Sep 21

Microsoft Tablet Rumors Re-Surface

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili

You don’t really expect Microsoft to let Apple own the tablet space without a fight, do you? There have been a number of rumors bubbling around over the past year or so, involving the company’s top secret work in the space, reportedly led by Xbox/Zune guru, J Allard.

Among the evidence was that “magic wand” patent discovered earlier in the year. Microsoft’s Surface team is also supposed to be part of the mix–which, of course, makes a good deal of sense–after all, the Surface is, more or less, something of a giant tabletop tablet, right?

The project, which has been alternately referred to as Oahu and Alchemy Ventures, also seemingly gained a bit of legitimacy with the following Microsoft job ad for a Senior Program Manager,

Excited by Xbox 360? Fascinated by the technology that powers the Surface? Ever wonder how your Zune HD got built? Bring your talent and passion for building great products to the Manufacturing Test Engineering team! Our team is where all these cool products and more come together.

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Sep 17

Apple Dominates PCMags Service and Reliability Survey

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili

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It’s been a rocky year in the media for Apple. Analysts’ seemingly perpetual love affair with the company has hit a few snags, thanks to things like the company’s questionable vetting process for the iPhone and some less-than-spectacular product announcements. That said, if PCMag’s latest Service & Reliability study is to be believed, Apple users are still firmly behind the company’s products.

Apple dominated a number of categories in this year’s survey, including desktops, notebooks, cell phones, portable media players, and even routers. Sony made a couple of appearances on the list, and so did Verizon and Canon. Still, for sheer presence on the list, no one can touch Apple. Too bad there was no turtleneck category. I’m pretty sure Apple would have cleaned up in that one, too.

For the full rundown of the survey, check out PCMag.com.

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Sep 16

Netbooks: the Savior and Destroyer of the PC Market

Posted in: netbook, notebook, Today's Chili

Japanese Netbooks.jpgThe emergence of the low-priced netbook has meant two things for the PC industry: an increase in the number of consumer notebook PCs, and a corresponding drop in PC revenues.

That’s the inevitable conclusion of IDC, whose Quarterly PC Tracker concluded that overall PC sales fell by 2.4 percent versus a year ago, with revenues plunging by 19.4 percent. The culprit, of course, was netbooks (or mininotebooks, as IDC dubs them).. Naturally, the only growth was in the consumer notebook sector, with an increase of 44 percent in terms of units.

Commercial notebook shipments dropped 16 percent. But mininotebooks climbed by 26 percent, and traditional consumer notebooks climbed 13 percent. Desktop unit shipments fell by 17 percent, although IDC did not break out the segment further.

What does the future hold? IDC expects some of the netbook interest to be sopped up by the portion of the mininotebook category that will pay a bit extra for a consumer-low-voltage (CULV) microprocessor from Intel or AMD. But whether buyers will opt for pricier models or stick what what works is quite literally a multi-million-dollar question.

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Sep 15

Lenovo Brings Multi-Touch to Laptop, Tablet

Posted in: lenovo, Today's Chili, windows 7

Lenovo today announced that it will be adding multi-touch capabilities to its ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC and ThinkPad T400s laptop. The feature was announced in anticipation of Windows 7’s much celebrated multi-touch capabilities.

“We see now as the right time for multitouch screens on PCs,” Sam Dusi, a marketing VP for the company said in a statement issued today. “With touchscreens increasingly becoming part of more devices we use routinely and continued improvement of the technology including the integration of touch in the upcoming Windows 7 operating system, the environment for making touch part of our Tablet PC and ThinkPad T400s laptop experience couldn’t be better. We’ve also extended the touch experience with SimpleTap to make frequent hardware-based functions touch-enabled and simple.”

The T400s and X200 with multi-touch will run $1,999 and $1,654, respectively. Lenovo will offer SimpleTap for download on October 22, also the release date for Windows 7.

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Sep 02

Nokia 3G Booklet Gets More Specs

Posted in: netbook, nokia, Today's Chili

Earlier this week Nokia announced its entry into the netbook space with the Booklet 3G. The company hyped the device’s titular 3G connectivity, an estimated 12 hours of battery life, and a weight of 2.8 pounds. Also on the list were Wi-Fi connectivity, a built-in camera, an HDMI port, a 10-inch display, integrated A-GPS, an SD card reader, and Bluetooth.

The company shed some more light on the device at this week’s Nokia World in Stuttgart, Germany. The netbook is set to run Windows 7 on an Intel Atom processor. There’s a built-in SIM card slot and, not surprisingly, easy calendar, contacts, and media sync with Nokia handsets via Ovi Suite.

The Booklet has 1GB of RAM, and a 120GB 4200 RPM hard drive. There are three USB ports and an HDMI out.

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Aug 28

FBI Investigating Government Computer Gifts

Posted in: HP, Today's Chili

Someone sent HP laptops to government officials in 10 states. Sounds like a nice enough gesture, right? The FBI doesn’t think so. The organization is trying to figure out who sent the unsolicited gifts to the offices, over fears that they may be packed with malware.

“We were notified by the governor’s office that they had received the laptops and they had not ordered them,” West Virginia’s CTO, Kyle Schafer told Computer World. “We checked our records and we had not ordered them.”

The computers are being held by state police.

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Aug 26

Intel Arrandale Gets Previewed

Posted in: intel, Today's Chili

This week at the Hot Chips conference in San Jose, Intel revealed a bit of information about its upcoming Arrandale chip. Arrandale is set to offer two processing cores and graphics processing all in the same chip. It’s expected to be deployed on a wide spectrum of notebooks.

Arrandale, which is expected to offer lower cost and less power consumption, will likely begin shipping the first quarter of next year. Intel’s got a number of other chips in the pipeline, including Calpella, the next generation Centrino, due out next month, and Clarksfield, a high-end quad-core chip due out this fall.

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Aug 25

Asus Not Focused on Android Netbook

Posted in: Android, ASUS, Google, Today's Chili

Back at the Computex show in June, Asus was seemingly eager to show off its Android smartbook. Soon after, however, the company more or less stopped talking about the product. A few months later, we haven’t heard so much as a peep.

The company, it seems, has largely shifted away from any kind of an interest in such devices. “Currently, I still don’t see a clear market for smartbooks,” said the company’s CEO Jerry Shen during a recent conference.

Few, it seems, are focused on Android-based netbooks, including Google itself. The company was quick to promote the concept, but has since shifted a good deal of its focus toward the development of a Chrome OS. Until we hear more about Chrome however, it’ll be tough to say whether that new operating system will re-ignite companies’ interests.

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Aug 24

Nokia 3G Booklet Claims 12 Hours of Battery Life

Posted in: netbook, nokia, Today's Chili

Nokia knows a thing or two about portability. The Finnish mobile company has parlayed that knowledge into the release of the Booklet 3G, an Intel Atom-based netbook it claims can deliver up to 12 hours of battery life.

Announced today announced the 2.8 pound mini notebook, which features 3G/ HSPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, a built-in camera, an HDMI port, a 10-inch display, integrated A-GPS, an SD card reader, and Bluetooth.

The company will be releasing more details about the device, including availability and pricing, next week at Nokia World.

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Aug 19

Asus Releases Disney-Branded Netbook

Posted in: ASUS, Today's Chili

Asus on Wednesday released a Disney-branded netbook that will be available exclusively at Toys ‘R’ Us.

The Asus EeePC MK90 “Netpal” includes strict parental controls that allow parents to set limits on what Web sites are accessed, how much time they spend on the device, and what programs they add to the netbook.

The device was designed with kids in mind and include spill-proof keyboards. It comes in Princess Pink and Magic Blue, and includes customizable themes featuring popular Disney characters like Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Wall-E, and Club Penguin.

There is also Disney-branded software, including the Disney Mix music program, Disney Pix photo software, as well as games and widgets that launch from the Disney desktop.

It will retail for $349.99.

The MK90, which will be sold exclusively at Toys ‘R’ Us stores and online starting today, includes a 16GB solid-state drive and weighs 2.2 pounds. It also includes ShockShield data protection to safeguard against drops and falls.

Asus will also release another Disney-branded netbook that will not be exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us.

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