lenovo's ThinkPad X61, the Lenovo ThinkPad X61t ultraportable lacks an integrated optical drive, but it has a great design, long battery life, and an easy-on, easy-off docking station.

At £1,399 inc VAT (as of September 27, 2007), however, the Lenovo ThinkPad X61t ultraportable tablet PC is expensive.

The only major change to this upgraded Lenovo ThinkPad X series model http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?ReviewID=793  is a processor update. Our review Lenovo ThinkPad X61t, equipped with a low-voltage 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo L7500 chip and 2GB of DDR2-667 SDRAM, turned in a good WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 64. Battery life with the eight-cell battery that our test unit came with was fantastic at 5 hours and 2 minutes. (Other X-series models come with four-cell batteries.) (Source: Carla Thorton, PC Advisor)

HP’s Jim Vanides on Ink Annoations in Microsoft PowerPoint

Jim, of HP’s Worldwide Higher Education Philanthropy group, writes, “I often get asked, “What can you do with a Tablet PC?” So I have created a quick (<2min) and simple “how to” movie showing how easy it is to annotate PowerPoint slides while you give a lecture….”  (Source: Lora, What Is New)
Posted Monday, October 1, 2007 by ChrisD
Rating: 5 (Rate it) 1 Lowest 2 3 4 5 Highest Comments (0)