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HP Tablet Hobbled by Lack of WebOS Apps

By Fei on August 23, 2010

By Jeff Bertolucci
August 23, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Now that Hewlett-Packard has announced plans to release a webOS tablet early next year, its next big goal–in addition to building the device–is to persuade software developers to write apps for the mobile gadget. Given the early popularity of Apple’s iPad, as well as the imminent arrival of numerous tablets running Google’s Android OS, that task could prove challenging.

HP bought Palm in April for $1.2 billion, primarily for the smartphone maker’s webOS operating system. Critically acclaimed when it debuted in January 2009, webOS earned kudos for its elegant design and sophisticated features. Sadly, it had the misfortune of being paired with the Palm Pre, a very good smartphone that couldn’t compete against the Apple iPhone, a growing number of Android handsets, and the rest of the mobile pack.

The Pre’s main weakness? A lack of mobile apps, which were quickly becoming a huge draw for smartphone users. While the Pre’s App Catalog had some worthy offerings, it was losing a numbers game to the iPhone, which hosted tens of thousands of more apps. The Pre got slaughtered.

Tablets Are Coming

As HP prepares to launch its webOS tablet, the app battle is even more daunting. Apple’s iOS App Store has in excess of 225,000 applications, and the Android Market has more than 70,000. Of course, the vast majority of those iOS apps aren’t written specifically for Apple’s tablet. But the iPad’s proven popularity is a certainly drawing card for developers.
And Android? Again, those 70K apps may not be tailored for a tablet’s larger display, but the sheer number of Android tablets coming soon (from multiple manufacturers) is a bound to lure coders.

The webOS tablet, by comparison, is a single tablet from a single company–albeit a company that happens to be the largest computer manufacturer in the world. If platform-specific apps are as important to tablet users as they are to smartphone fans–and we’re talking about a pretty similar demographic here–HP has a big challenge on its hands.

Of course, a webOS failure wouldn’t hurt HP all that much. The behemoth plans to ship a Windows 7 tablet for the business market, and it certainly has the resources to launch an Android slate (or two) if the webOS tablet fizzles. But given Hewlett-Packard’s sizable investment in webOS, it’s unlikely that HP will bail on Palm’s prized OS anytime soon.

BitDefender 2011 beta released

By Fei on June 30, 2010

June 30, 2010

BitDefender has announced the public beta campaign for BitDefender Total Security 2011. While said campaign will be an opportunity for testers to get an exclusive preview of BitDefender’s upcoming release, testers will also get to play an active role in helping build a better security product for the market.

Among this year’s prizes from BitDefender include one Apple iPad and one Nintendo Wii. To qualify for prizes testers should read the new beta campaign rules, listed here.

For home and small-office PC users, BitDefender provides comprehensive protection against viruses, spyware, hackers, and other common e‑threats that can lead to identity theft, loss of personal data and slow system performance. BitDefender products utilize multiple proactive technologies to identify even brand new threats and attacks – not just a list of pre-existing viruses.

What’s New in BitDefender 2011:

New! Redesigned and streamlined installation. You install and configure BitDefender 2011 in one step without having to reboot your PC. It detects viruses before installing BitDefender and cleans your computer to ensure optimal usage from install time.

New! Search Advisor warns you about unsafe pages displayed in search results by checking each URL against the BitDefender online URL database.

New! Firewall Troubleshoot Wizard guides users and solves most common problems related to internet, printer or remote office (VPN) connectivity.

New! Performance Optimizer shows which applications are slowing down the PC and suggests corrective actions. The Optimizer includes memory and CPU usage gauges that show the last 60 minutes activity for each application running on your PC.

New! The protection level adapts to the processing power of your computer by adjusting settings to match the available memory and CPU type. This allows the user to fully be protected without slowing down the computer.

New! Basic and intermediate users can customize the dashboard by adding shortcuts to their favorite sections or actions.

Improved! Smart Schedule provides maximum performance with system load analysis so tasks like on-demand scanning are suspended, to free-up resources for other processes, such as a media player or games.

Improved! Improved usability with typical (easy) vs custom tune-up options.

Improved! Select the interface that best matches your security needs and knowledge. Basic, Intermediate, and Expert users can select the interface that best suits their needs. Most sections of the product have been redesigned to support basic and intermediate users.

Thinner Kindle — Coming Soon?

By Fei on June 1, 2010

By James Mulroy
June 1, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – For those of you who think that the Kindle’s 1/3 of an inch thick architecture is just too thick, you may be able to check out a new slimmer Kindle come August this year. According to a Bloomberg.com article, Amazon.com plans to introduce the next version of the Kindle electronic-book reader.
The Kindle is a fashionably slim e-book reader that weighs in at only 10.2 onces, or lighter than your typical paperback book. It has 3G Wireless worldwide, and an impressive paper-like display that truly looks like paper, even in bright light.

Besides the book-sized Kindle, Amazon markets a magazine-size Kindle DX. But apparently another model is in the works.
According to Bloomberg via two people who wish to remain anonymous, “The device will be thinner and have a more responsive screen with a sharper picture” and “The new Kindle won’t include a touchscreen or color.”

As a matter of fact, Amazon states that while color prototypes are in the works, they are not ready for production. The two people who wish to remain anonymous are reportedly close to Amazon’s plans but do not wish to be public because the plans are not yet public.

For an added bonus, the Kindle uses its state of the art e-paper technology, giving the Kindle up to a week of battery life with the Wi-Fi on (much shorter than the Apple iPad LCD screen competitor) and the delay between page turns will also be shortened in the new version.

Apple’s iPad hype machine rolls into action at the Oscars

By Fei on March 9, 2010

By Dan Nystedt
March 9, 2010

TAIPEI – Apple chose the Oscars on the ABC television network to air its first iPad commercial on Sunday night in the U.S.

The Cupertino, California, company kept the ad simple, showing the device set on someone’s lap and being used for a range of activities, from viewing pictures to surfing the Internet and reading e-books. The commercial has already been posted on YouTube.

Apple often chooses high profile TV events to place ads for its products. The company unveiled the Macintosh personal computer during Super Bowl XVIII in its popular 1984 commercial, for example, and has also aired iPhone commercials during past Oscars.

The iPad, a 9.7-inch touchscreen computer with no physical keyboard attached, is due out in the U.S. on April 3, though people can pre-order the device starting Mar. 12, according to Apple. A version of the iPad with Wi-Fi only will be available initially in the U.S., with 3G-enabled iPads coming out later in April.

The device will be out in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. in late April, the company said last week.

Gigabyte chases iPad with ultra-connected laptops

By Fei on March 5, 2010

By Matt Egan
March 5, 2010

LONDON – Primarily known as a motherboard manufacturer, Gigabyte is determined to own the laptop space. Here at the CeBIT tradeshow, Hannover, the vendor is showing off a series of inexpensive laptops that it thinks will negate the need for Slate PCs such as the upcoming Apple iPad.

When is a Slate PC not a Slate PC? When it’s an ultra-connected netbook, or ultraportable PC, with a docking station. At least that’s what manufacturer Gigabyte is basing its ‘year of notebooks’ on.

Gigabyte has a range of products that a spokesman told us combine inexpensive price, 3G connectivity and a bundled docking station. This, Gigabyte says, improves the portable-computing experience beyond recognition.

The aim is to provide a desktop experience at home or in the office, and portability on the road, in some cases putting a second graphics card in the docking station. According to Gigabyte, that means that an inexpensive netbook could be your primary PC.

First, Gigabyte showed us the Gigabyte M1000 netbook. At first glance this is nothing new: a Windows 7-based netbook with a basic Intel Atom spec, 10.1in screen and up to 2GB RAM. 3G and Bluetooth come as standard, and there are a variety of colours and finishes. Input is noticeably impressive: a 90%-sized chiclet qwerty keyboard, and a multitouch track pad. But the M1000 gets interesting only when it is combined with Gigabyte’s docking station.

In the case of the Gigabyte M1000, this means multiple monitor output, a battery meter and just about every connectivity port you can think of. The dock also charges the laptop. The whole bundle will cost only £239 inc VAT, and Gigabyte thinks that with full-sized PC peripherals and displays, it will replicate the performance of an entry-level Dell desktop PC.

Further up the scale is the Gigabyte M1305. This 13in thin-and-light laptop is aimed at the MacBook Air market, with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 chip, and up to 4GB DDR3 RAM taking care of performance, and a 500GB hard drive for storage. There is fingerprint- and facial-recognition security, HDMI, DVI and D-Sub connectivity, and sharp, high-end styling.

In this case the docking station includes a discrete graphics setup: an Nvidia GeForce GT220 chip. This allows users to travel light, enjoying decent portable performance, and then hook up to multiple monitors at home, and play games. We had a go at 3D gaming on the M1305, and were really impressed with the results. The M1305 and docking station will cost from £899 when it becomes available in the UK in April, putting it well within the reach of fans of the MacBook Air: a product it resembles.

Gigabyte makes all these products itself, from Gigabyte-manufactured components, which it says allows it to keep costs down.

Enter Nintendo’s DSi XL versus Apple’s iPad?

By Fei on February 26, 2010

By Matt Peckham
February 26, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Pretend for a moment that the Nintendo DSi was a third larger with bigger LCD screens and a blizzard of new apps, including one that let you read eBooks. Would you consider it an iPad contender?

Neither would I, but you have to admit, it’s getting harder to tell Nintendo and Apple apart when it comes to projecting where they’re plotting to be in a year or three.

In any case, you can stop pretending: The DSi XL, which Nintendo released as the DSi LL in Japan last November, will debut in the US on March 28 for $190, just 20 bucks more than the standard-issue version released last April. According to Nintendo, the screens will be 93 percent bigger, too, though the display resolution of 256 x 192 per LCD won’t change.

The purpose of the XL thus seems to be twofold:

Off the record, to cater to older gamers or anyone with visual issues for whom a larger screen would be a boon. Like my very farsighted father, who loves stuff like Brain Age and Tetris, but wears reading glasses to play (and even then, he’s squinting).

And on the record, to lure gamers who want more of a “social experience,” by which Nintendo says it means gamers huddled around–or attracted by–the unit’s larger screens.

“This product really fills a gap between portable play and the kinds of social experiences that up until now had only been available on consoles,” said Nintendo America executive VP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway at a news event.

But let’s get back to eBooks, because the DSi XL will also include a reader which Business Week calls “similar to products from Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Sony Corp.”

What’s there to read? Not much initially, just a $20 package called “100 Classic Books,” presumably stuff from writers like Melville, Swift, and Twain. And while we’re sure to see more recent stuff from mainstream publishers if the XL takes off, even Nintendo’s playing down its eBook designs. Dunaway apparently told Business Week it’s “not really about trying to take on the eBook market,” but adding “one more way to enjoy your device.”

Sorry Nintendo, I know you’re trying to avoid being evaluated as an eBook contender, but what you’re up to–all this multifarious non-gaming stuff–still sounds suspiciously like Apple’s in-between-y strategy to me.

Nothing wrong with that. If anyone has the mettle and mindshare to keep a company like Apple on its toes, it’s Nintendo…right?

LifeBook T4410: Good Touch Features, But A Little Too Heavy

By Fei on February 11, 2010

By Nate Ralph
February 11, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Fujitsu’s LifeBook line has produced some impressive contenders among tablet PCs, and the Fujitsu LifeBook T4410 rates as a solid and versatile performer for business users. With a glut of multitouch-friendly tablets (including the vaunted Apple iPad) promising to revolutionize the way we compute, it’s easy to forget that convertible laptops have been around for a while now. The LifeBook T4410 ($1299 for the configuration we tested) may not match the low prices of those “other” tablets, but it has the advantage of being a fully functional laptop, too.
The T4410 houses a 2.2GHz T6670 Core 2 Duo CPU; 2GB of DDR3-1066 RAM; and a 160GB, 5400-rpm hard drive. Running Windows 7 Professional (32-bit), the T4410 earned a mark of 86 on our WorldBench 6 test suite. That’s a scant three points higher than its older sibling, the Fujitsu LifeBook T5010, which ran Windows Vista Business edition on similar components. We timed the unit’s battery life at almost 4.5 hours, putting slightly above the average for all-purpose laptops.

Like the T5010, the LifeBook T4410 is built for business. The screen’s bezel accommodates a 2.0-megapixel Webcam, a pair of microphones, a fingerprint reader, a pair of speakers, a sliding power switch, and five customizable shortcut buttons. It looks a bit cluttered when you work in standard laptop mode, but the logic becomes clear when you fold the screen down, and everything remains readily accessible. The screen’s orientation can be shifted with the push of a button–handy for switching from portrait to landscape mode, or for adjusting to suit left- or right-handed users.

The chassis is sturdy, and the screen swivels smoothly, without feeling flimsy. The T4410 also offers a fair number of connectivity options, scattered about the base: three USB ports, a four-pin FireWire port, HDMI and VGA outputs, gigabit ethernet, multiformat card reader, and an ExpressCard slot. The DVD burner is housed in a modular bay, and you can replace it with a second battery (at extra cost) if you need to spend more time away from the power outlet. The speakers are predictably subpar–this is a business notebook, after all–so if audio playback is important to you, you’ll want to pick up a pair of headphones or a proper set of speakers.

I found the 84-key keyboard comfortable to type on, with reasonably quiet and evenly spaced scissor keys. The undersize function keys make some tasks a bit of a chore, and the lack of dedicated media keys is disappointing, but overall the experience is still pleasant. The T4410′s trackpad is less impressive. Though smooth and responsive, it is a bit narrow and lies flush with the armrest; inevitably, touch-typists who have large hands will graze it, sending their cursor flying and making extended typing sessions frustrating.

But never mind the trackpad: You’re here for the touchscreen. If you enjoy writing on dead trees and have yet to dabble with Windows 7′s excellent handwriting recognition, you’re in for a treat. The T4410′s 12.1-inch display sports a resolution of 1200 by 800, and is large enough to write on comfortably. The recognition program adeptly translates all but the most doctorly of scribbles, and the T4410′s lightweight stylus (with eraser nub) stows handily into the base of the chassis. Spring for the optional dual digitizer, and you’ll get a capacitive multitouch screen. Multitouch gestures (also courtesy of Windows 7) are snappy and responsive, and the dual digitizer adds just $100 to the price-tag–a paltry surcharge for a device whose price starts at $1200.

Though Wacom supplies the display, the device lacks the pressure sensitivity of a proper Wacom tablet: Casual photo touch-ups and doodling in GIMP work well, but don’t expect to find a full digital canvas. Though the screen is bright and evenly lit, colors appeared muted, with greens and blues losing much of their luster. Screen glare can be a problem if your work take you outdoors, though the visibility is fine in low-light and under standard fluorescent office lighting. The display supports 160-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angles–an important consideration when you fold it down into its tablet mode.

Like the T5010, the T4410 comes tantalizingly close to being an exceptional digital note-taker, but a few concerns remain. The device still gets a little too warm–by no means hot, but potentially uncomfortable if you hold it aloft for extended periods of time–and it’s still a bit too heavy. Our test model with the included optical drive weighed 4.6 pounds, which may not sound like a lot, but can become quite burdensome if you hold it in the crook of your arm for very long.

I’d like to see Fujitsu ditch the optical bay altogether. You’d lose some of the machine’s functionality, but the concomitant improvements in portability and comfort would outweigh the loss of the DVD burner. Though the Fujitsu LifeBook U820 made a potentially excellent companion, the costs of miniaturization were too high: Windows Vista, an Atom processor, and a tiny 5.6-inch screen made the device at sluggish and difficult to use. Conversely, the T4410 is a bit too large, but delivers performance on a par with standard laptops while offering superior functionality through its stylus-friendly touchscreen. Until Fujitsu (or a competitor) offers a convertible laptop that straddles the line between netbook and all-purpose laptop, fans of touch who insist on having a proper keyboard should add the LifeBook T4410 to their short list of candidates.

iPad Study: The More You Know, The Less You Want One

By Fei on February 9, 2010

By David Coursey
February 9, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – The more people know about the iPad, the less they want to buy one, according to a study released Friday. But, are we expecting too much?

The study seems to confirm the iPad as Apple‘s least exciting announcement in years. And the company is feeling the backlash that comes from not delivering on the hype.

Retrevo, an online marketplace for consumer electronics, surveyed 1,000 of its customers and found that the iPad’s Jan. 27 announcement did more to snuff out customer interest than to spark it.

That’s not surprising when all Apple introduced was just a supersized (and superexpensive at the high end) iPod touch. My friend and fellow pundit Larry Magid described as the iPad as “underwhelming.”

I agree, the iPad is underwhelming, especially as a business device. And the more people heard about the iPad, the less they wanted one, according to Retrevo.

“The word definitely got out as the number of respondents saying they had heard about the tablet rose from 37% shortly before the announcement to over 80% after the media frenzy on January 27th,” Retrevo said Friday in a blog post.

“Unfortunately for Apple, the number if respondents saying they had heard about the tablet but were not interested in buying one, doubled from 25% before the announcement to over 50% following the announcement.”

Of course, that 50 percent who are interested is plenty to make the product a success, provided many of them actually become buyers. (Learn more about the study in this story by Greg Keizer).

I think we may be being a bit hard on the iPad. I still don’t think it will become a big enterprise computing tool, even if it does “run” Windows 7 (as a virtualized desktop). I also don’t think traditional mobile line-of-business applications–think your UPS driver–will start carrying iPads.

But, entertainment, gaming, and e-reading, especially in education, could still make the iPad quite a winner.

Apple already has the ecosystem in place–developers, content, shopping–to make the platform immediately useful when it arrives. The iPad appears to be an excellent e-reader, though I said that about the Nook before it shipped, too. In this case, however, enough pre-production iPads have been around that I feel pretty confident.

I still don’t feel the need for an iPad, but I do expect to invest in an e-reader soon and am glad I didn’t get a Nook for Christmas. Now, I want to wait a bit and see how the devices, content pricing, and content availability shake-out. At some future moment, the combination of e-reader features/content and interesting apps (not available on my iPhone) could convince me.

So, while I don’t see an iPad in my immediate future, I am closer to buying one–or perhaps a competitor–than I was before the announcement. I still wouldn’t say I want an iPad. But, I see how I might be convinced in the future.

Yes, You Can Run Windows 7 on an iPad

By Fei on February 1, 2010

By David Coursey
February 1, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Want to run Windows 7 on the new Apple iPad? Citrix says it will soon be possible–at least virtually–using a new version of its Citrix Receiver software.

Promised to be ready when the tablet computer ships in March, Citrix says the new software, based on the current iPhone version, is a response to questions about how the iPad might find a home in the enterprise.

“If your company has XenDesktop or XenApp you will be happy to know you will be able to use your iPad for real work as well,” wrote Citrix Vice President Chris Fleck in a company blog.
“It turns out the 9.7 inch display on the iPad with a 1024×768 screen resolution works great for a full VDI XenDesktop. Windows applications run unmodified and securely in the data center, and even multiple applications at once.”

Citrix says the iPad’s larger screen solves many of the challenges users’ faced because of when using the iPhone with a virtualized Windows desktop. (Which sounds pretty painful, if you ask me).

“The iPhone restrictions of screen size and small keyboards are overcome with the iPad. The iPad looks to be an ideal end-point device that can empower users to be productive wherever they are and IT will be able to safely deliver company-hosted virtual desktops and apps without worry,” Fleck wrote.

While it might be interesting to add iPads to a company’s enterprise environment, Fleck admits the new Receiver software might also be a way for customers to justify the purchase of tablets that employees will buy anyway.

“Let us know how you’re going to put it to work,” Fleck writes, concluding his post, “Even it’s just to rationalize buying another gadget.”

The iPad isn’t likely to be perfect for many business apps, besides presentations, but companies already supporting virtualized desktops many find applications and users that make sense for Apple’s new tablet.

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