Didn’t you notice? It was just Nokia World! But with profits plummeting and executives fleeing—both at alarming rates—maybe it should have been a reckoning instead. More »
Currently available only to folks with a Intel-processor based netbook running Windows (talk about a very specific target audience), AppUp will sell Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight applications, as well as apps from Barnes & Noble, KONAMI, Accuweather, and Gibson Guitars.
The store will offer free and paid apps. There will be a “try before you buy” option to weed out undesirable apps.
OpenPeak brought us one of the first Atom-based tabletphones at IDF 2008, but it may have passed on the torch in more ways than one — this year, it’s Gemtek’s turn to show off a Moorestown machine with Linux on board that shares a host of design cues. Who-copied-whoms aside, we have to say the “IP Media Phone” is a mildly intriguing device, combining a DECT cordless handset with a 7-inch MeeGo tablet, the latter ready for both VoIP and video chat thanks to an integrated webcam and mic, and has full home automation controls thanks to 4Home software and a built-in Z-Wave radio. 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connects it to the base station / charging dock, which has room for two USB ports, an ethernet jack, and an SD card slot, while the tablet itself features mini-HDMI, mini-USB and a headset adapter plus an SD card of its own. Though the glossy fingerprint magnet of a capacitive touchscreen left much to be desired, laggy to respond to our press, we were told the tabletphone’s an early prototype with wholly unfinished hardware. If history’s any indication, expect to see the final form thoroughly rebranded when it likely arrives in the first half of next year.
Gemtek’s Moorestown tablet comes with a DECT phone, runs MeeGo and controls your home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Small always-on handheld devices equipped with low-power sensors could signal a new class of “context-aware” gadgets that are more like personal companions.
Such devices would anticipate your moods, be aware of your feelings and make suggestions based on them, says Intel.
“Context-aware computing is poised to fundamentally change how we interact with our devices,” Justin Rattner, CTO of Intel told attendees at the company’s developer conference.
“Future devices will learn about you, your day, where you are and where you are going to know what you want,” he added. “They will know your likes and dislikes.”
Context-aware computing is different from the simple sensor-based applications seen on smartphones today. For instance, consumers today go to an app like Yelp and search for restaurants nearby or by cuisine and price. A context-aware device would have a similar feature that would know what restaurants you have picked in the past, how you liked the food and then make suggestions for restaurants nearby based on those preferences. Additionally, it would be integrated into maps and other programs on the device.
Researchers have been working for more than two decades on making computers be more in tune with their users. That means computers would sense and react to the environment around them. Done right, such devices would be so in sync with their owners that the former will feel like a natural extension of the latter.
“The most profound technology are those that disappear,” Mark Weiser, chief scientist at Xerox PARC and father of the term “ubiquitous computing” told in 1991 about context awareness in machines. “They are those that weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life.”
Making this possible on PCs has proved to be challenging, says Rattner. But the rise of smartphones and GPS-powered personal devices could change that.
“We now have the infrastructure needed to make context-aware computing possible,” says Rattner.
The next step is smarter sensors, say Intel researchers. Today, while smartphones come equipped with accelerometers and digital compasses, the data gathered from these sensors is used only for extremely basic applications.
“Accelerometers now are used to flip UI,” says Lama Nachman, a researcher at Intel. “But you can go beyond that to start sending human gait and user behavior.”
For instance, sensors attached to a TV remote control can collect data on how the remote is held by different users and build profiles based on that. Such a remote, of which Intel showed a prototype at the conference, could identify who’s holding the remote and offer recommendations for TV shows based on that.
Overall, context-aware devices will have to use a combination of “hard-sensing,” or raw physical data about a user (such as where you are), and “soft-sensing” information about the user, such as preferences and social networks, to anticipate needs and make recommendations. This creates the cognitive framework for managing context.
On the hardware side, context-aware computing will call for extremely energy-efficient sensors and devices. Devices will also have to change their behavior, says Rattner.
“We can’t let devices go to sleep and wake them up when we need them,” he says. “We will need to keep the sensory aspects on them up and running at all times and do it at minimum power.”
So far, context-aware computing hasn’t found commercial success, says Intel. But as phones get smarter and tablets become popular, the company hopes users will have a device where apps disappear and become part of the gadget’s intelligence.
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Photo: Intel CTO Justin Rattner holds up a prototype sensor that could help enable context aware computing in devices/ (Priya Ganapati/Wired.com)
The light at the end of Intel’s Tunnel Creek? The E600-series platform. As expected, this is an Atom-based system on a chip designed for embedded devices, offering up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated USB and gigabit Ethernet support, plus an Ion-enabling PCIe bus. The processor itself is a 45nm chip available in speeds ranging from .6 to 1.6GHz, too slow to really rock anyone’s proverbial socks, but these could make for a some mean little MIDs or perhaps a hot infotainment system for your next-gen Camry.
Intel retires Tunnel Creek codename, debuts E600-series Atom System on a Chip originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Intel CTO Justin Rattner just described a future where your devices know more about you — not just “where you are,” but “where you’re going,” to use his words. Intel’s working on a context-aware API that uses not only physical smartphone and tablet sensors (like accelerometers and GPS) but also “soft sensors” including social networks and personal preferences to infer what you’re doing and what you like, and deliver these inferences to a “context engine” that can cater to your tastes. It’s presently being tested in an app by travel guide company Fodors on a Compal MID that dynamically delivers restaurant and tourism suggestions based on these factors, and also in a social cloud service (demoed on a prototype tablet) that can show you what your friends are up to (using game-like avatars!) on the go. Rattner told us that the API itself is not quite like the typical experiments out of Intel Labs — while there aren’t presently plans to make the API publicly available, he said the context engine was made to commercial software standards specifically so it could become a real product should the technology pan out. In other words, Intel just might be agreeing to do all the heavy lifting for a new generation of apps. How sweet.
Intel testing context-aware API for smartphones and tablet PCs, teams with Fodor on dynamic travel app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Don’t expect any new swivels (ahem, Dell), but Intel’s education-focused Classmate PC nonetheless learned a few new tricks at this year’s IDF 2010. First up is battery life, a six-cell lithium-ion energy source “so students may be able to work all day long on a single charge” also helped by the latest 45nm Intel Atom processor (we’re pretty sure that means Pine Trail and not that other newcomer). There’s additionally more ruggedness in the form factor, allowing for added protection on 70cm “desk heights” drops, increased water resistance of at least 100cc of liquid, and an antimicrobial coating for a cleaner environment.
Intel’s Clamshell Classmate PC now more rugged and longer-lasting originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We knew AMD planned to upstage Intel in San Francisco this week, but we didn’t realize just how far Chipzilla’s rival would go — the company’s demonstrating the power of its new Zacate APU by having it trounce an Intel Core i5-520M in a graphical superhero showdown. Though we’ve never really thought much of Intel’s integrated graphics anyhow (though we’re giving Sandy Bridge’s technique the benefit of the doubt), watching a netbook part beat a 2.4GHz Core i5 at anything is truly something else. While AMD won’t speak to the clockspeed or price of its new dual-core chips, it says the 18W Zacate and 9W Ontario should appear in devices with over 8 and 10 hours of battery life respectively when they likely ship to consumers early next year. Video after the break.
Gallery: AMD Zacate and Ontario, eyes-on
AMD throws down gauntlet, pits Zacate netbook chip against Intel’s Core i5 in City of Heroes duel (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Boy, did Dell show just off the craziest device on stage at Intel’s IDF 2010 day two keynote. What started as a tablet device converted to a netbook just by opening to the keyboard and literally swiveling the screen from within the frame. This hybrid’s got a 10-inch screen, houses a dual-core Atom N550 and runs Windows 7 Premium. And if it looks at all familiar, that’s because we saw something eerily similar in a leak from April (hello, Sparta). No price given and Dell isn’t providing us any more details, but it should be released by the end of this year.
Update: It ain’t pretty, but we managed to bum rush the stage and get some footage of the Inspiron Duo during as it made its transformations to and from a keyboard-equipped existence. It’s after the break… along with a press photo!
Update 2: And now we’ve got a much clearer video for your enjoyment. Check it out!
Update 3: Dell sent over a pretty hefty press photo, so we decided to break it down piece-by-piece. To the gallery!
Dell’s Atom-powered Inspiron Duo: 10-inch netbook / tablet hybrid with a crazy swivel (update: more video and detailed press photo!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’re sitting here at Intel’s IDF 2010 day two keynote, and the company just announced its evolution of the Atom CE series for set-top boxes. The aptly-titled the CE4200 (formerly codenamed “Groveland”) is an evolution of the CE4100, based on 45nm Atom architecture and now capable of H.264 video encoding. Four partners have been announced, including Samsung, ADB, Sagemcom, and Technicolor. Of course, CE4100 is really just starting to take hold, and given it was announced at last year’s IDF, we’re not holding our breath on seeing these in the immediate future.
Intel CE4200 ups its set-top game with 3D support and H.264 HD encoding originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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