Again, as expected, nothing to report for this week. A happy new
year to all!
[2012/01/01]
The Holidays were about as empty of news as you might expect. Next
report, soon. . . .
[2011/12/28]
Dec. 22, 2012, PR Newswire reports that Stream TV Networks, Inc.
has announced that it will unveil its "Ultra-D" technology, which
provides 3D viewing without special glasses, at CES. 2012.
[Note: The company is the seller of "eLocity" Android tablets, and
says that the technology is viable for laptops, tablets and mobile
phones. -- JO]
[2011/12/25]
Dec. 15, 2011, Business Wire reports that Mobidia Technology, Inc. has
announced that its "My Data Manager", originally for Android devices, is
now available on the iPhone, and will soon be available for Windows Phone
and Blackberry. The program assists in lowering cost of data usage on
Smartphones.
[2011/12/18]
Dec. 13, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Aviva Risk Management Solutions
is running a pilot project to replace paper note taking in the risk
assessment process with a specialized application program running on
RIM Playbooks. 120 risk advisers will be using the system.
[2011/12/14]
Dec. 12, 2011, Business Wire reports that Motorola Solutions has announced
that its MC2100 industrial mobile computing series is a small rugged
computer that supports HTML5 via Motorola's RhoElements application
framework.
[Pricing and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/12/14]
Dec. 9, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Coby Electronics Corporation has
announced the debut of 5 new Internet Tablets featuring Android 4.0
"Ice Cream Sandwich" to be unveiled at ICES Jan. 10 - 13, 2012. The
new products will be MID7042 (7"), MID8042 (8", 4:3 aspect ratio),
MID 9042 (9"), MID9742 (9.7", 4:3 aspect ratio) and MID1042 (10").
Common features include 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 1 GB RAM and capacitive
multi-touch screens.
[2011/12/11]
Dec. 5, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Stream TV Networks has announced
that its "eLocity A7+" 7" Android tablet computer was available in the US
on Dec. 5, 2011, at the special introductory offer of $229.99.
[2011/12/07]
As noted before, it is a thin season and there is nothing to report at this
time. Check back later in the week.
[2011/12/04]
Nov. 27, 2011, Business Wire reports that ARM has announced that its
Development Studio 5 Community Edition is now available for Android
developers without charge (for "individuals and organizations with
annual revenue of $100,000 or less, and up to 10 employees").
ARM Development Studio 5
http://www.arm.com/ds5/
[2011/12/30]
As might be expected, I found nothing worth reporting for this period.
I expect this will be typical for the next few weeks.
[2011/11/27]
Nov. 21, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc.
and Korean book seller "Kyobo Book Centre" have announced that
Kyobo's e-reader is the first in the world to use Qualcomm's "mirasol(R)"
colour display technology. It features a 5.7" 1024 x 768 pixel Mirasol
display and 1.0 GHz. Snapdragon processor, and is now available in Korea
for about $310 US.
[Clearly I am interested in the possible trademark problem. It is
very interesting. The eBook reader itself does sound good too. -- JO]
[2011/11/23]
Nov. 15, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Qualcomm Incorporated has announced
several new models of their chipsets in their Snapdragon S1 and S4 lines.
The upper performance S4 line has new chipsets including an MSM8230 and MSM8227
while the S1 "budget" series now includes MSM7227A. New S4 series based
devices are expected to start becoming available to consumers in early 2012.
[As far as I know, some MSM7227A products are already available, including
the Samsung Galaxy Gio. -- JO]
[2011/11/20]
Nov. 16, 2011, PR Newswire reporrts that the Toronto Star has "launched
a web-based application" for their website "TheStar.com". This HTML5
based app is specifically noted as working on "iPad(TM)" and "Samsung Galaxy
Tab(TM)". It features automatic updating of the content and the app itself
without need for use of an "app store."
[I am mentioning this specifically to say that I am skeptical of any
need for such specialized programs. RSS already supports automatic updating
of content. I do not know what a separated App does that is not being done
internally in a Jave based web page. Is this another useless App or is it
really just a customized "Shortcut" icon? This is a trend I
dislike. -- JO]
[2011/11/20]
Nov. 16, 2011, Business Wire reports that BASIS International Ltd. has filed
a motion for a preliminary injunction against Research in Motion to stop
RIM from using the BBX(R) registered brand name which BASIS has registered
and used for over 25 years in association with its operating system independent
development tools.
[2011/11/16]
Nov. 14, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Ingram Micro ("IM") and Sony Ericsson
("SE") have announced that IM will be carrying several unlocked SE Xperia(TM)
smartphones including the "Xperia(TM) arc S". Availability will begin later
in November 2011.
[2011/11/16]
Nov. 14, 2011, PR Newswire reports that AT&T (US) has announced that it
will have the Samsung Galaxy(TM) Tab 8.9 on November 20, 2011. This 4G
LTE enabled Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) tablet computer features a 1280 x 800
screen and 1.5 GHz dual-core processor.
[Note: A lot of pricing information was given, but calculating a true base
price from that mess was too hard for me bother doing. If you are
interested, then check their website. -- JO]
[2011/11/16]
Nov. 14, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Trend Micro's 2011
Q3 report shows a rise in "targeted attack" malware including one
they call a "DroidDreamLight" variation which is an Android App
that appears as a battery-monitoring or task-listing tool that
allows a user to see a list of permissions, but copies a new
"malware" to a Chinese third-party app store.
[2011/11/16]
Nov. 9, 2011, PR Newswire reports that "Stream TV Networks" has
announced that its "eLocity A7+" Android tablet computer features
a Tegra 2 processor, 1024 x 600 Capacitive Multitouch (4 point)
Screen and beginning "next week" will be available for $229.99 US.
[2011/11/13]
Nov. 8, 2011, Business Wire reports that Amazon.com has announced
that its latest family of Kindle products will begin selling on
Nov. 15, 2011 in US stores. Prices are $79 US for the Kindle, $99 US
for the Kindle Touch, $149 US for the Kindle 3G and $199 for the
Kindle Fire. The $79 US Kindle is already available.
[2011/11/09]
Nov. 7, 2011, Business Wire reports that Panasonic has announced
that its "ToughPad(TM)" professional-grade Android(TM) tablet
series devices includes 7" ("ToughPad B1") and 10" ("Toughpad A1"
10.1" XGA) devices. The "A1" will be available Spring 2012 $1299 US
and the "B1" will be available later in the year.
[2011/11/09]
Nov. 7, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Windows 7.5 phones became
available from Nov. 7, 2011.
[2011/11/09]
Nov. 3, 2011, Business Wire reports that International Data Corporation
(IDC) has announced that smartphone vendors shipped 118.1 million units in
3Q11 which is higher unit sales than 3Q10 (82.8 million units) but less
growth than 2Q11 (66.7%). Samsung topped sales with over 20 million
units, followed by Apple, Nokia, HTC and Research In Motion.
[2011/11/06]
Oct. 31, 2011, PR Newswire reports that the Semiconductor Industry Association
(SIA) has announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors were $25.8 billion for
September 2011. This is 2.78% higher than August 2011, 2.1% higher than September
2010 and 2.2% higher for the "year-to-date" (all numbers are 3 month moving
averages).
[2011/11/02]
Oct. 27, 2011, Business Wire reports that ARM has announced details of its
coming "ARMv8" architecture, and the most significant change is the addition
of 64-bit execution. According to the announcement, these will be "state"
based devices which is different from the AMD-Intel approach where 64-bit
instructions and 32-bit instructions are both always available.
[2011/10/30]
Oct. 27, 2011, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that after
re-evaluating its business it will keep its PC Division.
[2011/10/30]
Oct. 26, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile Canadas has
announced that TELUS is carrying its "4G powered Samsung Galaxy S II(TM)
X" which features a 4.5" super AMOLED Plus screen, dual core processor
and HSPA+ (with downloading up to 42 Mbps.), running Google's Android 2.3.
It will be available on October 28, 2011.
[Note: Price without contract was not announced. -- JO]
[2011/10/30]
Oct. 25, 2011, PR NewsWire reports that Leader International Inc. has
announced that its "Impression 7" Android 2.2 based tablet computer
features a 1 GHz processor, 512MB RAM, Flash 10.1 and a 7", 800 x 400 pixel,
resistive TFT screen, 1 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. It will arrive
early November, 2011, in the US and be priced at MSRP $179.00 US.
[2011/10/26]
Oct. 21, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung Telecommunications America
(Samsung Mobile) has announced that its Samsung Galaxy Tab(TM) 7.0 Plus will
feature a dual core 1.2 GHz. CPU, infrared support and a Peel Smart Remote TV
application. Pre-orders will begin Oct. 23, 2011 with availability on Nov.
13, 2011 at $399.99 US.
[2011/10/23]
Oct. 21, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that UL has announced that an
AC/DC Adapter or Switching Power Supply found in the US and Canada with
the following markings has not been tested by UL:
Model: FY1904740
Input: 100 - 240VAC, 50 - 60Hz
Output: 19V, 4.74A
Warning for Indoor use only
Do not remove this cover
Trained Service Personal Only
No Components Inside
Made in China
[2011/10/23]
Oct. 18, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and
Google have announced that their "Galaxy Nexus" smartphone will be available
in the US, Europe and Asia starting in November. It features Android 4.0
("Ice Cream Sandwich") and a new user interface, on a 4.65" 1280 x 720 pixel
resolution "HD Super AMOLED" display, and a 1.2 GHz dual core processor.
[2011/10/19]]
Oct. 18, 2011, PR Newswire reports that researchers at "Polytechnic Institute
of New York University" and colleges in France and Germany claim to have
found security flaws in Skype and other "Internet-based phone systems" which
could have the potential to obtain identities, locations and files. The
VoIP is used to obtain an IP address and that address is tracked on other
services as a key for surveilance.
[2011/10/19]
Oct. 18, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Motorola Mobility, Inc. has announced
that its new Motorola RAZR(TM) will be available in November, featuring a
4.3" "Super AMOLED Advanced" display, dual core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM
and Android(TM) 2.3.5.
[I don't know why the phone companies keep emphasizing how thin their phones
are now. So what? -- JO]
[2011/10/19]
Oct. 12, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Maxthon has released Maxthon
Mobile 2.3 which has new privacy features. There are 2 Android versions
of the browser (one for phones and one for 10" tablet computers), and a
version for Windows PCs.
Maxthon Ltd. software
[2011/10/16]
Oct. 11, 2011, Business Wire reports that BlueStacks has announced a free
"alpha" trial version of its "BlueStacks App Player". This software makes
it possible to play Android Apps on Windows PC computers. The current
free trial version only works on "Windows 7".
BlueStacks App Player Software
[2011/10/12]
Oct. 11, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Future Shop has announced
that it will hire 4,000 Canadians for the holiday season, on top of their
10,000 current staff.
[As I noted before, I do not usually report employment in this industry,
but in light of the current economy, it is a comforting fact that Canada
seems to be continuing its relatively solid performance. -- JO]
[2011/10/12]
Oct. 10, 2011, Business Wire reports that Motorola Solutions, Inc. (aka "the
Other Motorola") has "unveiled the ET1 tablet" for the enterprise market. It
will be available in 2011q4.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/10/12]
Oct. 7, 2011, Business Wire reports that security experts from the
"Fraunhofer Institute of Secure Information Technology" (SIT) and the
"Center for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt" (CASED) have developed
"BizzTrust for Android" which separates private and business applications
and data on the phone.
[2011/10/09]
Oct. 4, 2011, Business Wire reports that Revector has announced that
it has assisted in the arrest and prosecution of "SIM box" ("GSM gateway")
fraudsters in Mauritius, Haiti, Senegal, Jamaica, Afghanistan, Nepal,
Pakistan, Ghana and El Salvador.
[Even after reading the announcement a couple of times I am not sure
how this "fraud" works, and thus I am posting this announcement on a
"benefit of the doubt" basis. -- JO]
[2011/10/05]
Oct. 4, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Underwriters Laboratories
(UL) has announced that the AC adapter noted below has an unauthorized
UL mark for the United States and Canada. The product has not been
evaluated for safety by UL:
"AC Adapter, Model ZH-124000"
"Input: 100-24V~1.5A50-60HzOutput:12V 4A 48W"
[2011/10/05]
Oct. 4, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Norton by Symantec has released
"Norton Anti-Theft" which is a cloud based services which allows a
user to remotely lock, locate and recover a lost or stolen Windows
based laptop or Android smartphone or tablet. Pricing is $39.99 US
for 3 devices, per year, or $59.;99 US for 5 devices, per year, or
$89.99 US for 10 devices, per year.
[2011/10/05]
Oct. 3, 2011, PR Newswire reports that AT&T has announced that its
free "Smart WiFi" Android App has become available through Android Market.
Working on Android 2.1 or later devices it helps users to make best
use of AT&T's WiFi network which is freely available to most AT&T customers.
[2011/10/05]
Sept. 28, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced that its
Exynos 4212 dual core ARM Cortex(TM)-A9 application processor, designed on
Samsung's 32nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process has double the
logic density and 30% lower power than its previous process generation.
It is expected to be used in mobile technologies such as smartphones and
media tablet computers. Samples will be available to select customers in
2011 Q4.
[2011/09/28]
Sept. 27, 2011, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Digital Products Division
has announced that its latest Thrive(TM) 7" Android tablet features a 1280 x
800 resolution screen, and Android(TM) 3.2 firmware, powered by an nVidia
dual core processor and graphics accelerator. It will be available in the
US in December.
[Pricing was not given in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/09/28]
Sept. 26, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced that its
Galaxy Tab(TM) 8.9 features a 1280 x 800 display and a dual-core T250S
processor and will be available in the US for as little as $469 US for a 16GB
version. The Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 will be available Oct. 16, 2011, for
$269 US and $229 US respectively.
[2011/09/28]
My first comment is a complaint about Business Wire's latest style change.
I do not know how many people who read my page actually read Business Wire.
It is intended to be a Journalist's service, which distributes press releases.
There are a few of such services. Their latest style change creates a new
"field" to the left of the announcement which holds a logo or associated
graphic. This is generally wasted space. BW web designers have not been
paying attention. The world is going MOBILE. It says so in a lot of the
very press releases they distribute. Mobile devices to not tolerate wasted
screen space. The previous layout used the same graphics by flowing text
around the graphic, which is more efficient. The old way was better.
[2011/09/26]
This is as short as it gets. After reviewing all my reports for the period,
I found nothing worth reporting. I might have commented on Via suing Apple for
Patent infringement, but for now, I consider that as part of the HTC action
because Via is related to HTC. So that is "not new".
[2011/09/25]
I am thinking about writing an article about the fact that most apps coming
out are "junk". They are a waste of time, even as they are being written.
Some "apps" become "junk" after primary technology (hardware and/or software)
improves. As noted before, when the iPad came out, at least one reviewer noted
that he needed fewer apps because the iPad was closer to a computer, and that
in many cases, its web browser alone was enough to do what he wanted. His
previous apps had only been needed to get around the limitations of his iPhone.
The same is true for Android devices, and indeed for most mobile use. That leads
me to conclude a general principle which is that "the better your primary
technology is, the fewer apps you will need."
Will I actually write this article? Having said as much as I have above,
do you really need me to expand on it? I will have to think about that.
[2011/09/21]
Sept. 21, 2011, Business Wire reports that Sprint has announced that it has
replaced AT&T as the supplier to the City of Houston, TX. The contract is
estimated as worth $15 million US over five years, including 10,000 activations
or wireless services and more than 6,000 devices (including "the . . . . HTC EVO(TM),
Motorola PHOTON(TM) 4G, a variety of BlackBerry(R) smartphones and nearly
5,000 feature phones").
[2011/09/21]
Sept. 20, 2011, PR Newswire reports that technology author Kenneth J. Thurber, Ph. D.
("http://www.bigwavesurfingbook.com/") has said that "[I]t is clear that
some workers, suppliers and the consumer are going to be hurt. The alleged
benefits of reducing the wireless telecommunication supplier base from
four competitors down to three are ridiculous. . . . service will not
improve."
[2011/09/21]
Sept. 15, 2011, Business Wire reports that Archos has announced that its
G9 series tablets will be available in the US on Sept. 20, 2011.
[I do not usually give this sort of advice, but if you are buying the
Archos 80 G9, and are considering buying the 8GB version, it is clearly worth
spending the extra $30 to buy the 16GB version because the clock speed of the
CPU is upgraded from 1.0 GHz in the 8GB version to 1.5 GHz in the 16GB version.
I have no idea why there is a difference in the clock speeds, but gaining both
the extra storage memory space and the clock speed together at that price make
it the real base price unit. I mention this because it is so unsual in this
industry to have such a difference that some people might miss it until they
found out later. -- JO]
[2011/09/18]
Sept. 15, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Trend Micro, Inc. has announced
the availability of its "Trend Micro(TM) Mobile Security Personal Edition"
software for Android cellphones and tablet computers. The "App Scanner" is
free and downloadable from Android Market. The "Premium Service", including
"Lost Device Protection" and "Surf", "Call", and "Text Security" are available
for $29.99 US per year.
[2011/09/18]
Sept. 13, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Bell Mobility has announced that
its LTE service will begin on Sept. 14, 2011,in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton,
Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph. Customers can buy a "Bell LTE/HSPA+ Turbo Stick"
and later this year will be able to buy LTE capable cellphones and tablet
computers. LTE speeds support can be as fast as 75 megabits per second (Mbps)
and should typically range from 12 to 25 Mbps. Speeds are expected to eventually
reach up to 150 Mbps.
[2011/09/18]
Sept. 14, 2011: RIM's BlackBerry Playbook costed too much for me to buy when
it first came out. A recent sale at Rogers ($100 off of almost every RIM
device in stock) made it worth buying. I almost bought a 16GB version for
$399 Cdn., but they were hard to find. I will interject here that Best Buy
would not match the sale price, but Staples, on Monday, agreed to match it,
but they were just a little too late. I ended up paying $499 (+ tax) for a
32GB. version. I am not sure if doing this is worth it, but that will be one
of the questions I will be trying to answer later. So far, all I can say is
that it is quite different from Android devices I have used. I expect to
have more to say later. . .
[2011/09/14]
Sept. 14, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Sony has announced that its HID-B7
and HID-B70 are easy to use "PC-free" devices for home internet browsing
featuring 7" (diagonal) touch screen LCD displays and access to "more than
1,000 free apps . . . ." They will be available in October 2011, for
$129.95 and $169.95 US respectively.
[Hard to believe that Sony is bothering with proprietary software based
devices, but perhaps they are just covering the possibility of Android
stumbling under the weight of the current Microsoft, Oracle and Apple law
suits. I would suggest being cautious regarding the hardware specs on these
devices. When a manufacturer does not mention them, there is usually a reason
going beyond "why would a non-techy consumer want to know something
like that?" -- JO]
[2011/09/14]
Sept. 8, 2011, Caanada NewsWire reports tha Pretty River Academy in Collingwood,
Ontario, has announced that it has removed an installed WiFi system and replaced
it with hard-wired internet due to health concerns.
[2011/09/11]
Sept. 8, 2011, PR NewsWire reports that "Private WiFi" has released a new version
of their wireless security software which now includes "connectivity testing" to
help "trouble-shoot" connection problems.
Private Communications Corporation, Wireless
Security, VPN software, http://www.PrivateWiFi.com/
[2011/09/11]
Sept. 7, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Sony claims that its new PRS-T1
Reader(TM) WiFi(R) is the world's lightest 6" eReader (168 grams). It features
an enhanced touch screen and will be available Oct. 2011 for about $169 Cdn.
I have been testing the first series Kobo eReader Model N416, revision 58,
software version 1.4 and the Sony PRS-300 5" eReader. I am disappointed that a
company like Sony has not gotten "E Ink(R)" to provide them with a higher
resolution 6" screen than 600 x 800 pixels. The 5" screen shows that "E Ink" has
the technology to produce a 6" screen with 720 x 960 resolution. The current
600 x 800 resolution is an acceptable minimal screen. It is not an
ideal size. I would certainly prefer a higher resolution screen
product, assuming a reasonable price. JO]
[2011/09/11]
I have been so busy lately that I have not commented on a few issues that
have come and are being resolved.
About the current law suits: I could title this "Is Apple Toast?" The
Intellectual Property law suits by Apple, Microsoft and Oracle are all different
in purpose. Oracle's suit against Google is plain and simple -- an attempt to
make money off of the existing Java Patents. Microsoft is, in part trying to
make money, but also trying to discourage the use of Android, and strengthen
sales of its Windows Mobile software. That is why they started attacking the
"small fry" companies first. But their goal is probably "settlement" because all
the companies they are suing are potential Microsoft customers or partners for
production of future products using Windows. Apple is suing Samsung and HTC hoping
to slow or stop the spread of Android to protect their "iOS" products. But unlike
Microsoft, they have no intention of partnering with Samsung or HTC for future
Samsung or HTC consumer products. The best result is to clearly stop anything HTC
or Samsung makes that can compete against iOS. However, since Apple is "going
for blood" in their suits, their opponents also have no reason to be gentlemanly.
So we have HTC countersuing Apple with Patents acquired from Google.
Having established that these Apple suits can turn out to be "blood-bath" suits.
Can Apple win them? In the long run, the answer is "no". Samsung has always had
their own Patent cache and Google and HTC are acquiring them. If the courts will
uphold one pile of Patents, they will uphold (generally) all, or conversely, they
can overturn some or all the Patents involved -- from what I have seen, not an
impossibility. Sales will continue and the marketplace will decide. The early
batch of Android tablets were not that well received in the press, and thus had
a slow start. But anyone familiar with the complete story of the Android phones
knows that the first phones were buggy and needed many months to get a good
reliable platform, and then many more months (from Android 1.5 to 2.2) to address
the bulk of the shortcomings. This fall has seen the arrival of the crucial batch
of Android tablets, and they have their real home run product. Not the
big 10" tablets costing $500 Cdn., but the Acer A100, 7" tablet with 8GB of storage
memory at $300 Cdn. The first firmware may be a bit buggy (I have not tried one
myself), but Acer is a company with "Cred". This is a strong enough company that
we can trust it to "get it right" eventually. With Android tablets down around
$150 Cdn, at the low end and big 10" expensive versions at the top end, and a really
deep array of "Apps", the Android products are right for the times. It is clear
that they are going to topple Apple's "iOS" again. It may not be quite as
spectacular as the way the Android smartphones steamrolled Apple in about 1 - 2 years,
but it will happen. As for what Apple investors will do when they see the iPad
that was going to be Apple's "next big thing" marginalized is hard to say. I
expect Apple will trot out Steve Jobs again, whether he really wants to get out
there again or not. Beyond that, anything can happen.
[2011/09/11]
I was surprised to find a fairly large number of releases, but having looked
at them all, I had to conclude that there was nothing really worth posting here.
[2011/09/07]
Sept. 02, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
has announced that its SE-506AB Portable Blu-ray Writer. "The drive
. . . improves upon previous ODD models, which only recognize the first
sub-directory and 1000 files. The new SE-506AB model now recognizes and
allows access to the fifth sub-directory and more than 3000 files." It
will be available at the end of Aug. 2011 at retail outlets with an
MSRP of $140.00 US.
[2011/09/07]
Sept. 2, 2011, PR Newswire reports that the "Ministry of Application"(TM)
has announced that its "DraftCraft"(TM) blogging editor for the Apple
iPad features a simple text editor and output capability for the proper
HTML codes for the popular blogging sites ("WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal
and Chinese sina.com.cn or blog.163.com"). It will be available from
iTunes AppStore for $3.99 US.
[2011/09/04]
Sept. 1, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Concord Keystone Trading has
announced that its "Keystone ECO(TM) Booster" (Patent Pending) is a
Micro-USB battery pack booster based on a 1400 mAh Lithium-polymer battery
pack. It is expected to be available in October, 2011 at an MSRP of $34.99 US.
[2011/09/04]
Sept. 1, 2011, Business Wire reports that HP has announced the release of
two special edition calculators celebrating its history of innovative products.
The first is a limited edition 30th anniversary "HP 12c Financial Calculator"
which is now available for $79.99 US, and a re-introduction of a version of
the HP 15c with 100x faster processing, available later in September, 2011,
at $99.99 US (duration of limited availability was not announced).
[I do not have time to present my reasons, but I have to say that the
discontinuation of HP's PC business is a bad business move. This announcement
is simply an opportunity for me to mention this. Also, after many years of
wanting to buy an HP calculator, I recently bought an HP-35s. -- JO]
[2011/09/04]
Aug. 31, 2011, Business Wire reports that "Vonya B. McCann, senior vice
president of Government Affairs for Sprint ..., issued the following statement:
"The DOJ today delivered a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our
country. By filing suit to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ
has put consumers' interests first. . . . ""
[I do not typically comment on the inter-corporate level of the business, and I
have not made any real decision about the correctness of this transaction, but
it did surprise me that none of the announcements which were made to justify
the transaction seemed very strong. So the US DOJ's actions did not come as
a big surprise. -- JO]
[2011/08/31]
Aug. 31, 2011, BusinessWire reports that "IdentityHawk" warns that the "workplace" [more correctly, the "job market" -- JO] is now an area of potential identity theft. "With unemployment at 9.1% as of July 2011, many scammers are placing ads for jobs that don't exist to coerce job searchers to provide personal and even financial information under the juises of getting a great job."
Among the 5 warning signs for a scam, is "5. Requests for other personal information
such as age, height, weight and marital status, which violate U.S. labor laws."
[This is nowhere near my usual topic, but it is such a new potential problem that
I felt that all people need to think about it. As technology changes society, it
is increasingly hard to live a reasonably safe life. We need to constantly be making
adjustments. -- JO]
[2011/08/31]
Aug. 30, 2011, PR Newswire reports that AT&T Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications
America, LLC. have announced that their "Galaxy S(TM) II" will become available
throught "AT&T company-owned retail stores and online in the coming weeks."
Features include:
- HSPA+
- Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
- GSM Quad-band
- UMTS Tri-band (850/1900/2100 MHz)
- 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus screen
- dual core 1.2 GHz ARM CPU
- Camera: 8MP AF with LED flash + 2MP front
- Video record: 1080p Full HD
- HDMI Out: HDMI via HDTV Smart Adapter with HDCP
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
- Battery: 1650 mAh
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/08/31]
Aug. 30, 2011, PR Newswire reports that ViewSonic Europe will preview its
latest products, including a number of Android tablets and an Android
dual SIM cellphone at "Showstoppers Event 2011 International IFA." The
Android tablets include the "ViewPad 7x", "ViewPad 7e" and "ViewPad 10pro"
(a dual OS tablet with Windows(R) Professional and Android 2.3).
[Really, the only reason I posted this is to point out that the Android
tablet market has proven the value of the 7" widescreen tablet, which Steve
Jobs never admitted was viable. -- JO]
[2011/08/31]
I just started work on my Aug. 27 - 30 update when I noticed I had not
posted the update for Aug. 23 - 27. If you look just below, you will see
the posting for that period. I will complete the 27 - 30th update and
post it shortly -- I hope.
[2011/08/31]
Aug. 26, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile Canada has
announced that its "Galaxy Tab(TM) 10.1" powered by Android(TM) 3.1
(ie Honeycomb) has arrived in Canada and is available at retailers
for $499 Cdn (WiFi version).
[2011/08/28]
Aug. 25, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Comwave has announced that its
"ePhone" can be used with Adobe(R) Flash(R) as a web-based video phone.
The current annual rate is $20.00 Cdn. per year (see website or the announcement
for details regarding limits).
[2011/08/28]
Aug. 24, 2011, PR Newswire reports that VIZIO has announced that its
VIZIO 8" Tablet with WiFi "will support the Hulu Plus(TM) subscription
service" which will give access to TV and film content for $7.99 US/month.
The tablet computer began selling last week costs $299 US.
[2011/08/28]
Aug. 23, 2011, Business Wire reports that the USB 3.0 Promotor Group has
announced that the "USB On-The-Go 3.0" specification is now available.
This supplement to the main USB 3.0 specification allows mobile devices with
USB connectivity to exchange data without a computer.
[2011/08/24]
For today, I have one item of trivia to report: Earlier this month
the Samsung GT-i5500M Android based cellphone sold at Toronto Walmart
stores for about $69 Cdn. in a Bell pre-paid package. As far as I know,
this was, and may still be, the cheapest "new" Android phone to be sold
in Canada. Zellers advertised a Samsung "Gio" in their Toronto stores
for about the same price to be sold starting last Thursday, but the
phones were not available in the stores.
[2011/08/21]
Aug. 16, 2011, PR NewsWire reports that HTC Corporation has filed a complaint
with the US ITC and the USDC of Delaware for patent infringement by Apple in
regard to its Mac computers, Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod product lines.
The patents are US Patent Nos. 7,417,944, 7,672,219 and 7,765,414.
[2011/08/17]
Aug. 15, 2011, Business Wire reports that Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings
Inc. have announced that they have agreed that Google will purchase Motorola
Mobility for $12.5 billion (US).
[2011/08/17]
Aug. 15, 2011, Business Wire reports that Net2Phone has launched its
"Mobitalker" tri-mode calling application. It is available for Apple's
iOS, Android and Symbian. Blackberry and Windows Mobile apps will come
later.
[2011/08/17]
Aug. 15, 2011, Toronto, Canada NewsWire reports that Mobilicity has announced
aggressive limited time pricing. A new $25 Cdn./month student plan that includes:
"unlimited local calling, unlimited local text and picture messaging, unlimited
data, caller ID and unlimited Mobilicity - to - Mobilicity calling." There
are also a number of special prices for Android smartphones including the
Motorola Spice for $99 Cdn.
[2011/08/17]
With so much going on in the financial world and economies in the news, it
is hard to keep in mind that this is the "dull" summer season for business.
In fact, there is a continuing re-fresh happening in the cellphone market
and some nice stuff has been announced, but mostly, we will see them in the
Fall.
[2011/08/14]
Aug. 9, 2011, Business Wire reports that Kingston Digital, Inc. has announced
that a study by the Ponemon Institute that has found that among other conclusions
"In terms of policies and controls, of the hundreds of IT professionals and IT
security professionals polled, only 29 percent felt that their organizations
had adequate policies to prevent USB misuse."
[2011/09/10]
Aug. 10, 2011 Business Wire reports that "N.E.W. Customer Service Companies
LLC" claims that Consumers Reports has affirmed value in extended service plans
in the August issue "Repair or Replace It".
[Over the years, since these plans became available, I have evolved a general
set of principles for looking at these plans. First, you really need to know
that what is covered because they are not all the same. Second, whether the
device will go out-doors or not is a big factor. Third, if a device is small
enough to lose before it breaks, then a "repair warranty" could be irrelevant.
Last, I might just want to take the item apart or modify it for some reason --
which could void a warranty. -- JO]
[2011/09/10]
Aug. 9, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Visa Inc. has announced its plans
to encourage migration to "EMV" dual-interface (contact/contactless)
chip technology in the US, which is a step towards NFC-based mobile
payments. In so doing "Visa intends to institute a U.S. liability shift
for domestic and cross-border counterfeit card-present point-of-sale
(POS) transactions, effective October 1, 2015. . . ."
[2011/08/10]
Aug. 8, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Vizio has announced that its
8" Android Tablet will have a retail price of $299 US, and will integrate
with Vizio home entertainment equipment.
[2011/08/10]
Aug. 4, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that TELUS has reported that it has
hired 650 new employees in the province of Quebec since January this year,
raising total employed in Quebec to almost 5,500. In a separate announcement
Telus claims to be hiring 250 new employees in the Greater Toronto Area
raising employment in the GTA to 7,800.
[I usually do not include this type of data in this website, but employment
and the economy of the whole world is facing challenges lately. -- JO]
[2011/08/04]
Aug. 3, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung Mobile has announced
that a major upgrade is being deployed over the air starting August 5,
2011, for its Galaxy Tab(TM) 10.1 WiFi Edition. The two major components
are "TouchWiz(R) UX" and Samsung Media Hub.
[I am posting this on a "benefit of the doubt" basis. I really do not
feel it is worth mentioning. There are a lot of good interfaces around. -- JO]
[2011/08/03]
July 26, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that TELUS has announced the
upcoming release of the "HTC Status" Android 2.3 based smartphone
which features a 2.8" (small) 480 x 320 screen and hardware QWERTY
keypad. It will appear in stores from July 29, 2011.
[I want to take this opportunity to point out that Telus seems to be
taking a lead position selling low cost Android smartphones. As of today
they are selling (prices are NO CONTRACT, CDN prices) the LG Optimus One(TM)
$199.99, LG Optimus Chat(TM) $199.99, INQ Cloud Touch(TM) $229.99, HTC Status(TM)
$249.99, and LG Shine Plus(TM) $299.99. They have even more Android above
the $300.00 level, but 5 products under $300 Cdn. is quite significant at
this point. Moreover, the LG and HTC products are reputable. I do not
know about the single INQ product, but if it is as good as the others, I
think we are looking at a serious market shift. I would note that I have
seen other low cost Android phones, even under $200 Cdn. from other phone
companies lately. It seems these will replace the "feature phone" almost
completely by the end of this year. -- JO]
[2011/07/31]
July 26, 2011, PR Newswire reports that the Samsung Galaxy Tab(TM) 10.1
with 4G LTE will be available July 28, 2011, in either grey or white.
[Prices have been provided, but I am not satisfied with the included
details - JO]
[2011/07/28]
July 26, 2011, PR Newswire reports that SteelCloud, Inc., and Good
Technology have announced that they are partnering to bring iOS and
Android devices up to US Government security requirements.
[2011/07/27]
July 25, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Mobilicity has announced that
it has lowered data roaming rates in North America by 70% ($1.50 per
megabyte).
[2011/07/27]
This past week was particularly busy so I missed 2 posting dates. This
report will probably be online for less than 1 day. Sorry.
[2011/07/30]
July 21, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Peel has announced the release
of an Android smartphone app which helps find favorite TV shows. The
free app is now available from Android Market and will run on Android
2.0 and later systems.
[2011/07/24]
July 20, 2011, Business Wire reports that Lenovo has announced three tablet
computers, going in both Android and Windows 7 directions. The first is the
IdeaPad Tablet P1 which is an Android 3.1 based tablet featuring nVidia Tegra
2 dual core CPU, 32GB(?) and 10.1" 1280 x 800 screen. Pre-orders will be taken
starting July 20, 2011 at $499 US, with general availability in the US in August.
The ThinkPad Tablet is something of a mystery with little technical information
revealed. Orders will begin Aug. 2, 2011 with delivery shortly thereafter.
The 16GB low end model is priced at $479 US. The IdeaPad P1 will be available
in the 4th quarter will have an Intel 1.5 GHz processor and will run Windows 7.
No price was provided for the P1.
[2011/07/20], corrections [2011/07/24]
July 19, 2011, Business Wire reports that Kryptos Communcations, Inc. has
announced the availability of Apps for Android, Blackberry and iPhone devices
to provide encypted voice conversations between participants. There is a
$10 US monthly usage fee.
Kryptos Communcations, Inc.,
http://www.kryptoscommunications.com/
[2011/07/20]
July 15, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Environment Canada has
announced that its latest Website is now designed to be accessible
via smartphones with a better layout for finger touch access.
Environment Canada's Weatheroffice
Website http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/
[2011/07/17]
July 14, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Motorola Mobility Canada
has announced that its latest Android based Motorola XT860 4G will
be the thinnest 4G QWERTY Slider phone in the world. It will feature
a 4" qHD, 24-bit colour display, a 5 row QWERTY keyboard with a number
key row, a dual core 1 GHz processor, an 8-Mpixel rear camera and
separate chat camera, and Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It will
be available from Bell Mobility later this summer.
[NOTE: Aside from the usual, annoying lack of a firm date and price
disclosure, there is no mention of Motoblur. The screen images have a
row of pictures across the top which might be a way of hiding a new
Motoblur, but it could be something else. Overall, I like Motoblur,
though it has some issues. -- JO]
[2011/07/17]
July 13, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Verizon has announced that
the Cisco Cius(TM) Android based tablet computer will be available
later this summer with connectivity via its 4G LTE network.
[Pricing and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/07/17]
July 13, 2011, Business Wire reports that Sprint and Motorola Mobility (US divisions) have announced that on July 31, the Motorola PHOTON(TM) 4G International 4G smartphone which will feature a 1 GHz dual core processor.
Not really much of a surprise that following the July 1 - 4 weekend, there
is nothing to report. Many people began a holiday last weekend. Not me
though -- I have been quite busy learning about Android.
[2011/07/10]
July 5, 2011, PR Newswire reports that the "International Journal of
Hyperthermia" has released a special issue concerning the potential
issues regarding heat generated by radio frequencies.
International
Journal of Hyperthermia http://informahealthcare.com/toc/hth/27/4
[2011/07/06]
June 30, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Skype has announced that its
updated "Skype for Android 2.0" brings "Skype Video Calling" to Android
OS.
[2011/07/03]
June 30, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Laplink Software, Inc. has announced
that its "Laplink Switch & Sync(TM) software allows for automatic
"switching" from PC to Mac.
[2011/07/03]
June 29, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that the "Public Interest Advocacy
Centre" has released its "Paying a Premium: Consumers and Mobile Premium
Services" report, calling for "better consumer protection for mobile premium
services" ("premium text messaging services") in regard to such things as
unauthorized subscriptions and unsuccessful unsubscriptions and difficulties
disputing charges in regard to third party services, wireless service providers
and mobile premium service companies.
Public Interest Advocacy Centre http://www.piac.ca/
[2011/07/03]
It is one of those doldrum periods where there is little that does
come out and not everything even in those few, are worth remembering.
Check back later in the week.
[2011/06/29]
June 23, 2011, Business Wire reports that Archos has announced that
their Archos 35 Smart Home Phone will be a DECT wireless phone with
"Android functionality" and their Archos 35 Home Connect is a "Web
radio" also based on Android technology and includes the "Tunein"
application. The Smart Home Phone will hava a recommended retail
price $159 US and the Home Connect will have an RRP of $149 US.
Both are expected to be available in September 2011.
[2011/06/26]
June 23, 2011, PR Newswire reports that WDS has found from a year long study that 14% of all technical support calls for Android devices are related to hardware faults whereas only 3.7% of RIM Blackberry devices calls are for hardware faults. iPhones (iOS) devices have 8% of support calls related to hardware fauls, and 9% of support calls for Windows Phone 7 phones are related to hardware faults. WDS claims that this is because Google exercises no controls over the quality of Android phones, whereas the other companies do.
[This has to be the most patronizing and insulting waste of my time that
I have run across this year, and maybe going back a few years. Yes,
just about the whole world knows that the cheaper Android phones are
going to be lower quality. It took them a whole year to figure that out?
The only news in this release is that RIM products are so much better
than Apple and Windows Phone 7 devices. Let me give them a real news
flash: There are some very high quality Android phones out there.
They tend to be higher priced, and are generally made by the more
reputable manufacturers. I will waive my consulting fee this time. -- JO]
[2011/06/26]
June 21, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that McAfee has announced that it
has released a set of security apps for the Android platforms. They
are available through the Android Market and are priced as yearly
subscriptions (McAfee Mobile Security for $29.99 Cdn. and Wave Secure
for $19.99 Cdn.).
[2011/06/22]
June 20, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Telus has announced changes in
their sales policies and practices which are intended to be simple and fair.
Since November 2010, early termination of a contract costs the balance
outstanding from any devices and a $50 (Cdn) administration fee. For
upgrading a device only the outstanding balance is required.
[Note: Their contracts do not provide pro-rata valuing of the "balance"
except in Quebec where it is required by Provincial law. As to whether
their service contract are any "fairer" overall compared to their
competitors, I would have to say that I am not significantly impressed
by them. -- JO]
[2011/06/22]
June 20, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced
that it is taking pre-orders of HP's webOS based TouchPad which will be
available for purchase on July 15, 2011. The16GB version is priced at
$519.99 and the 32 GB version at $619.99.
[2011/06/22]
June 16, 2011, Business Wire reports that Panasonic Solutions Company has
announced that it is planning on releasing a government and commercial
enterprise oriented Android tablet in the 4th quarter of this year. Among
its projected features is "full-shift battery life." Pricing was not
provided in the announcement.
[2011/06/19]
June 14, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that at the SC Congress Canada
2011 Conference in Toronto, Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioners
Dr. Ann Cavoukian and Kim Cameron released a white paper called "Privacy
by Design" which identifies the the use of MAC address accumulation and
tracking as a potential serious infringement of privacy and calls upon
the industry to build privacy protection into systems.
[2011/06/19]
June 13, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that TELUS claims that it will
reduce roaming rates beginning June 27 of this year to new simpler and
lower pricing. Western Europe, Mexico and Oceania voice rate per minute
will cost $1.50 Cdn, and $10/MB data. The Middle East, Caribbean and
Latin America, China, India and Africa will cost $2.50 Cdn, and $10/MB
data.
[2011/06/15]
June 10, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that according to Indigo Books
& Music Inc., the Kobo eReader(TM) Touch Edition has arrived at Indigo,
Chapters and Coles, and will be selling for $139 Cdn. It features a 6"
touch screen and WiFi connectivity.
[2011/06/12]
June 9, 2011, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that the Wi-Fi
version of its WebOS based "HP TouchPad" tablet computer will be available
in the US on July 1, 2011. The 16 GB (storage) version will be priced at
MSRP $499.99.
[2011/06/12]
June 7, 2011, PR Newswire reports that according to NetQin Mobile Inc.,
there is a new type of malware found in the field for Android users.
The new problem is found in popular mobile games and operates in the
background. It will subscribe the user to paid services, and hide
notifications from the paid services that they are being used, thus
adding fraudulent expenses to the user's account. NetQin's software
has been updated to protect against this problem currently identified
as "MSO.Anim".
[2011/06/08]
June 7, 2011, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Digital Products Division
(DPD) has announced that it's "Thrive" Android tablet is "[d]esigned to be
complete, customizable, connected and convenient." Powered by an nVidia(R)
Tegra(TM)2 processor and Android 3.1 ("Honeycomb") software, it features
a 10.1" 1280 x 800 pixel mullti-touch LED backlit display. Pre-orders
begin June 13 at a starting MSRP of $429.99 US for 8 GB with full availability
in mid-July.
[2011/06/08]
June 2, 2011, Business Wire reports that Canonical has announced that the
newest ASUS EeePC series computers are now available (from June 1, 2011)
with pre-loaded Ubuntu 10.10 (Linux) software. The first models are 1001PXD,
1011PX and 1015PX. More will come throughout the year.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/06/05]
June 1, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that CounterPath Corporation has announced
that its "CounterPath Network Convergence Gateway Exchage" (NCG) which is a
"hosted service" which enables wireline operators to provide "Fixed Mobile
Convergence" (FMC) services.
Counterpath Corporation (service provider software)
http://www.counterpath.com/
[2011/06/01]
May 31, 2011, Business Wire reports that Apple(R) has announced that its
"iWork(R)" productivity apps (Keynote(R), Pages(R) and Numbers(R)) are now
available for iPhone(R) and iPod Touch(R) as well as iPad(R). They are
immediately available at $9.99 US to new users and free as updates for
current users.
[2011/06/01]
May 31, 2011, Business Wire reports that Picitup (www.picitup.com) has
announced that their latest product "iOnRoad(TM)" ... "warns drivers of
encroaching danger and helps drivers make smarter driving decisions."
Using a smartphone's internal camera and sensors, it calculates the
movements of traffic ahead and warns of dangerous situations.
[I looked at the website for this specific app
http://www.ionroad.com/ and the
app appears to be for Android, and not yet available. -- JO]
Picitup.com software
http://www.picitup.com/
[2011/06/01]
May 26, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Quorus Consulting Group
has said that 48% of Canadian mobile phone users ages 18 - 34 have
reported owning a smartphone.
[2011/05/29]
May 25, 2011, PR Newswire reports that according to NetQin Mobile Inc., for 2011, Q1, China has the most attacked Android devices at 64% of attacks, followed by the US (7.6%), Russia (6.1%), India (3.4%) and Indonesia (3.2%).
May 24, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Leap Wireless International, Inc.
which owns Cricket Communications, Inc. has announced its opposition of
the AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile USA. They note that this leaves the US
with 2 companies (the other being Verizon) providing services for over
80% of the US "wireless market".
[2011/05/25]
May 23, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Kobo Inc. has announced that its
new "Kobo eReader Touch Edition" can be pre-ordered now for delivery in early
June, for $139.99 Cdn. It features a 6" "Pearl E Ink" screen with 16 levels
of grey and a Freescale(TM) i.MX508 processor.
[2011/05/25]
I have recently purchased and started using an "LG C710h" ("Shine Plus") Android
based smartphone. This phone has replaced my previous "main" cellphones. I
am currently also using "Samsung Galaxy S Captivate" which is a semi-experimental
backup phone.
LG C710h report LG_C710h.html
[2011/05/18] revised [2011/05/22]
May 20, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications
Association (CWTA) has announced that the "Wireless AMBER Alerts" program, launched
one hear ago, now has 25,000 subscribers.
[I had forgotten that one must subscribe to this service. It is something I
must consider, and I hope others will as well. -- JO]
Wireless AMBER Alerts
http://www.WirelessAMBER.ca/
[2011/05/22]
May 19, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that the "2011 OACP R.I.D.E Drive Safe!"
program of the "Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police" (OACP) is focussing
on texting and calling while driving, along with other forms of distracted
driving, on our roadways.
[2011/05/22]
May 17, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Mobilicity has announced that the
HTC(TM) Panache featuring a Qualcomm 1 GHz Snapdragon(TM) processor, a 3.8"
touch screen, Android 2.3 and 4G wireless capability is now available at
Mobilicity stores for $499.99 Cdn.
[2011/05/22]
May 17, 2011, Business Wire reports that T-Mobile USA, Inc. has begun a
trade-in program to reduce the cost of purchasing a T-Mobile cellphone.
Values for trade-in are variable, up to $300 US.
[The reason for including this item is that it appears to be an attempt to
credit a true value of the trade-in rather than a flat rate "disposal fee."
-- Jim O.]
T-Mobile Trade-in values http://www.mytradeins.com/
[2011/05/18]
May 12, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung has announced that its
Galaxy F Fascinate 4G is the first smartphone in Canada to allow peak download
speeds up to 21 mbps. (about 50% faster than the next fastest download
speed in Canada). It comes with Android 2.2 with a promise of 2.3 becoming
available later this year.
[Pricing and availability were not clearly stated in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/05/15]
May 11, 2011, BusinessWire reports that Samsung Electronics America Inc.,
has announced that its "Series 5 Chromebook" will be available in the US
from June 15, 2011 at prices starting at $429.99 US. Based on a 12.1"
"SuperBright Display" and Intel(R) Dual-core processor, it will be sold
with Google's "Chrome" operating system.
[2011/05/11]
May 10, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Pyramid Points blog has
predicted that Windows Phone will lead in mobile OS market share
by 2015, and as early as 2013.
[The Significance of This Item: Microsoft has produced
"Smartphone" operating systems since the very beginning of smartphones.
So far, there has never been a time when their product was more
than just a curiosity in this field. They have never lead in
innovation or sales. Despite this, most of the so-called experts
have automatically touted every attempt that Microsoft has made to
produce a cellphone OS as "eventually this is going to be the winner,"
but the most accurate description for every effort Microsoft has made
in this market so far is "unimportant". Any bets? -- JO]
[2011/05/11]
May 5, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Retina Software has announced
the immediate availability of its "F-Browser" app which converts Flash
videos into an iOS compatible object. The program is approved and
currently available at Appls's AppStore.
[2011/05/08]
I have recently tried out the free WiFi service available at the McDonald's
Restaurant at Keele Street & Ingram in Toronto, Canada. It is a Bell
service and works, fairly simply. Unfortunately, it is simple because it
is completely unsecured. There is no encryption. It would be unsafe to
read your own eMail on such a setup. The only thing you could do is read
common publicly available files such as news "broadcast" sites such as
the Toronto Star, but only if you do NOT use any service that requires
logging in with your password or PIN. Any entry of a password or PIN could
be intercepted and thus breach your security. This is very dangerous.
[2011/05/08]
Where have you heard this before? Actually, I am working on a few short
pieces. Also, I have been posting information on various Forii lately, and
I am now considering bringing some of the things I have written back "here".
Either way, I should have some new material to post later this week, even
if I find a lack of interesting announcements.
[2011/05/04]
Apr. 26, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School
Board has refused to allow a presentation from a group of parents who want the school
board to use wired internet instead of WiFi due to health concerns.
[2011/05/01]
Apr. 27, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy has announced that
Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stors will have the Sony "arc" and "PLAY"
phones available (for use on the Rogers network) from April 28, 2011. Both
phones use Android(TM) 2.3 (Gingerbread).
[Pricing Information was incomplete. -- JO]
[2011/04/27]
Apr. 27, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Rogers Communications Inc. has
announced that it will launch its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in 2011
beginning with services in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa. Projected
peak data rates for the initial systems are 150 Mbps downloading and 70 Mbps
uploading, which is about 3 to 4 times faster than HSPA+. The first
deployment will be on the AWS bands, with conversion of other bands later.
[2011/04/27]
Apr. 26, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Sony Corporation has announced plans
to introduce 2 new Android 3.0 based tablet computers. The S1 is a 9.4" display
and the S2 has 2 5.5" displays.
[Details were sparse in this announcement. -- JO]
[2011/04/27]
Apr. 25, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Netgear has released its latest
Dual Band Gigabit Router, its N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
(WNDR4000). The price in the US is $179.99.
[2011/04/27]
Apr. 22, 2011, PR Newswire reports that "Consumer Watchdog" (. . .
"a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization . . . .
www.consumerwatchdog.org") has reported a number of reports and US
legislative proposals to give consumers the right to deny tracking
information to be collected by various tech companies.
[2011/04/23]
Archos Arnova 10" tablet began sales at TigerDirect.ca on Apr. 21, 2011 (or possible a bit
earlier).
[2011/04/21]
This past week saw eLocity update its A7 to version 2.134 (Apr. 17, 2011) which among other
things enabled IPv6. On April 13, Archos updated their Series 8 devices (almost all their
current product line) to its Archos firmware 2.3.20 (still Android 2.2.1) with a lot of
problems solved, and apparently some new ones created. I expect there were a lot of other
similar roll-outs in the Android community as well.
[2011/04/20]
Apr. 15. 2011, PR Newswire reports that Maxthon has announced that its
"Maxthon Mobile for Android" browser can convert from an HTML browser to a
WAP browser on a single click.
[There is no mention of a minimum system. -- JO]
[2011/04/17]
Apr. 14, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile has announced that the
Nexus S(TM) is now available in Canada. It features Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 1
GHz Samsung processor (RAM not specified), 16 GB of iNAND storage memory, a 4"
800 x 480 Super AMOLED screen with a unique curved surface, Near Field Communication
support, and front and back cameras.
[Price was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/04/17]
Apr. 12, 2011, PR Newswire reports that HTC Corp. has announced that it
will bring its "Sensation(TM)" 4G smartphone to T-Mobile in the US.
The unique feature of this phone is its video service "HTC Watch(TM)" which
will utilize its 4.3" qHD display and 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm(R)
Snapdragon(TM) processor.
[This is an unusual announcement because it is a major "smartphone" product
but no operating system is mentioned, implying a proprietary software base. -- JO]
[2011/04/13]
Apr. 7, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Motorola Mobility Canada has
announced that the Motorola Xoom(TM) Wi-Fi is now available for purchase online
from Best Buy and Future Shop, and will be in stores Apr. 8, 2011 at a price
of $599.99 Cdn.
[2011/04/10]
Apr. 6, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Telus has announced plans to build
an LTE network to begin available service in 2012. It is expected to support
download speeds up to 150 Mbps. and upload speeds up to 70 Mbps. This "4G+"
service will be provided on 1700/2100 MHz AWS spectrum.
[2011/04/10]
Apr. 5, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that WIND Mobile has announced what
should be Canada's lowest cost Wireless Internet wireless plan. This plan
is an "unlimited" usage plan.
[Note: Checking their website, the plan is only $29/month for 12 months. Then
the price rises to $45.00/month, which is still pretty good, but not wonderful.
Note that this is all done through the company's data stick. It is not clear
if it would cost the same over a Smartphone. If one is allowed to use Skype
on something like a Samsung Galaxy S, then this is really $29 for literally
"unlimited everything." -- JO]
My first cellphone was bought from a company called Clearnet. The company was bought up by Telus and the fellow who was president of Clearnet continued on at Telus. I do not know what has happened to him since. But things changed. Telus fairly slowly changed my account so that it costed more to use. First they took away "per second billing" which meant that short phone calls used up my "100 minutes per month" faster. Then, I believe they reduced the number of calls on my Call Waiting. I am not certain about that. I would have to look up my original contract, which I have not looked for in a long time. Then they started charging me extra for a printed phone bill. I might be able to bring a legal action on this point -- I am not certain about that.
And then there is the service. Around the time when "1X" started up I found that my original CDMA Sony phone started having problems connecting. I never reported it, but I am fairly certain they knew the problem existed. But I knew that eventually I would want to buy a new handset, so I decided to wait and see if the new handset would "fix" the problem.
In September 2006 starte using an LG6190 which supported "1X" and had a particularly nice keyboard. That fixed my connection problems, and in fact, if it had had Bluetooth support, I might not have changed it again. But when the "no distractions" driving laws came into force, I felt that I needed better support of "hands free" usage. It was legal as it was, since I could use it as a voiced controlled speaker phone, but there would not have been any privacy from a passenger sitting in the car with me. It also supported text messaging. I am not sure if it had a WAP browser. It might have, but I had not interest in trying a WAP brower at the time. Eventually I got a wired headphone set, and for a while I was satisfied with its capabilities. But by then I felt that there were other reasons to move on.
In late Jan. 2011, I began using a Motorola Rival A455 which supports Bluetooth, "EV-DO" and has a QWERTY keyboard. It has had some problems, some of which might have been addressed by a software upgrade that I finally got (after some arguing about it) a couple of weeks ago. It has some flaws, but it is conceptually quite nice. The one problem that I have to address now is that it seems to have connection problems. I have tested it by calling it from my wire phone and sometimes the calls are not being received, despite the calling phone "ringing". Moreover, there are situations where receptions is weaker than I expect it would be -- like standing in the foyer of my Condo, in front of big glass doors and windows.
I believe that this might be a problem caused by the size of the phone, which is quite small. That means the fully enclosed antenna is even smaller. I am preparing to replace the Motorola with another phone temporarily to see if I can tell if there is a difference. However, I also believe that "grid coverage" of the Telus network is not as good as it should be, and this might also be contributing to the problem. I have always felt there were too many "shadow" areas in the west side of Toronto, where I've lived most of my life. I think Telus should have "tightened it up" long ago.
Lastly, I have been trying to find a reasonable low cost service offering to address my changing needs. Telus seems to have taken the opportunity to do just the opposite. They have found more ways to increase the cost of their services. In particular, they have removed "caller ID" from their basic service making it a necessity to add they feature later at an even higher cost. Moreover, they have dropped the lowest cost service's talk minutes down from 100 to 50, which is absurd (my normal phone calls tend to last about 20 min.). Free evenings after 21:00 are useless for most working people (unless you are working nights or very early mornings). Likewise, weekend calling means almost nothing to me.
By comparison, I have found a better suited service at Bell Mobility, though it will require me to go "pre-paid". And there are a couple of offerings by the newer companies that are also interesting.
Looking at the above, there is little I can say positive about Telus. I am going
to hang onto my Telus account for now, but mostly because I want to get some usage
out of these handsets I have. But time will probably find me moving on.
[2011/04/10]
Apr. 5, 2011, PR Newswire reports that according a US study by Arbitron Inc.,
the percentage of Americans 12 years or older who have a smartphone has roughly
doubled from 14% to 31% within the last year.
[2011/04/06]
Apr. 4, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Bell Mobility has announced that
it has enhanced Mobile TV service by bringing CTV content to its broadband
services targeting smartphones and Tablet computers. Services such as "Bell
Mobile TV Variety" are priced at $5.00 Cdn. for 10 hours (including data
charges).
Bell Mobile TV (service) http://Bell.ca/MobileTV
[2011/04/06]
Mar. 28, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Synaptics Incorporated has announced
that Meizu has used its ClearPad(TM) 3000 capacitive sensing technology
it its Meizu M9 Android 2.2 smartphone.
[The Meizu smartphone will probably not come to North America, but it is a
much anticipated product. Meizu is one of the few respected companies in the
Chinese consumer electronics field. -- JO]
Meizu (M9 Smartphone) http://en.meizu.com/
[2011/04/03]
A day late and nothing to report? It happens. Personally, things have been
very busy lately. But on the industry side, the same can be said. I am
expecting news to start coming out of Computex for my next report.
[2011/03/30]
Mar. 24, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Staples has announced that RIM's new
Playbook will be available on April 19, 2011. Some stores will be open 12:00 AM
in order to allow early sales. Pre-orders are now being taken.
[And of course, price was not mentioned in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/03/27]
This is a tricky issue. The problem is that there are a lot of services packages that talk about "unlimited" or otherwise cheap use of a "Mobile Browser". What they mean in general is a WAP browser. The Web has standardized on the HTML browser. Mostly, the Android browsers are combination browsers which handle both HTML and WAP -- which sounds great. The problem is that if the usual Internet (HTML) is used, then one is charged at HTML pricing rates instead of WAP pricing. If your contract says "Free Mobile Browser" and you use HTML, then you will be charged. If your browser handles both, you can inadvertently use HTML, which can be an expensive accident. No browser that I am aware of has a way of warning of, or stopping use of HTML.
So what is the value of a true "Mobile" (WAP-only) browser? The easy
answer: (Cost of using HTML) - (discount for using WAP). Unfortunately,
I have been looking for a pure WAP browser for Android, and I have not
found one.
[2011/03/27]
I think this is the latest I have actually posted an update. When it gets this late I
usually skip it and wait to the next update. However, some semi-interesting announcements
have been made. The Xoom was sort-of announced (coming Mid-year?). The Google Nexus S
4G was also sort of announced as coming to Sprint (US), but has actually been selling in the
US since Dec. 16, 2010. It is expected in Canada in the first week of April (though it has
NOT been announced yet). But the Kyocera Echo Dual-Touchscreen phone (which has already
been announced as coming on April 17 to Sprint in the US -- but not Canada) has suddenly
become interesting due to its actively courting of developers to provide enhanced apps
to make use of the extra screen space. This latter announcement is worth noting. The
"Echo" might be the most significant product for 2011. We'll have to wait and see. . . .
[2011/03/26]
Mar. 21, 2011, Business Wire reports that Kyocera Communications Inc. has
announced the launch of the "Kyocera Android Developer Program" in support
of its "Kyocera Echo(TM)"dual-touchscreen Android based smartphone which
will be carried exclusively by Sprint (in the US) on April 17, 2011.
The two screens can be used as independent windows for improved multi-tasking
or combined for a single use. In all, it boasts four modes of operation:
"Single-Screen Mode" (using only 1 of the screens), "Simul-Task(TM) Mode,
"Optimized Mode" (for single program, but independent display use), and
"Tablet Mode" (which combines the two screens into a single display.
[Base price was not given in the announcement, but a 2 year contract can
include the Echo at $199 US. This is one of the most interesting products in
both the new tablet market and phone market -- which is why I am including it
despite it not being announced in Canada yet. -- JO]
Echo By Kyocera (phone) http://www.echobykyocera.com/
[2011/03/21]
Mar. 21, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Wizcom Technologies has released its
Quicktionary(R) TS Premium portable dictionary and scanning device.
[Price and availability not clearly provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/03/21]
Mar. 21, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Motorola Mobility, Inc. has
announced that the Xoom(TM) tablet which features a 10.1" 1280 x 800 pixel
display will be available in Canada mid-year.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/03/23]
Mar. 21, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced that
it has filed Patent infringement cases against Foxconn, Barnes & Noble and
Inventec in regard to infringement claimed by Microsoft against Android.
[2011/03/21]
Mar. 21, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Telus has announced that they
will have the Motorola "Xoom" WiFi tablet running Android 3.0, with prices
starting at $599.99 Cdn. Telus also announced that they will have the
Motorola Defy running Android 2.2. When? They did not say. For how
much? They did not say.
[This is rediculous. I wish these companies would stop using these
"non-announcements". It is a waste of my time. Long time readers will
know that sometimes I simply skip them. -- JO]
[2011/03/21]
I hope this is not too much of a disappointment. I have had a very
hard week and fell asleep yesterday while researching this page.
Unfortunately, in the end, there was nothing really significant to
report. Frankly, after the Japan earthquake, everything seems a bit
trivial. But no, I did not let that affect my judgement.
[2011/03/16]
Mar. 11, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Rogers Communications Inc.
has announced that it is supporting Wi-Fi voice service on smartphones
using "Unlicensed Mobile Access" (UMA). The service is a $10 per month
extra charge on top of an existing "Rogers Business Voice Plan". Calls
over the Wi-Fi network are not charged. The service handles hand-offs
to Rogers Cellular network when the user leaves the Wi-Fi service area.
Currently, the service is available for compatible BlackBerry smartphones.
[2011/03/13]
I have not mentioned the New Zealand earthquake, which I had been
hearing about, and considered devastation beyond what I could imagine.
Now the story continues in Japan, and one can expect that it may still
continue in another part of the world. My condolences to all who
have suffered such loses.
[2011/03/13]
Mar. 8, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that TELUS has announced that
they will be selling "Canada's first 4G smartphone, the Samsung
Galaxy S Fascinate 4G" which features download speeds up to 21
Mbps (50% faster than any other Mfr. rated smartphone in Canada).
It features 2 cameras (one rear and one front) and Android 2.2
firmware, with Android 2.3 to be provided later, and a 1650 mAh
battery.
[I do not like to report announcements like this where neither
the price nor a delivery date is given. -- JO]
[2011/03/09]
Mar. 7, 2011, PR Newswire reports that IN Media Corp. has announced that
its "Tablet PC 7" will come with Android 2.2 and will be available in
April at a SRP of $199 US.
[2011/03/09]
Like it or not, the big companies are not producing really great
products. They come close, but for one reason or another, they
cannot "do the job." Take this Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for example.
The refurbed version I bought was junked up with a bunch of "apps"
that had no purpose for me, and for which AT&T and Samsung would not
allow me to get rid of -- not according to how they built the firmware.
It was supposed to be "permanent." Moreover, it was clearly still
buggy despite it having "Update1" firmware. The USB connection was
at best, unreliable. Luckily, the Android system had enough room for
"volunteers" to come along and find ways to get around these issues.
I eventually got an unofficial ROM running on my unit. It is not
perfect from my point of view, but it comes pretty close. The
only thing missing is a way to completely shut down the phone
circuitry, which I believe is still active. The battery drains
about 10% over 16 hours of the unit being "off". This is far too
much for a clock alone, which is all that should be running.
I now have as good a base device as I can get in this current market.
I have room for Apps that could in theory bring the Captivate up to
a point of usefulness where it might actually replace my Palm TX.
Unfortunately, the Apps have not been written. The current Apps have
been written by people more interesting in fancy toys rather than
intelligent ways to get work done. There *are* good Apps that help
get work done, but surprisingly few, and nothing as "advanced" as
say, "ThoughtManager" by "Hands High" which I still use daily on the
Palm TX.
[2011/03/06]
Mar. 4, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Motorola Mobility Canada and
Bell have announced that Bell Mobility will have the Motorola ATRIX(TM)
from March 17. Aside from the now well known dual-core processor and
Android 2.2 software, the ATRIX features a unique 540 x 960 (qHD) 4"
screen, and 1 GB RAM. Base price for the Atrix will be $599.95 Cdn.
[2011/03/06]
Mar. 2, 2011, Business Wire reports that Apple(R) has introduced its
iPad(TM) 2 which comes with Apple's new "iOS 4.3" software. It will
be available in the US on Mar. 11, and in Canada on March 25. The
lowest price 16GB version has a suggested retail price of $499 US.
[I think most people know enough about this product that I can
skip most details. The most common question I run into is "is it
worth it?" which I expect is meant relative to other similar products.
Sadly, I find these devices so personal, that I can only say, try a
few yourself and make up your own mind. I have used more than a
half dozen products in the general class already. -- JO]
[2011/03/02]
Did I mention that I bought a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S Captivate
(US AT&T version)? I have been trying to create a viable upgrade path
both for my Palm TX and for my Nokia N810. The "Galaxy S" line of
Android based devices was among the most likely. Unfortunately, I have
been having problems trying to replace the default firmware with a
better type. I succeeded in "rooting" the phone, but for some reason,
it failed to upgrade the firmware.
[2011/03/02]
I completed all my usual searches and found nothing to report from Canada
Newswire, PR Newswire nor Business Wire. That works out well because after
some extensive testing I have some good news regarding Archos Gen 8 devices
and the eLocity A7 Android tablet.
[2011/02/27]
I could have titled this one "Stability At Last". My preliminary testing for
Archos release 2.1.08 (Android version Froyo 2.2.1) appears to indicate that
it no longer deletes or corrupts .JPEG files, nor any other media files. I
can now recommended these Archos devices again. The Archos A70SIT is a
particular favorite of mine, because of its versatile size and capabilities.
[2011/02/27]
On Feb. 24, 2011, eLocity released its 2.0133 firmware release. The main
criticism I have for this Firmware is that the "Back" button causes an
immediate exit from the "HTML Viewer" (for viewing local HTML files on an
microSD card) instead of "stepping back" to the most immediate preceding
page.
[2011/02/27]
Feb. 23, 2011, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced that
it is the exclusive e-tailer of HP's new DM1 notebook computer. With its 11.6"
screen, this is a true "notebook computer, featuring an AMD E350 dual-core
processor. It includes a built in Webcam with noise-reducing microphone.
[Price and availability were not provided in the announcement. I checked the
Website and the DM1-3040CA is currently $599.99 Cdn. & taxes. Among its
drawbacks are the lack of optical drive and it comes with a Canadian "Bilingual"
keyboard -- aka the French keyboard, whether or not you want it. -- JO]
[2011/02/23]
Feb. 22, 2011, PR Newswire reports that NetQin has found a new Android
targeted virus it calls "Hong Tou Tou" which hides in legitimate apps such
as "RoboDefense". It seeks out private information and sends it to a
remote server. NetQin 4.6 protects against the virus.
[2011/02/23]
I have a unique reason for being late this time. I was actually
planning to be on-time. Then I got food poisoning on Saturday and
lost over 2 days of work. I am deciding what I am going to do about
this incident. But enough of that for now.
[2011/02/20]
Feb. 15, 2011, PR Newswire reports that HTC has announced that it
plans to produce an "HTC Flyer(TM)" tablet computer which features
its "HTC Sense" interface which combines "natural touch and pen
interaction", as well as "HTC Watch" which is a video service and
mobile gaming by collaborating with "OnLive, Inc." The only major
specification given was a 1.5 GHz processor speed and that it will
be available in 2011 Q2.
[2011/02/20]
Feb. 14, 2011, Business Wire reports that Pandigital has announced that
they have made available for its 7" Novel colour eReaders bringing them
a full Android environment with capability to download Apps. The
update is free.
[2011/02/17]
Feb. 11, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Bell has the exclusive
distribution of the HTC HD7 "Windows Phone 7"-powered smartphone.
This phone features a 4.3" (800 * 480) display, 1 GHz Qualcomm(R)
Snapdragon(TM) processor and Wi-Fi (802.11 b, g, n), for $599.95
Cdn. (if bought without a plan).
[Simply put, this was not that significant an announcement, but I felt
that I had not covered "Windows Phone 7" sufficiently. -- Jim O.]
[2011/02/17]
The most interesting local development is that tablet computers have finally started showing up in mainstream stores in Canada. The weekly Zeller's flyer for Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, shows a 'Craig(R) 7" Touch Screen Tablet' featuring Google Android OS for $149.99 Cdn., and a white 'Craig(R) eReader' with a 7" colour Touch Screen and 4GB internal memory for $79.99 Cdn.
Walmart has had eReaders before, and their flyer shows the "Sony PRS350S Reader Pocket Edition" for $168.00 Cdn.
The Canadian "TigerDirect.ca" website has a "tablets" link. The BestBuy.ca website
also finally got a link under Computers for "Tablets & iPads". Aside from a couple
of Archos products, (and Velocity Micro tablets for Boxing Day), they have been late
getting such devices into their stores. They now have the Asus Eee Tablets, which
are around $1,000 Cdn, and will probably not sell very well, and some Viewsonic 7"
tablets, and Samsung Galaxy Tablets, but oddly, that is all right now. Note that
the Archos products do not show up in the "Tablets" page. They show up under the
"MP3 Players" page.
[2011/02/13]
Feb. 9, 2011, PR Newswire reports that MetroPCS Communications, Inc. in the US and Samsung Telecommunications America have introduced the Samsung Galaxy Indulge(TM) 4G LTE Android(TM) smartphone. It became available last week at a retail price of $399 US.
[NOTE: According to Samsung's Webpage, this device features a 3.5" HVGA TFT display
and a slide out horizontal QWERTY keyboard. It is launching with Android 2.2. -- JO]
[2011/02/13]
Not much I can say about being so late. I am posting this on the Saturday
and expect to replace it tomorrow. I did include a short piece on
"Cold Weather Computing" which will interest some people. Hopefully, I will
get on track soon.
[2011/02/12]
Feb. 8, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Telus will launch
"Dual Cell-HSPA+" ["DC-HSPC+"] Internet access service which can achieve
download speeds up to 42 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds up
to 11 Mbps. The first target device which will make full use of these
capabilities will be the Sierra Wireless AirCard 319U 4G Internet Key,
which will be available from Telus in March.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2011/02/09]
Feb. 7, 2011, Canada Newswire reports tha Telus has announced that SIM
based phones bought from Telus will be unlocked on request at a cost of
$50 for devices that have been used for over 90 days.
[2011/02/09]
This winter and especially the last couple of weeks have brought cold into the vocabulary of normally hot climate dwellers in the US. The Superbowl in Texas was preceded by cold and snow, causing concern that the tourist dollars would avoid the state.
From a mobile computing perspective, there is little to say that is new, and it is not worth my time refreshing my research. I will summarize the concerns and give a couple of thoughts.
The first concern for mobile devices in cold weather is that LCD technology simply does not work in the cold. The "liquid" gets too sluggish, and I guess in the end it probably goes solid. If you take a cell phone outside in cold weather, when the screen gets cold it stops working.
I do not have information about the "eReader" displays, but I can say that LED screens can function at much lower temperatures, and AMOLED screens are included in this.
The next most common problem is battery power. This issue has changed in recent years. In the early days, we used Ni-Cad and eventually NiMH rechargeable batteries, or Alkaline disposables. In these cases, cold temperature would decrease voltage down to unusable levels, but as far as I could tell, when the batteries were brought back up to human temperatures the batteries functioned as before the temperture reduction. I found no evidence that the batteries were damaged in any way, at least down to regular "freezing" temperatures.
Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries, on the other hand, can be damaged by an extreme temperature drop. I do not know exactly what happens, but I have personally seen batteries die from temperatures around "freezing". Those batteries must be replaced.
Lastly, regarding mechanical issues, there is little that can be said generally. Some of the plastic materials, if poorly chosen, could become brittle and break more easily in cold weather. Lubrication can harden. Hard Disc Drives should not be taken into extremely cold temperatures. The discs can warp and would have to be replaced. All these issues are subject to engineering decisions which depend on the intentions and skill of the design and production engineers.
Of the current products on the market, the devices that have the most
hope for cold weather use are the AMOLED screen cellphones such as
the Samsung Galaxy S series devices. However, they need to be kept
warm in order for the battery to survive. Replacing the battery with
a power cable connected to a battery inside ones coat might be a
practical answer. It would best be done with a replacement battery
pack with a specially modified back cover.
[2011/02/09]
Feb. 6, 2011, Business Wire reports that Best Buy has announced that
its buy-back program will be available for free for the week ending
Feb. 12, 2011. The program was started in January and covers products
in good working order with original parts.
[2011/02/06]
Feb. 4, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Stream TV Networks has
announced that the eLocity A10 will be pre-orderable from February
15, 2011 through Amazon.com, JR.com, TigerDirect.com and BHPhoto.com.
The A10.004 (4GB) will be orderable at a special discounted price of
$399 US for early orders. The A10 will have "the highest available
screen resolution of 1366 x 768 on a 10.1 inch IPS multi-touch
screen. The A10 series will ship with Android 2.2 (Froyo).
eLocityNow.com tablet computers
[2011/02/06]
Feb. 4, 2011, eLocity has released its A7 series Android Tablet Firmware
Update Version 2.0127 available immediately via free download at their
"elocitynow.com" Website.
[2011/02/06]
I have had the eLocity A7 since around January 24. I wish I could say that I have had a chance to really jump into it and know everything about it, but that is not even close to being true. I can say a few things about it though.
From the Firmware, it appears that the A7's are being made by Compal Electronics which is currently the 2nd largest maker of laptop computers in Taiwan. That also makes them the 2nd largest in the world. Exactly how far Compal is involved can only be guessed, but considering that Stream TV is a new startup company, one can guess that the design and manufacturing, and software work is probably all being done by Compal. Though in fairness, looking at the "eLocityNow.com" website, it is clear that the company has someone with a good feel for the industry somewhere near its top. Small touches like the well selected Apps available for download directly from their Website, the fact that the Manual is being updated along with the firmware, and that both are evolving rapidly.
It was immediately evident that the unit was well made. The fit and finish of the case was overall, excellent. The only weak point was that the top edge of the back cover barely closes with the upper edge of the main case and it leaves just a bit of air gap. This could allow dust and water entry.
The back cover can be removed easily with the aid of a needle to remove the rubber screw covers on the bottom case on either side of the expansion port. A Torx-6 screw driver fits these screws. Inside, it is clear that the base device has been designed to be easily expanded to cover HSDPA+ or other broadband upgrades -- though the lack of a socket for a Mini-PCIe card shows an intention to build such expanded units fully within the company.
The battery is securely held by four Philips head screws, and shielding covers
all major circuitry.
More to come later.
[2011/02/06]
Feb. 1, 2011, yes, I am 2 days late again, and for roughly the same reason as last time.
Archos released firmware version 2.1.04 on Feb. 1 and I have been installing and testing
it. The bottom line is that, although it is generally a better image, it still can
cause file corruption of .JPG files on an microSD-Card, so I still cannot recommend
this software. It might be worth considering its use if one is not interested in
using and SD-Card at all, but that is not really practical.
[2011/02/02]
Feb. 3, 2011, Eric Brown reports for LinuxforDevices.com that Google on Feb. 2,
2011, Google demonstrated its tablet-only Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" software.
Statements by Google representatives indicate that there will be a separation
from 2.x series software for now. Features will migrate from 3.0 to 2.x, but
3.0 will not be released in a "cellphone" version.
[2011/02/03]
Feb. 3, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced that
it is the "exclusive Canadian carrier of the ASUS Eee Slate Tablet." The
computer is currently available, but no price was announced.
[2011/02/03]
This report is being posted 2 days late. However, I have yet another unexpected
but good reason. Archos has been busy posting firmware updates and I have been
busy installing and testing them. My report follows:
[2011/02/01]
Jan. 26, 2011, Archos released its version 2.1.02 firmware update package for
its Generation 8 Android Tablets (24, 32, 43, 70 and 101). Due to the discovery
of a bug in the installation it was replaced on Jan. 27, 2011 with version
2.1.03, which apparently has no internal changes, but a less buggy installation.
[NOTE: I installed the later 2.1.03 on my 32 and 70, and it also had minor
bugs in its installation. However, it did eventually install on both devices.
Sadly, though it had many bug fixes, and I think I can say is over more stable,
it still can damage at least some files on the MicroSD card when Gallery is used,
though this may be limited to the image rotation functions. So I still cannot
recommend these products. But it is getting there. . . . -- JO]
[2011/01/30]
Jan. 26, 2011, Canada Newswire reports that Groupe Dumoulin, CIARA Technologies
and EXOPC have announced that the CIARA VIBE tablet is now available through
Dumoulin stores. Featuring a 1.6 GHz Atom(TM) "Pineview" processor, 2 GB of
RAM, an 11.6" (29.5 cm) 1366 X 768 screen, USB and mini-HDMI ports, and the EXOPC
front end over Windows 7, it is priced at $649 Cdn.
Dumoulin Stores
[2011/01/30]
As I noted above there was nothing worth reporting today in the news
bulletins I have received. However, I was switching cellphones over the
last couple of days and I have run into an unusual problem. Because of
my long delay switching to my newest cell phone, it has fallen out of
warranty. This would not normally be a problem, except that Motorola's
support policy is that downloadable firmware upgrades will only be
available during the warranty period. Unfortunately, I bought a new
Motorola A455 "Rival" handset that requires a firmware upgrade.
So far, their upgrade installation program reports that there is an
upgrade available, but that I will not be allowed to download and install
it because I am "too late". This is absurd, and I think possibly illegal.
I will try to report further on this issue.
[2011/01/26]
Jan. 19, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Cisco has announced that its Linksys
E4200 Maximum Performance, Dual-Band Wireless-N router features simultaneous
Wireless-N connectivity on the 2.4 and 5.0 GHz bands. It also features 6
antennae for its six transievers for up to 300 Mbps on 2.4 and up to 450 Mbps
on its G network. MRSP at Best Buy in the next few months, costing about
[2011/01/23]
Well, I am late again, but this time I have a fairly unique excuse. I have
recently purchased an eLocity A7 Android Tablet and I have been setting it up
and using it. It has some surprising differences from the Archos products.
I will try to write a bit about it later this month.
[2011/01/24]
Jan. 19, 2010, Michelle Maisto wrote for eWeek/"LinuxDevices.com" that Samsung Mobile has denied charging for the Android "Froyo" (2.2) upgrade for the Galaxy S.
"Samsung Mobile, apparently looking to clear up the matter, sent an email to PhoneScoop Jan. 18, saying, "No. Samsung is not charging carriers for Froyo updates to Galaxy S. We hope to have more detail on status shortly. Promise!"
Regarding the cause of the update's delay, a Samsung Mobile spokesperson wrote to CNET Jan. 13 that the update is a complicated matter that the company is working to get right. . . ."
[Considering how difficult it has been for Archos to provide a "safe" version of Android 2.2
for their 8th Generation products (the current 2.0.71 version has a very significant file
killing bug in it, clearly, Samsung's delay is not unreasonable. -- JO]
[2010/01/20]
I must apologize for being late again, posting this, but I have simply been so busy that I could
not get it done in time. It did, however, make possible my reporting on the current controversy
about Samsung's delay for Android 2.2 upgrades. I only got the relevant information in the last
day.
[2011/01/20]
I am reviewing some older material in order to write something new.
I cannot say more than that right now. But there was nothing new worth
reporting at this time.
[2011/01/16]
Jan. 10, 2011, Business Wire reports that Motion(R) will be demonstrating its
new CL900 Tablet PC at the National Retail Federation's 100th Annual Convention
and EXPO, Jan. 9 - 12, 2011 in New York City.
[2011/01/12]
This report was delayed by my typical embarrassing reason of having simply fallen
asleep while I was preparing it. Then again, there is little to say about the
biggest news for the period, which was that the Android tablets showed up en masse
as expected. According to LinuxForDevices.com, various reliable sources (LAPTOPS
Magazine, CNet, etc.) reported 51 - 75 laptop products at CES, the vast majority
being Android based. The general feeling was that most of these products were not
ready for market and many would probably disappear quickly. Having seen problems
even in a company as established in this field as Archos, such results would not
surprise me.
[2011/01/13]
There is a bug in both the first two versions of Android 2.2.1 released by Archos
which has the potential of killing or corrupting files. Mainly these are JPEG
files (and AVI) and so far, all on the external MicroSD card port. For the sake of
clarity, do NOT install Archos firmware versions 2.0.54 or 2.0.71. If possible
upgrade as far as 1.0.84, and hold onto that version until the next 2.2.1 comes
out, and maybe longer to be sure that it has the file killing bug(s) fixed.
Stating it clearly, version 1.0.84, which is "Eclair", Android 2.1, is safe
enough to use, but none of the 2.2.1 versions (2.0.54 and 2.0.71) are safe. Hopefully,
the next one will be.
[2011/01/12]
Jan. 7, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Fuzou Rockchip Electronics Co., Ltd.,
has introduced its RK29xx series of SoC's. Using 55-nm technology it
integrates an ARM(R) Cortex-A8 CPU with NEON SIMD engine it supports full
hardware decode of VP8 which is the open WebM video format.
[2011/01/09]
For many years, starting back around 2000, I have been watching and anticipating the return of keyboard-less computers about the size of the original Newton and the Newton 2000. It is not because I feel that these were a wondeful size. It is because I have always felt that a variety of sizes should be available for people to chose from. I have a few sizes of tablet computers now, and each has its own reason to be used. I am hoping to see more variety in the future.
Not a surprise at this point, but the variety of sizes that we are seeing
is the result of the now clear popularity of the Android system which
has proven adaptable for a number of varied devices, from the "Nook"
to the Archos A32 pocket Internet Tablet. It is expected that CES will
be called the Android-land CES.
[2011/01/05]
Jan. 5, 2011, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced that its 7"
1024 x 600 WSVGA display, Android 2.2 based Galaxy Tab will be available
for purchase in the US in 2011, Q1. Price was not provided in the announcement.
[2011/01/05]
Jan. 3, 2011, PR Newswire reports that Stream TV Networks has announced that
it will launch its new 10" screen based "eLocity A10" line of Android tablet
computers for pre-orders on January 17, 2011. The new products will be
named A10.1 thorugh to A10.7. Details will be released at CES on January
6, 2011.
eLocity, Stream TV Networks, Tablet Computers
[2011/01/05]
Jan. 3, 2011, PR Newswire reports that VIZIO, Inc., has announced that it is expanding
beyond its LCD TV market roots by bringing out an Android smartphone and an
Android Tablet computer. Both feature, among other things, a 1 GHz processor,
802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The VIZIO VIA Phone will have a 4" screen
while the VIZIO VIA Tablet will have an 8" screen.
[2011/01/05]
2010/12/29 Eric Brown, LinuxForDevices.com reports that Cowan has announced
that its D3 Plenue will be an Android 2.1 based device with 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
or 64GB of internal Flash memory, supporting up to 32GB of microSD expansion.
The display is a 3.7" AMOLED touchscreen, 800 x 480 resolution. Other
features include 1080p HD playback which is supported with both HDMI and
composite outputs and speakers, an accelerometer and vibration feedback.
Wireless capabilities include 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 and FM radio and recorder.
It comes in black or purple and is 4.6" x 2.5" x 0.46" [116.4 x 64.2 x 11.8 mm],
weighing 4.2 oz [120 g.]. There will be no camera or GPS. This device will
likely be limited to the Korean market.
[2011/01/02]
2010/12/27, Jonathan Angel, LinuxForDevices.com reports that
Onkyo has announced that its TA117 Internet Tablet will be
available with 512MB or 1GB or RAM, 8GB or 16GB of Flash
storage, a 10.1" diagonal 1024 x 600 resolution screen, 1.3
MP camera, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1, microSD, USB 2.0
Host and Slave ports, 3.5mm headphone jack. Size
is 10.5" x 6.8" [actually 267 x 173 x 14.8 mm, 800 g.] and
the battery will be 3,650 mAh. The processor will be a 1 GHz
nVidia Tegra 250.
[Note: Some information was taken directly from Onkyo's Website.
eWeek notes that this device appears "very similar" to the Viewsonic
G-Tablet announced in September and recently available. -- JO]
[2011/01/02]
Last week, if I had completed my regular research on time, I would have had some
interesting things to report. So as some might expect, I completed my research
on time this week, and, well, there was nothing. However, that is not the
end of the story.
[2010/12/29]
I do not have any sales figures yet, it is a safe assumption that the vast
majority of Archos tablets sold before Christmas, as they became available.
And then, on Christmas day, a large number of them all switched on -- and
tried in vain to reach "AppsLib.com" to look for updates. There were so
many calls that Appslib mainly failed.
I had noticed before that Appslib was not ready for success. Even on a normal
day, if you browse far into a category, it gets slow too fast. Maybe after
about the first 100 Apps it starts to slow down noticeably.
A few of days before Christmas, I received my new A70IT. I had it working,
and I even had the 2.0.71 upgrade working before Christmas Day. I could have
avoided needing AppsLibe on Christmas day, if I had thought about it, but I did
not. On Christmas day, I decided to install "Market". This has nothing to do
with Appslib directly, but after the installation, I wanted to check that all my
Apps were properly updated, and that is where Appslib failed. I tried again
later and it failed again. Since I was home anyway I tried about ever two hours,
and it failed every time.
To be certain I tried with my older Archos 7 Home Tablet. I also tried Market on
both these computers and it was not having any noticeable problems.
The situation did not change on the 26th or 27th. On the 28th, at 8:50 it was open
enough for me to do some updating, but by 15:50 it was too busy again.
I do not know the ownership structure of "AppsLib Ltd." which is the company that
runs AppsLib. They list a number of "partners", but there is no clear statement
of who owns what. All the products listed as supported are Archos, so it may be
that they hold a majority part.
The company needs to make a substantial investment. The main database needs to be
in memory. And maybe one or two others. The internet connection probably also
needs to be expanded.
[2010/12/29]
Dec. 22, 2010, PR Newswire reports that In Media Corp. has announced the release of
its Windows 7 Tablet PC, based on a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom processor and 160 GB HD.
The screen is 11.25" by 6". It is expect to be available 2011, Q1 at a suggested
retail price of $399 US.
[2010/12/26]
Dec. 22, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Streetline and the City of Los Angeles have
announced the first real-time parking App. It covers the area around Hollywood and
is available for $1.99 US from the App Store.
[2010/12/26]
Dec. 21, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Canada's Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart
has warned new users of smartphones to be be careful about researching new Apps and be sure
to know what personal data such programs might be collecting and where such data is going.
[2010/12/26]
Dec. 20, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co., Ltd. will release
its RK29xx series System-On-a-Chip products based on 55-nm technology. Projected features
include 1080p HD decoding of popular formats and WebM VP8 video codec. CES runs Jan. 6-9,
2011.
[2010/12/26]
I did not intend to miss my mid-week update, and looking at today's posting, everything
would have been covered in it. I also missed my chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
However, I can wish you all a Happy New Year!
[2010/12/26]
Samsung Galaxy S Upgrade to Android (Froyo) 2.2
Dec. 13, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile Canada has
announced the upgrade schedule for Android 2.2 (Froyo) for the Galaxy S
family devices. The upgrade for the Galaxy S Vibrant was immediately
available. Upgrades for the Galaxy S Captivate and the Galaxy S
Fascinate 3G+ will be availaable "later this month."
[2010/12/19]
On about Thursday last week, the Archos 70IT at TigerDirect.ca became "available" for immediate shipment. On Friday night, I decided to order one for myself. I felt that it would be a good overall product, and the last Internet Tablet that I would buy for now.
On the other hand, by Sunday morning the Archos 70IT was gone from the
current product list again, and the Archos 101IT became pre-orderable
as shipping within 7 - 21 days.
[2010/12/19]
As I have said, I expect there will not be much to report till the near the New Year.
This was the case for the early part of this week.
[2010/12/15]
Actually, the Archos 70IT has been "orderable" at a least one other store as well,
but I think it is significant that TigerDirect.ca, which has had the product in
stock before, now feels confident enough in the situation to advertise it
as shipping within 7 - 21 days.
[2010/12/15]
As of this afternoon I found the Archos 101 at TigerDirect.ca (in stock).
I have no idea how many they have in, or how fast they will sell. If you
are interested, good luck!
[2010/12/09]
When I checked TigerDirect.ca on Saturday Dec. 11, the Archos 101's were gone.
If you wanted one, I hope you got it.
[2010/12/12]
Dec. 3, 2010, Rogers Communications Inc. called Tablets the "Dashboards
of Tomorrow." A number of developments were announced, but most significantly
was the announcement of "new data sharing plans that enable customers to
seamlessly and easily share data from one plan across multiple devices.
With these new plans, customers can take their existing plans and add
a data sharing add-on for as low as an additional $15 per month."
[2010/12/12]
There was nothing really exceptional in the reports that I checked for
the early part of this week. I expect there will not be much till next year.
I will try to add my own information to make up for the empty space.
[2010/12/08]
It will not come as a big surprise that I have found nothing to report in
the general array of press releases for end of last week.
[2010/12/05]
With the above out of the way, I can get on to something "fun", if you have a particular sense of humour. If the Android Tablet has become the news maker of the last quarter of this calendar year, then availability of the Archos 8th generation product line has become the real "must watch" topic. As of this minute every product from the Archos 43 up to the Archos 101 are effectively "sold out" around the world. A few show up, and they are quickly sold. Early last week, I finally gave up waiting for the Archos 70 and decided to buy an Archos 32 IT, so I could at least start trying out the Android 2.2 system. I found that a Toronto area store had them "In Stock" according to their website. I tried to call and reserve one, but I did not get an answer to my phone call. I then went to the store, and could not find them on the shelves.
I flagged down a salesman and asked if he could check for them. Starting online, he found that indeed the store had 2 somewhere. They were not on the floor, so he checked the stock area. After much hunting, he found one for me, and I now own that Archos 32 IT, which I have since upgraded to Android 2.2.1.
Then, later in the week, I think on Thursday night, the Archos 70 IT showed
up on the TigerDirect.ca website. By Sunday, they were gone. How many?
I, for one, will probably never know. Since I just got my A32IT, I decided
not to bother with an online order. I will wait till they show up in the
stores. But clearly, the "trickle" distribution means that you have to
make an effort to be on top of the situation.
[2010/12/05]
Nov. 30, 2010, Archos has released Android version 2.2.1 for its 8th
generation tablets (the Archos 28/32/43/70/101 internet tablets).
The actual release package is 2.0.54 and is now available as a free
download.
[2010/12/01]
Nov. 23, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Bell Mobility has announced
that the 42 Mbps Novatel Wireless U547 Turbo Stick is now available which
increases the download speed from 21 Mbps to 42 Mbps. Upload speed is
5.7 Mbps. Base price is $199.95.
[2010/11/28]
Nov. 24, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy Canada has
announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is now available in its
stores, for use on the Bell and Rogers networks.
[2010/11/24]
Nov. 22, 2010, Business Wire reports that Apple(R) has announced that
iOS 4.2 for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone is available as a downloadable
upgrade.
[2010/11/24]
I am not expecting a lot of significant announcements after this week. With Christmas shopping coming up, it would not be smart to introduce new product. The smart companies will push products introduced within the last 4 - 6 months. Those products are getting well enough known to sell.
The big question for this year is what products are going to be available
on the shelves? I have been following the Archos Android tablet products
in recent weeks, largely because I intend to buy one. They have been trickling
into North America. I expect that they are given priority in Europe. According
to an independent Website, the Archos 70, for example, arrived and sold out
in a couple of days, earlier this week. The next shipment is not due till
the 1st half of December (probably just before the 15th). The Archos 101
is following a similar delivery pattern. At this minute, the only Archos
Gen 8 product I can buy is the Archos 32 Android tablet. I have actually
considered getting one of these, just to have an Android 2.2 product for
testing. It is still cheaper than getting a phone.
[2010/11/21]
Nov. 17, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Bell Canada has announced that
the Samsung Galaxy Tab is now available in Canada for $649.95 on a prepaid
plan or $599/95 on a postpaid plan after bill credit. It is powered by
Android 2.2 and is supported by Android Market.
[2010/11/17]
Nov. 15, 2010 PR Newswire reports that Rhapsody has announced that its
Android 2.0 compatible App is now available for download from Android
Market. The subscription service allows downloading tracks for off-line
playback anywhere, anytime.
[The significance of this App is that it "de-clouds" the Android system. -- JO]
[2010/11/17]
Nov. 10, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Open Text Corporation has
shown its new release of Open Text Everywhere with native client apps
for RIM BlackBerry, Apple iPhone and iPad.
[2010/11/14]
Nov. 10, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Rogers Communications Inc.
has announced that the Dell Streak Android based 5" screen Internet
Tablet is now available. [The actual price was not provided in the
announcement. -- JO]
[2010/11/14]
I am posting this almost a day late due to an unusual work crunch that
could not be avoided. Yet after all that work, having gone through the
announcements, there was nothing to report. Check back next week.
[2010/11/10]
There are some issues going either way, but the biggest point ignored by many people is "old school" v "cloud based" usage patterns. There are people who will say that they want large capacity storage to carry all their videos and music. If this is done, then hundreds of MB or even many GB are needed for "on device" storage. The "cloud based" approach is to store most (or all) content on a server and to downloaded as needed or desired just before viewing. The home user will use something like a good quality NAS for this, and possibly allow Internet access as well as local site access.
The counterpoint to this is approach is that obviously, if a number
of files are clearly being accessed over and over again, then these
files should be loaded on the remote unit directly. But these should
not exceed the capacity of current SDHC-Card memory (8GB is the current
limit on some Android devices).
[2010/11/07]
Back on Oct. 10, I noted that TigerDirect.ca had begun taking pre-orders for the new line of Archos Android tablets. Most of the new line was orderable for delivery Oct. 31, or Nov. 1, 2010. Those dates have come and gone, so where is everything? Most of the pre-order listings disappeared from the TigerDirect.ca website. I assume that the pre-orders were delivered, but there was nothing remaining to advertise. The sole exception were the "Archos 43" devices which are still being advertised for pre-orders for delivery on "Oct. 31." It is all inexplicable to me right now.
I have seen the Archos 32 model in the local BestBuy. That particular branch still
has the Archos 7 Home Tablet for $199.99 Cdn. and some Archos 5 Internet Tablets.
I have also seen Archos 5 varients in the local TigerDirect.ca store. The SIG
store is advertising pre-orders of some of the new Android 2.1-2.2 devices for
delivery mid-November. So I am expecting to see the 43, 70 and 101's come into
local stores around then (mid-November).
[2010/11/07]
Nov. 3, 2010, Business Wire reports that the Wireless Gigabit Alliance
(WiGig Alliance) and the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)
have announced their agreement to work on the development of standards
for "multi-gigabit wireless DisplayPort capabilities" and a certification
program for that standard.
[2010/11/03]
There was nothing to report in the latter part of this week, so I decided to start a comment, which I would like to expand upon someday. I generally prefer to write positive comments, though some people might find this surprising in light of many of my recent writing. I have rarely stated that there were broad ranges of products which should be considered with skepticism. But I have actually long felt that this was true.
For example, buying the latest technology, in cases where there has clearly been insufficient time to test it, is a generally poor choice. Do you really believe that a few days (not even a couple of "weeks") of use is enough for a magazine writer to test a Smartphone, or a Netbook? Don't be silly! It is generally wise to buy something that has been on the open market for a while (not just the hands of a couple of writers) and has an established real-world reputation.
I should have more to say about this in the future.
[2010/10/31]
Oct. 24, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that according to Conrado Avendano
of Nascentis Reproductive Medical Center in Argentina, a study has shown
that "microwave radiation from a laptop computer connected by WiFi may
damage DNA and decrease sperm motility" and "[t]he DNA damage to sperm
happened in only four hours."
[2010/10/24]
Oct. 21, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that the European Journal of Oncology
has published results of a study by Dr. Magda Havas PhD, assoc. prof. at
Trent University, that radio waves from cordless phones caused heart
fluctuations in 40% of 25 test subjects.
[2010/10/24]
Oct. 20, 2010, Business Wire reports that "[l]awyers from Stanford Law
School's Fair Use Project (FUP) and Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP [have] filed
a petition for a writ of certiorari . . ., asking the United States Supreme
Court to review the constitutionality of a federal statute that removes
thousands of foreign works from the Public Domain and places them under
copyright protection. . . . A 1994 amendment to the [US] Copyright Act,
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), removed these works and many others
from the Public Domain and placed them under copyright protection in
conjunction with the implementation of intellectual property treaties."
[2010/10/20]
Oct. 19, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has announced that
its Windows Embedded Automotive 7 software is now available to automotive
industry companies. Companies mentioned in the announcement included
Ford Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., Fiat Group Automobiles, Nissan Motor
Co. Ltd. and Paccar Inc.
[2010/10/20]
Oct. 19, 2010, Business Wire reports that Royal Philips Electronics has
announced the release of "SpeechExec 2.0 for BlackBerry(R). "This
software upgrade includes multiple new features that were designed to
enhance mobile dictation by providing the ability to more easily transmit
data, include more data in the recording files and make the smart phone
a full-fledged dictation device."
[2010/10/20]
Oct. 18, 2010, Business Wire reports that Pandigital, Inc. has introduced
a new model of its "Novel" eReaders. The Pandigital Novel Personal eReader
(PRD06E20WWH8) which uses a 6" electrophoretic ePaper display will be available
this month at an MSRP of $199.99 US.
[2010/10/20]
Oct. 14, 2010, Business Wiree reports that the latest forcasts from ABI
Research indicate that 11 million media tablets and 43 million netbooks will
ship worldwide this year. In particular, ABI Research notes that iPad sales
are not "outpacing" netbooks, and the combines sales are not as high as
projected last year.
[2010/10/17]
Oct. 13, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that 2D2C, Inc. has announced that
"[r]etailers across North America can now offer a revolutionary new service
to customers whose cell phones, iPads, comuters, e-bikes, e-scooters and
other electronic devices need a charge. 2D2C, Inc.'s new SafePlug(R) Model
1200-P3 pay-per-use electrical outlet . . . ."
2D2C, Inc. hardware http://www.2d2c.com
[2010/10/17]
Oct. 12, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Dixons Retail has announced the
UK launch of its Advent Amico Android 2.1 tablet computer with a 7"
touch screen and WiFi at 129.99 pounds and Advent Vega Android 2.2
tablet which features a 10.1" capacitive multi-touch screen and nVidia
Tegra 2 dual core 1 GHz processor at 249.99 pounds.
[2010/10/17]
Oct. 11, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Microsoft and its partners
have introduced nine "Windows Phone 7" handsets. All the current devices
are based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon(TM) processor.
[2010/10/13]
Within the last week, TigerDirect.ca has begun taking pre-orders for the new
line of Archos Android tablets. The 3.2 model is already purchaseable, but
most of the rest of the new line is orderable for delivery Oct. 31, or Nov. 1
(depending on the specific product). If this is an accurate projection, it
is likely that the devices will also be available from other stores at about
that time.
[2010/10/10]
I am actually a bit surprised that there were no significant announcements
in the last few days. I am expecting reports of some Android devices showing
up in stores, and Apple devices as well. Perhaps we will see something later
this week.
[2010/10/06]
Sept. 30, 2010, Eric Brown reports in LinuxforDevices.com that Nationite has
announced that its new Rocktab Android tablet, which is similar to the
Archos 7HT is now available at $130 US (later price to be $170 US).
[I have included this announcement to show that the Archos 7HT is a roughly
contemporary device in spec., and is still a current product. -- JO]
[2010/10/03]
Sept. 29, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Kobo has announced that its Kobo
Wireless eReader. Priced at $149 Cdn., it can be preordered starting today
for shipment beginning in October.
2010/09/29]
Sept. 29, 2010, Business Wire reports that the "Wireless USB Promoter Group has
announced the availability of the Wireless USB specification, which can be downloaded
from the organization's website.
[2010/09/29]
It is ironic that I am just getting around to posting this comparison now, when both of these products are about to be replaced with the next generation of Archos tablets. But these products are still selling and in fact will likely be available for at the very least, the coming month. My testing of the Archos 7HT (Home Tablet) has not been as extensive as the 5IT (Internet Tablet) because it became apparent very quickly that the 5IT was a significantly superior product, and that since it was not able to fulfill my needs, there was little chance that the 7HT would be any better. So instead, I changed by plans and decided to use the 7HT as a base for trying the "[Android] Market" Apps store.
In general, the 7HT is completely separate development program from the 5IT. The 5IT was based on an ARMv7 rev 3 (v7l) CPU and appears to be a substantially Archos programming effort. According to "wiki.archosfans.com, the 7HT on the other hand is based on a Rockchip RK2808 with a CPU speed of up to 600 MHz, and a DSP running at 550 MHz.
According to "Android System Info Ver 1.12.0", the RAM in the Archos 7HT is about 120 MB. According to the same program, the Archos 5IT has 187 MB of RAM. I expect these numbers are actually wrong and that the RAM is probably 128 and 256 respectively, but this program is the only information source I have at hand. The bottom line is that the 7HT memory runs out easily with the loading of user chosen Apps. So it can be difficult to configure in a way that one wants. This limitation is probably the reason that Rockchip has quit developing Android ports beyond Android 1.5.
One problem that was apparently early on was that there were few benchmark programs to use to compare performance. I have selected a few, but have not studied them in detail. I believe that the following results are reasonably representative of the general performance differences between the two products:
"BenchmarkPi" [Lower is better] Archos 5IT - 3886 ms. Archos 7HT - 12316 ms. "Linpack for Android" [MFLOPS higher is better] Archos 5IT: MFLOPS: 5.539 Time 15.13 sec. Norm Res: 5.68 Precision: 2.220446049250313E-16 Archos 7HT: MFLOPS: 2.039 Time 41.12 sec. Norm Res: 5.68 Precision: 2.220446049250313E-16 "An3DBench" [Total score higher is better] Archos 5IT Fill Rate ST/MT: 13.57/13.36 MP/sec. High object count: 16.75 fps Multiple lights: 39.65 fps High polygon count: 13.42 fps Keyframe animation: 49.70 fps Game level: 23.01 fps Total score: 3951 Archos 7HT Fill Rate ST/MT: 5.88/3.94 MP/sec. High object count: 5.48 fps Multiple lights: 15.44 fps High polygon count: 4.96 fps Keyframe animation: 18:95 fps Game level: 4.66 fps Total score: 1347
As can be seen from the above number, the 5IT is generally a bit over twice as fast as the 7HT.
Putting this in perspective further, I tried running a couple of videos on both, including
an MP4 video with 1280 x 720 resolution (claimed by Rockchip to be useable on the RK2808).
The files rendered without problems on the 5IT, but on the 7HT, I found that there were
small but noticeable video rendering errors (macro-blocking), and it fell out of
synchronization with the video lagging a few seconds after each minute of playback. The
chip and resources are a bit past their real limits when the 7HT is pushed to its
performance edges. The 5IT on the other hand, with the latest 2.0.38 firmware handled
everything I tried (within the specified limits of the device) without problems. So, as
I have been saying, the best buy is really the 5IT.
[2010/09/26]
Sept. 23, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that The Belinda Stronach Foundation (TBSF)
and partners will launch One Laptop Per child (OLPC) Canada and will unveil a new
version of the XO laptop which will feature software aimed at Aboriginal youth in
Canada. The event will be at the Canadian Museum of Nature, The Salon 3rd Floor,
240 McLeod Street, Ottawa on Web. Sept. 29, 2010, 9:00 - 10:00 AM.
[2010/09/26]
Sept. 23, 2010, PR Newswire reports that according to J. D. Power and Associates,
the average length of time customers keep their "traditional wireless cell phone"
(handset) has increased by 17% from 2009. The average length of time that customers
keep their devices is 20.5 months.
[2010/09/26]
Sept. 20, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Sony has announced that its new "Dash(TM)"
Internet viewer has a 7" touch screen and over 1,000 free Apps available. "Dash" is now
available at SonyStyle.ca for $229.99 Cdn.
[Note: There is no clear indication whether the system or an programs are not
"proprietary". I am mainly including this device as a competitor to the Archos 7HT. JO]
[2010/09/22]
Sept. 16, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile Canada announced that its
"Samsung Galaxy Tab" (Android Tablet computer) GT-P1000 would be available in Canada
in the coming months from Bell and Rogers. The prices were not disclosed in the
announcement, but much of the specification has been released. It features a 7"
WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT screen, 1 GHz Cortex A8 CPU with PowerVR SGX540 graphics
processor and Android 2.2 Operating System software.
[NOTE: This announcement was made to correspond with similar announcements by Sprint,
T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T in the US. Oddly, Google has made relatively negative
pronouncments about using Android 2.2 on these current Tablet computers. -- JO]
[2010/09/19]
The general comment by Google on using Android versions Pre-3.0 is that it does not work. That much is simply false. I have used the Archos 5IT which uses Android 1.6, and also spent some time with an Archos 7 Home Tablet which uses Android 1.5. The 1.5 on the Home Tablet is a bit crude, but it does "work". At least, the programs run, and I have used it by logging onto a WiFi access point to connect to the Internet. That also works. It was disappointing to find that the Access point was not properly secured, running with no encryption of any kind, but that had nothing to do with basic ability to connect and use the services.
As for the Android 1.5 based Archos 7 Home Tablet, it worked as expected. Without
launching into a review of the Archos 7 HT, let me say that Archos was right in
calling it a "Home Tablet". It is very limited, and really, best left at home where
it can be used as a secondary access device while someone else is using the main
computer. But the new Android 2.2 tablets will be far more powerful devices running
software already much more satisfactory than 1.5. In fact, I would have to say that
the single best thing that Google could do is relax the adherence to "Cloud oriented"
software design and provide better support to locally saved files.
[2010/09/19]
I took the time to re-check PR Newswire for releases from the 11th - 14th
and did not find anything interesting.
[2010/09/16]
I have no idea why PR Newswire is not providing me with announcements, but
that is the way it is. I hope I can update this later.
[2010/09/15]
Sept. 14, 2010, Business Wire reports that DeviceVM has previewed its
coming next generation Splashtop instant - on platform which will be
"MeeGo compliant."
[2010/09/15]
Sept. 10, 2010, PR Newswire reports that 75.3% of respondents to a survey
of US callers to Trinidad and Tobago believe that they did not receive the
number of minutes called that were paid for by calling cards.
[2010/09/12]
I made minor corrections to the Archos 5 reports and moved them
to a separate page. Due to lack of time, I did not try to re-write
them into a single coherent article, but at least having them all
together (and with the minor corrections) they become a bit
easier to read.
Android Based Archos 5 Internet Tablet,
tablet_archos_5_01.html
[2010/09/06]
With school beginning, I expected more, but I found nothing from my
usual sources really. Best of luck to those of you going back to
school.
[2010/09/08]
Sept. 2, 2010, PR Newswire reports that the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission and Health Canada and Toshiba have announced a recall of
certain Satellite T135, T135D and Satellite ProT130 Notebook Computers.
"The notebook computers can overheat at the notebook's plug-in to the AC
Adapter, posing a burn hazard to consumers." Approximately 41,000 units
were sold worldwide.
[2010/09/05]
Sept. 2, 2010, PR Newswire reports that the SD Association "has defined
a new dual-row pin memory card design achieving bus interface speeds
of up to 300 megabytes per second for SDXC and SDHC devices and memory
cards."
[2010/09/05]
Sept. 1, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Sony has announced that its new
line of eReader products feature "Reader Pocket Edition(TM)" and "Reader
Touch Edition(TM)" featuring a responsive optical touch screen technology
which works with both finger and stylus and 16 level grey scale eInk displays.
They are now available at $199.99 and $249.99 Cdn. respectively.
[2010/09/01]
Sept. 1, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that "The Mobile Institute" has announced
that "MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010" from Sept. 13 - 18 will "be a week-long series of
events that explores mobile trends and advancements from around the world."
[2010/09/01]
Aug. 26, 2010, PR Newswire reports that IN Media Corp. has announced that
its "!ROLF" Internet Protocol Set Top Box is Android based and able to
use common Apps for cell phones and Tablet Computers based on the Android
OS.
[This annoucement lacks deliver dates and cost. Moreover, thought the
device appears small, it is not intended for "mobile use", but I think
it adds to the "Android story" for this year. -- JO]
[2010/08/29]
[Article moved to "Archos 5" page.]
I had previously written that I could not "remove link icons from the desktop." I found out how to do this later:
To remove a link on the desktop, one touches and holds the link for a few seconds.
It changes appearance. Also, a trashcan appears on the side "tab" which turns red.
The link icon can then be dragged onto the trashcan, and it will be immediately
deleted.
[2010/09/06]
Well, actually, the 2-core Intel Atom processor based laptop and netbook
computers are available now, and I thought about posting one, but I expect
it is just as well if I mention it like this and suggest you go look at
the Websites of your favorite brands. I might change my mind and include
a specific announcement later, but I certainly will not try to post them
all. Instead, I thought I would continue with my look at the Android based
Archos 5 Internet Tablet.
[2010/08/25]
[Article moved to "Archos 5" page.]
All releases were reviewed on time, and there was nothing significant to
report. However, my short summary report regarding the Archos 5 took much
longer for me to write than I expected, so here it is, a day later than I
would have liked. This is going to be a particularly bad week for me, so
I will warn you now that I will probably be late again, and will not be
posting much of my own research either, at least for a couple of weeks.
[2010/08/23]
[Article moved to "Archos 5" page.]
Aug. 18, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that according to a KPMG International survey,
Canadians, though fairly rapid adopters of technology overall, are reluctant to
use mobile internet for banking and purchasing.
[I could say something a bit rude about all the writing in the field, which I consider
to be irresponsible in its promotion of mobile internet in commerce in general, but
I will simply say that it is nice to know that my fellow Canadians have moved slowly
in this area of the technologies. -- JO]
[2010/08/18]
Aug. 17, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Stream TV Networks has announced that pre-orders
will begin from August 24th (the date of the introduction) for its "eLocity A7" Android
based mobile tablet. The company claims a 7-inch "high resolution screen" in a device
measuring 8.2" x 4.8".
[Making a pre-announcement of coming pre-orders is just plain silly. There was no
announcement of price or delivery date. It annoys me when I have to waste my time
thinking about whether or not to report something like this. -- JO]
Elocity Android Pad http://www.elocitynow.com/
[2010/08/18]
Aug. 12, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that NetQin Mobile Inc. has claimed that there are existing malware apps which breach Android security and can be used for theft of money or private information of users of Android based products. According to their press release:
'Approximately 18,600 Android-based applications were created in July 2010, which was a huge increase compared with the 1669 that were created in July last year. According to the study of mobile users in the USA by Nielsen Wire, a research company, "Google's Android OS has shown the most significant expansion in market share among current subscribers." With the above said, virus authors are expected to see Android systems as a growing target.'
[Without commenting on the exact numbers quoted, the overall problem that is
described is not exaggerated. The sudden success of Android has caught me by surprise,
and I expect the problems of being a popular OS will now become part of the next phase of
its experience. It is sad to constantly run up against this fact, but "there are bad
people out there." -- JO]
[2010/08/15]
Aug. 10, 2010, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that its
its Android based Streak Tablet computer will be pre-orderable on Aug. 12,
2010 and available from Aug. 13, 2010. The general cost for the device
will be $449.99 US. It features a 5" WVGA screen and1 GHz Qualcomm
Snapdrogon integrated processor.
[NOTE: I really dislike the term "WVGA". It is not quite completely meaningless.
In general, it has meant an 800 x 480 screen, but with today's sloppy terminology, it
might be used for something else. What is so hard about simply putting down "800 x
480 pixels", if that is what it is? Are they embarrassed because they know their
products are not earthshatteringly wonderful? Neither are Apple's, so what's so bad
about that? -- JO]
[2010/08/11]
Aug. 7, 2010, Business Wire reports that ArcSoft has announced the release
of the latest version of its MediaConverter software "MediaConverter 7".
Pricing was not provided in the announcement.
[I have included this announcement in order to point out that there is still
great need for conversion software in the mobile market space. The problem comes
from the slowly disappearing lack of standardization in the industry. Sometimes,
it seems like every device needs its own converted version of a video clip or
movie. The problem is not quite that bad, but I find that I am still getting
"blindsided" by the need to re-convert a file. -- JO]
[2010/08/08]
Aug. 4, 2010, Acer Canada has made a number of announcements, including
the availability of the AS7745G-3053 which, among other things, features
a 17.3" 1600 x 900 screen and a Blu-ray drive and is priced at $1,199.99 Cdn.
Availability was not clearly stated in the announcement.
[I include this as an example of newer technologies in laptops which should
be available in new "middle range" priced products. Also watch out for USB 3.0,
XpressCard, eSATA, HDMI and full "802.11 a/b/g/n" dual-band WiFi. -- JO]
[2010/08/04]
Aug. 3, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that TELUS has announced that it is
deploying HSPA+ Dual Cell technology in its commercial network, which will
raise end user bandwidth from 21 Mb/s up to 42 Mb/s. Initial availability
is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2011.
[2010/08/04]
I caught up the PR Newswire releases which brings me up-to-date for that much, and I will be posting this "on time" for a change as well. This much makes me quite happy, though I wish I could post more. I have a number of areas where I have been gaining experience and data from which I could write some very interesting reports. For example, some might recall that back when the Apple iPad as first announced, I had expected to buy one when they came out. However, well before they came out, it was clear that it was not going to suit any particular immediate need that I had, and considering the prices of various technologies, it was no longer a very good choice.
Moreover, although Apple and its backers are bellowing about how well it is selling, I see the numbers otherwise. As I said at the time they launched in Canada, it is starting to look like a "flash in the pan". The one time I checked in the past week, I could buy one if I wanted. They are not sold out. I cannot confirm it, but I do not think they ever did sell out, even on the first day. Nor was that because there were huge stocks of them in stores. The fact is, if you looked around on the first day, the only line-ups were at the Apple stores. You could get the same product in a Best Buy or Future Shop at the same price and without any particular line-up at all. If Apple fans are not bright enough to figure that much out, that is not my problem.
Moreover, Apple fans have been quoted as saying that eReader prices came down because of the iPad. That is obviously nonsense because eReader prices have been coming down ever since they came out -- the same as any other digital technology. The average unit price drop was slow in dropping early on because of the high initial development investment, but the trend was never in doubt. Moreover, many of the original products have been Linux based and have garnered a developer following.
All of which brings me to one of my most recent purchases: I bought a Kobo eReader
for about $149 Cdn, + taxes. This has proven to be a very nice product, but having
pushed the research further, I have concluded that what I would like to get is the
"Alex" book reader, which is Android based and has a large electronic paper screen
and a smaller LCD screen, similar to the "Nook". Unfortunately, as far as I know, it
is not available from a Canadian source, and I do not like the idea of buying new
technology "by mail" from another country. This has backfired on me too many times
in the past. Perhaps someday I will get around to reporting why these products are
a better buy than an iPad right now, but I do not have the time. So for now I will
just say this much. In this economy, and my own constraints, I cannot be wasteful.
When I plan my purchases these days, I know what I need to get done, and that is the
first goal. Buying something just because a lot of other people are buying it is not
a justifiable use of my time and money.
[2010/08/01]
July 30, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced that
it now has iPhone 4 in stock for sale in its Canadian stores. The phone is available
for use on 5 cell phone carriers (TELUS, Bell, Rogers, Fido and Virgin Mobile).
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/08/01]
July 29, 2010, Business Wire reports that ACCESS CO., LTD (which owns the Garnet OS,
which was the last version of the Palm OS developed for the Palm TX generation products)
has brought its Graffiti(TM) handwriting recognition to Android, and has more projects
supporting Android underway and even more under consideration.
[2010/08/01]
July 28, 2010, PR Newswire reports that UL Environment, Inc. has announced commencement
of "a collaborative effort to develop sustainability standards for handheld consumer
electronics product."
UL Environment, Inc. Standards and testing org.<
[2010/08/01]
I only made one attempt to look up releases on PR Newswire and it did not
return any releases for this period. I hope to try again later this week
to catch it up.
[2010/07/28]
July 29, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that the CRTC has issued its
annual Communications Monitoring Report for 2009. It seems to show
that the industry overall was not subjected to the recession to
the extent suffered by most other industries, though advertising
revenue for TV and Radio suffered a bit.
[2010/07/29]
July 28, 2010, Business Wire reports that Amazon has introduced new versions of
its Kindle book reader and one version which does not come with Broadband (WiFi-only)
is priced at $139 US. Check Amazon's Website for a full rundown of their new
products.
[2010/07/28]
July 26, 2010, Business Wire reports that IEEE has announced the publication
of its 802.11p-2010 standard which defines the MAC and PHY level interfaces
for Wireless networking at speeds up to 200 MPH, necessary to allow highway
speed cars and trucks to link to roadside access points.
[2010/07/28]
As one might expect, there was nothing to report from the latter part
of the past week. I expect things to be slow until the first week of
August.
[2010/07/25]
July 20, 2010, Business Wire reports that ACCESS Co., LTD has announced
the availability of "Graffiti(R)" handwriting recognition software for
mobile devices, for Android based devices.
ACCESS Company
Android apps http://www.access-company.com/products/androidapps/
[2010/07/21]
July 19, 2010, PR Newswire reports that "interpret" in its quarterly
"New Media Measure(TM)" claims that "[b]ehavior and trending data from
its 2010 first-quarter report reveals the continued proliferation of
social networks, further growth of streaming video and the domination
of free mobile apps in the marketplace."
[I am not sure I know what a "Fad" is anymore. VHS tapes came and
went. DVD's are probably dying off, but being replaced by Blu-Ray
discs. Were those "Fads"? -- JO]
Interpret LLC market research
http://www.interpretllc.com/
[2010/07/21]
It will come as no surprise that there was nothing to report from this past weekend.
[2010/07/18]
July 14, 2010, Business Wire reports that Hurricane Electric has warned that
IP4 addresses will be exhausted within this year and IP6 will be required.
Hurricane Electric is an IP6 native ISP.
[As I write this, it is not clear to me whether IP4 devices will have any
problem operating, except where specific IP6 addresses are needed. -- JO]
[2010/07/14]
July 12, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Netgear has announced that its
ReadyNAS(R) Ultra series NAS devices are faster and include new
multimedia file conversions and system maintenance capabilities.
The Ultra 4 ($599.99 US diskless) and Ultra 6 ($899.99 diskless) will be
available in mid-July and the Ultra 2 available in October.
[2010/07/14]
July 8, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Samsung Mobile has announced that
its S8500 Samsung Wave smartphone is now available. It is based on Samsung's
"bada" open platform which is supported with a software development kit and
a contest with multiple prizes for developers.
[NOTE: No pricing was provided for the device, and no pricing was provided
for the SDK. I expect the SDK is freely downloadable, but I have not checked
that yet. This announcement does not show clearly that Samsung really "gets"
the "open" concept. Then again, Apple has done well without being that "open"
so maybe it will not matter. -- JO]
[2010/07/11]
July 7, 2010, Business Wire reports that Firetide Inc. has announced that its
Firetide Wireless LAN Controller (FWC 2050), indoor dual-radio 802.11n MIMO
access point (HotPoint(R) 5100) and outdoor dual-radio access point (FWC 2050)
bring 802.11n MIMO broadband to its MESH NETWORK systems. The FWC 2050 costs
$4,995 US. Orders are now being taken for delivery in this qusrter.
2010/07/07]
July 5, 2010, PR Newswire reports that NetQin Mobile Inc. that more
than 500 complaint cases were reported on June 23 regarding "Free World
Cup VOD" and other files which access a smartphone Botnet virus identified
as "ShadowSrv.A, FC Downsis.A, BIT.N and MapPlug.A" which is a Botnet type
virus that infects smartphones based on "S60 3rd and 5th OS". Such
virii can be externally controlled for any purpose.
[2010/07/07]
The 4th of July weekend was expected to be devoid of news and such was essentially true. HP did release the closing of the purchase of Palm, but there was nothing in the way of changes in services or products, so I did not consider that worth reporting (aside from this mention). Similarly, Apple's problems with the iPhone 4 do not seem to be significant, though there is a movement which may result in a class action (if there is not one yet -- I have not been watching the situation that closely).
To those of you reading this in the US, I hope you had a good 4th of
July holiday.
[2010/07/04]
As you are probably expecting now, I am indeed late posting this report. However,
it gives me a chance to wish my fellow Canucks a Happy Canada Day!
[2010/07/01]
June 29, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Taiwan based LCD display producer
HannStar Display Corporation has pleaded guilty to price fixing in the US
District Court in San Francisco, in violation of the Sherman Act (US). The
company has agreed to pay a $30 million US criminal fine.
[2010/06/30]
As I noted before, I am just busy lately. I simply did not have time to post
this yesterday.
[2010/06/28]
June 24, 2010, Business Wire reports that GiiNii International has announced that
its "Magic" digital picture frame (10.1" backlit LED 1024 x 576) features 802.11bgn
Wi-Fi, POP3, RSS feed support and Web applications such as Facebook, Flicker, Picasa,
SHOUTcast and Google Calendar; and 720p HD H.264/MPEG-4 video playback. It will
be available in September 2010 at an MSRP of $199.99.
[NOTE: There is no mention of a general purpose HTML browser, but I think that it
must have full HTML rendering capability if it supports Facebook. Still, I would
prefer a device that clearly states that it has an HTML browser. -- JO]
[2010/06/27]
June 23, 2010, Busniess Wire reports that BlueAnt has announced the availability
of new Android(TM) applications for the S4 True Handsfree Car Speakerphone and the
T1 Rugged Bluetooth Headset. The applications read incoming text message aloud
automatically. The applications are freely downloadable for users of these
devices.
BlueAnt Wireless Bluetooth speaker systems
http://www.blueantwireless.com/
[2010/06/27]
June 22, 2010, Business Wire reports that Best Buy Co. has announced that its "Insignia
Infocast" is now available at Best Buy stores at $169.99 US. The 8" display is 800 x
600 pixels and is backed by a Marvell(R) ARMADA(TM) 168 processor. Software was developed
with Chumby Industries based on Adobe Flash Lite. Connectivity is WiFi with added USB
and media card support.
[I would prefer a product based on a proper general purpose HTML browser. -- JO]
[2010/06/27]
June 21, 2010, Business Wire reports that Toshiba has announced its limited edition
Libretto W100 ultra-mobile PC. It features twin 4.84" x 7.95" touch screens and
a 1.2 Ghz CPU. It will be available later this summer.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/06/27]
I suppose it will come as no surprise if I say that I have not completed my
review of recent announcements. I will try to complete them later this week.
[2010/06/23]
June 23, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that the SD Association has announced
that two new symbols will be seen on cards and packaging of new SDXC and SDHC
memory cards. The first symbol identifies products with a 104 Megabytes per
Second buss interface. The second symbol identifies cards capable of real-time
video recording.
[2010/06/23]
June 22, 2010, PR Newswire reports that the CTIA has announced that it is moving
its "Enterprise and Applications Show" as a protest against the city's new ordinance
requiring further labelling on cellphones regarding radiation. The organization
points out that the FCC requires testing of cellphones and compliance with Federal
standards for radiation safety and disputes the existance of any scientific evidence
that shows that one phone is safer in this regard than another.
[I have no current position on this issue. -- JO]
[2010/06/23]
The reason this is late is a bit different. I was gathering some information in
preparation for a fairly large piece when I realized that what I was gathering
would be interesting on its own. So I expanded it a bit and put together
a short "Snapshot" of the current market for low end laptops. Some of you
would say that this would have been better posted last week, before Fathers'
Day. But the information is not really "news" unless you are a beginner, and
this is not a Website aimed at beginners.
[2010/06/21]
Laptops Available 2010/06/20 At Future Shop laptops20100620.txt
[2010/06/21]
June 18, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Rogers Communications Inc. has announced
that it is correcting billing errors in regard to its "Better Choice Bundles(TM)" plans.
According to the company, approximately 200,000 customers received greater discounts
than they were eligible for, and approximately 300,000 customers did not receive all
the discounts they were due. Undercharged customers will not be billed for those
errors, but overcharged customers will be refunded their overpayments. This will be
done automatically with no need for the customer to contact Rogers.
[2010/06/20]
Jun 15, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Buffalo Technology has announced that
its new "MediaStation 12x External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Writer" will be available
later this month at an estimated street price of $349.99 US.
[The significance is that this is an early USB 3.0 device which probably works
at a reduced capacity over USB 2.0 which is on most current laptop computers. To
"future proof" a laptop today, you should be looking for an "ExpressCard" interface.
ExpressCard" devices are already available for eSATA support, and perhaps for
USB 3.0 (I have not checked yet). -- JO]
[2010/06/16]
June 14, 2010, PR Newswire reports that One Laptop Per Child [OLPC] has announced that
it "XO-1.5" will add the GNOME free desktop interface onto its current Sugar Learning
Platform. A new "XO-HS" for high school students will also feature a larger keyboard.
[Dates and pricing were not clearly provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/06/16]
June 10, 2010, Business Wire reports that Logitech has announced their latest
series of Webcams. The HD Webcam C310, C510 and C910 which feature HD video
imaging, and the C210 which is a new low end SVGA (640 x 480) camera. The
C910 will be priced at $99.99 US in August. The others are expected to be
available in the US in June. New HD video-call software is available from
Logitech for free downloading, and will work on many older Logitech and other
brand webcams.
[Note: For full HD video-calling and imaging you need a lot of processor power.
Check their website for details. -- JO]
[2010/06/13]
I have been installing and testing software lately, so I think you can
guess what happened yesterday. As I have noted, this is going to be typical
for a while.
[2010/06/10]
June 9, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Nokia has announced that its
CS-18 Internet Stick is now available exclusively from Rogers Communications.
Using HSPA+, it allows 21.1 Mbps downloads and 5.76 Mbps uploads.
[Pricing was not clearly provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/06/09]
June 9, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that T-D Canada Trust has
announced the availability of apps for BlackBerry and Android, joining
iPhone and iPod Touch apps released in April 2010.
[I am still not convinced that security on wireless devices, or even wired
Internet devices, are sufficient for financial transactions. -- JO]
[2010/06/09]
June 7, 2010 PR Newswire reports that Apple has announced that its iPhone 4
will be available on June 24, 2010 at prices starting at $199 US for 16GB.
[You will find the specs all over the place. Oddly, the only really new
function is the ability to make video phone calls. That is not a new
capability. Nokia, and at least one other company (Motorola?) have had it
for some time now. The 960 x 480 screen sounds nice though. -- JO]
[2010/06/09]
The surprise is that I am not late posting my report. However, what is
not a surprise is that there was nothing worth reporting. I am still preparing
my comments about the Laptop segments, and I hope to have something posted soon.
Unfortunately, I have to warn that the coming couple of weeks will be, as I have
said, quite busy. So everything is still on a "what I can do" basis.
[2010/06/06]
June 2, 2010, Business Wire reports that Acer America has announced that its Liquid E smartphone is available for purchase through Rogers Communications. It features an "Android Eclair" operating system, a 3.5" WVGA capacitive display, the Qualcomm 8250 768 "Snapdragon" processor and 3D accelerated graphics.
June 2, 2010, Business Wire reports that ARM, Freescale, IBM, Samsung, ST-Ericsson
and Texas Instruments have created a "not-for-profit" company called "Linaro" to
provide "new resources and industry alignment for open source software developers
using Linux on the world's most sophisticated semiconductor System-on=Chips (SoCs)."
Linaro Linux development tools http://www.linaro.org/
[2010/06/02]
May 27, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Marvell and OLPC have announced
that they have agreed to jointly develope "OLPC XO tablet computers" based
on the Marvell(R) Moby reference design.
[There is more information on the "laptop.org" website and Marvell's
website. I have been expecting this since I saw the "Moby" tablet reference
design announcement. It was OLPC that changed the course of computing by
designing the first of what we now call "Netbooks". The computer industry
is still stumbling around in the aftermath. A lot of the press is trying to
hide the egg on their faces about the "iPad" (which is looking more flash-in-
the-pan now that the international release has come and gone, with far less
buyer attention than the US release), but this is *the real thing*. Whatever
price point OLPC comes out as is going to be what the market is going to
focus on. A rule of thumb seems to be developing that you can sell the
equivalent of an OLPC device at up to roughly twice the OLPC price, but not
much more. -- JO]
[2010/05/30]
May 26, 2010, Business Wire reports that WeatherBug has announced that
the WeatherBug application is now available for the Maemo Nokia N900 Mobile
Computer.
[The funny thing is that there are a number of "apps" for the Nokia
N900 and Maemo devices, and this has been true for a long time. But
announcing them widely like this has not been a Nokia practice. Nokia
has not figured out that the announcements of the "apps" makes the device
itself look more desirable and thus helps sales. -- JO]
[2010/05/26]
May 26, 2010, Business Wire reports that Universal Display Corporation has
announced that its UniversalPHOLED(TM) technology uses a four-colour sub-pixel
design with red, green, light-blue, blue array.
[2010/05/26]
May 25, 2010, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced plans to produce
for "Streak" which will be a 5" screen, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon(TM) ARM processor,
Android(TM)-based product. It will be sold first in the UK in June at O2 stores.
It will appear later in the summer in the US (and I would expect in Canada).
[Pricing was not in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/05/26]
May 24, 2010, Business Wire reports that Pandigital has announced that its
7" eReader "Novel" features Android software and Barnes & Noble eBookstore, WiFi,
multimedia, Web browsing, using an ARM 11 Mobile processor and 800 x 600
resolution screen. It will be available in June at an MSRP of $199.99.
[My only experience with Pandigital was a very early photoframe. I felt
that the hardware was reasonably priced, but I was not really satisfied with
the firmware. Because this will be an Android device, that problem might
be solved. -- JO]
[2010/05/26]
As you know, the late night work has been taking its toll on me lately
and once again, although I started at roughly my usual time, I found I
was too tired to complete my review of recent announcements, though I
must admit that I was not as disappointed for my failure this time, since
I reviewed enough to see that there was probably not going to be much to
report anyway. I should say right now, that I expect things are not going
to get any easier for me for the coming month. However, I am hoping to
getting back on track later in the year. I have no plans to change my
overall approach to this work. I expect things will eventually get back
to normal.
[2010/05/23]
May 21, 2010, PR Newswire reports that the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission and Hewlett-Packard Co., have announced the expansion of a
voluntary recall from May 2009 regarding Lithium-Ion batteries. Since
May 2009, "HP has received 38 additional reports of of batteries that
overheated and ruptured resulting in 11 instances of minor personal
injury and 31 instances of minor property damage."
Not all batteries of these types are being recalled, so check the
company's website for more details. The batteries were sold between
August 2007 through July 2008, separately and included with various
portable computers, such as HP Pavilion dv2000, dv2500, dv2700, dv6000,
dv6500, dv6700, dx6000, dx6500, dx6700, dv9000, dv9500, dv9700;
Compaq Presario A900, C700, F500, F700, V3000, V3500, V3700, V6000,
V6500, V6700; HP G6000, G7000; HP Compaq G6000, G7000, 6510b, 6515b,
6710b, 6710s, 6715b, 5715s, and 6720s.
[2010/05/23]
I have not finished my comments on the laptop market yet, and looking at the
announcements for the early part of this week gave nothing worth reporting.
I am not really expecting any significant announcements by the end of this
week so hopefully I will have finished something of my own by then.
[2010/05/19]
There is, what I would call a general re-fresh in the laptop ranges of many of
the companies which is "on-going". I could have reported on the Gateway NV series
in particular today, but I would rather simply suggest that if you are really in
the market for a new laptop that you go through "all the usual suspects" on the
Web, and then check "what is actually on the shelves."
I have begun to prepare a rather sad set of comments about the laptop industry.
In many ways, it has been lead astray by their own want to be at the forefront, and
by the public, both in terms of customers who have no idea what is a good idea and
what is not (until they waste their money on the bad ideas and thus discover that
this is in fact what they are), and by a generally inexperienced range of writers
in the field who know little more than the rest of the public. I hope to post
my comments soon. As a brief summary I will say right now that:
1. The 15.6" screen laptops with only 1366 x 768 resolution are too big to be
comfortably portable, too short for optimum use on the Web or for work; and too
small to be watched comfortably by more than one person, and as such are a waste
of money,
2. The keyboards that laptops that have the numerical keypads included beside the
main keyboard offset the center of the keyboards making them uncomfortable to
type on for long periods of time. It is better to get a laptop with a keyboard
without the separate numerical keypads -- but do not expect them to be cheaper.
I have more to say but that much will be enough of a headache for sales and marketing
droids for now.
[2010/05/16]
Yes, I am late again. Hopefully, I will be more punctual from now on.
In fact, the reason I am late this time was simple exhaustion. I set
aside enough time to get it done, but I fell asleep. Quite embarrassing,
but there is nothing I can do about it now.
[2010/05/13]
May 12, 2010, Business Wire reports that Sprint has announced that it will
have HTC's EVO(TM) 4G available on June 4 at $199.99 US.
[2010/05/13]
May 11, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that the Business Software Alliance
(BSA) claims that according to an IDC study, software piracy in Canada dropped
from 32 percent in 2008 to 29 percent in 2009, and globally also dropped in
more markets than where it increased. However, overall global piracy increased
from 41 percent to 43 percent.
[While this is not a "mobile" issue, it is a matter of which the whole computer
industry must maintain awareness regardless of ones position. I will not bother
going into detail, but my own position is somewhat "mixed". I have gone out of
my way to help enforce copyrights, but I think Canadian Copyright laws go too
far "nickle and diming" the public. -- JO]
[2010/05/13]
May 7, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Indigo Books & Music now
sells the "Kobo(TM)" eReader in "porcelain" or "black". The price
is $149 Cdn.
[2010/05/09]
May 4, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that TUMI has announced a
voluntary recall of its "Mobile Power Pack Model No. 14362" in
Gunmetal grey finish destributed between November 2007 - August
2008. If it has been used, then there is no reason to stop
using it, but if it has not been used, then return it BEFORE
its first use.
[2010/05/09]
May 4, 2010, Business Wire reports that Intel has announced that its
Atom Z6xx product line is now available. Based on 45nm technology
Intel claims ">50x platform idle power.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/05/05]
Despite many obstacles this week, I did get around to catching up my review of
Business Week announcements. And I found nothing of real interest. The main
interesting occurance has been the announcement of the pending Palm/HP
merger.
[2010/05/02]
Apr. 30, 2010, Business Wire reports that BoutoutorSellout.com reports that
some shareholders question the valuing of Palm.
[Obviously, the mention of the announced agreement was the reason I am posting
this. Since Palm is currently the only major user of the Palm/ACCESS software,
this may be the end of the era. This is particularly sad for me because I
am constantly using my own TXes. -- JO]
[2010/05/02]
Sadly, my problems continued and I could not make my update for the last
weekend. I decided to try to cover the week this evening, and I have almost
accomplished this. However, it was past midnight before I got started on
Business Wire, which is the heaviest provider. So I decided to leave off
the last couple of days for now. I expect to catch it up soon.
Another comment about last week's Applied Micro announcement. Applied Micro
is known as a PowerPC RISC CPU maker. The 1 GHz version should be about as
powerful as a 1 GHz Intel Atom processor might be. It should be a capable
processor for its projected "semi-dedicated" applications, like a "multimedia
NAS" devices.
[2010/04/28]
Apr. 28, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Koodo Mobile has announced
that RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be available to their users this
Spring with an expected retail price of $300 Cdn.
[I am mentioning this because it raises the question of how expensive phones
are promoted in a contract-less business environment. Koodo uses a "Tab" system
where 10% of a monthly bill goes towards the price of the handset, and if you
want to end your account early, you can, but you are still liable for the
balance of the unpaid remainder of the cost of the phone. -- JO]
[2010/04/28]
Apr. 23, 2010, Business Wire reports that Toshiba is celebrating the 25th
anniversary of its T1100 laptop computer, which is claims was "the first
mass-market consumer laptop computer.
[I am sorry but I cannot allow this one to pass without comment. I disagree.
The first "mass-market consumer laptop computer" was the Tandy Model 100,
which cost roughly 1/5th the price of the Toshiba ($5,000 US compared to
the Tandy which costed about $1,000 US.) It supported a spreadsheet, word
processing, user loadable programs and telecommunications. It was heavily
used by the news industry, but was quite visible in colleges and universities,
and even had a following among housewives. Yes, the T1100 was a much more
adequate computer for all these jobs, if you could afford it, but it mainly
found its way into business offices. And as for which actually came first,
well, I never saw a real-live T1100 till after I had already tried an M-100.
One would have to track the delivery waybills and customs records to know
for sure. -- JO]
[2010/04/28]
I am posting this update 2 days later than usual. I will not go into detail, but the past month has been a series of disasters. The number 2 is significant. I am now roughly 2 years late in re-organizing my office systems around a low power server. In fact, I have the parts still sitting, mainly in their boxes. To get this project moving, I bought a pre-built H-P Compaq dc5850sff desk computer and have adapted it to my needs. This entailed the use of 2 operating systems, one of which is OpenSuSE 11.2 64-bit. I am still in the process of loading and testing software before moving various functions to this box from their current locations. In the end, this "server" will hold files that I will access through my netbooks while at home. It will take the place of a NAS in my system.
As for the research, I completed most of it on Wednesday, but I did not have time
to review Business Wire. I decided to hold the update till today. The pay-off
is that I ran across an announcement that affects the NAS market. Few people
probably know that a typical NAS is underpowered by today's desk computer
standards. They are just getting into the single core, 1 GHz CPU range. This is
why I have decided to go with a "small, low power server" rather than a NAS.
[2010/04/23]
Apr. 19, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Telus has announced its
intention to spend $9 million Cdn. on expansion of its HSPA/HSPA+
network in the Ottawa area.
[2010/04/21]
Apr. 19, 2010, Business Wire reports that Applied Micro Circuits Corporation
["AppliedMicro"] has announced that its APM 821xx single core System-on-a-chip
[SOC] is aimed at the home "media server" market. It is a 1 GHz range
CPU device capable of 2,000 DMIPS, at low cost and with low energy requirements.
Samples are now available with full production expected in the 2nd quarter.
Prices are under $20 each in quantities of 10,000 pieces.
[While a NAS is not intended to be portable, it is expected that many homes
and small businesses will use them to support portable clients such as iPads.
-- JO]
[2010/04/23]
Apr. 16, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Ubiquity Broadcasting
Corporation claims that its "WEAV" audio and video compression
"will allow high quality streaming at a lower computational
complexity then [sic] what is in the current marketplace."
Specifically, it claims superior compression than MP4.
Ubiquity Broadcasting Corporation
codec http://www.ubiquitybc.com/
[2010/04/18]
Apr. 15, 2010, PR Newswire reports that SingleHop has announced that
their Cascade cloud hosting services will be usable through the
CloudLinux operating system, which will be available free with any
server above $179 US per month.
[I have included this on a "benefit of the doubt" basis. I cannot
project the future of this particular service. -- JO]
SingleHop, Inc. Web Hosting
Services http://www.singlehop.com/
[2010/04/18]
Apr. 12, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced
that its new "KIN" phones are "Windows(R)" phones aimed at "social"
communications services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The
two phones called "KIN ONE" and "KIN TWO" are made by Sharp Corporation
and marketed by Verizon Wireless in the US.
[There is no mention of a carrier in Canada.]
[2010/04/15]
I am going to have to excuse myself today because I have not been able
to prepare a report today. Due to ongoing interference from work
scheduled by the building management, I am even further behind than I
would have been. There was simply no time for me to even start the
research. Hopefully I will cover the period in my next update.
[2010/04/14]
Nothing magical about this week. As expected, the Easter holiday
did not generate announcements in the tech fields. Later this week
or fairly soon otherwise, I expect the 3D TV sets to start showing up,
But as noted, that is not something I will be covering.
[2010/04/11]
Apr. 3, 2010, 680news.com reported the launch of the Apple iPad, as previously
noted here. Ironically, within the last few weeks I pretty much shelved the
idea of buying one for myself. I am too busy to look at one right now.
[2010/04/04]
There was little of interest today so I am taking this opportunity
to report on some crude testing I did with my WiFi setup.
[2010/03/31]
2010/03/31
If you are going to buy a router this year, buy a dual-band.
This is going to be a brief article. I might expand on it later and try getting it published, but the conclusion is so relevant that I thought I would put at least this much in this Website.
I used to live in a separate house in the land of the bungalow, and I moved a little under 10 years ago. Now I live in the upper half of a 20 storey highrise. The nearest buildings are equivalent to "across a street" though in fact they are in the same complex. The interference I am subject to is, therefore, mainly from within my own building.
If you have been reading about WiFi-N, then you will probably know that if the router detects narrow band usage, it will fall back into narrow band usage to avoid "hogging" radio space. In a building this size, and realistically, in most workplaces and residences, there is probably going to be some 2.4 GHz narrow band signals detectable by any N-routers. So you can pretty much forget about ever seeing wide band in the 2.4 GHz band. I am a "guilty" of causing this as anyone else in my building, since I have a 2.4 GHz cordless phone system, and am not likely to get rid of it for many years. So even if everyone else magically converts to 2.4 GHz wide band (or 5 GHz), I will be causing the limit to persist all by myself.
I did a couple of crude tests to see how much difference there would be between "G" and 2.4 GHz "N". Using a D-Link DIR-655 version A3 wireless router with 1.21 firmware and my Toshiba A210, both with its built in "G" and also a D-Link DWA-160A2 with 1.40 firmware, I send a batch of files I intended to use to burn onto DVDs. That is about 4 Gigabytes of data on each of 2 occasions. This is what I found.
The "G" transmission from my Toshiba A210 reached a stable transmission rate of about 40% of 54 Mbps, which turns out to be about 21.6 Mbps.
The DWA-160A2 "N" bounced around a few transmission rates as follows.
[Generally I only recorded changes that were consistent for at least 4 seconds.]
It started around 18% of 130 Mbps., which is about 23.4 Mbps.
Mostly it transmitted at 78 Mbps and alternated between 29 - 30% [22.62 - 23.4 Mbps.] and 30 - 31% [23.4 - 24.18 Mbps].
Occasionally it got up to 32-33% of 78 Mbps. [24.96 - 25.74 Mbps.], but it rarely did so for over 4. secs.
For about 1/2 min it dropped down to 14 - 15% of 78 Mbps [10.92 - 11.7 Mbps].
For roughly the last 10% bounced between 52 - 54 Mpbs. When it was at 54 Mbps, it gave about 35-37% [18.9 - 19.98 Mbps].
For all that bouncing around between various transmission frequencies, the bulk of the transmission fell between 22.6 - 24.2 Mbps. with the higher peaks of around 25.4 Mbps. more than offset by periods of 10.9 - 11.7 Mbps.
The whole transmission was probably less than 10% faster overall.
[2010/03/31]
Mar. 26, 2010, PR Newswire reports that On Mar. 25, Albert Gonzalez, 28,
of Miami was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris
(US Dist Ct, Boston) to 20 years in prison for conspiracy, computer
fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to
numerous U.S. retailers. On the 26th he was also sentenced for other
crimes including "his efforts to assist others in gaining access to
the payment card networks of the Heartland Payment Systems, a New
Jersey-based card processor. . ."
[Among his techniques was "wardriving". So this emphasizes the need
to protect your wireless network. -- JO]
[2010/03/28]
Mar. 26, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that WIND Mobile began regular
business in its 3rd city, Ottawa (following openings in Toronto and
Calgary in December, 2009). [Note: Service has not started yet in
Vancouver. -- JO]
Wind Mobile, Cellphone Service
http://www.WindMobile.ca/
[2010/03/28]
Mar. 24, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba America Storage Device
Division announced new 2.5" hard disc drives, including the 1 TB
MK1059GSM which will be available in the 2nd quarter of 2010. Pricing
was not provided in the announcement.
[I generally do not announce new hard drives these days, but these
latest Toshiba drives are the first to be produced with technology
acquired from the Toshiba purchase of Fujitsu's drive business. -- JO]
[2010/03/28]
Mar. 22, 2010, Business Wire reports that InnoPath Software has announced
that its "ActiveCare for RIM Blackberry" devices covers the Bold 9700, Storm 2,
Curve and Tour models on both GSM and CDMA. Among other functions, ActiveCare
is able to "Lock" and "Wipe" a smartphone remotely. It is available on
Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and coming soon on the iPhone.
[2010/03/24]
Mar. 18, 2010, Marvell has announced that its "Moby" tablet
prototype, based on its ARMADA(TM) 600 series application processors,
is intended to make a practical full day computer for students.
A pilot program will put donated computers in the hands of
District of Columbia Public School system students.
[2010/03/21]
Mar 17, 2010, Business Wire reports that Gateway has announced that
its EC14D01h "ultraportable" laptop features an 11.6" screen and
integrated DVD drive, and weighs only 3.55 lbs. and will be priced at
$579.99 Cdn., available later this month.
[2010/03/17]
Mar 15, 2010, PR Newswire reports that CEVA, Inc. has announced that
Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co. Ltd has licenced and deployed the
CEVA-MM2000 in the latest generation of RK28XX portable multimedia
ICs, in order to achieve 720p High Definition for portable multimedia
players (PMP) and mobile internet devices (MID). CEVA-MM2000 is based
on a single general purpose programmable CEVA-X DSP core.
[2010/03/17]
So far it has turned out to be a slow month. Moreover, personal matters
and system problems have made it impossible for me to get independent research
done to report on issues based on my own direct research. Hopefully, things
will be better later this week.
[2010/03/14]
It is a really exciting time to be reporting on 3D TV sets. Unfortunately,
that is not an area I cover on this Website, so I find that there was
really nothing worth reporting. Incidentally, you might notice that I
am almost "a half day" late posting this update. I actually finished it
last night, but I fell asleep before I got the uploading done. This
is not a comment on the state of the news, I was just exhausted.
[2010/03/11]
Mar. 5, 2010, Business Wire reports that Adobe Systems Incorporated
has announced that "third-party developers now have access to the
Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 editor, allowing them to easily
make it part of their applications." According to Doug Mack of Adobe,
"Unlike iPhone, the Android platform allows us to make the Photoshop.com
editor broadly available to developers so they can provide it within
any application they are working on. . . ."
[Note: The main reason I included this announcement was because it
states the functional difference between the 2 operating systems. -- JO]
[2010/03/07]
Mar. 5, 2010, PR NewsWire reports that Apple(R) has announced that the
WiFi models of its iPad will be released in the US on April 3 and Wi-Fi
+ 3G will come later in April. All models will be available in Canada
in "late April". US prices will start at $499.
[2010/03/07]
Mar. 4, 2010, Business Wire reports that Psion has announced that its
"Open Source Mobility" (OSM) business model is aimed at lowering total
cost of ownership (TCO) for Psion customers.
[I cannot elaborate on this announcement at this time. I will have to
spend some time researching the website. Which you can do on your own,
so if it sounds interesting. . . . -- JO]
Ingenuity Working, Psion Open
Source Community http://www.ingenuityworking.com/
[2010/03/07]
March 4, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that TELUS has announced that
it will offer the Android based Motorola Backflip with MotoBlur later
this year, for use on its TELUS 3G+ network.
[2010/03/07]
Mar. 3, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that Motorola Canada has announced
that all three nationwide carriers in Canada will be carrying the three
new Android based Motoblur(TM) handsets in the first half of 2010. The
MOTOBLUR(TM) service and program integrates common social network services
in a unified interface. The first three products will be the "Backflip(TM)",
the "DEXT(TM)" and the "QUENCH(TM)".
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/03/03]
Mar. 3, 2010, PR Newswire reports that a survey by "Fanfare"
(Fanfaresoftware.com provides automated testing systems) has
indicated that 57% of respondents were "disappointed with the
overall performance of their smartphone." Also "55% of respondents
cannot tell whether individual problems stem from the handset or
the mobile network. . . ."
[While Fanfare's self-interest in this topic is obvious, and one must be
wary of overstatement, it does in fact reflect my own personal feelings
about the poor products I have tried in recent years. -- JO]
[2010/03/03]
After my usual "marathon" review of announcements for the latter part of
last week, I have not found anything worth reporting. By way of comparison,
the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were far more interesting. I hope
you enjoyed watching them as much as I did.
[2010/02/28]
Feb. 24, 2010, Business Wire reports that InfoSonics Corporation has
announced that its "verykool(R) i270" to a carrier in Latin America.
InfoSonics Corporation
http://www.infosonics.com/
[2010/02/24]
Feb. 18, 2010, Business Wire reports that Amazon.com, Inc. has announced that
a free Kindle app is now available for RIM Blackberry devices. Previous
programs have been made available for the PC, iPhone and iPod Touch, and
Mac and iPad programs will be available soon.
[Part of the reason I have included this announcement is that it is
indicative of the current status of various platforms. There is no
announcement of a program for any of the Palm platforms, Android, Mobilon,
any Linux platforms, Symbian or Windows CE at this time. Things have
changed from a decade ago, and will probably go on changing. -- JO]
[2010/02/22]
Feb. 17, 2010, Business Wire reports that ATi has made annoucements
regarding Windows Vista and 7 updates. It appears from the announcement
that driver updates for laptop computers from March 2010 onward will be
limited to HD 2000 to HD 5000 technology.
[The above is probably no surprise to people who have been following
the graphics market closely. The key point is that it appears that there
will not be any updating of the older "X" series chipsets, which in my
view are not really that old. The current "tri-opoly" of Intel, nVidia
and AMD make this kind of disregard of customers interests possible.
-- JO]
[2010/02/22]
Feb. 16, 2010, PR Newswire reports that TELUS and Motorola have announced
that TELUS now has the Motorola Milestone(TM) Android 2.0 based smartphone.
It features a 3.7" WVGA display with touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard.
The screen has over 400,000 pixels and is 854 pixels wide.
[The price is $199.99 only if you agree to a 3 year contract. The actual
price was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2010/02/21]
Feb. 16, 2010, PR Newswire reports that HTC has announced that its latest
Legend(TM) and Desire(HT)
[2010/02/21]
Feb. 16, 2010, Business Wire reports that Sonim Technologies has made
available a number of videos of various press members torture testing the
company's latest XP2 Spirit rugged phone.
Sonim Technologies Cellphone handsets
http://www.sonimtech.com/
[2010/02/22]
I completed my review of Business Wire announcements and integrated them with
the other items above.
[2010/02/22]
In case you are wondering if I failed to update this Web page for the 17th,
yes, that was what happened. Due to an accident (not serious, but inconvenient
and time consuming), I was simply too busy. In fact, this report is not quite
done either. Business Wire was not checked. I will complete it later.
[2010/02/21]
Feb. 11, 2010, Business Wire reports that Garmin-Asus has claimed that its
Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 Android-based smartphone has more "location
technology" than any other smartphone. Featuring a 3.4" HVGA capacitive
touchscreen display and 4 GB internal storage (expandable using a microSD
card slot), it will be available in Europe in the first half of 2010.
[No pricing was provided in the announcement. -- JO]
Garmin-Asus Phone Handsets
http://www.GarminAsus.com/
[2010/02/14]
FEb. 11, 2010, Business Wire reports that Research And Marketing has predicted that
US wireless subscribers will increase from 285.9 million in 2009 to 365.7 million
in 2014.
[2010/02/14]
Feb. 10, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Kingston Digital, Inc. has
announced that its 2nd generation SSDNow V 'Value" Series Solid State Drives
are now available in 30 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB sizes. Prices start at $109.99
for a 30GB 2.5" SATA SSD stand-alone drive. Some products are now available
and others will be ships from March 1, 2010.
[2010/02/14]
Feb. 10, 2010, Canada NewsWire reports that TELUS has announced that all music
bought through TELUS Music shop can be freely moved to PC's or other devices.
Music tracks are available at $.69 - $1.29, and full albums are also available.
[2010/02/10]
Feb. 4, 2010, Business Wire reports that Intel has announced that its
"Intel(R) Core(TM) vPro(TM)" processor family is based on 32-nanometer
process and will be found on notebooks based on Intel(R) Q57 Express chipsets
and Intel(R) 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection chips.
[2010/02/07]
Feb. 3, 2010, Canada Newswire reports that Personal Communications Devices,
LLC has introduced its X220 Netbook. According to the announcement, it is
now available.
[The announcement did not include a price and when I checked the company's Webpage
there is no mention of it yet. -- JO]
Personal Communications Devices, LLC
http://www.pcdphones.com/
[2010/02/03]
Feb. 2, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Broadcom Corporation has announced
that "it has added support for the recently adopted Bluetooth(R) v3.0 + HS
(High Speed) specification broadly across its Bluetooth and InConcert(R)
combo chips and modules. The new standard greatly enhances the capabilites
of Bluetooth . . . by enabling file transfers at speeds up to 24 Megabits
per second (Mbps), utilizing an available 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) radio."
[2010/02/03]
There are a couple of issues I have been hoping to write about by now, such as the Ontario law regarding distracted driving (mainly considered to be about cell phone usage while driving, but actually going further). This law has already been in force but has not been enforced. From tomorrow onward, it will be. However, I am swamped with "things To-Do" and have not gotten around to writing as much as I would have liked. Perhaps I will get around to these topics in February?
Anyway, there was nothing to report for the latter part of this week.
[2010/01/31]
Jan. 27, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Apple has introduced the iPad.
[Rather than repeat the specs, I will simple refer you to Apple's own
website. I expect most people will be running around trying to write or
read something about this product, so I will say little more right now
except that obviously I was NOT there to see it. However, I can say a
few things:
1. I would like to know more about the processor.
2. The price seems to be in the right ballpark ($499 US for WiFi only
and 16 GB up to $829 US for 64 GB and HSPDA wireless.
3. Availability "late March" leaves room for other companies to "beat
Apple." But unless someone has been working secretly for a very long
time on something I do not expect that to happen -- though they could
come close.
There is a good chance I will buy one, unless Nokia brings out a good
N810 upgrade or Palm upgrades the TX, soon enough. -- JO]
[2010/01/27]
Jan. 22, 2010, PR Newswire reports that JTrek, LLC claims that its
"JTrek(R)" application 2.0 was downloaded "more than 2000 times"
during CES 2010. It is available for Android, Blackberry, iPhone,
Nokia-Symbian and Windows Mobile OS. The program impliments an
emergency quick-dial and automatic message with information about
the handset's current location in case of emergencies.
JTrek, LLC. "JTrek(R)" Software
http://www.jtrek.com/
[2010/01/24]
Ironically it is now taking me even longer to get through my searches. Canada NewsWire has changed its interface and I am still trying to find a good way to use it. And after all that, I did not find anything worth reporting.
Actually, I should mention that I have had some difficulty deciding on
whether to mention various releases that have to do with corporate
efforts to bring relief to Haiti. Much as I admire most of the efforts,
which are often the result of genuine concern, and not just "the advice
of their PR people," I find it looks so crass and hypocritical that I
expect that it will often do these companies more harm than good if I
reference such messages "here." For now, all I can say is that sometimes
I will and sometimes I will not.
[2010/01/20]
Jan. 14, 2010, PR Newswire reports that ACCESS Co., Ltd. has announced that
its NetFront(TM) Browser 4.0 features a JavaScript(TM) engine that executes
about 20 times faster than the company's latest previous version.
[2010/01/17]
Jan. 14. 2010, Business Wire reports that Transparent Language Inc. is now
making its "Byki(R) Haitian Creole" language software available as a free
download.
[NOTE: This is not a true free download. Your personal EMail address is required.
-- JO]
Transparent Language Inc. BYKI
http://www.byki.com/fls/FLS.html
[2010/01/17]
After looking through a fairly large number of announcements, I
concluded that there was nothing really exciting. Check back again
early next week.
[2010/01/13]
Jan. 7, 2010, PR Newswire reports that the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission and Acer America Corporation, have announced the
voluntary recall of about 22,000 laptop computers models named
"AS3410, AS3410T, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG", which
are computers with a 13.3" screen size. Not all units in these
models are affected. The problem is that "[a]n internal microphone
wire under the palm rest can short circuit and overheat . . . [causing]
a potential burn hazard to consumers. . . . No incidents occurred in
the United States. No injuries have been reported."
[2010/01/10]
Jan. 7, 2010, PR Newswire reports that MSA and Novell have announced
that the MSI U135 Netbook will be available with SUSE(R) Mobilin
preload. According to the announcement "this marks the first original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) to sell a fully-supported Intel(R) Atom
processor-based netbook running Moblin-based technology to consumers."
The model will be "generally available in February 2010."
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
The Moblin Project [Linux mobile devices]
http://www.moblin.org/
[2010/01/10]
Jan. 7, 2010, PR Newswire reports that The Open Internet Coalition
has launched its "Protect the Net" campaign. "The Open Internet
Coalition (www.openinternetcoalition.com) represents consumers,
grassroots organizations, and businesses working in pursuit of a
shared goal: keeping the Internet fast, open and accessible to
all Americans."
[I do not know anything about this organization beyond what I have
written, and mostly quoted in the paragraph above. Put simply, I
do not know if it is good or bad. -- JO]
[2010/01/10]
Jan. 7, 2010, Business Wire reports that Spring Design has announced
that its Alex eReader connets with WiFi, 3G, EVDO/CDMA and GSM and
has a 3.5" colour browser LCD screen and a 6" paper-like EPD screen.
It will be purchaseable Feb. 22, 2010 for $399.00 US.
Spring Design Alex eReader
http://www.springdesign.com/
[2010/01/10]
Jan. 6, 2010, PR Newswire reports that Qualcomm Incorporated has
announced the 2010 market launch of its Brew Mobile Platform(TM)
(Brew MP(TM)) operating system. AT&T has announced that it will
have Brew MP-based devices later this year.
[I am confused. I thought Brew was what Microsoft was working on
with Qualcomm. If Microsoft had something to do with it, I have
to wonder how "open" it is. Further research will be required. -- JO]
[2010/01/10]
Jan. 7, 2010, Business Wire reports that AMD has introduced its new
line of laptop graphics processors headed by its "ATI Mobility Radeon(TM)
HD 5870" which is claimed to have the best performance in the world.
ASUS announces that its G73 and N Series laptops will feature ATI
Mobility Radeon HD 5000 graphics.
[2010/01/07]
Jan. 6, 2010, Business Wire reports that Amazon has announced that its
Kindle DX will feature a 9.7" display and global wireless support. It
can be pre-ordered at $489 US for shipment starting Jan. 19, 2010.
[2010/01/06]
Jan. 6, 2010, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced that its
E6 (6" screen) and E101 (10" screen) electronic books will be available
in the early part of 2010 at $399 US and $699 US respectively.
[2010/01/06]
Dec. 30, 2009, PR Newswire reports that SHAPE Services ahs announced
that its "Business Card Reader app" is now available for the RIM
BlackBerry. It uses the internal camera of a BlackBerry device to
digitize an image which is then read by OCR software. The software
has been previously available for the Apple iPhone.
SHAPE Services software
http://www.shapeservices.com/
[2010/01/03]
If you counted 2000 as the start of the century, then the first decade for this century has passed. In a lot of ways, it has been a somewhat anticipated event. Going into this century, I expected that the high expectations would eventually be "let down" to some degree. Yet overall, at least in Canada, we did pretty well. Our version of the recession was fairly mild. This was due to past governments which set up a government regulatory system which mandated a set of defensive banking strategies reducing the risks that have caused so many failures in the US and some other countries. Ironically, our current Canadian government is lead by a Prime Minister who was expected to dismantle this risk reducing set of controls in favour of a more open "US style" banking system. If he had gotten a majority government from his first term, he might have done so, and brought Canada to ruin. But that did not happen.
So far, U.S. President Obama has maintained his popularity and stature. I believe that the reputation of the U.S. has been uplifted by this, and the resulting goodwill brings a better chance for peaceful resolution of conflict throughout the world. Oddly, this might be the fulfillment of the hopes reflected in his "Peace Prize".
So I see a relatively prosperous Canada and a potentially more peaceful, and thus likely, more prosperous world. Not bad.
I think I will stop right about here. . . .
[2010/01/03]
My search of PR Newswire returned no announcements at all, which is
highly unlikely, so I have to report that their site failed. On the
other hand, there was nothing worth reporting anywhere else, and I
doubt that I missed anything significant from PR Newswire either. So
I will say that there is nothing worth reporting at all.
[2009/12/30]
As you might have expected, there is nothing worth reporting at the
end of this past week.
[2009/12/27]
Happy Holidays To All. . .
and a Happy New Year!
Dec. 22, 2009, Business Wire reports that One Laptop Per Child
has announced its latest line-up of low cost computers for children.
It includes the XO 3.0 computer which is a completely new form
factor priced at less than $100.00 per unit.
[2009/12/23]
Dec. 22, 2009, PR Newswire reports that ACCESS CO., LTD. has announced
that its NetFront Book Viewer EPUB Edition v.1.0 will be available to
"operators, handset manufacturers and content providers in the global
market in early 2010." The program is an "e-book" reader for use with
EPUB standard e-books.
[2009/12/23]
Dec. 17, 2009, Business Wire reports that the Bluetooth(R) Special
Interest Group (SIG) has announced the adoption of Bluetooth(R) Low
Energy the "Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0"
[2009/12/20]
Dec. 14, 2009, Business Wire reports that Ralink Technology has
announced that its RT3090BC4 supports WiFi N as well as Bluetooth
2.1 + EDR.
[I expect all major chipsets will be supporting these new
standards soon. -- JO.]
[2009/12/16]]
Dec. 9, 2009 Revised [2009/12/10], Business Wire reports that the Acer has
announced that its Ferrari One computer, "FO200-1799" is an 11.6" screen
model based on an AMD Athlon(TM) 64 X2 dual-core L310 processor (1.20 GHz,
1 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB), priced at $599.99 US. It was available immediately.
[In the original announcement, it was called a "Netbook" at one point. (11.2" x 8.03"
x 1.2", weighing 3.31 lbs.). It is similar to the HP V2 series and a small number
of otherfproducts, which are in size, features and price, between what some people
might consider laptops (and notebooks) and others might call a "netbook". -- JO]
[2009/12/09]
I was able to complete the review of the announcements I missed this
past weekend. I am still running later than I like, but it cannot be
helped.
[2009/12/09]
Dec. 8, 2009, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that its
Vostro V13 series laptop computer is "ultra-portable", based on a 13.3"
screen and weighing as light as 3.5 lbs. (depending on configuration).
Prices start at $449 US and was immediately available.
[2009/12/08]
I am running very late tonight, posting this much at about 2:00 AM local time.
As such, I have failed to complete my review of "Business Wire" releases and
will have to finish the report later this week.
[2009/12/07]
Dec. 3, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Virgin Mobile Canada has announced
the launch of its "Broadband2Go(TM)" wireless internet service. The
Novatel Wireless Ovation(TM) MC760 EV-DO REv. 1 modem costs $149.99
and the general periodic cost is $45 (Cdn) for 1 GB or 1 month of
use (whichever comes first). The service and stick are immediately
available.
[The main reason I am posting this is to watch the data cost trend
over then next few years. I have no basis on which to guess which direction
it would go. Thinking about the factors, it could go either way. -- JO]
[2009/12/06]
Dec. 2, 2009, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation has announced
that it has made available a Beta version of its Intel(R) Atom(TM) Developer
Program Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Microsoft Windows and Moblin
operating systems.
[I do not actually see much significance to this announcement except that
there are developers contests included in this initiative. The whole point
of the Atom processor is that it is not significantly different to program
for, so all previously available development kits -- which have been
available for years and years now, can be used by developers. As for the
Moblin OS, that does not appear to be the focus of the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/12/02]
Nov. 24, 2009, PR Newswire reports that GammaTech Computer Corporation
claims that its Durabook R13S is a "two-in-one" Notebook and Tablet PC
with 13.3" screen tested for MIL-STD810F requirements.
[NOTE: Oddly, there is no claim that the device is certified to meet
these requirements. Price and availability are not provided in the
announcement. -- JO]
[2009/11/29]
Nov. 23, 2009, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has
announced that its "STORY Station Plus" 3.5" external hard drives feature
external serial ATA (eSATA) connectivity for 3.0 gigabit per second (Gbps)
data transfers and up to 2 terabyte (TB) capacity. They will be available
by the end of November 2009 with an MSRP of $299 US for the 2TB version.
[2009/11/25]
Nov. 23, 2009, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that China
Mobile will be the first phone company to sell its Dell Mini 3i smart
phone, which will use China Mobile's OPhone open source platform. It
will be available by the end of this month. [Price was not provided
in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/11//22]
Nov. 17, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Blythe Academy, Pearson Canada and Sony Canada
have announced that Blythe Academy is the first high school in the world to replace
paper textbooks with the Sony(R) Reader Digital Book (Touch(TM) Edition). Content from
publishers such as Pearson Canada will be available to the students using the devices.
[2009/11/18]
Nov. 17, 2009, CBC News reports that Amazon.com's Kindle eBook reader can be bought
by Canadians, but the Web browser and blog subscription service will not work in Canada.
The according to the CBC report, the price per unit is "$259 US, plus import fees, which
the website says will be about $31." Also, according to the report, the cell phone
companies would not confirm the availability of connectivity.
[2009/11/18]
Nov. 11, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Airvana, Inc. has announced that
its Hubbub Connected Home Femtocell DCMA femtocell integrates analog
telephone.
[Pricing and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/11/15]
Nov. 11, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Humanware has announced that
its new BrailleNote Apex is a portable Braille interface notetaker for
blind professionals and students. It is 2 cm. thick and weighs only
812 grams (1.8 lbs).
[Pricing and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/11/15]
I think we are in something like a seasonal lull, though I cannot recall
such a thing in previous years. Little of interest seems to be going on.
In fact, if I were running a consumer oriented business, I would probably
not want to introduce new product from Nov. 25 onward. Anyway, check again
early next week.
[2009/11/11]
It is odd having two things to remember on Rememberance Day. I do
remember the Canadian veterans of wars, including an uncle who passed
away years ago, in peace time. I also remember my good friend Emru
Townsend now, who passed away a year ago, a bit before 22:00. I was
working on this Webpage at the time the anniversary passed, but I was
thinking about him throughout the time I was working, because we shared
interest, and many times, even opinions in the fields of mobile information
technology. I had hoped to mark this day with a specific project, but
unfortunately, time did not allow for its completion this year. It
will address the problem of bone marrow donors for Leukemia. That is
all I will say about it for now. The world is a better place now,
thanks to those whom I remembered today. But it could still be better.
There is yet work to be done.
[2009/11/11]
Nov. 4, 2009, PR Newswire reports that the Motorola DRIOD smartphone
which features Google's Android operating system, will be available
from Verizon Wireless in Florida from Nov. 6, 2009.
[2009/11/08]
Nov. 3, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced that its
MC3100 series of "mid-range" industrial mobile computers are handheld
computers with keypads and touchscreens based on the Marvell XScale
PXA320 controller at 624 MHz, and Windows Mobile(R) 6.1 or Windows
Embedded CE 6.0 Pro.
[2009/11/04]
Oct. 30, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Partstore.com claims to have
advice and listings for parts for all types of "electronic gadgets"
and specifically, "ThinkPads, Macs, iPhones, BlackBerrys and More."
Partstore.com Partsearch.com hardware
[2009/11/01]
Heading towards the end of October, there has been little movement in
the mobile IT area. Mostly, "Windows 7" is still dominating the news.
I am not sure when I will install W7 on any of my current computers.
I might be buying new laptops shortly, so those might be my first
platforms.
[2009/10/28]
The two biggest stories in the computer industry this week are the
role-out of Windows 7 and the purchase of Sun Microsystems by Oracle,
and the objection of the European Union regarding MySQL. Since neither
of these events are particularly special to the mobile information
market I will leave them for other websites.
[2009/10/25]
[I have made minor changes to the review to clarify issues. I have not added any new information about it, and as such, if you have read it before, I would suggest you skip it this time.]
This is the report that I mentioned yesterday. While PMP's are
intended as "consumer products" they could easily run properly
ported "pocket computer" software. In fact, on paper, the
Machspeed TCH843 looks like a useful product for business use.
Unfortunately, I do not feel that it lives up to reasonable
expectations. The article will tell you why.
MachSpeed TCH843 Review
[2009/10/25], [2009/10/21], [2009/10/19]
Oct. 20, 2009, Business Wire reports that Entourage Systems
has announced that its EnTourage eDGe Dualbook is a dual
screen device with a 9.7" e-paper screen and a10.1"
LCD touchscreen. It is expected to be available in February
2010 for $490 US.
Entourage Systems
http://www.entourageedge.com/
[2009/10/21]
Oct. 19, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Marvell has announced a
number of new ARM based processors under their new ARMADA name.
In particular, the Armada 510 is the company's first ARM v7
instruction set processor. The company claims to be "the
largest producer of ARM chips in the world."
[2009/10/21]
I "finished" one of the reports I was working on, but I decided to wait
just a bit longer to give me time to check it over again. Sorry. I
expect to post it later this week. As such, there was, again, nothing
worth posting at this time.
[2009/10/18]
Well it is a borderline situation. HP has announced new product including a particular laptop that I might buy. But it is still a more evolutionary model and I am just "evolving" my overall system. In fact, the Netbooks I bought last year really pushed back this laptop purchase from last year to this year. However, with the coming of a number of new technologies in the near future, and some just arriving now (like Wireless-N), every delay in my purchase balances the inconvenience of not moving forward against the added value of a later machine. Nothing I can do about that.
The two pieces I have been working on have been delayed, but I might post them
in the next few days.
[2009/10/14]
Oct. 11, 2009, we are in another slow period working our way up to Halloween
in Canada and the US, but in Canada, today is also Thanksgiving weekend.
I have a couple of articles I am working on which I will probably post later
this week.
[2009/10/11]
Oct. 5, 2009, PR Newswire reports that NETGEAR(R) Inc. has announced that its
Linux based WNR3500L RangeMax(TM) Wireless-N Gigabit Router with ReadyShare(TM)
USB storage access, 480MHz MIPS(R) 74K CPU, 8MB flash memory and 64 MB RAM.
It will be available in the Fall 2009 at an MSRP of $139.99 US.
[2009/10/07]
Oct. 5, 2009, Business Wire reports that Adobe Systems Incorporated
has "unveiled" Adobe(R) Flash(R) Player 10.1 for smartphones, netbooks,
PCs adn other "internet-connected devices."
[As I have said previously, seeing the current problems that Flash has
been known to cause for security, it would be a better idea if Websites stopped
using Flash completely. -- JO]
[2009/10/04]
Sept. 30, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Franklin Electronic
Publishers is in the process of restructuring in a way that
will result in a private company with an effective re-purchase
of outstanding shares at $2.50 US per share.
[I do not know if this is good or bad for anyone concerned.
The only comment I can make is that re-privatizing a company that
was public is not necessarily a bad thing. -- JO]
[2009/09/30]
Sept. 23, 2009, PR Newswire reports that IBM and Canonical have
introduced a Linux netbook software package in Africa which will
made flexible functional computers with less overhead cost.
[2009/09/27]
Sept. 23, 2009, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation has briefed
developers on some of its future plans, which the company feels demonstrates
that the company will have a complete set of processor and chipset products
from high end laptops, down through MIDs and into smartphone type devices.
The most immediate plan is the "Arrandale" mobile processors which will
"integrate the dual-core CPU and graphics in the package and incorporate
the 32nm manufacturing process and second-generation high-k metal gate
transistors..
[2009/09/23]
Sept. 18, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Pro Softnet Corp. has
announced that its RemotePC Lite is "a free service that transforms
your PC into your personal cloud accessible from anywhere."
[Other services of "RemotePC" have charges. -- JO]
[2009/09/20]
Sept. 16, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Nomadesk has announced
that its "online dashboard" has been improved with a new
file manager with pop-up menus and new security enhancements
to destroy documents on stolen computers while maintaining them
remotely.
[2009/09/16]
Sept. 16, 2009, PR Newswire reports that the Compliance Research Group (CRG)
has announced the development of "a new mobile security model to help
organizations define and manage compliance requirements for wireless devices
and service."
[I have only looked at this announcement briefly -- not the actual report,
but it looks like a good approach. If enterprise data security is your field,
then consider this a "Must Read". -- JO]
Compliance Research Group "DUST" Mobile Security Model
http://www.complianceresearchgroup.com/pages/Download-Research.html
[2009/09/16]
Sept. 11, 2009, Business Wire reports that the IEEE has announced
that its Standards Board has ratified the IEEE 802.11n(TM)-2009
amendment
[2009/09/13]
Sept. 11, 2009, US Newswire reports that the U. S. Attorney
General's Office for the District of Massachusetts and other
government offices have announced the guilty plea of Albert
Gonzalez, 28 of Miami, on multiple criminal counts related
to identity theft.
[This announcement has a specific "Mobile" issue. A
technique specifically mentioned in the announcement was
"WAR-driving" which is driving around with a laptop computer
looking for unsecured WiFi access points through which to
get onto the Internet. This is a good reminder to all
who use wireless routers to be sure to secure them properly.
-- JO]
US Department of Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov/
[2009/09/13]
Sept. 9, 2009, Business Wire reports that NEC and Wind River have announced
that they are collaborating on Linux development tools for NEC's EMMA
Mobile(TM) 1 LSI chip aimed at the portable AV device market.
[I have been saying, lately, that the latest devices with 8GB of Flash
memory and multi-core processors are capable of running very advanced
PDA software. A Linux based device could support all the current
preferred applications, such as HTML browsers. -- JO]
[2009/09/09]
Sept. 8, 2009, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy has announced that
used cell phones can be traded-in for Best Buy gift cards at Best Buy
Mobile branches.
[2009/09/09]
In a couple of days, school will be starting for many students. I
think that most stores have their Fall stock based on this fact.
However, there should be a few announcements coming up this week.
Check back later.
[2009/09/06]
Sept. 1 2009, Business Wire reports that Hitachi GST has announced
that its 7200 RPM mobile hard drive "Travelstar(TM) 7K500" is the
fastest Hard drive in its class.
[2009/09/02]
Aug. 27, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has unveiled its N900
Internet Tablet and the Maemo 5 software. The N900 uses an ARM
Cortex-A8 processor with "up to 1 GB of application memory and OpenGL
ES 2.0 graphics acceleration." It comes with 32 GB of storage and
expands up to 48 GB via "microSD" card. It will be shown at Nokia
World on September 2, and will become available in some markets
on October 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 500.
[2009/08/30]
Aug. 26, 2009, PR Newswire reports that IBM has released its "X-FORCE
2009 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report. The report's findings show an
unprecedented state of Web insecurity as Web client, server, and content
threats converge to create an untenable risk landscape."
[Put simply, the Web is not safe, and it cannot be made safe within the
near future, primarily due to the current and growing complexity of software
and methods of interaction. The only way to make it safe is to simplify
everything and slow down changes. I have been saying this for years now.
This is one of the reasons that I have never endorsed anything fancy, like
Active-X, Java, Shockwave Flash or even PDF files. - JO]
[2009/08/30]
Aug. 25, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Sony has announced that its
"Reader Daily Edition" will be available in December priced at $399
US. This 7" display size device (the largest of the three recently
announced) will connect through AT&T 3G wireless for instant access
to eBook files.
[2009/08/26]
Aug. 24, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has announced that it
will introduce its "Windows based, Nokia Booklet 3G" which is a higher
end Netbook, at Nokia World on September 2, 2009. As such there
is almost no useful information about it at this time.
[2009/08/26]
As the title says, there is still nothing worth reporting. Moreover, I
find I have to post a correction to a report I did not even really make.
I recently mentioned in passing that the Sony PSP would get an "eBook"
reading program. I implied that it would be a more general purpose
reader application. In fact it appears to be limited to comicbooks.
[2009/08/23]
Aug. 18, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
and SCEA announced that the PSP would have a reader program. However,
having re-read the announcement, it appears to be limited to only Comics.
I had thought that it meant that it featured comics, but could read other
files as well. Thsre is no indication that it can read anything except
comics. Then again, you will still have an HTML browser and other
applications on the PSP, so it has always had "book" reading capabilities.
[2009/08/23]
I am a bit surprised to be saying that I found nothing worth reporting. Stores are loading up with "back to school" products. There is a push for Netbooks and low end laptops -- nothing outstanding or ground-breaking. The assumption is that the word "cheap" is the only word that counts. The advertising droids will substitute the word "value" but we all know what they really mean.
In the consumer market, the iPhones are now being investigated in Europe regarding the safety of their Lithium batteries. Sony is pushing the PSP as a "book reader" to bolster that sagging market. Yet, the "portable media player" market has almost ignored this field, supplying "text reader" capabilities instead of HTML rendering or PDF readers, and the Nokia Internet Tablets like the N810 cannot be found in Canada. It seems to me that "free market" theory which claims that the "best products win/remain" has reached a low point and is now a mockery. The "good stuff" seems to routinely disappear, leaving us with junk. And yes, I am taking price into consideration -- I always have.
Maybe I should buy a new car. . . .
[2009/08/19]
Aug. 13, 2009, Business Wire reports that American Reliance, Inc. (AMREL) has
introduced its HC-2 "rugged . . . computer platform for wearable and
handheld applications. "It is fully compliant to MIL-STD 810F."
[Price and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/08/16]
Aug. 10, 2009, PR Newswire reports that MIMOMonitors.com has announced
that its 710-S "Mobile Slider" monitor "folding" USB monitor is now
available at $149.99 plus shipping (US).
MIMOMonitors.com mobile monitors
http://www.mimomonitors.com/
[2009/08/12]
Because this was a short week after a holiday in Canada, and in the
middle of Summer, I am not entirely surprised to say I have nothing
to report. Hopefully, there will be something later in the week
[2009/08/09]
A new range of products, which is normally outside the scope of this site is showing signs of imminent growth. It is the "accident recording device". These are mainly specialized video recorders which can run continuously until an accident occurs. The products, so far are sold by companies involved with video security recording systems. While they are not normally "mobile INFORMATION technology", except in the broadest sense of the words, due to "convergence", I am wondering if they will become something I might cover in the future? It is a hard decision.
One such unit includes acceleration sensors and GPS technology for
tracking location and the actual effects of the accident. GPS units as
well are starting to gain more functionality outside of the scope of
the original capabilities; such as MP3 playback, still image and video
viewing, and calculator functions. All I can say for now is that I
have tried one of these products and am making up my mind about whether
to cover them in the future.
[2009/08/09]
Aug. 5, 2009, Canada NewsWire reports that Sony has introduced 2 new
cheaper versions of its eBook reader and lowered the cost of books
from $11.99 US down to $9.99 US. Available at the end of August, the
"Reader Touch Edition" will cost $399 Cdn and the "Reader Pocket
Edition" will cost $279 Cdn.
[2009/08/05]
Aug. 4, 2009, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced
that it will carry the Palm Pre on Bell Mobility nationwide, from Aug. 27,
2009. The cost will be $599.95 with discounts available on term contracts.
[2009/08/05]
July 30, 2009, PR Newswire reports that VTech Communications, Inc.
has announced the availability of its LS6245 cordless phone which
is DECT 6.0 based and supports Bluetooth connectivity to cordless
phones, combined with landline phone support. The base unit is
priced at $79.95.
[While this is a consumer oriented product, it sounds like something
home businesses and even some small businesses might find usable. -- JO]
[2009/08/02]
July 29, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Underwriters Laboratories
(UL) warns that the "Airspan" Ethernet Adaptor, Model SDA-1 Type 2
"bears an unauthorized UL Mark for the United States and Canada."
It has not been evaluated by UL, and thus may be unsafe.
Other Markings:
Power Supply P/N: 0900080
E151748 YCL
3T57
[2009/07/29]
July 29, 2009, PR Newswire reports that SMobile Systems claims that
according to there study, 1 in 63 Symbian based smartphones are
compromised by malware infections.
[2009/07/29]
July 27, 2009, Business Wire reports that TriGem USA has announced that
its Averatec N3400 laptop computer features an aluminum case, a 13" screen,
weight under 4 lbs., an Intel dual-core processor and has an MSRP of $799 US.
[2009/07/29]
July 23, 2009, PR Newswire reports that the Wi-Fi Alliance has
announced that the current Draft 2.0 certification program will
apply to the final standard, which is now expected to be passed
in September, and only "small optional additions" to the test
will be made to the compliance test set for the final specification.
[2009/07/26]
July 21, 2009, PR Newswire reports that DivX, Inc. and Samsung
Electronics Co., Ltd. have announced that the new Samsung Mondi(TM)
features DivX video support, and WiFi and WiMAX connectivity, in a
mobile device with a 4.3" screen.
[2009/03/22]
July 20, 2009, PR Newswire reports that OmniVision Technologies,
Inc. has announced that its OV7739 VGA video sensor is 3mm thick by
1/7.5", and supports multiple interfaces including "mobile industry
processor interface" ("MIPI"). It supports VGA at 30 fps. and QVGA
at 60 fps. It is now available. [Pricing was not provided in the
announcement. -- JO]
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. video sensors
http://ovt.com/
[2009/07/22]
July 17, 2009, PR Newswire reports that according to JSI Capital
Advisors, LLC, "incumbent local exchange carriers" access lines
decreased by 9.6% in 2008 (to 128.4 million) and will fall to
around 60.6 million by 2018. It is expected that the accounts
will be lost to VoIP and Wireless services.
[2009/07/19]
July 17, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Blockbuster Inc. has announced
that select Blockbuster stores in the US will sell the ARCHOS 10
netbook, which features an Intel ATOM(TM) processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB
HD and 10" screen. Software includes the Windows XP OS, as well as
Lotus Symphony, XnView(TM) and vTuner(TM).
[I have mentioned specifically some unusual inclusions in the
software. For example, this is the first time I have seen "Lotus
Symphony" included with a new computer. -- JO]
[2009/07/19]
July 14, 2009, PR Newswire reports that AirTran Airways has announced the completion of its installation of "Gogo Internet" Wi-Fi systems on all of its 136 aircraft.
Sometimes it seems as if some companies have a pervasive death-wish. Take Magellan for example. I bought a factory refurb Maestro series GPS recently. These are their "upper line" products. I do not have a pressing need for a GPS, but the price had come down to the point where it is competitive with paper map books -- especially when you consider all the new data that comes included, such as restaurants and other "points of interest". The device came with version 2.30 software, whereas 4.86 is downloadable.
Since the refurbishing was recent, it is a mystery why they did not simply load the latest software at the factory. But at least it was an ostensibly "free" download. As it happens, their Website was partially not working on the day I tried it. They were upgrading it. I lost a weekend, but I did use the GPS with the supplied software and it seemed to be working well enough. At this point I was satisfied.
A week or two later, I accessed their Website again and decided to start an account in order to download the update. This was blatantly offensive. They required all kinds of information they are not really entitled to get. A thought passed through my mind that I might be able to sue them for the update, but I thought, that it was not worth the time and money. However, the update is clearly not "free". The information one provides has value to them, and frankly they should be paying me for it -- assuming I am willing to sell it to them.
Then came a real insult. My business address was
In the end, I gave up and entered an "alternate" address. But considering that their business is based on their knowledge of addresses, I think they should have had software that at the least would not reject a valid address -- all this in spite of the fact that they probably have no right to be requiring this information in the first place.
Anyway, having created the account, I downloaded the update and ran it as best as I could. The update failed, and now my unit does not work. I really do not have time to be dealing with this problem right now, but I only have a 90 day warranty, so I will have to get around to it fairly soon. Even if I had a longer warranty, dealing with it would still be getting in my way. You might hear more about this in the future.
"Now class, how many ways can you see that this company shot itself
in the foot?"
[2009/07/15]
July 9, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Retina-X Studios, LLC has announced
the immediate availability of its Mobile Spy version 3.0 for Apple iPhone
3GS. This software runs in the background and gathers and uploads data
regarding the use of the unit. [Pricing was not provided in the
announcement. -- JO]
[2009/07/12]
July 7, 2009, Business Wire reports that CyberLink Corp. has announced that
its "YouCam" application is included with NEC's latest LaVie Laight BL300/
310 and 350 netbooks. The computers are only available in Japan.
[2009/07/08]
Samsung and Sony both announced new Netbooks this past week, as well as a couple
of other laptops being announced, but the "new" is wearing off products that
are little more than repeats. The reason I chose the NEC product was it is
one that I will probably never see, being a Japan-only product. I am undecided
how many Netbook announcements I will include in the future.
[2009/07/08]
This week I start out with my report on time. But as luck would have
it, there was nothing worth reporting anyway. Too many holidays
intervened.
[2009/07/05]
A week after being "late" for part of my report, I am a day later than
usual with this report. In case you thought it was because I was
celebrating Canada Day, no, actually, I got caught up in testing a
new piece of equipment, which unfortunately had problems, and it took
me all the day to resolve that situation. In retrospect, I am amazed
I have not been late more often in the past. However, hopefully, it
will not happen often in the future.
[2009/07/02]
July 2, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that the GSMA claims that
development of the AWS band, which is "90 MHz of spectrum in the 1.7 - 2.1
GHz range" will follow a growth pattern of about 80% per year from 2009
through to 2013, with device sales of about 114.5 million units in 2013.
[2009/07/02]
July 1, 2009, Business Wire reports that a study published in "The
Columbia Science and Technology Law Review" says that "patents may
harm new technology, economic activity, and societal wealth."
[I do not find this surprising. -- JO]
[2009/07/02]
June 30, 2009, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that its
Vostro 1220 laptop computer features a 12.1" display, Intel(R) Core(TM)
2 Duo processor, weighs 3.36 lbs. and gets up to 9 hours of battery life
on a 6-cell battery pack. It is now available at prices starting at
$799 US.
[2009/07/02]
Yes, I did get around to checking for announcements back to June 20 for
Canada Newswire and PR Newswire. No difference.
[2009/08/28]
June 25, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Underwriters Laboratories
(UL) has announced that the USB AC/DC Adapter named "AC-DC Adapter,
Model: SCP0500300P, Input: 100-240 V AC, Output: 5.0VDC 350 mA,
c (UL) us" has no authorization to use the "UL" marking.
[2009/06/28]
June 24, 2009, PR Newswire reports that RealNetworks(R) new Beta
application "RealPlayer SP" "eliminates the complexity of
downloading, converting and transferring video files, so
consumers can simply enjoey their video anywhere, on any device."
A beta version is currently freely downloadable. However, h.264
video conversion, DVD playback and DVD burning are only available
by upgrading to RealPlayer SP Plus which costs $39.99 US.
[2009/06/28]
Due to an unusual overload of work, I have only had time to check
for Business Wire updates. If possible I will complete the rest of
my usual searches later in the week.
[2009/06/24]
June 24, 2009, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that its
Mini 5101 series portable computers featuring metal chassis, 10.1"
widescreen displays and Intel Atom processors will be available
from late July 2009 at estimated street prices starting from $449 US.
[2009/06/24]
June 24, 2009, Business Wire reports that SanDisk claims that its latest
SanDisk Extreme(R) 32 GB Class 10 SDHC card is the fastest in the world with
read/write speeds up to 30 megabytes per second. It will be available in
August this year. The new "Extreme" series cards will replace current
"Extreme III" series. In August, the current 4, 8 and 16 GB Class 6
cards will also be replaced with Class 10 versions. [Pricing was not
provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/06/24]
June 23, 2009, Business Wire reports that Gateway has announced that
its LT3100 netbooks will feature an 11.3" widescreen display, an AMD
Athlon 64-bit processor, ATi Radeon(TM) X1270 graphics, and will weigh
3.14 lbs. The announcement was not entirely clear, but it seems to
be immediately available at MSR prices starting at $399.99 US.
[2009/06/24]
June 19, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Sony has announced that its
latest VAIO(R) NW laptop computer series includes models as low as
$880 US equipped with Blu-ray Disc(TM) technology. The series will
be available later this month (which means within a week or two).
[2009/06/21]
June 17, 2009, Business Wire reports that Corel Corporation has
announced that its new "Corel(R) Home Office" which is aimed at
consumers and "home-based businesses" is also suited for netbooks.
It is immediately available for $69.99 US.
Corel(R) Home Office
[software] http://www.corelhomeoffice.com/
[2009/06/17]
June 16, 2009, PR Newswire reports that ThinkFree, Inc. has announced
that its "ThinkFree Mobile Netbook for Windows, Linux and Mac ESD
(electronic software download) version is now available for
purchase and download at the company's website.
ThinkFree, Inc.
[office software for Windows, Linux and Mac]
http://product.thinkfree.com/mobile/netbook/
[2009/06/17]
June 11, 2009, Business Wire reports that according to IDC, worldwide
sales of mobile computers (including laptops and netbooks) fell 6.8%
in 2009 Q1, which was better than expected. However, detailed
analysis also shows that the growth of netbook sales offset a
dramatic decline in traditional notebook sales, leading to a much
greater decline in revenue.
[2009/06/14]
June 11, 2009, Business Wire reports that according to ABI Research,
2009 Q1 sales of mobile phones (255.6 million shipped worldwide)
has declined ~12% year over year. ABI Research projects that sales
will be down year over year for the whole of 2009.
[2009/06/14]
June 9, 2009, Business Wire reports that Strategy Analytics has
criticized the iPhone 3G S as being too big, and needing a
real physical QWERTY keyboard for the wider public -- going
beyond its original target market.
[I do not know exactly what the original target market was.
I am not sure that I would agree that it needs a full QWERTY
keyboard, but I do agree that some physical buttons would help.
This is exactly the same problem we found back with the Newton.
The Palm was better because it was focussed on real-world
functionality and usability rather than gimmicky features
like "look Ma, no buttons!" -- JO]
[2009/06/10]
June 8, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has announced
that its iPhone(TM) 3G S has increased speed over previous models,
longer battery life and a 3 megapixel autofocus camera built in,
all at new lower prices, such as $99 US for an 8GB model.
It will be available in the US June 19, 2009.
[2009/06/10]
The computer industry is digesting the announcements from the early
part of last week, so I have nothing to add right now.
[2009/06/07]
The attempt to grow home based technology companies in China
is not working well. There is a perception that Chinese product
are all to be approached with suspicion. The result is that the
few better companies that are trying to develop good reputations
are having a more difficult time than they deserve to be
given.
[2009/06/07]
June 3, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Phoenix Technologies Ltd. has
announced that its HyperSpace(TM) for second generation AMD ultrathin
notebook platform is available for consumer downloads at "www.hyperspace.com".
[NOTE: There is no mention of price, but neither does it say that this is
free. -- JO]
[2009/06/03]
June 2, 2009, Business Wire reports that Toshiba has announced that its
NB205 series minis feature 10.1" -diagonal widescreen LED backlit display
and keyboards and touchpads more like standard size notebook computers.
Prices start at $349.00 US MSRP for the NB205-N210.
[2009/06/03]
June 2, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Broadcom Corporation has
announced that models of Acer's Aspire One netbook computers will
come with Broadcom's Crystal HD technology to provide HD TV capabilities.
In another announcement provided by PR Newswire the same day, Broadcom
also announced that the HP Mini 110 mentioned earlier will also have this
technology.
[2009/06/03]
June 1, 2009, PR Newswire reports that MIPS Technologies, Inc. has announced
that Android is now available on the MIPS platform and the company will
make source code available within the next 60 days.
[2009/06/03]
Due to a recent problem with my primary laptop computer, I had to substitute
my HP-2133 as the research tool for this Webpage. It takes about 3 - 4 hours
per update, to go through the reports to prepare this page. I never
intended to do this work with a Netbook. It is difficult enough on the
ideal form-factor 14" laptops I usually use. Still, I found that the HP
along with the Firefox 3 browser, worked reasonably well for the task.
I could say more, but it is getting near 1:00 AM and I am exhausted.
[2009/06/03]
May 29, 2009, PR Newswire reports that ThinkFree, Inc. claims that its
ThinkFree Mobile for Android is the "first complete office productivity
suite . . . for Android-based mobile devices." The justify this claim
because their suite includes ability to create view and edit PowerPoint
files as well as the typical Microsoft Word and Excel compatibility.
ThinkFree, Inc. (software for Android)
http://www.thinkfree.com/
[2009/05/31]
May 28, 2009, Business Wire reports that HDMI Licensing, LLC has announced
that the HDMI 1.4 specification will be released on or before June 30, 2009.
[The 1.4 spec is of particular interest for mobile devices because it
includes a new "Micro HDMI Connector" specification, which will be about
1/2 the size of the current connector, specifically for "portable devices." -- JO]
HDMI Licensing, LLC http://www.hdmi.org/
[2009/05/31]
May 27, 2009, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that its HP
Mini 110 XP Edition and HP Mini 110 Mobile Internet (Mi) Edition
consumer netbooks, and Mini 1101 "companion PC for small and medium-
size businesses . . . ." feature 10.1" diagonal "standard" or
options "high-definition" LED widescreen displays, and Intel(R) Atom
N270 1.6 GHz., or N280 1.66 GHz processors. The HP Mini 1101 will
be available June 1, 2009, at prices starting at $329 US. The
Mini 110 will be available in the US on June 10 at prices
starting at $279.99 US. Special colour versions of the Mini 110 XP
will be available from July 8, 2009, at yet to be decided prices.
[2009/05/27]
May 26, 2009, Business Wire reports Lenovo has announced that it's
new IdeaPad S12 "small laptop" computer will feature nVidia(R)'s
ION(TM) graphics processor. It will be available in June at
prices starting at $449 US.
[2009/05/27]
May 20, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Purple Communications(TM), Inc. has
announced that its new "P3 optimized Purple Netbook," designed specifically
for the Deaf community, is now available. [Pricing was not provided in
the announcement. -- JO]
Purple Communications(TM), Inc.
http://www.purple.us/
[2009/05/24]
May 20, 2009, Business Wire reports that Acer has debuted its
Acer Aspire One AO751h netbook in Canada, featuring an 11.6"
1366 x 768 resolution display, Intel Atom Z520 processor
(1.20 GHz, 490 MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache) and a "full-size"
keyboard. The display is LED-backlit. It is now available
at an MSRP starting at $429.99 Cdn.
[2009/05/20]
May 19, 2009, PR Newswire reports that AT&T has announced that it
is expanding availability of "3G mini laptops" (aka Netbooks)
to all its stores throughout the US, and broadening the range
of models offered (to include Acer, Dell and Lenovo).
[2009/05/20]
May 19, 2009, Business Wire reports that Dell has claimed that its
Latitude 2100 is the first "purpose-built education netbook that focuses
on what's most important -- learning." They are nowa available at
prices starting at $369 US.
[2009/05/20]
May 14, 2009, Business Wire reports that MSI has announced
new X-Slim X400 and X-Slim X600 laptops available in 2009 Q2.
Its previously announced X-Slim X340 features an Intel(R)
Core(TM)2 processor.
[While the X340 series has been out in the US since April, I
have not seen one in Canada yet. There is no indication of a
Canadian price on their Website, nor any specific announcement
regardin availability -- though I would presume availability
and pricing correspond with the US dates and converted prices.
-- JO]
[2009/05/17]
May 12, 2009, Business Wire reports that Lenovo has announced that its new
IdeaPad S10-2 netbook features optional 3G connectivity, Dolby headphone
technology and "long" battery life. It will be available at the end of
May 2009 at prices starting at $349 US.
[2009/05/13]
May 7, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Sony Canada has announced that
its PRS-505 and PRS0700 digital book readers are now available at
Best Buy Canada and Future Shop.
[I do not usually report on the simple availability of a previously
announced product, but I have had doubts whether these book reading
devices would be distributed in any "popular" manner in Canada, so I
think it is justifiably "news" that these particular stores have
picked up these products. -- JO]
[2009/05/10]
May 6, 2009, Business Wire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced that
Bell Mobility will have the Palm Pre available in the 2nd half of 2009.
Price has not been determined.
[2009/05/06]
May 5, 2009, PR Newswire reports that LogMein Ignition for the BlackBerry
Storm provides remote control over a Windows PC or Mac desk computer
running an appropriate corresponding LogMein program.
LogMein, Inc. BlackBerry Software
http://secure.logmein.com/
[2009/05/06]
May 4, 2009, Business Wire reports that E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. has announced
that is E*TRADE Mobile Pro for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch are available
at no extra cost for E*TRADE Securities customers. It is obtainable through
the Apple App Store.
[This is odd. I am curious why a special program is necessary to emulate their
Web pages? -- JO]
[2009/05/06]
I dislike this report more most because at the least I should be able to
say "I have nothing to report." Instead, I have to report that I was
unable to search PR Newswire because it was not working today. However,
I do not expect that I would have found anything of significance even if
I had been able to complete that search.
[2009/05/03]
Apr. 28, 2009, Business Wire reports that HP has announced a new brand
series of laptop computers. The "HP ProBook" series of laptop computers
with a simpler appearance. Among the new series there will be the
HP ProBook 4410s and HP ProBook 4415s which feature 14" diagonal 16:9
HD widescreen displays with LED backlighting. Prices start at
$529 US for the lowest priced products of this line.
[2009/04/29]
Apr. 26, 2009, At some point in the last week, HP has made available
its "dv2-1000" laptop computer. I have looked for an announcement but
I have been unable to find one. The Canadian MSRP is $719.99.
It measures 29.2 cm x 24.0 cm x 3.27 cm, and weighs 1.70 kg. [US
dv2-1030us model is 11.5" * 9.45" * 1.29" and weighs 3.95 lbs.]
[2009/04/26]
Apr. 24, 2009, Business Wire reports that according to ABI Research,
cellphone handset sales for 2009 Q1 were 258 million [NOTE: the
announcement is not clear whether these are worldwide or US only
sales, but I believe they are worldwide. -- JO] which is down
11% year over year, but better than expected.
[2009/04/26]
Apr. 23, 2009, Business Wire reports tha Samsung Electronics America
has announced that its N110 and N120 Mini Notebook computers are now
availabel for (MRSP) $469 and $459 US respectively. The N110, measuring
10.27" * 7.3" * 1.19" * and weighing 2.78 lbs., is on the larger, heavier
end of the first year's netbooks product range, and the N120 is even
more-so, but still give greater portability than the latest 12"
variants.
[2009/04/26]
This week has not been a busy week in this industry. Check back later,
or next week.
[2009/04/22]
Apr. 17, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Verizon Wireless has "released
its initial set of technical specifications for devices that will run on
its Long Term Evolution (LTE) fourth generation (4G) wireless network."
Verizon Wireless
Open Deveopment (LTE Wireless Network Device Specs)
http://www.verizonwirelessopendevelopment.com/
[2009/04/19]
Apr. 17, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Shepherd, Finelman, Miller and Shah, LLP,
a law firm with offices in California, and some other states, has announced
a certification of a class action for the law suit "Martin Hapner v. Sony
Electronics, Inc." (Case No. GIC 839244 in the Superior Court of California,
San Diego County, regarding some Sony GRX500 and 600 series laptop computers
manufactured in the Spring and Summer of 2002.
[2009/04/19]
Apr. 15, 2009, Business Wire reports that Acer America has announced that its
Aspire 3935-6504 laptop computer "features a 13.3-inch frameless, widescreen
CineCrystal(TM) LED display. . . " with 1366 x 768 resolution, and a
"Multi-Gesture Touchpad." It is now available at an MSRP of $899.99 US.
[2009/04/15]
Apr. 15, 2009, Business Wire reports that IDC says that Desktop and
Portable PCs (not including x86 Servers) were down 7.1% compared to
last year, but portable computer sales (including laptop and netbooks)
remained solid with only a 3% drop. HP has taken the lead in US
unit sales.
[2009/04/15]
Apr. 15, 2009, Business Wire reports that In-Stat has projected that
cellphone handset sales will drop about 20.5% in 2009 compared to 2008.
In-Stat also projects that service subscription growth will be about
8.9% in 2009.
[2009/04/15]
Apr. 10, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Morgan Kaufmann Publishers (Elsevier)
has announced the release of a book by Allison Druin regarding "Mobile Technology
for Children".
Elsevier http://www.elsevierdirect.com/
[2009/04/12]
Apr. 3, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Best Buy Canada Ltd. has announced
a voluntary recall of "Rocketfish Model RF-INV80 Universal AC/DC/USB Portable
Power Sources" About 90 units were distributed. "While charging the battery,
the power source can unexpectedly ignite, posing a fire hazard to consumers."
[2009/04/12]
Again, it appears that this is to be a slower than usual season and
I find I have nothing to report.
[2009/04/08]
On February 19, 2009, Meizu Released its M8 smart phone, limited to
the local Chinese market. There is no word on a release of this
device to the North American market yet. The "M8" is currently
considered "the Chinese Apple iPhone". It is based on Personal
Media Player (PMP) design concepts.
[2009/03/05]
Apr. 1, 2009, Business Wire reports that Palm Inc. has announced that its
Mojo SDK will be available to a limited number of Palm Developers initially,
until tools are in a better state. General availability is scheduled for
later this year.
[2009/04/01]
Mar. 31, 2009, Business Wire reports that Samsung Telecommunications America
has announced that its "Mondi(TM)" WiMAX enabled handheld device will be
available in the US to be used on the Clearwire "Clear(TM)" network.
[2009/04/01]
Mar. 30, 2009, PR Newswire reports that the CDMA Certification Forum(R)
(CCF) has announced that it expects certification testing of CDMA2000(R)/
LTE multimode devices to begin as early as mid-2010, with some test
cases available in 2009 Q3.
[2009/04/01]
Mar. 30, 2009, Bango stats rank the top phones used for browsing and
buying on Web as 1st Nokia 3110c, 2nd Samsung M800 and 3rd Nokia 6300.
The iPhone is 24th.
[2009/04/01]
Mar. 26, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Spreadtrum Communications,
Inc. has announced that Samsung has chosen to use Spreadtrum's GSM/GPRS
and EDGE technology chipsets for some of its products.
[The announcement did not list any particular handsets. -- JO]
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. Cell Phone Chipsets
href=http://www.spreadtrum.com/
[2009/03/29]
Mar. 23, 2009, BusinessWire reports that Mirics claims that its FlexiTV(TM)
software reeceiver and CyberLink's TVEnhance combine to provide modern
laptop computers with viable HDTV with minimal CPU usage.
[2009/03/25]
There is not much I can say about this. Last week proved slow and this
week looks like it could be pretty much the same.
[2009/03/22]
I am not sure why there has been such a shortage of worthwhile product
announcements or other related news, but it is continuing. Check
back later in the week.
[2009/03/18]
Lately I have been looking at consumer electronics and where it comes close to, and sometimes overlaps business information technology. Here are three more areas of interest.
An area of overlap is that computer related mobile consumer electronics
are often using USB charging circuits, as are business side products.
One would think that these all work about the same and that the
charging adapters are all interchangeable. I was not entirely surprised
to find that this is not true. There seem to be 2 types of AC adapters
for these devices and some products will work on one and not the
other, or the opposite way around, or sometimes, can work on both,
but with some issues. I keep 2 chargers to charge all my devices of
these types. So far, the 2 chargers cover all my equipment, but I am
ready to find that a 3rd might even be necessary.
[2009/03/22] (corrected last line) [2009/03/18]
I recently saw that Palm has changed the colour of its TX. This is
very "not impressive". As far as their non-phone products are
concerned, the TX and the TE are both still around, and without
any real changes in specifications. On the other hand, starting
around last year, there are some "Portable Media Players" (MP-4/MP-5
devices) that are more compact, use the same touch screen technology
and are cheaper than Palm TX, yet are more powerful than the Palm
TE. It would seem that they could produce a Palm TE just by adding
software.
[2009/03/18]
I have been commenting about the consumer market lately because in the long run, we are all "consumers" and a company's business practices are part of their products, or if the company is a retailer and not a manufacturer, then really the business practice is its product.
Looking at Sandisk's Sansa product line, a recent product termination has brought to light a consumer's problem. What is the "Sansa Connect?" Oh yes, it was "SDMX8N-4096K-EA70", their hot product back in 2007. Less than 2 years on the market, and one of their prestige products at that. Well, it is gone. In fact it is FAR gone. So far in fact, that it is no longer mentioned as even a "discontinued" product. The only reference I could find on Sandisk's Website was in their original press release when the product was introduced, and I wonder if they even know that that document is still on their Website.
This is a very disgusting practice which I have run into before. In
fact, I am not sure if it is even legal to abandon consumers to this
degree. It makes one wonder to what degree any company can be counted
on to stand by their products.
[2009/03/18]
As seems to be a trend for the year, there was nothing interesting
announced towards the end of this week.
[2009/03/15]
I have been buying some consumer electronics lately and there are a number of things I could say about the experiences. I think the thing that sticks out in my mind though, is that it seems to be getting harder to find sales people who know what they should know.
For example, I bought an SD-Card camcorder. The salesman tried to make an "add-on sale" of a flash card. That was a good idea. But then he tried to sell me a "Class 2" card. If he had known his products better, he would have known that a "Class 2" card is not really fast enough for full usage of these camcorders. I was lucky because I naturally wanted at least a "Class 4" card, just to speed up moving files. It turns out that the manual clearly states that you need the "Class 4" card for the highest quality recording for my device. Other camcorders make it even simpler by saying you need a "Class 4" card without mentioning that a "Class 2" will work for some uses. But he clearly did not know that.
I am surprised at how much poor quality stuff is being sold. I
think we have lived through a golden age from around 1970 - 2000
when most of the consumer grade stuff we bought was reasonably
well done. Lately, particularly in the smaller brands, there are
a lot of poorly finished products (buggy firmware, etc.) -- junk.
I found this last year when I was interested in digital picture
frames. I found it again this year looking at portable media
players, and the above mentioned camcorders. The major brands
(usually the Japanese brands) are still usually reliable, but
there is so much junk on the market. It is very disappointing.
[2009/03/15]
Mar. 10, 2009, Business Wire reports that Wizzard Software has announced the
availability of Version 4.2 of its AT&T Natural Voices Text-to-Speech (TTS)
for Windows. [Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/03/11]
Mar. 10, 2009, Business Wire reports that MPEG LA, LLC has announced that it
has filed patent enforcement actions in the US District Court for the Southern
District of New York against Lenovo Group Limited, et al. in regard to its
MPEG-2 patent portfolio, in regard to laptop computers (among other devices).
[2009/03/11]
Mar. 5, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Linksys has announced the availability
in the US market, of its WET610N bridge at $99.99 US, and its WRT400N dual
simultaneous band router at $149.99 US, and its WRT320N switchable dual band
Gigabyte router for $129.99 US.
[2009/03/08]
Mar. 3, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that NetMotion Wireless has announced
that it has been granted Canadian Patent No. 2303987 for its Mobile Virtual
Private Network software. Mobility XE(TM).
[2009/03/08]
According to IEEE802.org, TGn Draft 7.0 passed in November 2008. But more significantly, it also unchanged in January 2009, and passed a sponsor ballot in this form. Comments are still being reviewed, but the fact that it was not changed in January was very significant. It appears that this will likely be the version that will be eventually adopted. While it is still only a Draft standard, it appears that this might well be the final specification. It will be "recirculated" again in May and is expected to be passed in November.
[2009/03/08]
There were no announcement reported by PR Newswire. I expect this was a
server problem. I will probably try to redo the search later in the week.
[2009/03/04]
Mar. 3, 2009, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced that its
ATi Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4860 and HD 4830 graphics processors use
40nm process.
[2009/03/04]
Feb. 27, 2009, PR Newswire reports that VIA Technologies, Inc.,
has announced that Samsung will use the VIA Nano(TM) processor
and VIA VX800 chipset in its NC20 mini-notebook computer.
The computer also features a 1280 x 800, 12.1" display.
[2009/03/01]
Feb. 23, 2009, Business Wire reports that ARM has announced that its
ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-M0 processor is "its smallest, lowest power and most
energy efficient ... ARM processor available." It is available for
licensing.
[2009/02/25]
Feb. 22, 2009, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that its
Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook will be available from Feb. 26, 2009. Tech
specs are, as usual, "typical", featuring an Intel(R) Atom(TM) Z520
(1.33 GHz) or Z530 (1.60 GHz)., 533 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, Intel(R) IGMA500
graphics (Poulsbo US15WGraphics Chipset), 10.1" (1024 x 576) WSVGA
display, at prices starting at $399 US. More notably, it has an
HDMI output, and pictures indicate that the keyboard is like the
Compaq Mininote, and includes separate Function keys.
[2009/02/22]
Feb. 16, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that the SD Association has announced
that its coming SDXC (eXtended Capacity) specification will take the SD-Card
devices up to 2 terabytes capacity and 300 megabytes/sec. data rates.
SD Association http://www.sdcard.org/
[2009/02/18]
Feb. 16, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Inc.
has announced that its MB86K23 mobile WiMAX baseband IC is a low power, small
footprint device using 65 nm low-leakage CMOS with a USB, SPI and SDIO interfaces.
It is expected to be used in MIDs and netbooks. The device will be available in
April. [No price was provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2009/02/18]
Feb. 16, 2009, Sequans Communications has claimed that its SQN1210 chip is
the first to integrate baseband and triple band RF. [Pricing and availability
were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
Sequans Communications http://www.sequans.com/
[2009/02/18]
Feb. 13, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Stantum Technologies claims
that its patented PMatrix(TM) resistive touch sensing technology
now supports finger-pressure detection. Three levels are differentiated
(soft, medium and hard).
Stantum Technologies touchscreens http://www.stantum.com/
[2009/02/15]
A day or so after I posted my last comment regarding the Via Chipset on the HP-2133 MiniNote, I was looking at the Ubuntu Website to find out more about their new Via support in 8.4.2 LTS (Hardy Heron) and I ran across instructions for turning on automatic CPU speed adjustment. It turned out to be a kernel option switch setting. Since the kernel version is the same on OpenSuSE 11.1, I decided to try the switch, and it works. So now I have contemporary 2D and 3D acceleration and CPU speed control, which is about all the changes I am interested in from the 2.6.28 kernel for that particular computer. That much, plus some recent debugging patches for OpenSuSE 11.1 have given me pretty much all I want from a current Linux OS.
About all I could hope for now might be a faster boot time, which I
could accomplish, if I wanted to optimize the kernel myself. I will
not bother doing so right now, but I believe I have sufficient
information to do so if I wanted to. As such, there is a good chance
that I might not bother changing that OS installation for a fairly
long time -- possible till 11.1 support ends. Ironically, this means
that for my own use, I will now be able to get down to fairly heavy
usage of that computer, as I intended it to be used. And that means
I will no longer be using it to test software in the near future, and
I will no longer have much to write about it "here". So my gain is
sort of "your loss." Sorry about that. Well, not really. . . .
[2009/02/15]
Feb. 11, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Ericsson will demonstrate
a peak downlink data rate of 42Mbps at Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona Spain. The speed is achieved by combining two
frequency channels capable of 21Mbps when used independently.
[2009/02/11]
Feb. 9, 2009, Business Wire reports that ECS EliteGroup Computer
Systems and Comsys Communications & Signal Processing Ltd., have
announced that ECS' U170 eMAX device is a WiMAX USB modem that
also functions as a cellphone, using Comsys Mobile ComMAX CM1125
baseband processor.
[2009/02/11]
It will probably not surprise anyone to know that I did not find
anything worth reporting for the end of this week. Things seem to
be picking up again, slowly, so check back later in the week.
[2009/02/08]
Ubuntu 8.4.2 LTS now has Via support, though I cannot say how much.
Using OpenSuSE 11.1 and "community" RPMs, I now have some 2D/3D
acceleration. I still lack power adjustment, which is necessary for
using the HP-2133 on battery power. Ironically, I cannot report how
I did it, because I am not sure. There are 3 packages that purport
to add acceleration, but they do not work with "sax2". So I applied
all 3 and thought they were not working. Then I checked some "old
notes" and apparently, at least one of them works by patching the
"vesa" driver module. I checked the capabilities of the "vesa"
module and found I had 3D support active. I then tried some benchmarks
to be sure, and the numbers look right. So it did work. I just
do not know which of the 3 packages actually did this.
[2009/02/08]
Feb. 4, 2009, Business Wire reports that Insyde Software has announced
that Sony Corporation is using InsydeH20 firmware in its BZ, CS, G, P,
TT and Z Series VAIO(R) mobile computers.
[2009/02/04]
Feb. 3, 2009, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd., has announced the development and validation of 40nm DRAM
chips which will be used in 1 Gigabyte 800Mbps DDR2 SODIMM modules.
[2009/02/04]
I am starting to think the recession has something to do with this. I have not checked back, but I do not think I have gone this long through the beginning of the year without more to report. Again, there was nothing really notable. I could mention that I have finally seen the HP dv3 laptop in Staples. The version in Staples in Toronto has a French keyboard making it less desirable for people like me who are Anglophones and who touchtype quickly.
In case you were wondering whether I would have much to say about this
buzzword, I do, and I do not. Every time I think about it, I come
to the same conclusion. This will be a relatively slow evolutionary
development. It is a continuation of the trends that have been
on-going since the beginning of the Web browser, which began the
mass popularization of the Internet, and the coming of wireless internet
connectivity. Beyond that is minor details -- lots of minor details,
but none the less, minor.
[2009/02/01]
There is one idea that I have had which I deliberately did not include previously because it is really not a "mobile" product in the traditional sense. It is an idea for a "desk" computer that bridges the one-piece computer and the component computer. At best one can consider it a good design idea of a "moveable" computer:
Flat screen TVs came out with a standardized mounting system on
the back of the screens. This can be added to computer screens as
well. In fact, some flat screen TVs are designed for both uses and
so these already exist. It is therefore possible to create computer
cases that can mount on the back of flat screen displays with standard
mounts. A case system with a balanced stand and a "basket" under the
screen to hold an optical drive would make possible a "one-piece-like"
computer system but based on user selectable components.
[2009/02/01]
Jan. 28, 2009, Business Wire reports that knfb Reading Technology, Inc.
will demonstrate its "kReader Mobile" software which allows a mobile
phone user to take a picture and have text in the image read it
aloud.
knfb Reading Technology, Inc.
http://www.knfbreader.com/
[2009/01/28]
Jan. 27, 2009, Canada Newswire reports that LG Electronics Canada Inc.
has been notified that its "LG 150 mobile phone is not longer certified
as meeting the Radio Standards Specification 102 (RSS 102), Radio
Frequency Exposure Compliance of Radio Communication Apparatus."
If you have one of these phones, check LG's website for details of
the recall.
[It would not surprise me if there are further such recalls in the
future by LG or other companies in this field. There are a lot of
conflicting goals in designing cell phones, and sometimes the designs
are close to the edge in one direction or another. Unless a company
has a substantially greater number of such recalls over time, or a
very bad design is evident, I would not assume the worst of these
companies based on this much. -- JO]
[2009/01/28]
Still nothing worth reporting. I have a couple of thoughts
which might motivate companies to produce better products.
[2009/01/25]
Again, do not expect this stuff to show up. I just wish they would:
I have a 2.4 GHz Draft-N router with a Gigabit switch. Someday, when the standard is finalized, I would like to move into 5 GHz. I do not need another 2.4 GHz radio set, so a dual-band extender is really overkill. Also, I believe that separating 2.4 GHz station from the 5 GHz station could result in better performance from both. So a separate box sounds like a good idea to me. Since this would take up 1 of my 4 LAN ports, I would appreciate the extra box having some more LAN ports, and all running at my maximum 1 GHz. A 3-4 (outbound) port switch would suit my needs well.
A lot of people are buying Netbooks with big hard drives. This
is not a really good idea. It is better to keep data off the
Netbooks. So a NAS is a good thing to add to a network. But if
there are a lot of Netbooks out in the world, there should be a
good market for a combination WiFi router and NAS. This and a
Netbook (and a connection to the Internet) is all some people
would really need.
[2009/01/25]
I have to admit that I was surprised today, that there was nothing worth
reporting. However, I should not have been surprised. I suppose that
after the Martin Luthor King holiday and the Inauguration, there were
a lot of people off work, and there was no incentive to try to overcome
the focus of the day on the new President. I expect more news in the
coming weeks.
[2009/01/21]
Over the last few days I have begun converting to my D-Link DIR-655 Gigabyte Ethernet / WiFi Draft-N router. I will not say that everything went smoothly, but so far, the only computer that has failed to connect using the Ethernet connection is my Windows XP computer, which is my E-Mail computer, printout computer, and the computer on which I do my research for this Website. Ironically, I found out just as I started work on the webpage changes for today. I wasted a few hours trying to understand the problem and fix it, but eventually had to abandon the idea, for now, and use another computer for the research.
One particular point to remember is that I will still eventually get my
EMail done because it is not on my HS Internet. It can be accessed through
dial-up. Do you have an alternative route to your EMail?
[2009/01/18]
There were a few borderline announcements, such as new Seagate Cheetah 3.5"
hard drives (we have not used 3.5" hard drives much in mobile computers in
the last 10 years) and summaries of 2008 PC sales (do I need to tell you that
income is down but laptop and mobile sales have continued to grow, but slowly?).
Next week might be better.
[2009/01/14]
Do not expect this stuff to show up. I just wish they would:
There have not been many cards for PC Cards or Xpress Cards lately. Most are very industrial in concept, except for some wireless broadband stuff. What I would like to see are things like:
Is it really so hard to understand that built in "multi-card" slots are a bad idea? They may seem convenient at first, but eventually you will end up with lack of BIOS support for some card format in the future. That leaves "system level" support, which will probably keep up, but you still end up paying for more slot types than you will probably ever need. An Xpress Card based adapter should be buyable for upgrading the controller in the future.
Here is a VERY radical thought: I have measured the small slot (34mm) and it is large enough to make a 2 - SD-Card slot adapter. How about a removable "SD-Card RAID" adapter?
I would also like an FM radio receiver card. There might still be one in an SD-Card format. There used to be one which was used by some people in Palm devices, but I think that company is gone now.
Those consumer picture frames are selling as a novelty, but it seems they have limited user popularity. People buy them, use them for a while, and then get annoyed by them and turn them off. How about having an external display that can be used as a stand alone picture frame? You could hook it up to your computer if you want more display space.
The same idea goes for portable DVD Players and coming Portable Blue-Ray players. Why not have computer input ports so the displays can be used as extensions for computer displays?
The new Via Chips (CPU and VX800 chipset) are very interesting. For Netbook use, encryption is a problem because it slows down data transmission. I do not know how much slowdown is unavoidable, but some of it seems to be caused by the WiFi encryption. It is unclear how much speed or battery savings might result from the CPU hardware encryption in the new VIA 64-bit CPU. However, it could be significant. Businesses and government offices should be using this technology. Actually, everybody should be using this technology.
VIA messed themselves up by not supporting Linux early enough. Despite the fact that VIA C7-M based Netbooks beat the Intel Atom "onto the shelves" Linux support for Intel Atom Netbooks is now available in the 3 most important Linux distributions (Fedora 10, Ubuntu 8.10 and OpenSuSE 11.1) which are based on the 2.6.27 Linux Kernel. Where is VIA support? It is in the 2.6.28 Kernel, which will come in the *next* Linux OSes. Far too late for C7-M Netbook users. However, VIA support for the next generation chips is already in this Kernel too (although it might not be complete yet) -- a result of VIA realizing last year that Linux support was going to be important for their products.
The industry is following the market and not understanding it. The SSDs and "near instant booting" is more important then the companies realize. The reason is that right now a lot of people are looking at the Atom based Netbooks as cheap laptop replacements. However, the current market is largely made up of people who have no ability to guage their needs nor the limits of the products they are buying. Mass disillusionment will be the result, and that will cause a return to higher priced product sales, leaving the Netbook sales to the smaller market of people who will use it for "limited purposes" -- which was the target of the original specs. In other words, when you get past the near-term boom sales, the remaining market will be people who just want to use them to surf the Web briefly, but without delay -- like me. That and the fact that SSDs are getting bigger in capacity, faster and/or cheaper (depending on how you look at it), means that the market for SSD based Netbooks will, in the long term be the real winner.
[2009/01/14]
Jan. 9, 2009, PR Newswire reports that SRS Labs has announced that HP
now uses SRS Premium Sound(TM) on all its current laptops, including
the dv2 - dv7 lines and the TouchSmart Tx2.
[2009/01/11]
Jan. 8, 2009, Business Wire reports that Palm, Inc. has unveiled its
"Palm(R) WebOS" mobile platform which is used on its "Palm Pre(TM)"
mobile phone. It integrates various "Web-connected applications" by
using its "Palm Synergy(TM)" feature to, for example, unite contact
information from Outlook, Google and Facebook.
[2009/01/11]
Jan. 8, 2009, Business Wire reports that ViewSonic Corp. has introduced
new computer products including its VieBook(TM) Netbooks computer.
At 2.6 lbs., with a 10.2" screen and Intel(R) Atom, etc. at $429 US,
it will be available in February 2009.
[2009/01/11]
"Lenovo S9/S10 Regulatory Notice V1.0" Page 7 (for Canada)
"The Lenovo computer contains an authentication mechanism. You can install or remove each wireless feature by yourself. If you install an unauthorized wireless adapter that is not approved for use in the Lenovo computer, the computer will not start, but only display an error message and emits audible beeps."
I have heard about this sort of limitation on upgradeability before. I
do not think any of my other computers are designed to "lock up" like this.
It is an interesting issue. If I have time, I will look into it further.
-- JO]
[2009/01/11]
Jan. 7, 2009, PR Newswire reports that Sony has unveiled its
"VAIO(R) P Series Pocket Style PC". It features an 8" diagonal
"ultra-wide" [very short] display with 1600 x 768 resolution
and LED backlight technology. According to Sony, at "just 1.4
pounds . . . [it is] "small enough to slip into a jacket
pocket or handbad while integrating full-PC features." Sony
claims a 4 hour standard battery life with an 8 hour battery
option, 802.11n wi-fi [which is quite a claim since there is
no such thing as 802.11n -- yet] and Bluetooth technologies,
and available later this month at a retail price of about
$1,000 Cdn.
[It is nice to be able to claim long battery life, but at
what speed? -- JO]
[2009/01/07]
Jan. 7, 2009, PR Newswire reports that NETGEAR(R), Inc. has
announced a few new products, lead by its RangeMax(TM) Dual
Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNDR3700), which features
simultaneous Dual Band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz datacomm with Gigabit
ethernet ports, a port for an external USB storage device and
a 680 MHz MIPS processor, wrapped up in the company's "fifth
generation industrial design." Availability is expected 2009
Q1 for $179 US.
[2009/01/07]
Jan. 7, 2009, Business Wire reports that Toshiba AIS has
announced that its Portege R600-ST520W will be its first ultra-
portable laptop to get combined Wi-Fi (including a/g/draft-N)
and WiMAX. The 12" screen (short format) portable weighs
about 2.4 pounds and will be available in late January 2009
for $2,149.99 US MRSP.
[2009/01/07]
Jan. 6, 2009, Business Wire reports that SanDisk Corporation has
unveiled its latest SanDisk pSSD-P2 and S2 SSD devices will
be competitive in price with Hard Disc Drives. Its 32 GB device
is priced at 2.5" HDD level in OEM quantities. The company
claims that booting and launching software is twice as fast
as on an HDD.
[2009/01/07]
Jan. 6, 2009, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that
its latest HP Mini 2140 series computers come in aluminum cases
and feature a 10.1" diagonal LED screen in standard 1024 x 576
resolution or high definition 1366 x 768 resolution. Based on
the Intel Atom processor for cooler and longer running, they will
be available later this month at prices starting at an estimated
street price of about $499 US.
[2009/01/07]
As is typical this time of the year, there was nothing announced worth
reporting. I expect the coming week will be very full.
[2009/01/04]
It is not news to say that it has been a very bad year. With the news that banks and the auto companies have been granted assistance in the US and Canada, other industries have been lining up for handouts. I do not expect those to come. The point of the bank money was to make money available throughout the the countries covering the other industries. The automotive industry was a special case.
The irony is that the computer industry was in the process of bringing out inexpensive products called "Netbooks". The problem is that there are people who thing they get some thing for nothing -- expecting the Netbooks to be wonderful computers "just like an expensive laptop". They are, and they are not. The first round of products has already run its course, and when I look around, I get a sense of disillusionment.
When the excitement of unboxing a "new toy" is over, some people are
left wondering what it is good for? If they have to ask that, they
probably should not have bought one. So this may become a "flash in
the pan" sales year while people try to understand what products they
actually want.
[2009/01/04]
Dec. 18, 2008, Axiotron(R) announced that Steve Wozniak had joined
the company's "Board of Advisors". The company's main product is its
"Modbook" which is a "pen-based tablet Mac(R) solution." A pen based
version of a Macbook-like computer. Prices start at $2,249 US.
The computers are already available.
Axiotron(R) tablet computer
http://www.axiotron.com/
[2008/12/31]
If you expected that I would have any announcements to
report, all I can say is, "You have got to be kidding!"
Seriously, the week from Christmas to New Year's Day has
rarely seen anything in the way of significant announcements.
I am half expecting some company like AMD or Intel or
Nvidia to try to get something out on the last day of
the year just to "one up" the competition, but this year
such antics might not be appreciated. How would your
customers feel if they just bought something and you are
saying, "Hey if you had waited another month, we would
have saved you some money!" In any other year, people would
take that with a little annoyance, but this year?
[2008/12/28]
As long time readers will know, I will NOT announce awards for "Best Products for 2008", or such, before 2008 is actually over. The main reason for that is the possibility of that last minute announcement. On the other hand, I will also not give awards for Vapourware (announced products that never became available within 2008). My announcement policy also gives companies a chance to make good on such announcements of theirs. However, the generally irresponsible behavior of others in this field has made it appropriate for me to at least give some Nominations, or thoughts of what I might consider for such awards, at this time.
Best Products I have Used:
The "best products I have used" is a slim selection this year. I have simply been too busy with other matters to get around to testing much. If I were writing on assignments right now, I would have done more. I literally have stuff in boxes I have not even opened. Of the stuff I have been using, I would say that the Palm TX is (Surprise!) still one of the most useful. I do not like the quality level of the product. It is not as durable as it should be. There are more issues I could raise as well. But it is still in my pocket, and in fact, I have just recently bought another one as a "backup" unit.
The Nokia N800 was proving to be quite nice, right up until it was stolen. I have bought an N810 -- which is still in its box (see?) to replace it, and I am looking forward to getting around to using it, but I have not had the time. I suppose I would have made the time if it were another N800 though. The fact is, I do not like the Spec of the N810 as much as the N800. The N800 had the FM radio circuitry which the N810 lacks. Yes, I did use it as an FM radio. On the other hand, I have no use for a GPS. I had a GPS before. I did try it, and now it sits unused.
The ASUS EeePC 701 has been a good product and I still use it fairly often. It has replaced the Nokia N800 for a lot of what I had been doing before -- quick Web searches at odd times of the day, when I am at home. Someday I will say why the later Netbook products do not do this job as well as the EeePC 701.
The HP2133 has been quite good so far. I will eventually say
more about it.
[2008/12/28]
The Acer Aspire One was retired when I bought the HP2133, but
has seen use as a "test-bed" for software. I loaded it with
pre-release versions of OpenSuSE 11.1 and reported bugs. When
Novell SuSE and OpenSuSE 11.1 and eventually 11.2 become good
Netbook operating systems (which I expect will happen eventually)
users of other Netbooks will, ironically, thank their fortune,
that I had such a bad time with this particular computer,
because it meant that there was nothing else I was doing with
this it, making beta testing its only viable occupation. You
can be assured that I will NOT give it a "best product" award.
On the other hand, I could also say that it is not really that
bad a design. It just had a couple of bad points. The problem
was that the bad points were really significant.
[2009/01/04 edited for style]
Best Product I Have Not Used This Year:
Vast legions of products! The Toshiba NB100 and the new Compaq 1000 series look like a good Netbook computers. I tried out the mouse buttons on them in a store and they were both very quiet. The same can be said for the LG X110 (version of the MSI u100 Wind). There were some very nice laptops that I felt were very good buys (and an even bigger number of laptops I thought were really silly -- mainly with 15.4" displays and larger). I would have liked to have tried out a number of Gigabit Ethernet based routers. They were all "WiFi Draft N" of course, but it was the Ethernet speed that was the big attraction. I would also liked to have tested some of the cheaper NAS products.
All I can say about this last group really is, maybe I will get
to use them next year.
[2008/12/28]
I doubt if anyone will be surprised to learn that I did not find
any announcements of any significance to post here. . . .
[2008/12/24]
Regarding OpenSuSE 11.1, it is still short of 1 week since it has been release, so the information I have is still subject to error. However, the situation is clear enough that I feel I should give this much advice:
The GNOME LiveCD's for i686 and x86_64 are not trustworth, and may cause corruption of your hard drive. As such, do not attempt to create a hard drive with multiple operating systems unless you have a good set of backups of anything you want to keep on that drive, and be especially certain that you will not need that computer and that information within the time it takes to re-build that drive (or those drives) from your backups. It is unclear if all computers are affected by the problems I know of, or only some computers. I cannot give any indication of the probability of these problems, so you are best to assume that you will probably have problems, at least until someone says otherwise.
I have verified that a computer that suffered a corrupted hard drive using the GNOME LiveCD for i686 was able to be loaded using the "NET" installation system. If you are like me (using cheap, slow Internet, about 60 KB/sec.) this may be small comfort. It took me over a half hour to download the ISO for the NET installer, about 5.5 hours to install the software, and then another hour to finish the configuration. Adding some "padding" time to cover possible inefficiencies, and you should assume roughly an 8 hour day's work to get it all done, or perhaps even 9 - 10 hours if you want to eat meals.
I installed the KDE4, i686 LiveCD on a different computer -- the Acer Aspire One. Downloading the ISO file took about 3 hours, burning the CD-ROM took about a half hour, and installing through a Philips USB DVD drive took about an hour. Installation is not straight forward on a 600 line display, but it can be done (I might post some tips about that later). It appears that the problems which can cause disc corruption on the GNOME disc do not affect this version. In theory, it should be fairly simple to add the GNOME software through "Software Manager" and then, if you wish, you can remove the KDE4 software. Some people keep both installed. I am currently trying out the KDE4 software to see if I like it. Unless I see something in KDE4 that is significantly better than GNOME, I will eventually install GNOME and remove KDE4. This is because I would rather have consistent operation among my computers.
Another problem I found on the KDE4 installation is that the regular wired LAN has not worked reliably. It appears that I need to delete the setup and re-do it every time I boot the computer. On the other hand, the WEP based WiFi does work. So I am mainly using WiFi to connect to the Internet for now. I have not filed a bug report on the LAN problem yet. Someone else will probably do it before me.
I have seen reports of problems with the main DVD version, but not
enough to indicate a significant general problem. In other words,
the reliability of the installation seems to be about the same as
the KDE4 LiveCD.
[2008/12/24]
Happy Holidays To All. . .
and a Happy, and Prosperous New Year!
Dec. 21, 2008, PR Newswire reports that according to "obsnews.com",
Praetorian Key, Inc. claims their encryption system would take
"nine trillion years" to be broken.
[2008/12/21]
OpenSuSE 11.1 was released, as per their last schedule, on December
18, 2008. I have been aware of some potential problems regarding
installation for about a week now, but I was hoping that it would be
avoided in the final distribution. Unfortunately, I must report
that the problems are as evident as they were a week ago. For now,
I can only advise that the GNOME LiveCD has shown to have problems
regarding its partitioner and also the GRUB boot software installation.
The problems are bad enough that I must advise against attempting to
use these methods when trying to install the software. So far, it
appears that other methods of installation are not having any
unusual degree of problems. However, since it has been less than
a week that the software has been available, I have decided to give
no advice at all at this time.
[2008/12/21]
Actually, it is not really "black". It is very, very dark grey. If you saw the Lenovo website over the past months, introducing the Ideapad S10, a number of colours were brought out early and some came along later. The early ones were mainly two-tone. They had some colour covering most of the outer parts, and some white parts. The sole exception was an all white model. But the common theme was white. In one picture, they showed a "black" model in the background, saying that it would be out in December, but there was no indication that it would depart from the "white plus another colour" pattern.
And now it is December, and the "black" model is out -- on schedule. The only remarkable thing is that it is the first model without any white. It is almost entirely the same colour throughout, giving it the "classic" look of a lot of the business laptops that have come out in recent years (say, 2000 - 2005 for example). And of course, the "classics" of all "classic black computers" are those in the long line of ThinkPad computers.
Depending on your opinion about such fashions, it is either the model
you were waiting for, just another Netbook, or the refuge of those
who need to get a personality. But maybe, more than any other
Netbook so far, it is the milestone recognition, that this is going to
be a significant class of tools for the corporate world.
[2008/12/17]
Dec. 17, 2008, Business Wire reports that Sprint has announced that its
"Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300 combines its 3G network with WiMAX Sprint
4G network acess.
[2008/12/17
Dec. 17, 2008, PR Newswire reports that nVidia(R) has announced that
its "Ion Platform" combines its GeForce 9400 GPU with the Intel Atom
processors.
[There is no clear mention of price, availability, nor power consumption.
-- JO]
[2008/12/17]
Dec. 11, 2008 PR Newswire reports that RadioShack Corporation claims
that it is the 1st major US Retailer "to offer an ultra-lightweight,
mobile netbook . . . with integrated 3G wireless technology." The
Acer Aspire One (Black, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, Windows XP) is included
at an extra $99.99 US on a 2 year AT&T DataConnect contract at $60
US per month. The offer is available within "continental U.S." up
to Dec. 24. 2008.
[2008/12/14]
Dec. 10, 2008, Business Wire reports that Boston-Power(R) has announced
that HP will make Boston-Power(R)'s "Sonata(TM)" Lithium-Ion batteries
available as an upgrade for some of its consumer laptop computers in
early 2009. The batteries will carry a 3 year warranty.
[2008/12/10]
According to the report of the IEEE P802.11, Task Group N, its Nov.
2008 meeting in Dallas Texas, US resulted in Draft 7.0 of 802.11n.
[2008/12/10]
[New Change: My HP-2133 Desktop "Applications" font has been changed from "serif 12" to "serif 10" for better balance of screen usage. -- JO]
[This file previously only included my short pieces on the Acer
Aspire One and ASUS EeePC. I included my comments on the HP-2133
and Font settings for system and Web browsers. If you have read the
file before, there is no point in re-reading it.]
Netbook Summary nwa_aspireone.html
[2008/12/11], [2008/12/10], [2008/10/19], . . . [2008/10/01]
Dec. 5, 2008, Business Wire reports that DisplayLink and Acer have
announced that Acer's B223 display is a 22" 1680 x 1050 resolution
in 32-bit "True Colour" computer monitor which includes DisplayLink
DL-160 technology which allows it to be used via a USB 2.0 connection,
achieving "smooth DVD video playback."
[I find the significance of this dubvious. I have previous numbers
that indicate that USB 2.0 is not really sufficient for full HD
TV, though good enough for most broadcast HD TV. And computer
displays can even surpass full HD TV. HDMI is becoming more widely
supported, so that is probably a better bet. -- JO]
[2008/12/07]
Dec. 3, 2008, Business Wire reports that Kyocera has announced that
mass production has begun on its THG057VGLAH-H000 transflective
5.7" VGA LCD display. It is powered by 3.3 V. or 5.0 V DC and
measures 135mm x 104.8mm x 8.85mm. [Pricing and availability were
not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[Transflective displays are still one of the Holy Grails of display
technology since the reduced need for a backlight makes them among
the most energy efficient. -- JO]
[2008/12/03]
Dec. 1, 2008, Business Wire reports that Good OS has announced that
its latest "Cloud" OS boots directly into a browser and optionally
into Windows. GIGABYTE will preload it into Netbooks with Windows
XP early next year.
["Cloud" is it? They can call it that if they want as long as it is
not "vapourware". . . . -- JO]
[2008/12/03]
Nov. 29, 2008 PR Newswire reports that PriceGrabber.Com has announced its "Black Friday" stats.
The top 10 categories were: Women's Boots, Watches, Blu-ray/HD-DVD Players, Women's Sleep & Lounge Wear, Games & Puzzles, Music, Headphones, Woemen's Dresses and Women's Casual Shoes.
The most popular products were: Nintendo Wii Console, Ugg Autrialia
"Classic Short" Boot, Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player, Samsung
LN52A650 52" LCD TV, Nintendo Wii Fit, Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42" Plasma
TV, Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones, Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital
Camera Kit, Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 computer, Canon
PowerShot A590 IS Black Digital Camera.
[On the one hand, this store is a general merchandiser, but on the
other hand, it is an Internet store, thus being accessed only by computer
users. I wonder about the significance of the Acer Aspire One sales. -- JO]
2008/11/30]
Nov. 24, 2008, Business Wire reports that EMG Technology, LLC has sued Apple
Inc. in the "District Court of the the Eastern District of Texas in the Tyler
Division" accusing Apple of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,441,196 regarding the
way the iPhone navigates the Internet.
[2008/11/26]
Nov. 21, 2008, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced that it
has begun production of 256GB solid state drives, and that the new drives
feature "sequential read reates of 220MB/s (megabytes per second) . . . [and]
sequential write rates of 200MB/s. . . . [and] erase cycles [of] 100GBs
per minute." [Pricing and availability were not provided in the announcement.
-- JO]
[2008/11/23]
Nov. 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
has announced that its DataTraveler(R) 150 (DT150) USB Flash drives are
available in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The feature 5 year warranties and
24/7 tech support. The US MSRPs for these products are $177 for the DT150/64GB
and $115 for the DT150/32GB.
[2008/11/19]
Nov. 18, 2008 PR Newswire reports that Tekkeon has announced that its
myPowerTM) ALL Plus MP3700 external laptop battery features automatic
voltage detection and 50 Watt-hour (Lithium polymer technology)
capacity, and weighs 15.4 oz. The MSRP is $179.95 US, including a
1 year warranty.
Tekkeon, Inc. mobile computing accessories
http://www.tekkeon.com/
[2008/11/19]
Nov. 17, 2008, PR Newswire reports that the PCMCIA has announced its
release of the ExpressCard(R) 2.0 standard which supports 5Gbps data
transfers, doubling the speed of the 1.2 standard, and "SuperSpeed USB"
(3.0) transfers at 10x the speed of "Hi-Speed USB" (2.0).
[2008/11/19]
Nov. 17, 2008, Business Wire reports that the "USB 3.0 Promoter Group"
has announced the completion and release of the USB 3.0 standard.
[Note: This specification is free, unlike some others. -- JO]
USB 3.0 Specification
http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/
[2008/11/19]
Nov. 11, 2008, PR Newswire reports that SiliconSystems, Inc. has announced
that its latest SiliconDrive II 1.8" PATA SSDs feature read/write speeds
up to 34 MB/s and come in sizes up to 32 GB. [Pricing and availability
were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
SiliconSystems, Inc.
http://www.siliconsystems.com/ solidstate drives
[2008/11/16]
Nov. 16, 2008, Toshiba has entered the Netbook field in Canada with
a surprisingly unique product. This should come as no surprise since
Toshiba has had small computers of this type for many years in Japan,
and on occasion, even in North America. What makes the Netbook
NB100-01G unique is that it is the only current product using a
"taller" format screen. Toshiba has gone back to an 800 x 600 pixel
display, allowing for a form factor closer to the ASUS EeePC 701, but
with greater usability. It is available now at prices starting at
$479.00 Cdn.
[2008/11/16]
I have used standard settings on many applications, on many computers over the years, but occasionally I will make a change. Fairly recently I decided to change my font settings for Mozilla Firefox 3.0.3 (On OpenSuSE 10.3 and 11.0). So far, these settings are on my desk computer, which is displayed on a 17" 1280 * 1024 LCD screen. If they work out well, I expect to switch my laptops over to the same settings:
- Advanced Settings:
- Fonts for "Western":
- Proportional: "Serif", 16 point [was 15 point]
- Serif: "URW Bookman L"
- Sans-Serif: "Lucida Sans"
- Monospace: "monospace" 12 [no change]
[I found that the smaller mobile displays worked much better with
16 point than 15 point, and it was still a reasonable size for my desk
computers. So I have consolidated all my OpenSuSE computers to these
settings.]
[2008/11/12] revised [2008/11/16]
My very good friend Emru Townsend passed away peacefully 10:00 PM
yesterday, in the company of his family, whom he loved. We are all
poorer for his passing, but those of us who were fortunate enough
to have known him, have our memories. The rest of you would wish
you were as fortunate. . . .
[2008/11/12]
Nov. 12, 2008, PR Newswire reports that LG, Sharp and Chunghwa have pleaded
guilty to charges of price fixing in regard to certain LCD panels and will
pay $585 million US in fines.
[2008/11/12]
Nov. 6, 2008, PR Newswire, nVidia has announced that Toshiba's
latest Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 laptop computers use
two GeForce 9800M GTS GPUs connected through SLI for high performance
computing and also a GeForce 9400M GPU for low power graphics with
the high powered GPUs shut down to save power. Both are now
available from Toshiba's online store, at prices starting at
$1,999 US.
[2008/11/09]
With the election in the US, I was not surprised to see that there
was little in the way of announcements, and really, none that I felt
worth reporting. Congratulations to the United States of America on
the occasion of a significant step in its history. The common
notation is that Mr. Obama is the first African-American President
Elect. May he also be remembered for acts of real significance
which will make that a minor footnote in his resume.
[2008/11/05]
Nov. 2, 2008, I have been contacted by McKesson Corp. regarding their being added to the list of sources. I do not usually do this on a request basis. I have a set procedure for adding information which ensures some degree of reliability -- at least when it is added. Unfortunately, as you are probably aware, I have not had the time to keep up with subsequent changes. However, I performed a brief background check on McKesson and am satisfied that they provide products in the mobile field, particularly in the health care industry. I will place them under PDAs for now, however, they appear to be a comprehensive hardware/software provider.
McKesson Corp. Health care products
PDAs http://www.mckesson.com/
[2008/11/02]
Oct. 30, 2008, Business Wire reports that eMachines(R) has announced that
its model "eMD620-5777" laptop is a minimum "notebook" computer priced
at $429.99. It features an AMD Athlon(TM) 2650e processor (1.6 GHz, 512KB L2
cache, 800 MHz FSB), ATi Radeon X1200 graphics, 1 GB of DDR2 memory, a 14.1"
widescreen 1280 x 800 display, 802.11b/g WiFi, a 160 GB HD, and Windows
Vista Home Basic software.
[I expect there will be other computers similarly priced. But it is
noteworthy that, what appears to be a fairly comprehensive specification low
end mobile computer -- not just a "netbook" has come out below $450 US. --
JO]
eMachines (Acer) laptops
http://www.emachines.com/
[2008/11/02]
Oct. 30, 2008, Business Wire reports that Dell has revised its recall of
batteries provided with certain mobile computers. The batteries were
manufactured from Nov. 9, 2004 to April 11, 2005. Check Dell's website
for more details.
[2008/11/02]
I had to take time to chase down the culprit of my bad Internet response. It got so bad that I was considering using dial-up on a daily basis. After a lot of testing on a number of computer setups, it became apparent that even Firefox 3.0.3 was not the problem. It appears to be Computer Associates Anti-Virus ("ca Anti-Virus"). I only use this on the one computer. It has a different technology for live anti-virus protection. It is hard for me to say whether it is actually superior protection because I really do not explore the Internet like some people do. I mainly look at business related websites, which tend to be the safest on the Internet. However, because the software works in "real-time" analyzing every file that is received, it does tend to slow things down. I had not realized how much this was affecting things lately. But combined with the slowness on Rogers, and on certain sites, and the (needless) complexity of some web pages, the computer must have been overwhelmed. The odd thing is that it was disc accesses more than actual CPU work.
Unfortunately, during all this thrashing around in my system, I managed
to mess things up badly, and I will have to re-load the OS on that
computer and start re-building the software on it from scratch. I will
not go into details, but the only positive thing I can say about this is I
learned something. . . .
[2008/11/02]
Oct. 29, 2008, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that its
new Mini 1000 line. A number of configurations will be available
featuring the Intel(R) Atom N270 1.6 GHz CPU. Available screens
will be 8.9" and 10.2" (all 1024 x 600 LCD with LED backlighting).
A Linux version will feature a new interface called "Mobile Internet
Experience". Connectivity announced is LAN, 2 USB ports, Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth. It is immediately available in the US at prices
starting from $399 US.
[Note: According to the HP webpage, there is only support for
SD-Card/MMC. There is no mention of card expansions such as
ExpressCard. Also, the first versions only seem to have a
60 GB hard drive, though SSDs and other options will be available.
This is a far less capable device than the Mini-Note 2133,
leaving room for both products, at least for now. -- JO]
[2008/10/29]
Oct. 28, 2008, Business Wire reports that Lenovo has introduced its
"IdeaPad S10e" which is the educational market version.
[From the description, it does not sound different from the
S10, but is available "to order" instead of in fixed configurations,
and is bought through the educational channel. -- JO]
[2008/10/29]
Oct. 27, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Atheros Communications, Inc.
has annouced that its Align(TM) product family supports the IEEE
802.11n 1-stream specification which brings some of the advantages
of full multi-stream "11n" to a lower cost and lower power consumption
model. Atheros is claiming up to 5x the throughput of "11g". A
specifically mentioned market is the low cost "netbook" market.
[They also mention full compatibility with future "11n" products, but
that is a somewhat misleading statement since it seems to imply that
"11g" might not be compatible, which is wrong because it is part of
the "11n" specification to be compatible with "11g". -- JO]
[2008/10/29]
Oct. 27, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced
its Windows Azure Services Platform. This is their platform for the
"cloud computing" model.
[2008/10/29]
I have been investigating the problems I have had with the Internet
lately. I do not have the time nor the resources to do such a
study thoroughly, but it appear that although Rogers was certainly
part of the problem, it was probably exacerbated by a flaw in the
latest Firefox 3.0.3 Web Browser. Apparently, if the Internet is
performing badly, Firefox might add to the problem, at least for
some Websites. I am still investigating this, as best as I can.
we will see. . . .
[2008/10/29]
Oct. 26, 2008, Business Wire reports that Dell has introduced its
"Inspiron(TM) Mini 12." It is currently available only in Japan
and will launch globally online by "late November". Prices start
at $600 US. It features a 12.1" WXGA display, Windows Vista(R)
Home Basic (with Ubuntu and XP available later), 1 GB RAM and
60 GB or 80 GB HD.
[2008/10/26]
First, I have to say that I am sorry for people who rely solely
on Rogers High Speed Internet. Their poor service has continued
for this past week and today I had to use dial-up to post a message
on a Forum. Pathetic. The only bright spot was that I did not
get around to preparing this update till around 21:00, and by then
Rogers performance was picking up.
[2008/10/26]
Oct. 22, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Atmel(R) Corporation has
announced that its latest capacitive touchscreen controllers can
support "Two Touch(TM)" gestures for more complex controls.
[2008/10/22]
Oct. 21, 2008, Business Wire reports that Toshiba America IS, Inc. has announced that its A605 laptop features a 12.1" screen and weighs as little as 3.3 pounds. It is now available at prices starting at $1,399.99 (estimated single unit price).
[The reason I have included this announcement is due to
this statement: "The Portege A605 was uniquely designed,
engineered and manufactured by Toshiba. . . ." This is very
interesting since the bulk of laptops today are produced by a
small handful of Chinese companies like FIC, ASUS, and others.
-- JO]
[2008/10/22]
For the last week, my Rogers' High Speed Internet connection has been terrible. I confirmed that it was in fact Rogers that was giving me problems by "tracert" and "ping". Getting, in some cases, 2 "time-out" returns from the front door server at Rogers tells me that at least part of the problem is "last mile" to "front door" and cannot be blamed on outside performance. There were some other problems too, beyond Rogers.
There are a couple of points that occur to me. First, Rogers has recently put a series of rather annoying commercials on their 680 News radio depicting their High Speed Internet as a better way to access audio media than their competition. In fact, in some instances, even my dial-up account was giving better performance than Rogers this week. And this is not the first time Rogers' performance has not lived up to their advertising.
Coming up to this report I was wondering if I would need to use my dial up to complete it. I am starting my report using Rogers. If I feel the need to switch, I will mention it. Now it will be interesting to see if "680 News" reports anything about this problem.
The other point is one which I have raised before: One cannot rely
entirely on the Internet for critical information. This is true even
for fixed computer usage. The problem is generally worse for mobile
usage. The only way in which mobile Internet is better than a fixed
location connection is that if there is a problem with a particular
access point, one might be able to solve the problem by simply moving
to another. In every other way, mobile worse, being less secure, less
stable, slower and sometimes non-existing. As such, one must seek a
good balance between carrying critical data and accessing freshest
data through available connectivity.
[2008/10/22]
There was nothing worth reporting in the usual release distributions. However, there are a few interesting issues of which I am aware:
The Sylvania Netbook G Meso that I mentioned on October 5 is available in Canada through TigerDirect.ca for $463.99 Cdn. (+ shipping and taxes) featuring an 80 GB HD and Ubuntu Netbook Remix software.
I do not think that I mentioned previously whether the Intel Atom
N270 which is used in many of the Netbooks is 64-bit or 32-bit.
I had the mistaken impression that it was a 64-bit processor.
This was due to items that I had read that only mentioned that
it would be "Core 2" compatible. In fact, not all Atom series
processors are 64-bit, and the N270 is only a 32-bit processor.
This was quite disappointing for me because the primary reason
I bought the Acer Aspire One was for the processor. Otherwise,
I might have waited for the HP Mini-Note 2133. I am again
re-thinking my set of computer equipment.
[2008/10/19]
Oct. 15, 2008, PR Newswire reports that nVidia(R) has announced that
its GeForce(R) 9400M GPU features 16 parallel processor cores which
provide up to 54 GFLOPs of processing power, resulting in 5x faster
graphics than Intel Centrino 2. And that Apple has used it in its
latest refresh of its MacBook product line.
[2008/10/15]
There were a number of announcements over the last few days regarding
new laptop products by Toshiba, Lenovo and others. If you have a
favorite manufacturer, and are in the market, you should do some
browsing. Even if there was not announcement, sometimes you will find
new products.
[2008/10/15]
Oct. 8, 2008, PR Newswire reports that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission has announced a voluntary recall by Coby Electronics for certain
rechargeable batteries sold with DVD, CD and MP3 players. About 13,000
batteries are affected, which were sold between May 2007 and July 2008.
"The rechargeable batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to
consumers."
[2008/10/12]
Oct. 7, 2008, PR Newswire reports that NETGEAR(R), Inc. claims that
its "ProSafe(R) Wireless-N VPN Firewall" is "the first product to
combine dual-band Wireless-N with SSL and IPsec VPN." It is
available for $485 US. [This announcement annoys me for the usual
reason. They do bury an acknowledgement that it complies with
"Draft-N" deep within the text, but the title and early part of
the announcement makes it sound like it is "Wireless-N", which of
course is false, because "N" does not exist yet. -- JO]
[2008/10/12]
Oct. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that Toshiba AIS, Inc. unveiled
its Satellite(R) E105 laptop computer which will be sold exclusively
at Best Buy stores in the US. It features a 14.1", an Intel processor,
and a long 5.5 hour battery life. It is now available at prices
starting from $1,249.99 US.
[Is someone reading this Website? I think I have been saying that
computers with 14.1" screens are generally preferable over 15.4" screens
for about 3 years now. It looks like someone has finally listened. -- JO]
[2008/10/08]
Oct. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that Acer has announced that its
4930-6862 and 6930-6771 laptop computers feature WiMAX connectivity.
The 4930-6862 in particular features a 14" widescreen display and is
currently available at an MSRP of $899.99 US.
[There were also a similar announcement by Lenovo and Toshiba
regarding immediate availability of WiMAX enabled laptops. There
may be other brands also available. -- JO]
[2008/10/08]
Oct. 8, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
is notifying consumers that an AC adapter is being sold with a UL Mark that
has not been tested by UL. See the UL website for information. The
following is part of the markings on the product:
"AC Adapter, Model HF-01, Input: AC 100-240 V 0.07A 50-60Hz, Output:
DC 5.0V. 600Ma, Made in China"
[2008/10/08]
Oct. 2, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Sony has announced that its
3rd generation digital book, the "PRS-700" will be available in November
for about $400 Cdn. The PRS-505 will still be available as well.
[2008/10/05]
With the current interest in the netbook field, I thought that I might post a couple of recent developments which occurred without announcements. Also, it is clear that Linux and Netbook markets have, at least for the moment become strongly associated, I thought I would also provide some information on the current state of some key Linux distributions.
Lenovo has begun shipping its IdeaPad(TM) S10 (4231) Netbook. The only announcement I have seen so far was in the US, but they are in stores as of today in Canada. The announced price is $439.00 US, which is a bit higher than originally intended (previously estimated at $399 US). It is shipping with Windows XP Home Edition and a 10.2" screen.
Although I did not see a formal announcement, I have seen the Sylvania "Netbook G MESO" advertised for sale in Canada. I believe the first shipment has sold out already. The price was around $400 Cdn. The MESO features an 8.9" screen, and it came with Ubuntu Netbook Remix software.
Most of the latest Netbooks are being built with the Intel Atom N270 CPU and the Intel 945GSE Express Chipset. These, along with new wireless support are included in the Linux 2.6.27 Kernel. So the distributions based on the "27" Kernel will be the ones that one would expect to work best on most Netbooks. Put simply, they are not ready yet. In fact, the expected delivery dates are, for Ubuntu 8.10, probably the end of October. For Fedora 10, probably late December, and OpenSuSE, also probably late December. My current expectation is that all will be a bit later. Or, if they are not late, then I probably would recommend waiting a week or two before trying them anyway.
I do NOT recommend trying out Beta versions of any of these future distributions. If you do not know what a Beta version is like, then you do not know enough to use one safely. However, if you are familiar with such development project, then the following will give you an idea of their current state.
Fedora 10 Beta was released a few days ago. I am not sure of the distribution, but I believe a CD ISO is available.
Ubuntu 8.10 Beta was release, apparently on the same day. Again, I am not sure of the distribution, but I believe a CD ISO is available.
OpenSuSE 11.1 Beta 1 was actually release a while back. This past Friday saw the launch of Beta 2 on DVD ISO. They plan to release the first LiveCD ISO on Monday October 6.
[2008/10/05]
Sept. 29, 2008, PR Newswire reports that NETGEAR(R), Inc. has announced
that its latest generation WiFi Draft-N products are now available.
The WNR2000 Wireless-N-Router, along with other new products, features
"green" thinking with power switches to easily turn off the router or
just the WiFi section. The WNR2000 is priced at $89 US.
[2008/10/01]
Sept. 25, 2008, PR Newswire reports that according to MetaFacts, Inc.,
53% of adult computer users use a "notebook or tablet PC". Of the
mobile PCs used 40 hours or more per week, 44% are owned by households,
31% are owned by large businesses, and 25% by small or medium businesses,
education or government. ". . . 43% are used in only one location,
13% are used in two locations, and 44% are used in three or more
locations." [NOTE: The definition for a "location" was not provided
in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/09/28]
Sept. 23, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Motorola, Inc. has announced
that its WiMAX USB adaptor "USBw 100" will be available in 3 versions
each to cover one of the 3 bands approved around the world (2.3 GHz.,
2.5 GHz. and 3.5 GHz.). They are expected to be available in 2008
Q4. [Prices were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/09/28]
Sept. 24, 2008, Business Wire reports that Dell has projected its
transition to LED backlighted computer screens, expecting to complete
its laptop computers transition within the next year. Dell
estimates that power savings for customers will be about 43% at
maximum brightness for a 15" screen. Specific projections were that
80% of its laptops would be delivered with LED screens as standard
equipment by the end of 2009 and 100% in 2010.
[This was a strangely internally contradictory announcement which
claimed at the top that the displays would be changed "in the next
12 months" and then specifically saying later that this was not
so. Very odd. -- JO]
[2008/09/24]
Sept. 23, 2008, Business Wire reports that USRobotics has announced that
its USR2980-OEM and USR802981-OEM embedded dial-up modems are now
compatible with Linux 2.4 and 2.6 Kernels as well as Microsoft(TM) Windows.
[Note: The announcement specifically mentions 64-bit operating systems,
but does not clearly say Linux 64-bit operating systems. However, I believe
that supporting 64-bit Linux was part of the point of the announcement. -- JO.]
[2008/09/24]
Sept. 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Trapeze Networks' has
commented on the upcoming IEEE 802.11v standard, which will
have new energy saving features. The work on the standard began
in 2004 and is expected to finish in 2010.
[IEEE is still working on "n". However, if the standards are
compatible, which one would expect that they should be, there may
be "v" features showing up even before "n" is done. -- JO]
[2008/09/21]
Sept. 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Trigem USA has announced that
its "Averatec Buddy" netbook will feature an Intel(R) Atom(TM) N270,
1.6 GHz CPU, 10.2" LCD screen, 160 GB storage, and Windows XP Home
software. Price and availability were not clearly provided, but the
announcement seemed to imply that it is now available.
[2008/09/21]
Sept. 18, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced
that its first Best Buy Mobile store opened. on Sept. 19, 2008 at
Vaughan Mills. Other stores will follow later this Fall.
[2008/09/21]
On the one hand, I found nothing announced for the first part of this week worth reporting. However, that does not mean that there is no news:
On the one hand, apparently Lenovo has removed pre-loaded Linux from its offerings on directly purchased laptop computers for the US. I have not checked if this is also true of Canada. Apparently, they feel that it is enough if pre-loaded Linux is available through their channel partners. It appears that their coming Netbook product will not have Linux pre-loaded either.
On the other hand, I have just seen reports in Forums that some people
have recently bought MSI's Wind with pre-loaded Novell SuSE 10.0 desktop.
I double checked MSI's US Website and there is no announcement of such a
product -- only the same old announcements of their Windows XP versions.
[2008/09/17]
Sept. 14, 2008, Business Wire reports that "Shalov Stone Bonner & Rocco LLP"
have announced that they "filed a securities fraud class action on behalf of
all investors who purchased . . . common stock of NVIDIA Corp. . . . between
November 8, 2007, and July 2, 2008, inclusive. . . .
that the defendants "made a series of misrepresentations and omissions that
actively concealed and failed to disclose the unusually high failure rates
of NVIDIA's mobile video adapters. . . ."
[2008/09/14]
Sept. 12, 2008, Business Wire reports that Acer America announced its
participation Chicago Elementary Schools' United Nations Foundation's
"Nothing But Nets" fundraising campaign. They will supply prizes of
Acer Aspire One computers.
[2008/09/14]
Sept. 11, 2008, PR Newswire reports that nVidia is claiming to
have "pioneered" the ability to switch between integrated graphics
and descrete graphics in laptop computers, for the sake of power
optimizing.
[I try not to editorialize directly in my news reports, but in this
case, I find this announcement embarassing. This idea came from ATi/AMD,
I think last year. It can be a good idea. No doubt nVidia and Intel and
the various companies worked hard to accomplish this. But it is still
little more than a copy of ATi/AMD technological thinking and achievements.
It is hard to decide whether to congratulate them or censure them for
trying to claim originality. -- JO]
[2008/09/14]
If I seem a bit testy in my postings today, it is because I seem to be faced with a number is issues which show this industry at its worst. Actually, there is usually some good and some bad going on all the time. And generally on balance, I feel things are getting better. But there are times when a number of issues arise that combine to bring out the cynical side of me. Here goes:
On April 16, 2008, I wrote that I had heard that Microsoft had extended support for XP Home beyond Jan. 31, 2009. But I did not see it on their Webpage. Looking at the page again, it seems that on April 3, 2008, it was modified with the addition of a footnote (superscript 3) which mentions that support had been extended ONLY for "XP Home OEM", to June 30, 2010. Why did they do it in fine print? Because it is embarrassing for them to admit that Vista was already being seen as a failure, and that Linux was becoming a major challenger, particularly in the "very small system" market, embodied by the "XO" laptop of "OLPC" and the "ASUS EeePC", and with more coming.
I apologize to you readers for my inaccurate earlier report. I make no apology
to Microsoft. They wanted it to be hard for us to read, and by golly, it was.
If they wanted us to "miss it", then why should I apologize to them for having
done so?
[2008/09/14]
Sept. 10, 2008, PRNewswire reports that Texas Instruments has announced
that the ARCHOS Internet tablets ARCHOS 5, 5G and 7, are based on its
OMAP 3 processors, which are, in turn, based on ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-A8
processors, rated for 600 MHz. The devices are "Internet" tablets.
[The announcement is interesting because Nokia's N810 has not become
available in Canada, which is unfortunate. It appears that most people
in the industry feel that that Intel-like processors are going to
dominate in the Internet device field. Having used the most current
products, I do not see any real advantage to them. But then again,
"real" advantage is not the only basis for success. -- JO]
[2008/09/10]
Sept. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that Intel has announced that it has
begun shipping its "intel(R) X18-M and X24-M Mainstream SATA Solid-State
Drives (SSDs). The price for 80 GB versions is $595 each in quantities of
1,000.
[2008/09/10]
Sept. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that HP announced that its
"EliteBook 6930p", in a configuration that will be available October, 2008,
using an optional "ultra-capacity" battery had delivered a 24 hour battery
runtime on a single charge, in an industry standard test.
[Finally, a company that is getting the message. Ok, well, one of the
messages. -- JO]
[2008/09/10]
[I have somewhat conflicting information about the upcoming Everex CloudBook
MAX. If you look at the Everex website, it is announced as a product expected
to be shipped in Q1 or Q2 in 2009. I had previously heard that it might be
released in September 2008 -- right about now. However, for some companies,
Q1 2009 can actually mean "right about now". So until I have some clarification,
I do not really know what is going on. What I can say is that it appears, that
with its 8.9", 1024 x 600 screen, and general size and features, it seems to
be aimed at the Acer Aspire One, ASUS EeePC 1000H range of products. Also, it
features a 1.6 GHz VIA C7(R)-M Processor ULV, like the upper priced HP's, but
with the VIA VX800 Chipset. This is a new chipset, and might make this a
competitive product. -- JO]
[2008/09/10]
Sept. 4, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Sony has recalled about
73,000 CAIO TZ-series laptop computers due to a possible "burn
hazard to consumers." Recalled computers are certain units from
the VAIO VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series.
Check Sony's Website for more information.
[2008/09/07]
Sept. 4, 2008, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced that its
"Inspiron Mini 9" is now available with Windows XP at prices starting
at $399.00 US. A version using Ubuntu (Linux) 8.04 (Hardy Heron) will
be available "in a few weeks" at prices starting at $349.00 US. This
computer features a 1024 * 600, 8.9" "glossy LED display" and weighs
2.28 lbs.
[Dell's webpage for this device refers to the screen as LCD and LED.
It is probably an LCD screen with LED backlighting, which is typical
these days, but it is not clearly stated. The CPU is an Intel(R) Atom(TM)
1.6 GHz, and it appears that it can only handle up to 1 GB of RAM, of which
some will be used for the integrated graphics. All current systems use
SSD's. -- JO]
[2008/09/07]
Sept. 3, 2008, Business Wire reports that its ultra low-latency
modules are now available in 4GB memory kits. The "HyperX(R)
PC2-6400 CL4 SO-DIMMs" include "Serial Presence Detect" (SPD)
to support a wider array of computers. Part number
KHX6400S2ULK2/4G is a kit of 2 DDR2 modules which can be
used for 800MHz CL4-4-4-12 @ 1.8V and 667MHz CL3-4-4-10 @
1.8V (a 533MHz-CL3 configuration is also supported). The
current MSRP is $257 US.
[2008/09/03]
Sept. 3, 2008, Business Wire reports that the CompactFlash Association
has announced that its new CFast specification revision 1.0 is now
available for downloading at its website. The new specification includes
SATA interfacing for faster data transfers. The download is free for
CFA members (there is a cost of $100 US for non-members).
CompactFlash Association
http://www.compactflash.org/
[2008/09/03]
It will not make any difference to the content of this Website, but today marks the first day that I am editing this page on OpenSuSE 10.3 64-bit -- but not on a laptop computer. I use a laptop to do the actual research, but the page is still written on a desk computer. However, I have been running OpenSuSE 10.3 64-bit on a laptop for quite a while now, testing it for stability. I must report that it has not been quite up to a really acceptable level of stability quite yet on the laptop, but it I felt it would be probably be acceptable for my desk computer. I already rejected the newer 11.0 which was even less stable, and there was probably just enough time to test another operating system before making the final upgrade, if it had been necessary.
The interesting issue, however, is that I have recently been saying that really, there is no inherent need for 64-bit software on laptops at this time. However, the reason that most people will want to use a 64-bit OS on a laptop is "consistency of code." What I mean by this is that it can be helpful if you can run the same software on your laptop that you run on a desk computer. In big organizations, this consistency can mean that dozens or even hundreds of computers run the same programs, which makes it simply for their IT departments.
In my case, having the ability to run the 64-bit OS testing on one of my laptop computers meant that I was able to pre-approve the software before loading it onto my main computer. In fact, I have already submitted bug reports for this software, and the eventual debugging should be done sooner than if I had only begun running this software on my main computer first. I have noted before that 64-bit Vista is now being deployed on laptop computers in most local stores.
It is expected that, eventually, most laptops, as well as most desk computers will be running 64-bit operating systems. Having used OpenSuSE Linux 10.2 64-bit for over a year now, I can say that it has been slowly progressing through that grey area between bad and good, and can be classed in either way, depending on your needs and preferences.
I have said that I expected that by the end of this calendar year, all my computers that are capable of 64-bit software would be running a 64-bit OS. The only exception to this expectation is that my new Acer Aspire One should be capable of running a 64-bit OS, but since that computer is new, and its use will probably be so limited that it will not warrant any change in software at all this year.
In at least one case, I will be running a dual-boot computer (two
operating systems on the same computer) and one of the operating
systems will be a 32-bit OS. This will make it possible for me to
continue testing 32-bit software on that computer, as well as on
computers which are limited to 32-bit software. However, for most
people such a wide array of systems is unnecessary, and really,
just annoying.
[2008/09/03]
While I have never said that I would keep a firm schedule for these reports, I
expect that most people expect me to do so. As such, I should say that I am
sorry for being a day later than usual. I did not take a holiday yesterday. Quite
the contrary, I just ended up so busy in the later part of the day that I did not
get around to doing it. However, because today is a common holiday, it did not
make any difference. It turns out that there was nothing to report anyway.
[2008/09/01]
I am actually a bit surprised to say that I did not find anything worth
reporting in the early part of this week. We are coming up on the start
of school and there should be a lot of stuff to report "right about now."
I know that the retail stores are already converting their shelves to
Fall line-ups.
[2008/08/27]
Aug. 22, 2008, Business Wire reports that Acer America has announced immediate
price drops for its still-new Aspire One. The AOA150-1570 Windows XP Home(R)
version with 1 GB RAM and 120GB HD is now priced at $349.00 US and the AOA110-1722
with Linpus(TM) Lite is now priced at $329.00 US.
[Acer seems to have a handle on why these products are selling. To paraphase
the first Clinton presidential campaign "It's the PRICE stupid!" Then again,
it is also wise to remember that as of today, the "end of life" for Windows
XP Home is still expected January 2009, which means that the software has only
about 5 months left before you will want to replace it. If you will replace
it with Vista, you will have to expand from 1 GB (which has proven to be
just a bit too small) to 1.5 GB, and you will pay for the usual upgrade price
for Vista. This is true for ALL computers currently being sold with any version
of XP (and less than 1.5 GB of RAM). -- JO]
[2008/08/24]
Aug. 21, 2008, Canada NewsWire reports that Best Buy Canada has announced
that it plans to open new "Best Buy Mobile" stores which will be located
in shopping centers and limited to mobile phones. The first will open
in Toronto "before the end of 2008."
[2008/08/24]
Aug. 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that RealNetworks(R), Inc. has
announced that "Real plans to publish a standard API in the Helix
Community to provide third-party Linux application developers . . .
[to use] the functionality available in the RealPlayer."
[2008/08/20]
Aug. 18, 2008, PR Newswire reports that MPC Computers has announced the
availability of its TXTbook(TM) PC designed for the K-6 educational
market. Based on an Intel(R) Atom(TM) 1.6 GHx processor, it features
battery life up to 5 hours and a highly reliable hard drive. Prices
start at $499 US.
MPC Computers http://www.mpccorp.com/
[2008/08/20]
Aug. 14, 2008, Business Wire reports that Indilinx, a faabless
semicon company has unveiled its "Barefoot(TM)" solid state
drive (SSD) controller, which uses 90 nm technology which
features read speeds up to 230MB/s.
[2008/08/17]
Aug. 12, 2008, PR Newswire reports that nVidia has announced that its
new Quadro(R) FX 3700M GPU for mobile computers features 128 CUDA
Parallel Computing Processor cores and supports 1 GB of dedicated
graphics memory. The new Quadro FX370M GPU (8 cores) and Quadro FX 770M
GPU (32 cores) will be more commonly found in popular laptops.
[2008/08/13]
As you might have expected, there was nothing to report in the later
part of last week. In fact, with the attention on the Olympics, I have
some doubts about whether there will be much for the next week or so.
[2008/08/10]
Aug. 6, 2008, Business Wire reports that "Good OS" (gOS) has announced
"details" of its upcoming "gOS 3 Gadgts" operating system.
[A beta version of this new OS is currently downloadable from its Website.
-- JO]
The new OS features Google Gadgets, WINE 1.0 and LXDE.
Good OS (LINUX based)
http://www.thinkgos.com/
[2008/08/06]
Aug. 4, 2008, Business Wire reports that Lenovo has announced that its
IdeaPad S10 netbook PC will feature a 10.2" and a keyboard 85% size of
a full size keyboard. Prices will start at $399 US with availability
in early October.
[2008/08/06]
It appears that this is a holiday weekend in the US as well as in
Canada. I have not seen anything worth reporting. However, I did
revise and expand my earlier comments about the RBC giveaway of the
ASUS EeePC, which follows this comment:
[2008/08/03]
On May 6, 2008, RBC announced that it would give away a free ASUS Eee PC to new clients in Canada "who sign up for a Signature No Limit Banking account." . . . "To qualify for an Eee PC, individuals have from May 1, 2008 until September 12, 2008 to switch their non-RBC personal chequing account to an RBC Signature No Limit Banking account using RBC's CustomSwitch service."
There is a lot that can be said about the confidence expressed
by RBC in this product. I have checked their web pages (see below)
and the giveaway product is the lowest cost version -- the 2GB "Surf"
versions of the EeePC. Having used an Eee PC for a few months now,
I can say that I think their confidence is justified. Although my
own experience is on a 4 GB full Webcam version, the software will
clearly do the job of basic Web use, including secure connectivity,
expected by today's computer users -- yet not running Windows.
RBC Promo EeePC Giveaway
http://www.rbc.com/bankbetter/
[2008/07/23] revised [2008/08/03]
July 30, 2008, PR Newswire reports that NETGEAR(R) has announced that
its "Wireless-N Upgrade Kit" (WNEB3100) consists of its NETGEAR(R)
5GHz Wireless-N HD Access Point (WNHDE111) and a RangeMax(TM) Dual-Band
Wireless-N USB Adapter (WNDA3100). The cost retail price is $149 US.
[NOTE: Netgear does not state the speed of the Ethernet connection
supporting this product. Since it is called an "Ethernet" connection,
then you can only assume 10 Mb/sec. If it were 100 Mb/sec, then it
should have been called "Fast Ethernet". -- JO]
[2008/07/30]
July 29, 2008, Business Wire reports that IEEE has approved the
"1394-2008" standard which "updates and revises all prior 1394
standards . . . [and] also incorporates the complete specifications
for S1600 (1.6 Gigabit/second bandwidth) and for S3200, which
provides 3.2 Gigabit/second speeds.
The standard is expected to be available this October."
[2008/07/30]
My usual research turned up no news worth reporting. Check back
later in the week.
[2008/07/27]
I have lately been interested in buying a new wireless router. There is some irony in this. The reason for the new router is because I am preparing to build a new desk computer. I already have a desk computer with a 1 Gb LAN. If I make another with a 1 Gb LAN and connect them to my current router, I will be restricting them to 100 Mb data transfers between them. As such, it is the switch that I am interested in more than the wireless router capabilities.
In fact, I do not have a computer or device that can use 802.11n yet, and I probably not have one before the end of the year. I could buy a free standing 1 Gb switch cheaply enough, but that would add more clutter, and would waste energy, which is becoming more of an issue with me.
Regarding timing, I do not feel this is a bad time for me to buy a new wireless router. The reason is actually odd. The fact is that "Wi-Fi Draft N 2.0" has become a reasonable standard on its own. This was borne out of necessity of the industry. The manufacturers had rushed ahead with product anticipating good profits, but "hit the wall" of the IEEE working group (who are mainly the very people in the industry that rush ahead into production) who, for their own reasons have resisted finalizing "n" until they each got their own pet technology accepted.
"Draft N (2.0)" has enough interoperability and improvement in throughput, that if you can get it at a good price, then it can be worth it. And in fact that is the case, though care must be taken. I have already seen early "Draft N" devices which have been abandonned even before complying with "2.0". The most surprising "big name" product is Linksys' WRT150N. The last firmwware update for this device was "1.01.9" which Linksys claimed was Draft 2.0 compliant, and though it was tested and certified, it is well known that it fails to default to 20 Mhz bandwidth, which is actually a failure to comply. Linksys has no intention of providing a further firmware update. And of course there are others, but I will not canvas them here.
There is another more important point. If the "Wi-Fi Alliance" were truly interested in following IEEE, then consider this:
On March 2008 Draft 3.0 was approved and May 2008, Draft 4.0 was approved. The current work of "Task Group N" is on Draft 5.0, and final acceptance for "n" is loosely projected as December 2009.
So why is the "Wi-Fi Alliance" not catching up? Why are we not seeing testing for, at the least, 3.0? The answer is simply that the "Wi-Fi Alliance" is not as interested in the welfare of the end user as it is in its member companies who produce the hardware.
But looking at the work of the IEEE, do I feel safe enough
buying a product today, knowing that it might also fall into
the category of abandoned products which will never make the
grade of "full N"? Well that is where price comes into play
again. If you look at the products in the $100 - $150 price
range, I think that if one includes the Gigabit Switch, then
yes, for me, it is worth it.
[2008/07/27]
July 23, 2008, PR Newswire reports that WD(R) has announced that
its VelociRaptor(TM) 2.5" SATA hard drive is intended for enterprise
blade servies in 1U and 2U rack mountings, and features 10,000 RPM
speed, up to 300 GB capacity and 1.4 million hours MTBF. They will
be available through commercial distributors by the end of the
month.
[Pricing was not provided in this announcement. I report this
annoucement for two reasons. First, the 10,000 RPM mechanism is
new to this size product. Second, I see reason to doubt whether
one would want to use it in a mobile computer. The design
characteristics might be inappropriate -- particularly in
regard to temperature range and impact resistance. It might
be wise to avoid them for mobile appications. -- JO]
July 21, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that "Spiro Lab Telecom" has
announced that Toshiba Corporation has joined the G.729 Consortium
which controls patents related to this ITU-T standard for digital
voice encoding.
[2008/07/23]
July 18, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Hagens Berman has announced
that the "Marco Zaldivar v. T-Mobile USA, Inc." case has been allowed
to proceed. The action filed Oct. 19, 2007 in a US District Court
claims that the company forces them to pay for unsolicited text
messages.
[2008/07/20]
I am writing this on a Compaq V2000 series laptop computer running OpenSuSE 10.3 -- not very well.
The first computer I ran 64-bit on was my MSI K9A Platinum (based on the AMD 580 chipset) which is running a 1.6 GHz Sempron 64 CPU with ATi X1600 Pro graphics card, a Sony DVD writer. That was OpenSuSE 10.2 64-bit from around March 2007. It is still running that OS and apart from the graphics driver which I find barely acceptable for now, it has been quite reliable. It started off well and I think it has improved a bit. The workload is mainly text editing and Internet with Flash and RealPlayer. However, come the end of November, support for 10.2 is scheduled to end, so I decided to pre-test 10.3 and 11.0 to see what I will use next.
My pre-testing has been done on this upgraded Compaq V2570ca laptop. On the one hand, one expects some added issues on laptops (such as the support of Trackpointers and Touchpads, Wireless LAN support, modem etc.), but this chipset is ATi 480, which is about 2 years older than the 580 used by my desk computer, so given the extra time I felt it was a fair testbed.
I was disappointed to find that the 64-bit versions of 10.3 and 11.0 have fallen down badly in terms of reliability. I do not know exactly what happened, but particularly in 11.0, there are many bugs "right up front" that you could see within the first hour of use. I opened a couple of bug reports within the first week and watched as almost nothing happened to address the problems -- not necessarily because of any lack of effort, but from what I can tell, the guys are probably swamped with some very serious issued. MANY applications were, and still are, losing configuration settings across re-boots, including the Touchpad adjustment program, the clock/calendar and sound system. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Ironically, as I have said elsewhere, when 11.0 gets reliable it will be a very nice system. As expected, a lot of issues have been addressed, and particularly, there is a very good driver for ATi video cards. Unfortunately, the "Pulse Audio" packages, which in the long run will make OpenSuSE a nice home entertainment system with audio stream redirection, has, for now, only added to the difficulty of debugging the poorly written sound system.
On a rough estimate, I felt that it would take them too long to get 11.0 into shape for me to start preparing for migrating my 10.2 box to 11.0, so I dropped this computer back to 10.3. And that is when I found that quite a few bugs I saw in 11.0 actually had started in 10.3. The sound system in particular has been flakey across reboots, and I suspect that there is a fairly serious problem with what exactly happens during "shutdown".
Considering that most of the code is shared between Linux systems, I expect that the same situation is occuring in the other 64-bit systems. I have not checked, but that is my current guess. I would be interested in hearing whether my guess is right.
NOTE: Within the last week or so, 10.2 had a fairly large number of updates, all labelled "security". Most "security" updates have to do with bug fixes which allow "root access" in the case of crashes, so in fact, most of the patches will probably add to overall system stability. So it is quite nice right now. Unfortunately, as I said, support will be ending in a few months, so I cannot recommend people start using it at this late date. However, since 10.2 got its updates recently, I expect to see a batch of updates come out for 10.3 fairly soon, so that might result in some of the problems getting fixed.
Still, I will have to revise my estimate and project now that even
10.3 will not be ready to use before the end of August, and 11.0
will probably be suspect till at least the end of September.
[2008/07/20]
July 15, 2008, Business Wire reports that Toshiba DPD has announced
that its Qosmio(R) G55-Q802 laptop computer features a Quad Core HD
Cell Processor along with Intel's Core(TM) 2 Duo processor and
nVidia GeForce(R) 9600M(2) GT graphics. Prices start at $1,299.99 US.
[2008/07/16]
July 14, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Sony has announced that
their VAIO(R) BZ Series laptop computers are intended for
business use and will be available through value added resellers.
and direct market resellers at prices starting as low as $1,000 US.
[2008/07/16]
July 10, 2008, Business Wire reports that Belkin has announced that
its Wireless Travel Mouse (F5L017-USB) and Retractable Mouse (F5L016-USB)
are currently available at $19.99 US and $14.99 US respectively, and
3 cases will be available in September 2008 for the Eee PC and
other 7-inch slze laptops. The Mini Laptop Quilted Case (F8N085)
will cost $19.99 US, the Mini Laptop Carrying Case (F8N084) will cost
$24.99 US and the Neoprene Sleeve (F8N082) will cost $12.99 US.
[2008/07/13]
July 10, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) announced that its
iPhone(TM) 3G, using iPhone 2.0 software, would be available on July 11,
2008. Suggested retail prices were $199 US for the 8GB version and
$299 US for the 16GB version.
[2008/07/13]
July 10, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Seagate has unveiled
half-terabyte 2.5" disc size hard drives for laptop computers.
The Momentus(R) 5400.6 and Momentus 7200.4 drives are 5400 RPM
and 7200 RPM drives respectively are available in up to 500 GB
capacities and SATA interfacing. Shipping is expected in 2008 Q4.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/07/13]
July 9, 2008, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.,
has announced that it has begun mass production of its 1.8" and 2.5"
form factor multi-level cell based SSDs in 128 GB capacity, following
closely the recent start of mass production of its 64 GB SSD.
[Pricing and availability were not provided in this announcement. -- JO]
[2008/07/09]
July 3, 2008, PRNewswire reports that Cisco's Linksys division has
announced that its Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router WRT6010N
allows use of both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz bands at the same time
at full speed. It is available now at an estimated street price
of $199.99 US.
[2008/07/06]
July 2, 2008, PR Newswire reports that in a Dell sponsored study
conducted by the Ponemon Institute, there are more than 12,000
laptop comptuers lost in large US airports each week, and nearly
70% are never reclaimed.
[2008/07/02]
June 30, 2008, PR Newswire reports that the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced
that it has developed a "certification program for voice-enabled
Wi-Fi devices in home and small office environments."
[2008/07/02]
If you have followed this website for long you might have been surprised
that I did not post an update yesterday. So was I. Put simply, I got
so busy that I did not have time to complete my usual review of announcements.
Then again, the more useful report is the one covering the early part of
the week, so I think the late report today will not have been sorely
missed.
[2008/06/30]
To continue my remarks about operating systems, I have found that
Microsoft Vista 64-bit is already being pre-loaded on laptop and
desk computers for general (home and business) use. Two of the
earliest were the "HP Pavilion dv2808ca", KP005UA, which currently
costs $999.99 Cdn. on HP's Canadian website (Vista Home Premium
64-bit with SP1, AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 2 GHz, nVidia GeForce Go
7150M, 14.1" WXGA screen), and also the "HP Pavilion dv2854ca",
KP040UA -- available via retailers (Vista Home Premium 64-bit with
SP1, Intel Core2 Duo T5750 2 GHz, Intel X3100 graphics, 14.1" WXGA
screen).
[Note: I believe these were the first products in Canada, but I
am not certain. There have been others announced, and perhaps some
not announced. -- JO]
[2008/06/30]
June 30, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Netgear(R), Inc. has announced
that its "Open Source Wireless-G Router" (WGR614L) is intended "to
support a wide variety of applications created by the open source
community." It features a 240 MHz MIPS32(R) CPU, 4 MB of flash
memory and 16 MB of RAM, a 10/100 WAN prot and a 4-port 10/100 WAN
switch. Support is via "http://www.myopenrouter.com/". It is
now available at a retail price of $69.00 US.
[2008/06/30]
This is anti-climatic for me. For weeks now, I have been working on a report about the current state of new operating systems for laptops, and particularly the current state of 64-bit operating systems. Unfortunately, due to my lack of time, each time I get moving on it, I have to put it off. Then the situation changes and I have to re-think what I am writing.
I do not know if I will ever finish my report. So here are some of
the key points:
1. Vista 32-bit has been a surprising failure. While you can be
sure that if you buy a new computer with it pre-loaded, with SP1,
it will generally work, upgrading XP generation laptops to Vista,
even those which were advertised as "Vista Ready" has only recently
become a reality. And there may still be "Vista Ready" laptops which
are not properly supported.
2. Vista 64-bit is even worse for driver support than 32-bit.
3. Linux, is generally working in 32-bit and even in 64-bit. However,
if you look specifically at OpenSuSE, I would have to suggest that
rather than the latest version 11.0, which has just been released on
June 21, 2008, you should load version 10.3 right now. Version 11.0
will probably be a better bet in about a month.
[2008/06/25]
June 25, 2008, Business Wire reports that Panasonic has unveiled its handheld
"Toughbook CF-U1" rugged Ultra Mobile PC. Powered by an Intel(R) Atom(TM)
it features a 5.6" WSVGA sunlight viewable 1024 x 600 touchscreen using LED
backlighting and MIL-STD-810F and IP54 compliance. It is expected to be
available August 2008 at a US estimated street price of $2,499 US.
[2008/06/25]
June 24, 2008, Business Wire reports that Toshiba DPD has annouced that
its latest Satellite laptops (including P300D, A300D, M300D, U400D, L300D and
L350D series) are offered with various AMD processors.
[Note: The announcement implies that these new products are immediately
available and researchable, however, 1 day after the announcement, I have
checked the provided links to their web pages, and no further information
has been provided. This is a case of the left hand not co-ordinating with
the right hand. -- JO]
[Also Note: The M300D series probably features a 14.1" Widescreen display,
which combined with a fairly typical form factor and features for laptops
that size is what I generally recommend for most people. Unfortunately,
this is only a guess at this point, since there is no such information on
Toshiba's Webpage. -- JO]
[2008/06/25]
As happens frequently over the summer, there was nothing worth reporting
in the later part of last week. Check back later this week.
[2008/06/22]
June 18, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Novell(R) has announced that Micro-Star
International (MSI) is pre-installing SuSE(R) Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on
its new "Wind Notebook". Running a 1.6 GHz Intel(R) "Atom(TM)" processor,
it features a 10" screen and weighs 2.6 lbs. A Microsoft Windows version will
be sold from June 16, 2008 for $499 US and the SuSE Enterprise Linux version
will be available later this summer for $399 US.
[Information was also taken from MSI's website. It will be interesting to
see whether the low cost (comparing inital announcements) and more capable
features of this device is more important to purchasers than the smaller
size and lighter weight of the ASUS 901 EeePC. -- JO]
[2008/06/18]
June 12, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Hop-on, Inc. unveiled a
new series of phones including its HOP1809, which the company
claims is a true 3G phone for under $125 which is capable of
"facilitating true video conference calls" which the company
claims is better than Apples iPhone(TM).
[2008/06/15]
June 10, 2008, Business Wire reports that HP has announced new laptop
computers, most of which will arrive in July, depending on the region.
[The main reason I am mentioning this "roll-out" is because I was
interested in seeing if HP would start pre-loading 64-bit Vista yet.
It appears that these are still coming with 32-bit software. Also,
it will be interesting to see if HP tries to re-focus on 14.1"
screens instead of 15.4" screens, and lower pricing. -- JO]
[2008/06/11]
June 9, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has introduced its
new iPhone(TM) 3G. It claims that its 3G networking is "twice as
fast" (if you have EDGE support). Cost is as low as $199 US for an
8GB version. [NOTE: Availability is dependent on your service
provider. -- JO]
[2008/06/11]
As is common this time of the year, there was nothing to report
for the latter part of last week. Check back later this week.
[2008/06/08]
June 4, 2008, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced that its
ATI XGP(TM) (External Graphics Platform) technology is based on
a new external PCI Express(R) 2.0 link providing 4.0 GB/sec in each
direction.
[2008/06/04]
June 2, 2008, PR Newswire reports that NVIDIA Corporation has
introduced its Tegra family of processors including its
Tegra APX2500 processor being used in Windows Mobile smartphones
and Tegra 650 which features HD video playback capability.
The primary processor is an 800 MHz ARM CPU, but the architecture
features multiple processor capability to offload functions.
[2008/06/04]
If this is a bit redundant please accept my apology, but
PR Newswire has, again, failed to provide news releases upon
my search request. However, there was nothing worth reporting
from my other two sources, and indications are that there was
probably nothing to report at PRN either. Anyway, check back
later this week.
[2008/06/01]
May 28, 2008, Business Wire reports that 3K Computers, LLC has announced the
release of its "3K RazorBook 400 Mini Notebook Ultra Mobile PC". The MSRP is
now $299 US. Resellers can purchase them through Ingram Micro. [This
product was previously referred to as the "Longitude". -- JO]
[2008/05/28]
May 25, 2008, BusinessWire reports that Samsung Electronics has
announced that it has developed a SATA II interfaced 2.5", 256 GB
SSD based on "multi-level cell" technology with a 200 MB/s sequential
read speed and 160 MB/s sequential write speed, and power
consumption of 0.9 W in active mode. Samples will be available
in September with mass production by the end of the year.
[Prices was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/05/25]
May 20, 2008, Business Wire reports that One Laptop per Child (OLPC)
has announced its future plans. The first overall goal is to reduced
the production cost of its units from the current $188 US down to $75 US.
In the spring of 2009, the "XO-1.5" will be released, which will have
the same design as the "XO" but by using fewer parts, will cost
less. In 2010, the "XO-2" will introduce a smaller form factor with
more appropriate specifications.
[2008/05/21]
May 20, 2008, PRNewswire reports that AVerMedia(R) Technologies, Inc. has
announced the release of its "AverTV Hybrid NanoExpress" ExpressCard
TV tuner. The card can receive HDTV (both ATSC and "Clear" QAM Digital
Cable TV), analog TV and FM radio., running under Windows XP or Vista.
The 54mm card is now available at a suggested retail price of $89.99 US.
[2008/05/21]
May 15, 2008, PRNewswire reports that Microsoft Corp. and One Laptop
per Child (OLPC) have announced that they have agreed to make Microsoft
Windows available on the OLPC XO computer from around June 2008.
[The interesting thing about this announcement is that it does not
name the version of Windows which will run on the XO laptop. It was
my understanding or belief that this would be a version of Windows XP.
I thought that was what I read before, but I should check again sometime.
If it is to be XP, then why not say so? -- JO]
[2008/05/18]
May 14, 2008, Business Wire reports that OCZ Technology Group, Inc. has
announced that their "Do-It-Youself(DIY) Gaming Notebook Program" will
allow a purchaser to buy "an unconfigured notebook and . . . customize
the system . . . with the help of guides and direct support."
The first platform is an Intel(R) based laptop with nVidia(R) GeForce(TM)
8600M GT graphics.
OCZ Technology Group, Inc.
(laptop computers) http://www.ocztechnology.com/
[2008/05/14]
As I write this, late in the evening of "a hard day," I have to admit
that I have not had time to think about how to present this request.
A friend of mine, who works in my field (writing about computers), has
been diagnosed with Lukemia and to state this shortly, he will need a
bone marrow transplant. However, as a Black Canadian, living in
Montreal, his odds of finding a compatible doner are not really
great. All I can say right now is that if you volunteer to be a
bone marrow doner, his family will thank you. This is particularly
true of you are Black, and I think, fairly young. You may not realize
that in general, bone marrow must be very specifically genetically
compatible. So all the "non-Black" doners generally do not help
him. It is likely that you will not be compatible with him
specifically anyway, but there are others who you might end up
giving bone marrow too. So please give this your consideration.
[2008/05/14]
May 6, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Super Talent Technology has
announced that its new line of "MasterDrive" SSDs use a SATA-II (3Gbps)
interface and a standard 2.5" form factor are now available. The
lowest price version is FTM30GK25H (30GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec) at MSRP
$299 US.
[2008/05/11]
May 6, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced that
its Zune music player will be released in Canada as follows:
May 6, 2008 Zune software will be available at "www.zune.ca"
June 13, 2008 the Zune players will become available
Prices start at $139.99 Cdn for 4GB.
[2008/05/07]
May 5, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
claims that its "PowerBlock(TM)50 system can provide over 100
GFLOPS in a computer 4" x 5" x 6" and weighing less than 10 pounds.
It is immediately available. [Price was not provided in the
announcement. -- JO]
Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
[PowerBlock(TM)50 Embedded Computer] http://www.mc.com/
[2008/05/07]
I have again found nothing worth reporting in the latter part of
the past week. Unfortunately, I had hoped to have a special report
completed for today, but time did not allow for that project.
I expect to have something to report later this week.
[2008/05/04]
Apr. 30, 2008, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that its
HP Labs has "proven the existance of . . . . [the] theorized . . .
"memristor" -- a blend of "memory resistor" -- which has the
unique property of retaining a history of the information it has
acquired." The company calls it "the fourth fundamental circuit
element, along with the resistor, capacitor and inductor. . . ."
[I apologize for the extensive quoting, but I saw no way to
put it into my own words. -- JO]
[2008/04/30]
Apr. 28, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Netgear, Inc. has claimed that
its "ProSafe 802.11n Dual Band Wireless Access Point (WNDAP330)" is the
first to provide full 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz support of a/b/g and draft 2.0
n 802.11 specifications, based on a Gigabit Ethernet port. It is
now available at a list price of $475 US.
[2008/04/30]
I completed all my usual research, and there was nothing worth reporting
at this time. I expect something later this week -- which I suppose is
no surprise.
[2008/04/27]
3k Computers Longitude 400-Mini-Notebook PC
Apr. 22, 2008, Business Wire reports that 3K Computers, LLC has announced
that its "Longitude 400 Mini Notebook Ultra Mobile PC" computer weighs
under 2 lbs. and includes a 7" LCD TFT display, a "Windows-friendly Linux
Operating System" and a 400MHz CPU at an MSRP of $399 US. It will be
in stock "late May."
[I did not recognize this company, and the announcement had some odd claims,
so I looked at the Website. What they are calling a "full size keyboard" is
not. The pictures show a keyboard about the same as the ASUS EeePC. In
fact, the whole outer case resembles the EeePC, which is no surprise. But
the CPU is a "Low Power Consumption Ingenic 400 MHz 32-bit Single Core
Mobile Process." I do not know this processor, so I have no opinion
about its significance. Oddly, the Website quotes the MSRP as $499 US.
-- JO]
3K Computers, LLC [mini-laptop]
http://www.3kcomputers.com/
[2008/04/23]
As the title says, nothing came through from PR Newswire on me latest
research. Perhaps later this week. . . .
[2008/04/20]
Apr. 17, 2008, Business Wire reports that Kingston Technology Company,
Inc. has announced that it is the first company in the world "to offer
high-performance, low-latency 667 MHz DDR2 SO-DIMM . . ." memory
modules. Their "HyperX(R) 667MHz CL4 SO-DIMM kits will first be
available in paired kits of 2GB and 4GB as follows:
KHX5300S2LLK2/2G 2GB 667MHz Low-Latency DDR2 (CL4-4-4-12 @ 1.8v) SO-DIMMs, kit of 2 MSRP $84.00 US.
KHX5300S2LLK2/4G 4GB 667MHz Low-Latency DDR2 (CL4-4-4-12 @ 1.8v) SO-DIMMs, kit of 2 MSRP $132.00 US.
[2008/04/20]
Apr. 15, 2008, CompactFlash Association will display CFast(TM) cards
and connectors at the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley.
The CFast(TM) card spec defines a CompactFlash card with a SATA
interface capable of supporting up to 3Gb/sec data rates, compared
to current PATA 133MB/sec. data rates.
[2008/04/16]
Apr. 15, 2008, PR Newswire reports that NextComputing has introduced
its "Vigor Evo HD" which gives the versatility and power of workstation
style computers in a portable form factor. About the size of a
briefcase it can weigh as little as 13.5 lbs. [NOTE: These are
basically custom ordered systems, so delivery and prices are quoted
on negotiation. -- JO]
NextComputing http://www.nextcomputing.com/
[2008/04/16]
Apr. 14, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Renaissance Learning, Inc. has announced
that it has collected nearly 5,000 of its devices in its "AlphaSmarts for
Africa" campaign which concluded on March 31. Returning an older AlphaSmart
device resulted in a $50 US discount towards a new AlphaSmart NEO or NEO2.
The returned devices were donated to "Generation for Change and Growth" to
be distributed in Kenya. [NOTE: "One Laptop per Child" did not invent
the idea of the cheap portable computer for education. There have been
a few, and still are others. AlphaSmart's Dana devices are based on Palm
software. I do not know what the NEO devices are based on, though I expect
they are the same technology. -- JO]
Renaissence Learning, Inc. (AlphaSmart)
http://renlearn.com/
[2008/04/16]
Apr. 14, 2008, Canada Newswire reports that Sony will offer its
"Reader Digital Book (PRS-505)" for sale in Canada at the end of
April for MSRP $299 Cdn.
[2008/04/16]
According to websites I have read reviewing the latest small laptops (the
ASUS EeePC etc.), Microsoft has extended its support for Windows XP to
some time in 2010. However, as of today, I checked Microsoft's website
and the last extension date for support for all versions of Windows XP
is January 31, 2009. See
Microsoft Windows Life-Cycle Policy page http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx.
Maybe by the time you read it, a change will have been posted.
[2008/04/16]
Apr. 12, 2008, Business Wire reports that Gateway has announced a number of
new laptop computers, and some of them come with Microsoft Windows Vista Home
Premium 64-bit Edition with SP1. The least expensive will be the Gateway
T-Series (5.55 pound, 14.1" display) T-1628 which has a manufacturer's
suggested retail price of $749.99 US (AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60, ATI Radeon
x1270 graphics, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, etc.).
[NOTE: I believe this is the first time any major laptop company has
announced a standard installation of 64-bit Vista. It makes me feel
just a bit cheated that I have 2 Vista laptops, both which came with the
32-bit version. As far as I know, I will have to pay extra to upgrade
them. -- JO]
[2008/04/13]
Apr. 10, 2008, Business Wire reports that according to One Laptop per Child,
more than 100,000 XO laptops were delivered in 2007.
[On Apr. 6, 2008, I announced my award to OLPC for their XO computer
having been the "Most Significant Mobile Device of 2007." I did not
have a firm number of delivered units, so I was interested in this
particular number. -- JO]
[2008/04/13]
Apr. 9, 2008, Business Wire reports that DenneD, LLC has begun
distribution of Zepto laptop computers in Canada and the US.
DenneD, LLC (Zepto laptops)
http://www.zeptousa.com/
[2008/04/09]
Apr. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that Toshiba DPD has announced that
its new Satellite(R) P300 series laptops have begun shipping. Featuring
both Intel and AMD versions, they are built on a 17" wide-screen diplay
chassis for a 1440 * 900 WXGA+ display. Prices start at $949.99 for
the Satellite P305D-S8818 (AMD Turion(TM) X2, 2.1 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache,
DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash(TM).
[I was particularly interested in seeing what kind of drives these
laptops would have. I am a bit disappointed that they are not coming
out with HD-DVD reading drives, since there is no particular reason not
to have them, even knowing that the future is somewhat limited. -- JO]
[2008/04/09]
Apr. 8, 2008, Business Wire reports that HP has announced that its
"HP 2133 Mini-Note PC" will be a "full-function" computer
with prices starting under $500 US. Features include an anodized
aluminum shell, hard drive guard to shut down the drive upon
accelerometer detected shock or sudden move, an 8.9" diagonal
WXGA display and a delivery date "later this month."
[This is almost surreal. The product looks quite good, and I
might end up getting one, but if you look at the brochure on
their website, they are trying to make this an "edu" product.
But then you look at the software options and they are mainly
business. The processor is a Via C7(R)-M ULV with clocking up
to 1.6 GHz and 128 KB L2 cache. -- JO]
[2008/04/08]
As the title states, I did not find any announcements worth reporting
in the later part of the week. I find this sad because I expected more
in the wake of CTIA. Anyway, check back later this week.
[2008/04/06]
After long consideration, there was only one award I felt I could name for 2007. It was not a "best" award because nothing stood out in my mind that I could call clearly "best" in any category I felt that was worth having an award. However, there was little doubt in my mind what was the most significant release in that year. See if you agree. Sorry if it does not format properly in your browser. I hope to convert it to HTML later.
The 2007 Most Significant Mobile Device Award
Apr. 2, 2008, PR Newswire reports that UTStarcom has announced new GSM
handsets for Latin America and the Caribbean. The GSM1218 covers 850 and
1900 MHz and the GSM1219 covers the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.
Pricing and availability are subject to the carriers. [There was also a
CDMA announcement. Actually, I just wanted to give UTStarcom a mention
because they are often ignored, but have a long history of providing
good products. -- JO]
UTStarcom Personal Communications
[Cell Phone Handsets] http://www.utstar.com/
[2008/04/02]
Apr. 1, 2008, USRobotics introduced its Model 5637 controller based
56K USB Modem. In the announcement, USR's Bruce Swail noted that
"the truth is that 35 percent of U.S. Internet users alone still
rely on dial-up for either their primary or secondary Internet
connection." The modem is currently available for $49.99 U.S.,
MSRP. [I believe the accuracy of his number. I use dial-up
myself to connect to the Internet on a regular basis. In fact,
my "high speed" is "Ultra-light" which is only about twice as
fast as dial-up. -- JO]
[2008/04/01]
I debated this quite a bit. There have been a number of
announcements regarding the wireless industry, however, they
were primarily industrial. Instead of summarizing them, I
will suggest that if you are interested, search for "CTIA",
"Wireless", "2008". The show is held April 1, (which is
unfortunate if you want your announcements to be taken
seriously).
[2008/03/30]
I have said this before, but due in part to the coming CTIA show, and advertising I have seen in the industry, I think it bears repeating at this time. The only Wi-Fi (wireless LAN networking) standards are "a", "b" and "g". There is NO SUCH THING as a "Certified Wi-Fi n" product because the current state of the standard is still a draft. As of January, 2008, the current IEEE Draft standard was 3.02 and work had begun on Draft 4.0.
The current "Certified Draft n" testing is a set of tests based on Draft 2.0 (which is thus, already outdated). It is hoped that devices that are passing the current tests will be upgradeable to "Wi-Fi n" standards with a software upgrade later. However, there is no guarantee of this. In fact, it appears that some companies have already abandoned upgrades for some early "Draft N" (pre-certification) products because, as the standard has evolved, some of the early hardware was not sufficient.
Personally, I have bought a very very cheap "Draft n" router, which I hope to run some tests on. It is cheap enough for me to throw away later if it does not meet the eventual standard. Let me say that clearly. I has considered and accepted that this product might end up in the garbage can, perhaps within a year or so, before I paid for it. If you cannot accept such a contingency, then you should not bother to buy such a product yet. "Wi-Fi g" products are even cheaper, and are now "bullet proof". That should be your choice.
As for companies that advertise having "n" products and not being
clear that they are only "Draft n" products. I think they should
be charged with business fraud.
[2008/03/30] edited [2008/03/31] re-edited [2008/04/02]
Mar. 24, 2008, PR Newswire reports that ECTACO Inc. has announced the "release"
of its jetBook(R) "e-book Reader". According to the company it has a 5" screen
and weighs 7 ounces.
[If the above seems very short it is because very little detail was provided in
the announcement. In particular, there was no mention of cost or delivery.
Moreover, I do not look favorably when I see a company that I have never heard
of call itself "the NY-based electronics giant." The product may be good and the
company respectable, but this announcement was poorly conceived. -- JO]
ECTACO Inc. [jetBook(R) e-book reader]
http://www.ectaco.com/
[2008/03/26]
Unfortunately, Business Wire's Website was not completely working, so
research was truncated. I hope to try to re-do my research later this
week.
[2008/03/26]
Mar. 20, 2008, Business Wire reports that HTC Corp. has announced that its
"HTC Shift(TM)" computer is a Windows Vista portable computer with CDMA-EVDO
connectivity with a 7" touch screen and 40 GB HD, and weighing about 1.8 lbs.,
can now be pre-ordered for shipping beginning Mar. 24, 2008 at a retail cost
of about $1,499 US.
HTC Corp. UM computer
[2008/03/23]
Mar. 20, 2008, Business Wire reports that Lexar Media has anounced that some
of its premium JumpDrive USB drive products will be protected by RedCannon
Security management technologies.
[2008/03/23]
Mar 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Iridium(R) Satellite has announced
that it has agreed with 3 companies to begin "concept development" for its
"NEXT" satellite communications system. There are a few goals in this
development, but the most obvious and I think, most significant, is that it
will integrate Internet Protocol (though IP will not replace its current
system).
[2008/03/19]
Mar 17, 2008, PR Newswire reports that General Dynamics C4 Systems has
announced the availability of its Tadpole M1400 mobile ultra-thin client
computer. This is essentially a laptop-like terminal which does not
run programs locally, which is easier to keep secure, and updated, and
also is cheaper. [Cost was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/03/19]
As I said last week, this is "March break" season, so I was
not surprised to find that there was nothing to report this week.
Check back later this week.
[2008/03/16]
Mar. 12, 2008, Business Wire reports that Acer has announced that its
8920G "notebook PC" will feature an 18.4" 1920 x 1080 display powered
by either an nVidia GeForce 9650M GS or 9500M GS graphics processor, and
Intel PM965 Express chipset.
[Note: Price and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/03/12]
I had no expectations whether there would be much to report at this
time, and so am not particularly surprised to find that there was
nothing of interest. This being the "March break" season, I think
that next week will probably be more fruitful. Anyway, for those
in the Northern US and Eastern Canada, you have my sympathy for having
to dig out of "the white stuff".
[2008/03/09]
Mar. 5, 2008, PR Newswire reports that the PCMCIA has announced that
the current ExpressCard 1.2 Standard is being updated to version 2.0
which will be 2 - 10 times faster than the current ExpressCard Standard
1.2. The main force behind the upgrade is to support the new 5Gbps
data rate of the PCI Express 2.0 bus -- double the data rate of
the previous PCI Express standard. It will also support SuperSpeed
USB which is expected to be released this year as USB 3.0 (which is
up to 10 times faster than Hi-Speed USB).
[2008/03/05]
Mar. 4, 2008, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced that its
AMD 780 chipsets for desk and laptop computers are now available.
Produced on a 55nm process they support DirectX 10.
[2008/03/05]
Mar. 02, 2008, Business Wire reports that Intel has announced that
its new "Atom(TM)" brand processors are a new family of low-power
processor specifically designed for "mobile internet devices" (MIDs).
They support the "Core(TM) 2 Duo" instruction set and will be made
on Intel's 45nm process with hi-k metal gate technology. The thermal
design power (TDP) range is 0.6-2.5 watts running up to 1.8GHz.
[2008/03/02]
Feb. 26, 2008, Business Wire reports that Lenovo has unveiled its
"ThinkPad X300" laptop computer, which comes in configurations weighing
as little as 2.9 lbs. Unlike the Apple Airbook, this product includes
a DVD burner. It is now available at prices starting at $2,799 US.
[If you are interested in reading some background about how the X300
was developed, see the cover story in Business Week for February 25, 2008.
-- JO]
[2008/02/27]
There was nothing of significance announced in the latter part of this
past week. Check back later in the week.
[2008/02/24]
When I dropped into a computer store on Feb. 15, 2008, I was surprised to be "informed" by a generally knowledgeable salesman that support for Windows XP had "ended" and that only Vista was being supported. I assure you, that this much is certainly not true. In fact, the latest update that I had seen up until that day was released Feb. 14, 2008. Vista SP 1 is entering its release cycle. It is past "Beta" and is in the early part of distribution. Manufacturers in particular have it and should be installing it on new computers at this minute. It will become part of the regular update system shortly. However, Windows XP "SP 3" is "on its way". It is currently still in what I would call "late Beta" stage. When it comes out, we should see support for XP for at least another year (to cover some debugging).
I have not done proper research enough to say how long XP support will last.
I believe the last announcement had said something like mid-2009 would be
the cut-off date. Do not quote this as an official position either for
Microsoft, or even for me. But the point is, that support for XP has
certainly not ended yet. If you are planning on buying an XP computer
and are concerned about this, I suggest you do further research.
[2008/02/24]
Feb. 19, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba America
Consumer Products, L.L.C. has announced that the company has
stopped sales and marketing of HD DVD players.
[The implications for the mobile computer field are interesting.
HD-DVD disc format could still be used in computers as a data
storage format. I do not know whether Blue Ray is better or
worse in such applications. A number of laptops have been sold
including HD-DVD drives, including, of course, upper end Toshiba
laptops, and some of the Acer Ferrari line products. The full
story is not quite over yet. -- JO]
[2008/02/20]
Feb. 17, 2008, Business Wire reports that Mtronstorage Technology
Co., Ltd. has announced that it has developed a "1.8 Inch ZIF-type
SSD for [laptops] . . . and will begin production in April."
[NOTE: Price was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
Mtronstorage Technology Co., Ltd.
http://www.mtron.net/
[2008/02/17]
Feb. 14, 2008, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co.
has announced that it has begun mass producing 64 GB SATA II
solid state drives and that they will be an option on some
Dell and Alienware laptop computers. [NOTE: Price was not
provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/02/17]
Feb. 13, 2008, Business Wire reports that Samsung has introduced its
"See'N'Search" technology which they believe will bring integration
of TV and Internet. By using channel guide and closed caption text
content and natural language technology to create search keys which
can be used for Internet searches without the use of keyboards, related
Internet material can be searched automatically. A set top box using
this technology could then link the search capabilities to mobile
devices.
[2008/02/13]
Feb. 11, 2008, Business Wire reports that Tangent Inc. has begun selling
its "ePC" ultra-mini computer for $299 US and are warrantied by ASUS.
[NOTE: These units appear to be variations of the ASUS EEE-PC, which
is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the processor is not clearly
identified in the advertising, making the deal somewhat risky. -- JO]
Tangent Inc. Ultra-Mini Computers
http://www.tangent.com/
[2008/02/13]
To start with, as mentioned in the above title, PR Newswire did not respond at all to my Web search attempts. Hopefully, I will have time to repeat my search of their site again later in the week.
I am a bit surprised to say that despite the GSM world conference and
trade show, I found nothing worth reporting at this time. Oddly, the
most important announcement I found was that Sony has begun marketing
their first 11" OLED TV set in North America. The significance being
that OLED has the potential to take over, at the very least, a chunk
of the small laptop display market in the computer field.
[2008/02/10]
I am a bit surprised that I found nothing worth reporting this week.
Then again, it gives me a chance to expand on what I began writing
in my last report.
[2008/02/06]
You will notice that I make no pretense of having any respect for these
computers at all. Put simply, most of the common 15" laptops sold in
2007 (and in fact going back to before 2006) had equivalent models in
14" versions. Those equivalent versions general had the same number of
exactly the same ports as the 15" versions (ie. if the 14" version only
had 3 USB 2.0 connectors, the manufacturer still only supplied 3 on
the 15" version, despite the fact that the chipset supported more,
and despite the fact that there was extra room on the 15" laptop to
put an extra port). The circuitry was so similar that I expect they
were probably the same motherboards etc., simply repackaged.
But aren't the 15" screens better because they are bigger? Of course
not. Your laptop screen is going to be about 2'-3' from your eyes. Unless
you are legally blind, you will be able to see every pixel. So there is
no more detail to see just because the screen is bigger. In fact, if
you want to see exactly the same picture, just move your face about
an inch closer to a 14" screen. Yes, that is all the visual difference
there is. You can do the math and prove it to yourself. A 15" screen
may look more impressive in the store, but unless you are going to
buy both and carry the 14" computer around as well, just to sit
them side by side to compare them every day, you will forget the
difference the first time you actually use your computer. Moreover,
for the rest of your days, you will carry around the extra weight,
and pay for the gas when you carry it in your car. You will be
annoyed every time you sit in an armchair and accidentally bang
the computer on the chair's arms. Silly. No other word for it.
And you will also pay extra for the privilege. The only reason I
bought a 15" Toshiba laptop last year was because they did not make
an equivalent 14" laptop at the time. This year, it is becoming more
difficult to actually buy the 14" version equivalent products. This
is because the 15" versions have been selling.
I mentioned the Compaq optional WSXGA+ 15" screens available for about
$50 more (which some other vendor probably also have available), and
the resolution for this screen is 1680 x 1050, which is enough to show
the same image as some of the lower end (26" range) HDTV sets. The
17" laptops, however, still have a reason to exist because they support
a keyboard closer to what one uses on a desk computer.
But the coming year, so far, appears to be heading in another
direction. Toshiba, rather than bringing out 14" screen laptops,
seems to be testing the market acceptance of 13" screen laptops.
I have also seen brochures for 12" laptops from ASUS. So this year
might be a year of somewhat greater variety in terms of configurations.
[2008/02/06]
Jan. 31, 2008, Business Wire reports that SanDisk Corporation has announced
that its Ultra(R) II line now contains 32 GB and 16 GB SDHC(TM) cards,
and an 8 GB SDHC Plus card. These latest cards have read and write
speeds of 15 MB/sec. which is up from 10 MB/sec read and 9 MB/sec write
speeds. The 32GB card, including USB 2.0 Reader has and MSRP of $349.99
US, the 16 GB card with reader has an MSRP of $179.99 US and the 8 GB
Ultra II SDHC Plus card has an MSRP of $99.99 US.
[2008/02/03]
Jan. 31, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Kingston has announced that their
Line of SDHC memory cards has been expanded with a 16 GB SDHC Flash memory
card with 4 GB/sec ("Class 4") minimum data transfer rate (DTR). Availability
was not made clear in the announcement, but the MSRP is $231 US.
[2008/02/03]
I was hoping to make some comments on 2007 in January, but I have been too busy. And in fact, I am still too busy, but I thought I would at least get a start into it:
I was disappointed to see that the majority of laptop computers in the "15-inch Wide screen" size were still 1280 x 800 resolution. I felt that 14-inch screens worked well with 1280 x 800, but really, 15-inch screens, and the resulting computers were just silly. Compaq currently prices their WSXGA+ screen only $50 Cdn. more on 15" screen size computers (not available on all such computers, but when they are available, that is the price). Moreover, they also offer WXGA+ on 14" laptops for only $30 Cdn. more. I am not certain how people would feel about the 14" screen versions, but I think if they were to put the WXGA+ screens on their higher priced 15" models as a general feature, they would get a positive response.
Hopefully, I will say more in the future.
[2008/02/03] corrected [2008/02/06]
Jan. 30, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has announced that its
MacBook Air(TM) is now shipping. The first versions will use 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHx
Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 4MB L2 cache. Prices start at $1,799 US.
[2008/01/30]
Jan. 24, 2008, Busines Wire reports that HP has introduced its first
mobile "Thin Client" product, its HP 6720t. This laptop-like device
has a 15" screen and will be available "later this month" at a list
price of $725 US.
[I like laptops and I like think clients, but I am not certain that
they go together well -- at least not such a pure form of "thin client"
where the apps are even remote. -- JO]
[2008/01/27]
Jan. 22, 2008, Business Wire reports that Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.
has announced "the validation per Intel procedures and specifications,
of the 1 GB (HMP112U6DFR8C), and 2GB (HMP125U6DFR8C), DDR2, 800MHz Un-buffered
DIMMs (UDIMM) both assembled with 54nm 1 Gb DRAM components." Hynix claims
a 40% die size reduction from 60nm-class process technology resulting in
"significantly" improved power and speed characteristics.
[I apologize for the largely quoted text but there was not much point
in re-wording it. I am not currently tracking the technology for DRAM
closely, but I expect that this is will result in further improvement in
the performance/cost ratio for all using DDR2 memory, particularly where
reduction in energy consumption is part of the performance calculation. -- JO]
[2008/01/23]
Because this is the "week after" ICES I am not surprised that there is
nothing to report. Most of the significant announcements were made early
in ICES. However, there is likely to be more later in the week.
[2008/01/20]
I am starting to accumulate some basic information regarding video on
mobile devices, and for now, specifically on laptops. There has been a
substantial divide between non-graphics oriented laptops and graphics
oriented laptops. The presumption is that the graphics oriented laptops
are primarily used by "gamers". However, even the most seriously business
oriented laptops sold today support video rendering capabilities
sufficient to cover most video DVDs.
On the Toshiba Satellite A210 series with AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60, the
combination of the 2 GHz cores with the ATi X1200 graphics covers DVD
display on its 1280 * 800 screen with power to spare. "X-Men III"
("Last Stand") chapters 5 and 6 is a particularly demanding test piece
which is sometimes beyond the capabilities of some early dedicated
consumer DVD players. When viewed under 32-bit Vista Home, all the
good and bad characteristics of using a laptop for DVD viewing, are
visible.
First, for RAM my test unit is fully expanded to 4 GB of best quality
Kingston RAM. Under 32-bit Vista Home, with wireless Internet
connected, RAM in use was around 1.2 - 1.3 GB (Note: I presume that
this does not include the shared graphics RAM), or about 30%. According
to Vista, both cores were fairly evenly used, with observed CPU usage
peaks of 66% in chapter 5 and 58% in chapter 6, and generally around 31 -
40% CPU usage through most of the viewing. However, when background
tasks ran, these numbers could jump. During one run of this test, the
CPU usage jumped as high as 87% (actually observed) in chapter 5.
Although DVD playing has been done with far less powerful processors,
XP and Vista usage also presume the usage of preset timed processing,
which may even include Internet accessing, and some newer DVDs simply
tax the CPU more than older discs. So ironically, a 2 GHz single core
version of this setup would probably be the least power system that
one could reliably view this DVD on -- and even then one would expect
some frame droppage depending on the current background tasks.
[2008/01/20]
Jan. 16, 2008, Business Wire reports that DivX, Inc. and AMD have
agreed that AMD will be allowed "to include DivX(R) video technology
with specific AMD Xilleon(TM) processors. . . ."
[At this time it is unclear whether this will include mobile devices,
however, so far, DivX has not had good penetration into such mobile
devices, and these were mentioned in the announcement. -- JO]
[2008/01/16]
I have been using a Nokia N800 with the new 2008 software for about a
week now and I have a few early comments. First, I was disappointed to
find that although Real Media is supported for Internet Radio, there is
still no browser plug-in. This was last included on the Nokia 770.
This is unfortunate since I have found that for low bandwidth use, Real
Media works better than Macromedia Flash format. Also, I was using
the Gnumeric Spreadsheet on the N800 for a while under the 2007 software
and it was quite good. Unfortunately, this is an independent port
and I can only hope that whomever ported it before will provide a
new version.
Regarding the difference between the N800 and N810, I do not
find the N810 GPS particularly attractive. I am rarely lost while in
my own city, and I can buy a good street map set for about $20 every
year, which in itself is not really necessary. Moreover, for out-of-
town trips, I can print out Google maps in advance. On the other
hand, I like the N800 FM radio because it does not interfere with
Internet usage. In fact, from a processor usage standpoint, it is
a "freebee". That is to say, it should require no processor power
at all while in normal use -- only during channel changes and other
usage of controls. Even in regard to electrical usage it is very
low power compared to the Internet Radio.
I am undecided about the built in camera in the N800. Apparently,
some people think such cameras are really good. Personally, I
usually carry a better camera anyway.
PR Newswire failed to provide releases for my search. I hope to
re-try my search later in the week.
[2008/01/13]
Jan. 8, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Everex has announced that its
"CloudBook CE1200V" Ultra-Mobile PC features an open source "gOS V2
Rocket" operating system. It is 9" long, with a 7" WVGA TFT Widescreen,
and weighs 2 lbs., and is powered by a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV mobile
processor. It will be available from Walmart.com for $399 US.
[2008/01/09]
Jan. 07, 2008, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation has unveiled
16 products, including its first 45 nanometer (NM) Intel(R) Centrino(R)
processors.
[Note: In a remarkable display of silliness, just about
nothing is made clear in this announcement. Not even the names of the
processors or their speeds, let alone prices or dates of availability.
I almost decided to omit any mention of it. It is disgusting. -- JO]
[2008/01/09]
Jan. 6, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Netgear has announced that its
latest WNDR3300 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router features new
patented technology internal "metamaterial" antenna arrays for superior
performance. It is available now at an MSRP of $129.99 US. The WNR3500
Gigabit Ethernet version is $159.99.
[2008/01/06]
Jan. 6, 2008, Business Wire reports that Amiga, Inc. has announced the
availability of "AmigaAnywhere(TM) version 2. It claims "a device-independent,
single, ubiquitous Virtual Environment (VEN)".
Amiga, Inc. http://www.amiga.com/
[2008/01/06]
Jan. 6, 2008, PR Newswire reports that Panasonic has announced that its
"Link to Cell KX-TH1211" integrates a Bluetooth enabled cell phone to
cordless phone handsets. It will be available March, 2008 at an MSRP of
$99.95 US with additional handsets at $39.95 US.
[2008/01/06]
Jan. 2, 2008, Business Wire reports that "Research and Markets" claims that
their survey information Symbian and Linux based OSes dominate the Japanese
smartphone market. Moreover, although 3/4 of respondents had multimedia
capabilities, most do not use them, and only 10% would be willing to pay for
the capabilities in their next phone.
[2008/01/02]
As is typical for time of year, there was nothing worth reporting this past few days. So all I have to say is . . . .
Dec. 25, 2007, Business Wire reports that Canon Inc., Hitachi, Ltd. and Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. have reached a "basic agreement" to partner
in the LCD panel businesses. Canon and Matsushita will each own 24.9% of
Hitachi Displays Co, Ltd. leaving Hitachi, Ltd. with 50.2%.
[2007/12/26]
Dec. 20, 2007, Business Wire reports that Acer America Corporation has announced
that its Extensa 4620 series laptop computers are now available in the North
America commercial channel. These Intel powered laptops are based on the
TravelMate "Acer Profile" chassis in 14.1" form factor, in the lower cost
business computer segment. The Extensa series have been available in North
America since October of this year. Prices start at $699 US for the Extensa
4620-4054 (Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2310).
[2007/12/23]
Dec. 19. 2007, PR Newswire reports that WidowPC(R) has announced
that its Sting 517D2 laptop which features an nVidia 8800M GTX
graphics card is now in stock. Prices start at $2,799 US.
[2007/12/19]
Dec. 18, 2007, Nokia released a firmware image file upgrade
for their N800 Internet tablet giving it essentially the same
software as their new N810 Internet tablet. The file is freely
downloadable, and means that the two products can now share
future 3rd party software.
[When Nokia replaced their 770 Internet tablet with the N800
they made no real attempt to provide the same software for the older
770. They only released an essentially "empty" port of the basic
system level programs. This time, the N800 is being brought up
to date which increases the user base for software developers.
Still, I do not know of any attempt to bring the software to the
770, which is still only a 2 year old product. -- JO]
[2007/12/19]
Dec. 13, 2007, Business Wire reports that the 1394 Trade Association has
announced that a new specification for FireWire (IEEE 1394b) has been
drafted which extends throughput to 3.2 gigabits per second, which is
4x the speed of FireWire 800. The new specification, called S3200, is
expected to be used for such applications as external hard drives (in
place of eSATA). The new standard is expected to be ratified in early
February, 2008.
[Note: My latest laptop computer, like many others, has a FireWire 800
port. I had thought that a future laptop might be better off with an
eSATA port, but if S3200 is supported for external drives, then I agree
that I would prefer to have FireWire S3200, because that would reduce
the number of different types of cables I would have to keep. -- JO]
[2007/12/16]
Dec. 13, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Telsima has announced that its
lower frequency 450/700MHz WiMAX will have superior propagation
characteristic, saving infrastructure cost when compared to greater
than 1 GHz systems.
[Prices and availability were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2007/12/16]
Dec. 12, 2007, Micron Technology, Inc. has announced that it has
achieved "production sampling" of 68-nanometer (nm) technology
1 Gb DDR2 DRAM chips. Micron claims that the 56mm^2 chip is the
world's smallest production 1 Gb DDR2 memory device. Mass
production is expected early in 2008, and the new technology
is expected to give about 20% less power consumption compared
to the previous generation.
[2007/12/12]
Dec. 12, 2007, Business Wire reports that Kingston Technology Company,
Inc. has announced that its "Kingston(R) Media Reader" is "an external
hi-speed reader designed to support 19 popular types of Flash memory
cards, is now shipping." Speed is rated as up to 480 Mbps (USB 2.0).
The Kingston part number is "FCR-HS219/1" and the MSRP is $17.00 US.
[Note: The main reason I am including this is not because it is
necessarily the best product of its type, or particularly innovative,
but because it provides a good baseline for comparison. -- JO]
[2007/12/12]
It has been an uneventful week from the technology side of the mobile
info tech industry. All I can say is that it will probably be slow now
till next year, though there might be some late announcements by
companies trying to make the records books. For example, Intel likes
to make end of year announcements so they can top AMD.
[2007/12/09]
As long time readers of this Website will know, I have avoided giving "product of the year" awards. Sometimes I have named products in classes but deliberately left commonly awarded classes without awards because I did not feel there were any outstanding products.
This year, I am considering naming the "Acer Travelmate 5520" series
laptops a "Laptop of the year" and specifically the "5424" version.
I am looking at its balance of leading edge features such as Draft N
Wi-Fi and 1 Gb LAN and 2GB DDR2 RAM, and particularly because I expect
that it is likely superior in power efficiency due to its AMD chipset,
I have not made a final decision about this yet, but this is my
current front-runner.
[2007/11/05]
Aside from the above, I have nothing to report that looked significant.
Nokia announced a firmware upgrade for their N95 phone, but I feel that
smartphones are overrated in overall significance, so by definition, a
firmware upgrade to an low significance product is what? PR Newswire
provided a full listing from Dec. 1, so I only missed the releases
from the last couple of days of November. That is not good in itself,
but it could have been worse.
[2007/11/05
Nov. 29, 2007, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd.
has announced that new LED backlighted LCD screens in 40" up to 57"
are available for the HD TV market. [I expect this technology to
eventually become common in many LCD type screen applications,
particularly for upper end laptop computers. -- JO]
[2007/12/02]
As has been typical for PR Newswire, today's search resulted in no
reported press releases. This bug in their search system has been there
for years now and is disappointing. It is unlikely I will be able do a
corrective search later -- JO.
[2007/12/02]
Nov. 28, 2007, Business Wire reports that Micron Technology, Inc. has
announced its line of "RealSSD" solid state drives based on NAND
technology. Samples are now available for 32 GB and 64 GB devices
with mass production expected in 2008 Q1. Prices were not provided
in the announcement.
[2007/11/28]
Unfortunately, PR Newswire failed at about 21:30 eastern time, while I was
updating my searches. I will probably not be able to complete them later
in the week. A trace indicated that this was probably a problem at
PR Newswire's server. The Internet seems ok.
[2007/11/28]
I have just recently found out that Reuters will not longer be
supplying news releases to the "Addit" program on Palm device.
I am not sure when it stopped, but it is no longer being
updated.
[2007/11/25]
Nov. 22, 2007, Business Wire reports that "One Laptop per Child" has
extended its gifting program to Dec. 31, 2007. For $399 US, the
foundation will give 1 laptop to the buyer and 1 laptop (as a gift)
to a child in a developing country.
[2007/11/25]
Nov. 19, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has announced that its
Nokia N810 Internet Tablet has begun shipping in the US. Current
capacity is 2GB internal memory and up to 8GB on memory card.
The MSRP is $479 US. [NOTE: I have been using the Nokia N800 for
some time now and it has been quite nice. The only significant missing
feature for me is a "RealPlayer" plug-in for the Opera browser, which
was previously available on the Nokia 770. Hopefully it will reappear
someday on the N800 and N810. -- JO]
[2007/11/21]
It is possible that the lack of significant announcements were due
in part by the up-coming US Thanksgivings Day. At any rate, check back later in the week.
[2007/11/18]
Nov. 13, 2007, PR Newswire reports that ACCESS CO., LTD. has announced
that a free "beta" version of Garnet(TM) OS (formerly Palm OS(R)) will
be available for download by the end of this year, for the Nokia N770,
N800 and N810 handheld devices.
[2007/11/14]
Nov. 13, 2007, PR Newswire reports that User Centric, Inc., claims that
their studies show that iPhone users make more errors using iPhone
text entry than users of phones with "hard-key QWERTY" phones.
[2007/11/14]
Nov. 1, 2007, LinuxDevices.com reports that the Asus Eee PC 4G is now
available in the US at Newegg and other online retailers. It is priced
at around $400 US.
[2007/11/11]
Oct. 17, 2007, LinuxDevices.com reports that Nokia has announced that
its latest N810 Internet Tablet handheld device is similar to the
N800 but. among other changes, with a faster (400 MHz) processor and
GPS built-in GPS receiver. For software, significantly, the Opera
browser is replaced with a Mozilla-based browser. It is expected to
ship in November at around $500 US.
[2007/11/11]
Nov. 6, 2007, Business Wire reports that SMC Networks has announced that its
SMCWBR14S-N2 is a Draft 11n Wireless 4-Port (10/100Mbps) Broadband Router
with a suggested list price of $59.99 US and its EZ(TM) Connect N Draft 11n
SMCWUSBS-N Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter (suggested retail price $39.99 US)
are now available.
[2007/11/07]
Nov. 2, 2007, Business Wire reports that DataWind has announced that
it has partnered with Zoho, offering Zoho's online productivity
applications through its "PocketSurfer2". [No pricing or
availability information was in the announcement. -- JO]
[2007/11/04]
Oct. 31, 2007, Business Wire reports that HP has announced a number
of new products including its "df750" digital picture frame. It features
a 7" diagonal 800 x 480 resolution screen with 400:1 contrast and
200 cd/m2 brightness. Supported formats include "MPEG1, MP4" and
"JPEG - (Baseline, extended-sequential and progressive JPEG)". Estimated
retail price is $149 US.
[Availability was not clearly stated in the announcement, but it seems to
say that this is available now. I have looked at a few similar frames
and have not found one that I like. Despite long lists of capabilities,
often they do not even support what they claim to support. I hope HP has
done better than the rest. -- JO]
[2007/10/31]
Oct. 26, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has announced that its
"N810 Internet Tablet" has been awarded "LAPTOP's Best of CTIA Award
in the Best Overall Product category." It will be available November
2007 for $479 US. [I do not agree with the practice of calling an
announced future product a "Product of the Year." It is not a "product"
at all until it has been bought and delivered, in working condition.
Until then, it is "vapourware" -- JO]
[2007/10/28]
Oct. 16, 2007, ASUSTeK Computer Inc. announced that their "Eee PC" "ultra portable" device would be available in north america "within a few weeks" at prices from $299 to $399 US. [This small clamshell device was announced with vague specifications and has not shown up yet. However, there seems to be some interest in it, so I decided to include it today. -- JO]
Oct. 22, 2007, Business Wire reports that Trolltech(R) has announced that
it has sold out of its "Qtopia(R) Greenphone" and will not be ordering
further units. The company hopes that developers will migrate to new,
compatible reference platforms. "Trolltech recommends the Neo1973 from
FIC and OpenMoko."
[2007/10/24]
PR Newswire has not provided any news releases for the last few days. I might
re-do my search again later in the week.
[2007/10/24]
As usually, there was nothing exciting reported in the latter part of last
week. Try again next week.
[2007/10/21]
Oct. 16, 2007, Business Wire reports that Toshiba AIS, Inc. has annouced that
its new "Satellite Pro(R)" A200 and A210 laptop computers re-introduce the "Satellite
Pro(R)" brand name. The A210 are Toshiba's first business laptops to use AMD dual
core processors. The Satellite Pro laptops are now available at prices starting
as low as $699 US,
[2007/10/17]
Oct. 16, 2007, Business Wire reports that Samsung has announced the development
of two 16:9 aspect ratio screens with and also announced a 15.4" 1440 * 900
LCD screen with "Active White LED Backlighting" which the company claims has
10 times the contrast of a typical LED backlighted display (10,000:1) and a
brightness of 300 nits.
[2007/10/17]
Oct. 15, 2007, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced that it has
released a number of TV Tuner products including its new ""ATI TV
Wonder(TM) 650 Combo USB" device. The MSRP is $149 US. [Note: It is
not entirely clear in the announcement, but the devices seem to be
available now. -- JO]
[2007/10/17]
Oct. 11, 2007, Business Wire reports that Avid Technology, Inc. has announced
that its Consumer Division, Pinnacle Systems, Inc. will be releasing a
number of new HD TV support devices including "Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick"
which is a USB 2.0 TV tuner which provides "plug-and-watch TV viewing on a
PC without any installation." It is expected to be available in mid October
2007 at a retail price of $129.99 US.
[2007/10/14]
I am not surprised that I found nothing worth reporting at this time.
Holidays and the time of year did not indicate a higher expectation.
Check back later in the week.
[2007/10/10]
Oct. 4, 2007, Business Wire reports that AT&T has announced that its new
Windows Mobile 6 based "Tilt" handset features UMTS/HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS
support with a slide out QWERTY keypad that tilts for better visibility.
It will be available Oct. 5, 2007 at a special prices of $299.99 US with
a 2 year contract and mail-in rebate. [Note: The real price was not
provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2007/10/07]
First, I should report that PR Newswire failed to provide me with any press releases today, so it seems that their site still has a "change of month" problem in their software. It is unlikely I will have the time to re-do the searches missed this week.
I am disappointed to report that there have not been any really notable announcements so far this week. Toshiba America did announce a number of new laptop computers, particularly in the Satellite A205 and P205 lines with HD-DVD drives which would have been worth mentioning, but I am disappointed that they have not moved beyond 1280 resolution in the 15.x" size range screen versions, so I have skipped those announcements.
I feel that a 15.x" screen is about as small as I would like for an HD TV
resolution screen, and the minimum H resolution would be 1366 pixels,
which would match the mainstream low end HDTV screens (26" - 32" range
screens). So that would be the minimum screen that I would like to
see in a "mainstream" laptop computer. In fact, I find the larger laptops
are too clumsy, so this seems to be the best trade-off size for general
laptop usage.
[2007/10/03]
I must admit that I am surprised to say that I have nothing to
report at this time. There was an announcement by Toshiba about a gamer
laptop, but even that is hardly news these days. I was unable to
complete research of PR Newswire which apparently has not been
fixed after all. No releases were available on the website. Check
back late this week.
[2007/09/30]
Sept. 26, 2007, Business Wire reports that MontaVista Software, Inc. has announced
the release of its MontaVista(R) Mobilinux version 5.0, which will be available
worldwide in November, 2007. Supported processors will include the TI OMAP 2430.
[Pricing was not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2007/09/26]
Sept. 20, 2007, Business Wire reports that SMC(R) Networks has announced that
a number of its products have received certification by the Wi-Fi Alliance
proving compliance with the current 802.11n Draft 2.0 specification.
Among the products is the SMC Barricade N Draft 11n Gigabit Broadband
Router (SMCWGBR14-N). [NOTE: Not mentioned in the press release, but
mentioned on the company website is that this particular router includes
a USB 2.0 based printer server. I have previously bought and used this
line of products in its original Wi-Fi B and Wi-Fi G forms, and I am
considering buying this latest version. -- JO]
[2007/09/23]
Sept. 20, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Linksys has announced that its
RangePlus family of products extends Wi-Fi coverage by using
Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology and eases setup
by supporting "Wi-Fi Protected Setup(TM)". The WRT100 router and
WPC100 laptop adapter are now available at $99.99 US (street price).
[Note: The release does not state if the WPC100 is PC-Card technology
or ExpressCard, or something else. -- JO]
[2007/09/23]
Sept. 17, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Fingertip Formulary has announced
that its Fingertip Formulary Mobile (a free formulary service for healthcare
providers) is now available for download onto Palm or Pocket PC devices.
Fingertip Formulary
http://www.FingertipFormulary.com/
[2007/09/19]
I am not surprised to say that I have nothing worth reporting at this
time. I am expecting news in the next few days.
[2007/09/16]
Sept. 12, 2007, Business Wire reports that TRENDnet has announced that its
TEW-633GR Wireless N Gigabit Router is now available. [Price was
not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2007/09/12]
There were a couple of announcements by Toshiba and Seagate regarding
new hard drives, but in the end, that just boils down to more data space
per drive, in a continuing progression that has been going on for years.
I have not been reporting such announcements lately because the
continuation of the trend is hardly news now. You will see the
new drives in laptops shortly.
[2007/09/09]
Sept. 5, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Tele Atlas has announced that
HP' s iPaq 310 Travel Companion will feature the company's digital
maps and navigation content.
Tele Atlas http://www.teleatlas.com/
[2007/09/05]
Aug. 31, 2007, Canada Newswire reports that SanDisk has announced that its
"Multi Card ExpressCard Adapter" allows transfer of data from six memory
card formats through an ExpressCard slot. It will be available in North
America in "September" at an MSRP of $29.99 US.
[2007/09/02]
Aug. 28, 2007, Business Wire reports that Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has
announced that it has added 3 new UMPC computers to its lineup. There are the
Q1U-SSDXP, the Q1U-ELXP and the Q1U-XP. All are immediately available and
prices start at $999.00 US for the Q1U-ELXP with 600MHz A100 processor and
40GB HD.
[2007/08/29]
Not surprisingly, there was nothing really significant to report for the
later part of this past week. With the Fall coming, I expect things to
start getting interesting again fairly soon.
[2007/08/26]
Aug. 22, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Nokia and Microsoft Corp. have announced that
they have joined to bring Windows Live Hotmaio(R), Windows Live Messenger, Windows
Live Contacts and Windows Live Spaces to Nokia S60 devices, and to future Series
40 handsets.
[2007/08/22]
Aug. 21, 2007, Business Wire reports that Telos Corporation has announced that it will
market the OQO model 02 Windows XP/Vista based UMPC through government contract.
[2007/08/22]
Aug. 16, 2007, PR Newswire reports that according to "User Centric,
Inc.", the iPhone's touch keyboard takes about double the time
for text input than phones with a "full QWERTY keypad."
[2007/08/19]
Aug. 15, 2007, PR Newswire reports that XtremeNotebooks has
announced that its Xtreme 917V features a new Intel(R)
Core(TM)2 Quad processor.
XtremeNotebooks
http://www.xtremenotebooks.com/
[2007/08/15] updated [2007/08/19]
[This annoucement was reported in brief on PR Newswire for Aug. 15, 2007,
Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain the actual press release from PR
Newswire's website to read the details. Moreover, checking Extreme
Notebook's website I did not find any such announcement. This is not
unusual. So all I can recommend is that you check the company's website
later some time. -- JO]
[2007/08/15]
Aug. 11, 2007, Business Wire reports that Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.
has claimed it has developed "the industry's smallest 1 Gigabit mobile
DRAM." Made using a 66 nm process, it operates at 200 MHz with a
1.6 Gbytes/sec. throughput in a 32-bit I/O
configuration.
Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.
http://www.hynix.com/
[2007/08/12]
Aug. 7, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Datalight, Inc. claims
that its Datalight Reliance(TM) and FlashFX(R) Pro used
together can boost Flash memory usage performance by as
much as 200%.
Datalight, Inc.
http://www.datalight.com/
[2007/08/08]
Aug. 1, 2007, PR Newswire reports that AVerMedia(R) Technologies, Inc.
has announced the release of its AVerTV Hybrid ExpressCard
High Definition and Analog ExpressCard TV Tuner for laptop
computers. This 54mm Express Card includes a "mini-antenna"
and remote control, and is immediately available for $129.99 MSRP US.
AVerMedia(R) Technologies, Inc.
http://www.avermedia-usa.com/
[2007/08/05]
I was expecting PR Newswire to fail at the change of month as has
been happening for quite a while now, but my last research session
and this session were successful. Hopefully, this means that they
have fixed their software.
[2007/08/05]
Aug. 1, 2007, Business Wire reports that Acer has announced that its
latest consumer laptop computers feature design work by BMW
Group DesignworksUSA. The Aspire 5920 begins at $1999 US and
the Aspire 4710 starts at $599 US.
[2007/08/01]
July 31, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Nokia "applauds the FCC's
decision to implement rules requiring a portion of the 700MHz spectrum
. . . to be made available for 'open access' for devices and
service."
[2007/08/01]
As happens during the slow periods, I did not find anything worth reporting
for the later part of the past week. Check back next week.
[2007/07/29]
July 24, 2007, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Digital Products Division
has announced the availability of its Qosmio G45-AV680 which features a
HD DVD-R Drive. The "estimated single unit price" is $3,199.99 US.
[2007/07/25]
July 23, 2007, Business Wire reports that "One Laptop per Child" has
announced that it has "authorized mass production of the XO laptop,
based on the release of the final Beta-4 (B4) engineering model."
[2007/07/25]
July 20, 2007, Business Wire reports that DataWind has launched its
"PocketSurfer2" handheld GPRS internet device. It features s 640
x 240 screen and QWERTY keyboard. The price is L(UK) 179,99 and
will be available in the UK Aug. 16, 2007.
DataWind PocketSurfer2
http://www.pocketsurfer.co.uk/
[2007/07/22]
July 16, 2007, PR Newswire reports that D-Link claims that according
to an octoScope test (June 19, 2007), D-Link's DIR-655 Xtreme N(R) Gigabit
Router was the top performer in 3x3 (antenna) class and overall, with 20
megabits throughput at 150 feet, beating Linksys(R) WRT350N and Netgear(R)
WNR854T.
[2007/07/22]
Due to unavoidable circumstances, I missed my mid-week update.
This has rarely happened. However, I have completed the research.
[2007/07/22]
July 13, 2007, Business Wire reports that Duel Systems (Methode Electronics, Inc.)
has announced that its DuelAdapter Cradle is an ExpressCard to PCMCIA and
CardBus adapter. Data transfers are at the full PCMCIA or CardBus
transfer rates of the host computer. Advance orders prior to July
31, 2007 will cost $45.95 US, with the price from Aug. 1, 2007 being
$49.95 US.
Duel Systems
http://www.duel-systemsadapters.com/
[2007/07/15]
July 11, 2007, Canada Newswire reports that Sony Canada has announced
that "all 79 Sony stores across Canada" will now collect old
laptop computers as trade-ins towards purchases of new Sony laptop
computers. [Value of the trade-in was not provided in the
announcement. Moreover, I checked the Sony Canada websites
as directed in the announcement and could not find any mention
of the trade-in program. -- JO]
[2007/07/15]
July 11, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. (SCEI) has announced that its Playstation Portable PSP-2000
will be available in Japan, North America and Europe in
September. The system clock is variable up to 333 MHz and
the main memory is 64MB.
[Note: The original PSP did not prove to be a satisfactory
general purpose Internet device, and Sony seems to be
resisting the desires of end users to allow 3rd part programs
to be developed. As such, I almost decided not to include
this report. The 64MB main memory should make a big
difference in its usability as a general purpose Web page
reader. Still, without any ability to use memory from an
expansion card to supplement the 64 MB, it will not be
anywhere near the freer usability of the Nokia N800, and the
Wi-Fi B speed will still be a bottleneck. So it is a borderline
device. -- JO]
[2007/07/11]
July 9, 2007, AMD introduced 2 HDTV adapters for computers.
One, a PCIe bus tuner/capture card is intended for desk computers,
but the ATI TV Wonder(TM) 600 USB can be used for desk computers
or laptop (mobile) computers. Pricing was not announced, but
they will both be available in September.
[2007/07/11]
Still nothing really significant to report. AMD has invested in
Transmeta, but that is not really the type of news I report. It
does have some significance, because Transmeta is a significant
developer of low power technology, which is always important in the
mobile field. But it is not really an end user issue.
[2007/07/08]
My mistake. On July 1 I recommended checking back later in the
week, but I forgot that the July 4 holiday was today. As I should
have expected, there has been little in the way of announcements up
till today. Toshiba has announced a few new laptops, and if you are
interested, I can recommend that you look up the Toshiba websites.
Also, there has been a lot written about the Apple iPhone. However,
since there was not Canadian phone offering, I have decided to put
off coverage for now. Otherwise, it has been fairly quiet. Sorry. My
next update should have more.
[2007/07/04]
As is usual on the change of a month, PR Newswire failed to
provide me with anything for today's review. I have no idea why this
bug has been allowed to persist. Check back later in the week. For
those companies who pay PR Newswire to provide journalists with press
releases at the end of a month, you really should ask about a refund.
[2007/07/01]
Before I go further, my review of press releases found nothing to
post. That is not to say that the news was completely devoid of
anything literally, but that there is nothing to report at this time.
[2007/07/1]
I have come to the point where I find the Nokia 770 a significant
part of my lifestyle. It is nice to be able to think of something in
the late night which I would like to look up in some webpage, and to
actually do a quick bit of research. Unfortunately, within this past
week, my Nokia 770 crashed in a bad way. The display screen is not
working. It is primarily just light grey without any real images. I
will be sending it for repair shortly. The actual cause of the crash
seems to have been somewhere in the Wi-Fi stack. I hope that Nokia
will release one more update memory image correcting this major flaw.
It appears that the problems could, in time, make all existing
devices become unusable. This would not be acceptable as a consumer
product.
[2007/07/01]
June 27, 2007 Business Wire reports that Devon IT has
announced the availability of its upgraded "SafeBook" thin
client laptop computer. Prices start at $599 US with no hard drive.
Applications must be run from servers.
Devon
IT http://www.devonit.com/
[2007/06/27]
June 26, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Earthlink has
announced that "Nokia N800 Internet Tablets[sic] customers can
now access EarthLink's Wi-Fi service, at no additional charge, on its
municipal wireless networks in select[sic] cities throughout the
United States." Maximum speeds are 3 Mbps download and 1 Mbps
upload.
[2007/06/27]
Unfortunately, my first report for the summer has
turned up empty. This is not surprising. Check back later in the
week.
[2007/06/24]
June 19, 2007, Canada Newswire reports that Toshiba
Canada has announced that despite an earlier battery recall effort, a
Toshiba portable computer with an original battery pack which had not
been replaced, caught fire on May 24, 2007. Be sure to check the
Toshiba website to see if your battery is affected. The replacement
is free of charge.
[2007/06/20]
June 15, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Highway
Safety & Technology has announced that they have developed
detection system based on electronic sensing equipment "which
can either be pole-mounted or installed on a mobile unit." The
company has applied for a patent.
Highway
Safety & Technology http://www.hwstusa.com/
[2007/06/17]
June 12, 2007, PR Newswire reports that nVidia(R)
Corporation has announced that its GeForce 8700M GT GPU is the
fastest of its GeForce 8M graphics processors and its "NVIDIA
PowerMizer(R)" technology "intelligently balances teh
user's need for longer battery life and performance."
[2007/06/17]
Despite hours of reviewing press releases, I found
nothing worth reporting at this time. Check back later in the week.
[2007/06/13]
June 7, 2007, Business Wire reports that Pepper
Computer, Inc. has announced that "Pepper Linux" will be
available for OEMs and ODMs developing Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)
on "Intel low-power processors and chipsets" in the Fall of
2007.
[2007/06/10]
June 4, 2007, Canada NewsWire reports that SanDisk(R)
Corporation has announced that it will market 64 GB solid state
drives in laptop computer configurations. The company expects them to
be available in the "3rd quarter". Prices were not provided
in the announcement.
[2007/06/06]
May 31, 2007, Business Wire reports that Lenovo
introduced its X61 series laptops and Tablet PCs, which the company
claims has improvements in battery life, "wireless performance"
and security. an X61 series "notebook" computer can be
bought for as little as $1,474 US. The computers will be available in
June, 2007.
[2007/06/03]
May 30, 2007, Business Wire reports that Palm, Inc.
has announced that its "Palm(R) Foleo(TM)" is "its
first smartphone companion product." Weighing about 2.5 lbs., it
is similar to a small folding laptop computer (it is said to have a
"10-inch screen"). Linux based software synchronizes with a
Palm Treo. Other smart phones might be supported in the future. The
expected price will be about $600 US, and it is expected to be
available sometime this summer.
[2007/05/30]
PR Newswire failed to provide any press releases for
Mar 26 - 29. Also, I had a problem with Business Wire and only
finished about half my research for Tuesday and failed to research
Monday. I might try to redo that work later in the week.
[2007/05/30]
May 29, 2007, Business Wire reports that Toshiba AIS,
Inc. has announced that in the 3rd quarter of 2007, Toshiba will
market laptop computers with AMD processors. No specific products
were announced.
[2007/05/30]
As will not come as a surprise, especially to people
in the US, there was nothing worth reporting for the end of this
week. The US Memorial Day holiday dominating the agenda for the
weekend, it is not really a surprise. Have a good holiday!
[2007/05/27]
May 21, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Western
Digital Corp. claims that its 250 GB WD Scorpio(TM) 2.5" Serial
ATA HD is currently the highest capacity drive in its form factor. It
is currently available at $199.99 US from the company's online store.
[2007/05/23]
May 17, 2007, Business Wire reports that FreshBattery
claims that their "UberPower(R)" line of batteries give up
to 75% longer run times and longer overall battery life than OEM
batteries.
FreshBattery
http://www.freshbattery.com/
[2007/05/20]
May 17, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Alcatel-Lucent
has been informed that a computer disc containing personal
information of its employees and retirees, prepared by Hewitt
Associates, to be delivered by UPS, has gone missing.
[Note:
There is no description of the type of disc. One assumes that it
would be some sort of optical disc. At any rate, it shows once again
that we are all at risk of identity theft, even if we are careful. If
someone else has the info, they have to be careful too, as well as
others who are entrusted by them, and so on. And that is not
necessarily something we can count on. -- JO]
[2007/05/20]
First, I should state that having looked through a surprisingly large pile of announcements, I did not feel that there was anything worth reporting. However, I will take this opportunity to clarify the situation regarding "Wi-Fi 802.11N". There are a number of announcements regarding Wi-Fi 802.11n ["N"] products. One of them claimed to be compliant with "N". It cannot be compliant with "N" because "N" does not exist. Only "Draft N 2.0" exists. That is to say "N" still has NOT been finalized. It has come a lot closer to becoming finalized, but that is all.
Does the "2.0" version of "Draft N"
mark a good time to buy into this technology? I would say that it
does indeed seem to be a good time to start using it. From what I
have read, if you are reasonably careful, you can buy a product with
good enough hardware that a minor upgrade will be all that is needed
to have a full "real N" device later. And from what I have
seen of the prices, even a complete replacement of some of the
devices will not cost all that much. So why not?
[2007/05/16]
The end of this week saw a few announcements of new
laptops, but nothing I felt was startling, so if you are in the
market then check your favorite brands. . . .
[2007/05/13]
May 9, 2007, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has
announced the immediate availability of Draft 802.11n firmware
upgrades to 2.0 level for its Xtreme N(TM) product line.
[2007/05/09]
May 8, 2007, Business Wire reports that HP is running
a special 2 day event in Shanghai, focused on its mobile computing
technology. [This appears to be bigger than most single company
events, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I do not normally
report such events. -- JO]
HP
Mobility Summit 2007 http://www.hpmobility.com/
HP
Mobility Summit 2007 Press Kit
http://www.hp.com/go/MobilitySummit2007
[2007/05/09]
May 7, 2007, Business Wire reports that Samsung
Electronics America, Inc. has announced that its Q1 Ultra "Ultra
Mobile PC" ("UMPC") features a split QWERTY keyboard
and 1024 x 600 screen in a 1.5 pound device. It is immediately
available at an MSRP of $799 US.
[2007/05/09]
May 3, 2007, Business Wire reports that AMD has
announced that its latest AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile processors feature
65nm Silicon-on-Insulator technology which combined with the new AMD
M690 chipset gives superior battery life.
[2007/05/06]
May 2, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Lexar has
announced that its "ExpressCard(TM) SSD" (solidstate disc)
cards come with "auto-backup" software. The cards come in
4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. Prices were not provided in the
announcement.
[2007/05/02]
I am not really certain when I bought my first flourescent light. It was probably around 25 years ago. I still use it, so I might be able to find out roughly when it was bought. It was a long time ago. Likewise, I am not exactly certain when my father converted some of the family home to flourescent. It was probably also around 20 years ago. He did not really finish the job, so I ended up buying a lot of those spiral bulbs over the last 10 years. In my own new home, I am looking over the situation and trying to convert completely over. The point is that in all the households that I know well, a lot of the easy conversion has already been done. The bad news is that if my experiences are at all typical, then there is a lot less room for electrical saving than what some conservationists seem to be saying.
The current Federal government wants to ban
incadescent lamps. Here is the problem that I see immediately. Your
oven light has an incadescent lamp. It is specially designed to
withstand a lot more heat than most lights, because it sits inside an
oven. The current spiral lights will not be able to take that kind of
heat. So will we all have to buy new ovens because we cannot buy oven
lights for current ovens? I expect that the Feds will be able to
correct that problem, hopefully before the legislation is tabled. In
fact, I would rather just see a tax put on incadescent lamps. This
would be in the range of a 100% tax (because the lamps are usually
very cheap in the first place).
What does all this have to do with "mobile
information technology"? The concerns of mobile technology and
"green" overlap a lot. They are not completely harmonious,
but they can get along fairly well. As I have pointed out above, I
have personally had "green" concerns going back to perhaps
25 years. So I am very aware of many aspects of these concerns, and
as the above shows, I can sometimes see things that others miss. I
have been considering raising them occasionally in these reports. So
do not be surprised if I start mentioning such things in the future.
[2007/05/02]
Apr. 25, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Acer America
Corporation has recalled about 27,000 Lithium-Ion batteries used in
various products sold from May 2004 through November 2006. If you
bought an Acer product during this period, see the company Website
for further details. [NOTE: No Acer product has caught fire so far.
-- JO]
[2007/04/29]
I have been making short reports about the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet for about a week and a half now, and even my first comments were after some time to think about it. So I have little left to say about the unit as sold (and having the lastest software upgrade).
There are some minor shortcomings that should be addressed:
There are 3 groups of system and application sounds with only 2 preset levels or "off" for options. Specific applications can fine tune sound output. The System "alerts" are a single group and depending on specific programming would likely include alarms such as telephone and alarm clock ringing. I would like to be able to set an alarm clock some day, so I tried leaving the "alerts" at "level 1". This is fairly quiet, but it is annoying that there are a panoply of noises that I do not want to hear. There are the usual GUI related sounds when the screen is shut down, or comes up, or even if the battery is charging. I do not think my neighbours can actually hear them, but then again, they are polite and would probably not mention it unless it became a regular event. There may be a way to turn off individual alerts, but I think as a group they should be separated from real "alarms" so I can shut them off.
I would like to have a display of the real time clock on the general display. It is a bit of a quirk of my home right now that I do not have may clocks around. So I found that I had to pull out my Palm TX from my pocket or get up and walk about looking for a clock, while using the Nokia 770.
The above are the only changes that I would request which would affect immediate usability for me. And the advantages would be common enough that I think Nokia should address them, even at this late a stage. A less important change for the immediate needs of users, which might also be addressed is the ability to play MP4 format video files. I never did get around to trying MP4 streaming. I do not currently look at any sites that support it. However, I do have a couple of MP4 video clips that came from different sources. Both play on my Playstation Portable (PSP). As far as I know, they should also play on the iPod series devices as well. I do not have an iPod so I cannot confirm it. However, both the PSP and the iPod represent very common technology, so one can expect that the MP4 video format is going to be significant for a very long time. Since Nokia has claimed MP4 capability (though with a warning that there would be versions of MP4 which would not work), I think that an effort to increase the MP4 support to cover common versions which are supported on either the PSP or iPod, would be worthwhile. This would enhance Nokia's reputation for producing well developed products.
Lastly, on the happier side, I can say that I
appreciated the ability to use Linux with Virtual Memory. This is a
much better experience than trying Web browsing on a Palm device, or
Windows Mobile or PSP. Full caching is supported, as is the ability
to open links in new windows, and bringing covered windows to the
foreground. I have a 2 GB MMC card, which is largely empty, and the
ability is claimed to enlarge the VM buffer beyond the default 64 MB.
[2007/04/29]
Nothing new worth reporting crossed my screens so far
this week. Check back next week.
[2007/04/25]
In my first post regarding the Nokia 770 I wrote that
it did not support BBC Radio2 "Real Audio" streaming media.
While reading other messages, I found one person who said it did
support this format. So I decided to try it again. It does in fact
work. The reason I was mistaken was because on most desk computers
(Windows and Linux), the stream starts immediately when the page is
loaded. On the Nokia, one has to click a button to call up the
special Real Audio screen and then click again on the Play button.
The player is quite good. It supports audio streams and multimedia
streams. I saw a Eurovision music video that was streamed in a low
resolution but with good motion and sound. I also saw a CBC-TV news
report in high resolution, but with a very slow frame rate (about 1
frame per second). Each of the 3 test streams were acceptable for me.
So Nokia's 770 has proven to be quite a nice device, and
fills a useful purpose.
[2007/04/22]
Apr. 19, 2007, Business Wire reports that Mozilla
Thunderbird(TM) 2 became available worldwide as a free downloadable
program.
[2007/04/22]
I have been disappointed by Thunderbird since its
beginning. I downloaded 1.5.0.9 and evaluated it as a replacement for
Eudora and Agent. It did not convert Eudora data very well. Some
"folders" were ignored, leaving the contained messages in
the main "inbox", which became huge. My addressbook did not
convert properly, which left it pretty much unusable. Regarding the
News reader function, (and this is a particular problem for laptop
users), as far as I can tell, there is no practical way to use it as
an "offline" News reader. A laptop user, like me, might
want to download a bunch of messages on a regular basis to read later
"offline", then write replies, and then upload them later
when a connection is available. Nothing mentioned in the way of
improvements seems to address these issues.
[2007/04/22]
I have been trying to test various formats of video
files on the Nokia 770. There does not seem to be much working. In
particular, I tried viewing an MPEG-4 demo video from Sony, which
runs on my Playstation Portable. It failed on the Nokia.
[2007/04/22]
I have been using a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet for a while now and this has been one of the most satisfactory pieces of technology I have tried in the past few years. I believe that it is now a discontinued product, replaced by the Nokia N800. Although I have not had an opportunity to try them, I would suggest that the PepperPad 3 and Nokia N800 Internet tablets are probably well worth their respective prices. The PepperPad 3, in particular, appears to be what would have been the perfect product for my needs and preferences. Unfortunately, it is currently not being sold in Canada. The screen size, device size and weight, and capabilities are all just about right. Unfortunately, its sales are hampered by one of the worst Websites I have seen on the Internet. After wasting time loading the site files, there is actually not much real information about the device. The better way to get information is from the "Linux Devices" website.
The Nokia N800 generally seems to be a fairly
straight forward upgrade of the 770, with the exception of the
addition of a built in camera. I am no fan of built-in cameras on
cell phones, but at least on this device, you should be able to
offload your photos without paying an extra charge on your cell phone
bill. The other problem of built-in cameras is that most people who
like to take pictures probably have a better camera that was bought
separately, and those with little interest in photography rarely use
these cameras beyond one or two pictures for the life of the device.
The two issues on the Nokia 770, which appear to still be a problem
on the N800 are:
1. The small screen. While the 800 pixel
resolution is adequate, many people would find the larger websites
illegible when viewed as if on a larger screen.
2. The short
battery life. I would have doubled the capacity of the battery. A
battery that starts off with only 3 hours life will eventually only
be worth 2 hours, and then eventually 1.5 hours. And even still, I
can see myself using the device over 3 hours within one day,
requiring mid-day recharging.
A Third issue is that it really needs more plug-in
support. The BBC Radio 2 broadcast that I occasionally listen to does
not work (Real Audio). Nor do most of the currently popular Flash
streaming video websites such as "MySpace" or "YouTube".
This might be corrected in the N800. I expect that the PepperPad 3
probably supports all these capabilities. And then again, maybe it is
better not to have them. One can waste a lot of time viewing such
distracting site.
[2007/04/18]
This week, I have to complain about Business Wire.
Performance during my searches was so poor, that I abandonned by
research after the first page. I will try again later in the week.
However, I see no reason to expect that I will find any significant
announcements. There might be, but do not know of anything special
happening at the moment.
[2007/07/18]
Apr. 15, 2007, Business Wire reports that Toshiba
America Information Systems, Inc. has announced that its Satellite(R)
A205 laptop computers can now be bought with Intel Wireless Wi-Fi
Link 4965AGN supporting draft 802.11n. Without Draft-N support, the
series can be bought for as little as $999.99 US, with Intel(R)
Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5300 (1.73 GHz).
[2007/04/15]
Apr. 9, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has
announced its Nokia N95 Multimedia Computer is now available in the
US. This Symbian based device features WLAN, EDGE/GSM and WCDMA/HSDPA
connectivity at a MSRP $749 US.
[2007/04/10]
Due to a slow-down of my Pathway Internet connection,
I had to abort my research. Luckily, I did not miss much -- only
about the last 10 - 20% of Apr. 8. I might try to complete the
research later.
[2007/04/11]
Apr. 8, 2007, Business Wire reports that Toshiba has
announced that its Satellite A135-S4527 laptop computer with 15.4"
diagonal "wide screen" computer is now available and
depending on configuration, priced under $800 US.
[2007/04/08]
Apr. 4, 2007, PR Newswire reports that D-Link(R) has
announced that its DWA-643 card is a WiFi Draft N device in an
ExpressCard(TM) package. It is now available for $119.99 US (MSRP)
online or at retail stores.
[2007/04/04]
Feb. 28, 2007, LinuxDevices.Com reports that Nokia
began shipping its replacement for the Nokia 770 Internet tablet in
January. The new Nokia N800 was shown at CES on January 8, 2007.
Software will not be compatible with the 770 device, but both are
Linux based devices and thus, much of the same software will be
available for both, simply by being compiled for each.
[2007/04/04]
It looks as though PR Newswire has a fairly
consistent problem at the change of a month. Yet again, I cannot
complete any research from their Website because they are not
reporting any items. If any company feels they have an announcement
that they want to have available to us reporters, well, you might
want to mention this problem to PR Newswire. Anyway, I was tight for
time this evening, so it does relieve that problem for me.
[2007/04/01]
Putting the above into perspective, I did not find
anything worth reporting from Business Wire, nor Canada NewsWire. I
do not expect that I missed anything significant from PR Newswire.
This does not make their failure to provide anything more acceptable
from the point of view of the people who write such releases
expecting those like me to read them, but from my point of view at
least I do not feel that we have missed anything this time.
[2007/04/01]
Mar. 28, 2007, Business Wire reports that AMD has
announced the availability of its AMD M690 chipset which features ATI
Radeon(TM) X1200 graphics and an significant reduction in power
requirements for longer battery life.
[2007/03/28]
Mar. 27, 2007, PRNewswire reports that Qualcomm
Incorporated has announced that its MSM7525 chipset for CDMA(R)
1xEV-DO Rev. A devices will be sampling in 2007 Q3 and that handsets
based on the chipset should be in production by the end of 2008.
[2007/03/28]
Mar. 22, 2007, Business Wire reports that Intel
Corporation has announced that the "Intel-powered classmate PCs
are shipping in volume to emerging market."
[I was surprised
to find that the processor in these laptop style computers was a 900
MHz device (no L2 cache) with 400 MHz FSB, which is quite fast. Then
again, there is no mention of a graphics processor, which would
really slow it back down again. -- JO]
Classmate
PC http://www.classmatepc.com/
[2007/03/25]
Mar. 19, 2007, Business Wire reports that IT Mill has
announced the release of its "IT Mill Toolkit 4.0" which is
a Java based server side development toolkit which supports devices
such as Nokia's "E series" phones. It is immediately
available and the price is 4000 Euros/server.
IT
Mill (Java based mobile application programming)
http://www.itmill.com/
[2007/03/21]
There was a report that PCMCIA showed new cards for
ExpressCard sockets at CeBIT, but I did not have time to look into
that further. I expect there will be more later in this week.
[2007/03/18]
Mar. 13, 2007, Canada NewsWire reports that SanDisk
has announced that its 2.5" format 32-gigabyte Serial ATA, solid
state drive is now available to comptuer manufacturers at a cost of
$350 US in large quantities.
[2007/03/14]
This week, there were some borderline interesting
annoucements from the big 3 Flash Card makers (Lexar, Kingston and
SanDisk) mainly in the range of 4GB cards. I could have noted them
individually, but I think I might as well simply say that if you are
interested, go check out their websites.
[2007/03/11]
Mar. 7, 2007, Business Wire reports that Socket
Mobile, Inc. has announced that its new Socket SoMo(TM) 650 is
intended to fill a gap between a consumer-oriented PDA and heavy duty
industrial devices. Running Windows Mobile 5.0, it has a QVGA
display, 802.11g Wi-Fi, 128 MB SDRAM, 256 MB Flash memory, and a 624
MHz Intel processor, at an MSRP of $648 US. It is projected to be
available in limited quantities in April, with mass production in
May, 2007.
[2007/03/07]
Mar. 5, 2007, PR Newswire reports that Panasonic
Communications Co., Ltd., has announced the availability of its
Panasonic "KX-WP1050" Wi-Fi phone for use with Skype(TM).
The phone includes a Wi-Fi base station that can be used without a
computer. The MSRP is $399 US.
[2007/03/07]
Mar. 05, 2007, Business Wire reports that Samsung
Electronics America, Inc. has announced that its new "Q1P"
Ultra-Mobile PC is its first UMPC to be certified for Windows Vista.
With a 1.0 GHz Intel Pentium processor, 60 MB HD and 1 GB memory,
weighing 1.7 lbs., it has an MSRP of $1,299.
[2007/03/07]
Mar. 1, 2007, Canada NewsWire reports that Lenov