Video Review : Apple iPad 2 First Impressions

notebooks on Mar 6, 2011 - Our first impressions and analysis of the iPad 2 after having attended Steve Jobs' keynote in San Francisco, California, where we also had some brief hands-on time with the tablet. Please note that while we were able to gain extended hands-on time at the March 2nd keynote and launch event, we do not have an iPad 2 on-hand to review at the time this video was created; please check back on or after March 11th for our complete review when we obtain a device for the Notebooks.com lab.

MORE VIDEO & REVIEWS

Nokia and Microsoft form partnership

Nokia has joined forces with Microsoft in an attempt to regain ground lost to the iPhone and Android-based devices.

The deal will see Nokia use the Windows phone operating system for its smartphones, the company said.

It means that Nokia's existing operating systems will be sidelined.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Nokia's chief executive Stephen Elop revealed that there would be "substantial" job losses as a result of the tie-up.

Nokia will remain "first and foremost...a Finnish company. Finland is our home and will remain our home," he said.

But job losses around the world, including in Finland, will be inevitable, he added.

Windows first

Speaking about the new partnership with Microsoft, Mr Elop said that "the game has changed from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems".

"An ecosystem with Microsoft and Nokia has unrivalled scale around the globe," he said.

BBC News | 11 February 2011 - read full post 

Hewlett-Packard unveils Palm-powered tablets

HP is putting its the web operating system front and centre of new products

Continue reading the main story

Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world's biggest technology company, is making a major play for the multi-billion dollar mobile market with a slew of products based on its own operating system.

At an event in San Francisco, the company announced two new phones and a long-awaited tablet computer.

HP's new TouchPad tablet will compete against Apple's iPad, Google's Android-powered machines and RIM's Playbook.

The TouchPad is based on the webOS operating system.

This was developed by Palm and bought by HP last year for $1.2bn (£745m).

HP is hoping its investment will pay dividends with tablet sales expected to soar to over 50 million in the coming year.

HP said the mobile connected devices market is currently worth $160bn dollars.

'Jumbo phones'

The Silicon Valley company that started life in a small garage is clearly betting big that products powered by its own operating system will give it a foothold in the sector and make it a force to be reckoned with.

BBC  | 9 Feb 2011  - read full report

Google eyes Apple in tablet war

Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley | 3 February 2010

Motorola's Xoom tablet will be the first built around the honeycomb release of Android

Continue reading the main story

Google has unveiled an operating system for tablet computers aimed at ramping up the competition with Apple's iPad.

More than 15 million iPads have been sold since Apple launched the gadget in 2010.

The latest version of Google's Android OS is called Honeycomb and it has been specifically optimised for tablets.

The features include the ability to buy applications from a computer, buy features inside the app, video chat and improved graphics.

"This is a serious investment of years of design and engineering to really nail the experience for a larger screen," Hugo Barra, Google's director of products for mobile, told BBC News.

"This is not a large phone - we wanted tablets running Honeycomb to not just be bigger but also to be better."

Motorola will be the first to bring a product running Honeycomb to market. Its Xoom device is due to go on sale this month, although a release date and price have not yet been revealed.

"Honeycomb brings Google closer to parity with Apple and underlines the battle between these two titans," said Ben Parr, co-editor of technology news site Mashable.

"Google has its strengths especially in the cloud, with their open source platform and integration with other Google products like Gmail and Google docs," he said. "But Apple has the design edge and a vast number of apps as well as a new iPad expected in the next couple of months."

'Big win'

Google's announcement of a web-based version of the Android market is one that is seen as long overdue

.Read full report :

Progress on tablet computer for developing nations

By Maggie ShielsTechnology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Click to play

Click to play

BBC reporter Maggie Shiels interviews OLPC's chief technology officer Ed McNierney.

Everybody is trying to grab a piece of the tablet action at the gadget geekfest known as the Consumer Electronics Show.

Among them, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, whose mission is to bring low-powered, low-cost devices to the developing world.

They have just launched a hybrid computer that turns into a tablet, but plan to release a dedicated device by 2012.

The new $165 (about £106) XO-1.75 laptop will start shipping after the summer to countries around the world to bring school children into the computer age.

Its precursor cost around $199 (about £128) and OLPC says around two million have now been distributed.

The big challenge with the new laptop was to reduce power consumption.

OLPC chief technology officer Ed McNierney told BBC News they have slashed the wattage from five watts to two by using low powered ARM-based chips from Marvell technology.

BBC News | 09 January 2010 - Read full report

Cr-48 Chrome Notebook Already Showing Up On Doorsteps! Free limited Quantity.

Two Days After Unveiling,

Ben Kessler woke up to an unexpectedsurprise on the doorstep of his New York home this morning: a Cr-48. Yes, the just-unveiled Google Chrome Notebook is already rolling out to those who requested one.

It was only two days ago that Googleunveiled that the Cr-48 would be the first computer featuring their new Chrome OS. Google was quick to note that the 12.1-inch machine would feature no branding and was simply meant to be a test machine for developers, students, and a few other demographics. They asked people to fill out a form here to request one of the limited-quantity Cr-48s.

MG Siegler| TechCrunch 9 Dec 2010

Acer To Reveal 5, 7, And 10-Inch Tablets Tomorrow.

Which Ones Will Run Android?

According to multiple sources, Acer is planning a special event tomorrow in New York to announce three tablets – one 5-inch (not much is known about it), one 7-inch (is expected to run Android 2.2), and a 10-inch (is expected to run Windows 7). Acer showed off a tablet several months back with a front-facing keyboard with a 7-inch screen; there’s a good chance this is the same productbut with some revisions.

The 7-inch tablet looks somewhat like a Kindle, mostly because of the front-facing physical keyboard, and could possibly be launching sometime before Christmas. It was also rumored to be running on the Tegra 2 processor with Android 3.0, but its release has been hastened in order to compete with the Galaxy Tab.

According to mysterious sources cited by Digitimes:

Acer has two internal opinions about the debut of Android tablet PCs, one is to delay the debut until after Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and Honeycomb (Android 3.x) are launched, the other is that an early debut will help compete with Samsung Electronics’ and Toshiba’s Galaxy Tab and Folio 100.

It’d be nice to see an Android tablet with the Tegra 2 processor launch here in the States, but there’s no word on Android Market access, which has quickly become one of the important issues an Android tablet has to deal with. As for the 10-inch tablet, I would venture to guess that it will indeed run Windows 7, and the 5-inch "tablet" will likely see the same path as the Dell Streak (i.e., it’s a giant phone). But who knows, maybe Acer is prepping its own awesome, 10-inch Android tablet.

Courtesy : AndroidPolice

First Look At The Jolibook: Cloudy With A Chance Of Lightning Speed (Video)

France-based Jolicloud‘s Jolibook will reportedly hit the (UK) market starting today at a £279 price point (roughly $380). I’m one of the first to have received a review unit, which runs the all-new version of the company’s eponymous Linux-based cloud OS, Jolicloud 1.1.

Still, Jolicloud 1.1 is the reason I’d recommend some people – not everyone, and mainly people who travel a lot and have made the switch to Web-based applications for most of their work-related or personal activities already . . .

We already noted some of the hardware specs, but here’s the full rundown:

- Intel Atom N550 processor (1.5 GHz, dual-core)
- 250GB hard drive
- 10.1″ screen
- Memory: 1GB
- Three USB 2.0 ports
- Jacks for mic, headphones, LAN and an external monitor
- 3-in-1 card reader

more of this on Crunch Gear :

More on the software :

Camera Buying Guide!

Jon Paula - Digital Camera information/review site :

CAMERA BUYING SUGGESTIONS:

Tablet PC for developing nations

The tablet version of the XO computer should be ready by 2012

The One Laptop Per Child organisation has been given a $5.6m (£3.5m) grant to develop a tablet version of its educational computer.

The cash comes from chip maker Marvell which became a supporter and sponsor of OLPC in early 2009.

The OLPC organisation said the grant meant it had all the development cash it needed to produce its next machine.

OLPC said it would show off the first development work on the new machine at the CES show in January 2011.

more news BBC News

Skype: hero of Estonia's economy

france24english | July 15, 2010 - SKYPE - The internet-telephone company hero of Estonia's economy.

Toshiba shows off touch-based netbook and new 3D laptop.

June 20, 2010 — Here Toshiba shows off a prototype of a potential new netbook with two touch screens, one for keyboard and a new 3D laptop (very cool for playing games.

Toshiba Fights Back With The “Touch” Netbook : more below...

Technology: what's next ? - TIME on the Tablet :

June 16, 2010 — This collaboration between The Wonderfactory and TIME Magazine shows how the magazine will evolve over the coming months on the Tablet.

Augmented Reality.

June 10, 2010 — An introduction to a new technology that adds a layer of useful information to the "reality" we see on screens of mobile phone and computers. This video can be licensed for professional use.

Apple unveils latest version of iPhone.

itnnews — June 07, 2010 — Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the iPhone 4 at a conference in San Francisco, but encounters a few technical glitches.