Tablet PC 2 -News Archive September 2006

Samsung Electronics will introduce an upgraded version of its Q1 ultra-mobile PC with extended battery life, high-speed cellular and a new processor.

The Q1P, a successor to the Q1, will extend battery life to five hours and connect to cellular networks based on high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), Gee Sung Choi, president and chief executive of Samsung Digital Media Business, said Friday at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.

The device, to be available in the fourth quarter, will also be equipped with a processor from Via Technologies instead of Intel, which supplied technology for the first model, a company spokesman said.

You know wireless broadband is getting ubiquitous when even Ford pickup trucks are equipped with tablet PCs hooked up to the net. That's the case with Ford, launching its FordLink system for F-series pickups that consists of a tablet PC running Windows XP that's connected to the vast tubes of the Interwebs.

Tablet personal computers present a new frontier in the field of teaching and learning technology, and Lin Qiu of SUNY Oswego's computer science faculty is one of the pioneers.

He has received grants from Microsoft Research and Hewlett Packard, totaling

nearly $114,000, to develop software and acquire equipment that will help computer science and software engineering students get immediate feedback on their classroom work on tablet PCs.

He is working with four computer science and human-computer interaction students on the two projects.

A tablet PC is a laptop computer with the added capability of converting into a flat tablet or notebook whose screen students and instructors can hand write and draw on with a pen-like stylus. It has a natural application in computer software design classes, where diagrams are a step in the process of creating computer programs.

The Hewlett Packard "Technology for Teaching" grant comprises $58,314 for equipment, including 20 tablet PCs for classroom use, and $15,500 for software development. Qiu's HP project is titled "Using Mobile Technology to Facilitate Learning by Doing and Critiquing in Software Engineering Classes."

He received the $40,000 grant from Microsoft Research as part of its program for enhancing the computing curriculum for higher education by integrating tablet PC technology. His Microsoft project is titled "Developing Tablet-based Tools for Teaching Concurrent Programming."

Have a UMPC and a GPS unit? If so, and you want a new way to track your movements while on the go, check out this Software InkShow about GPS.RADAR Origami Edition by JGUI Professional. GPS-RADAR

GPS.RADAR Origami Edition was created to make use of the portability of a UMPC. With this program you can attach your USB or Bluetooth GPS unit and get a file that will load directly into Google Earth or Google Maps. The interface is very easy to use with buttons that are perfect for touch or pen. While this is still an early Beta program, I didn’t have any problems getting things up and running.

There are many features in GPS.RADAR that were not covered in this InkShow. Items such as direct upload to an internet server or integration into Google online maps. The full list of features and functionality are listed on the product page.

Those that use Tablet PC know that Microsoft has integrated terrific hand writing recognition software into the operating system. What’s different about Tablet PC handwriting recognition versus that in Windows Mobile, is that in Tablet PC, the whole word is considered rather than each letter. That means, if you forget to dot your “i” or cross your “t,” the system will guess the word you’re trying to write based on the other letters that it can decipher. We’re also hearing that in Windows Vista Tablet PC edition, the hand writing recognition will be even better, with learning capability.

Marc Orchant and James Kendrick are happy to bring you show #28 to talk Tablet.

James is really excited about the new Fujitsu Loox P70T/V, the refreshed model of the P1510D. It's got a PC Card slot! Will it make it to the US? We hope so. Is there a help program for neophiliacs? James gives a recap of the Tablet PC Webinar that was hosted by Allegiance Technology Partners recently. Can you live without a keyboard? The inking duo give their thoughts on that question that many people ask. The rest of the show is spent discussing Vista RC1 that was just released and how it might affect Tablet owners. With Vista on the horizon should you buy now or wait for the Vista release? Marc recommends trying the Aero Glass skin in Object Desktop 2007 (his Near Vista Experience) to determine if Vista's new Aero Glass interface will help you in your work. Listeners who are testing Vista on your Tablet PCs be sure and submit those bug reports so Microsoft can fix any issues that remain in Vista. Rounding out the show Marc tells us about his experience dealing with the Internet Explorer 7 team to squash a bug. If you are running Vista on a Tablet PC we want to hear from you. Let us know what you think of it so we can share with everyone.

Microsoft has announced pricing and features for the Windows Vista operating system, including which versions will be suitable for Tablet PC users.

Tablet PCs may be ready to grow beyond some very narrow vertical niches. Industry-wise, they have been popular with healthcare and financial computer users. Tablet PCs can also be found in places like an auto dealership garage, where service managers use them to compose service orders for customers.

The long-delayed Vista may follow along to those places too. Microsoft's statement about the broadening of its Vista Release Candidate 1 testing program included some information of interest to Tablet PC users:

IT directors have deployed laptops, PDAs and even tablet PCs to provide end-users with the ability to input data when they are out of the office, but there is another option.

However, in most cases, Gartner sees digital pens as a stopgap that will ultimately be replaced with handwriting recognition on tablet PCs or other mobile devices.

Jackie Fenn, an analyst at Gartner, expected digital pens to be used in specialist application areas. She said, "I expect the tablet PC will become a very common device and will be much more useful than the digital pen."

Marc Orchant and James Kendrick are happy to bring you show #28 to talk Tablet.

If your looking for a universal remote that is easy to setup, and that you don't need to be a rocket scientist to use, look no further. The Logitech Harmony 659 Advanced Universal remote can do it all.

Unlike universal remotes of the past that take hours to set up and program the Harmony 659 connects to your Tablet PC with an included USB cable and is set up over the internet.

HP's award-winning lineup of reliable, easy-to-use business notebook and tablet PCs with enhanced security are now available with Intel Core(TM) 2 Duo processors(5) for improved performance and the ability to run more applications simultaneously. Model numbers include the 9400, 8400, 7400, 6400, 6300 and 4400 series. Already Windows(R) Vista Capable(6) for investment protection, HP's new business notebooks are further optimized for Vista with 64-bit computing power.

Delphi's new wireless truck diagnostic tool provides diagnostic operations such as ECU identification, vehicle information, read & erase diagnostic fault codes, monitoring of ECU parameters, component activation and configuration/calibration. It utilizes a Vehicle Communication Interface (VCI), a tablet PC running the user-interface software and a set of diagnostic cables that cover all vehicle makes.

Australian software developer De Data has completed the roll out of its Purveyance field sales force automation system on an Ultra-Mobile PC.

Bringing Technology to the Classroom and Community

From smart-card-accessible lockers to a Tablet PC for every student (including wireless access at school and broadband access at home), the school incorporates advances aimed to expand the whole educational experience. The technology is an integral part of bringing together the students, teachers, parents and community and not just a parade of new gadgetry. A rigorous planning process allowed the school district and the community to identify the educational needs first and then determine where and how technology could address them.

Knowing the location of resources and users as they access the wireless network is becoming increasingly important. Being able to track the physical location of wireless devices facilitates a variety of innovative applications.

Such intelligent environments could be the "next big thing," with a paradigm shift from "anything, anytime, anywhere" to "right thing, right time, right place." Consider the example of a large, multi-facility hospital. A doctor, equipped with a tablet PC, which she uses to access patient records and images in real time, is conducting her patient visits. As the doctor moves from the general patient unit into the intensive care unit, the location-aware network senses her movement and instantly instructs the underlying data network to adjust its quality-of-service (QoS) settings to help ensure that she has the highest level of bandwidth priority. In this way, even the largest image file receives guaranteed delivery when it matters the most.

I gotta tell you folks, this thing feels really good in my hands, and I am looking forward to

integrating it into my lifestyle. It feels solid, well built, and I think the configuration has been done well by TabletKiosk.

Please let us know if there are questions you have, and we will get answers to you as soon as possible!

Samsung Q1 SSD is in da house!

Be vewy, vewy quiet. Hear the hard drive spinning? Me neither, because the Samsung Q1 SSD that appeared on my doorstep today doesn’t have a hard drive. The SSD stands for Solid State Disk and this baby packs a 32 GB SSD in place of a regular hard drive. The SSD is as quiet as, well, RAM. The good folks at iCube were nice enough to loan me the Q1 SSD for a few days and I will be offering my impressions of the Q1 as a UMPC and the SSD as a state of the art mobile PC. I’ve only had the Q1 for a few hours but I can tell you so far this baby is really fast! It does not feel like a Celeron powered device at all and I attribute that to the SSD. Everything I do happens without hesitation or the famous disk thrashing, even though it only has 512 MB of memory. Make sure you don’t miss the soon to be released episode of the MobileTechRoundup podcast where we conducted an on-air boot time race between the SSD and Kevin’s Q1 with a hard drive. The winner was not surprising but the margin of the victory was shocking to say the least. I will post some pictures of the Q1 SSD as soon as I find the USB to connect my camera to the PC. It was last seen before the move to the new Mobile Tech Manor. The Q1 SSD looks exactly like the other Q1s anyway, it just has the phrase “Solid State Disk” in the upper left corner

In response to growing customer demand for additional diagnostic coverage, Delphi is launching its wireless truck diagnostic tool solution.

Delphi's new wireless truck diagnostic tool provides diagnostic operations such as ECU identification, vehicle information, read & erase diagnostic fault codes, monitoring of ECU parameters, component activation and configuration/calibration. It utilizes a Vehicle Communication Interface (VCI), a tablet PC running the user-interface software and a set of diagnostic cables that cover all vehicle makes.

Quick impressions of the Samsung Q1 SSD
jkontherun

So where the heck has jk been the past few days? Certainly not blogging on jkOnTheRun, that's for sure. Well, since I may only have the Samsung Q1 SSD for a few days I decided to immerse myself with it to give it a “real world” shake. I have been using only the Q1 for the past 2 days to find out if it could cut the mustard for me in my work. You may recall I have been openly calling for a Tablet PC with a 7 inch screen for a long time and now that I have one in my hands I want to put it through its paces by really using it. I am going to post a detailed review (maybe even some video) covering the Q1 SSD in the next few days but wanted to share some assorted quick impressions now that I've used it for a little while. I haven't taken a lot of photos of the Q1 SSD yet because it looks just like the other Q1s that have appeared here and elsewhere, but I will in the full review. So here are my impressions in no particular order (after the jump):

1. The SSD is still very fast, even after loading all my productivity applications, e. g. Microsoft Office 2007 beta 2. Even with Windows Desktop Search installed I am not seeing the noticeable performance hit that exists on all 3 of the other devices I've loaded with the beta.

-AuthenTec, the world leader in biometric fingerprint sensor security, innovation and sales, today won the Wall Street Journal's 2006 Technology Innovation Award for IT Security and Privacy.

AuthenTec was selected over 600 companies considered worldwide for the prestigious innovation awards. Companies were judged by whether the innovation represented a breakthrough from conventional ideas or methods in its field, whether the innovation goes beyond incremental improvements on technologies that already exist, among other criteria.

With more than 10 million sensors in use worldwide, AuthenTec is the recognized volume supplier leader of biometric fingerprint sensors -- shipping nearly two thirds of all sensors sold in the PC, wireless and access control markets during the past five years.

AuthenTec sensors are used in 150 different models of notebook and tablet PCs, including those made by 7 of the world's top 10 PC manufacturers.

Accela Wireless™: Given the agency's broad jurisdiction, TRPA plans to utilize Accela Wireless to streamline the work of its inspectors -- and save them valuable time -- by empowering them to remotely input results from inspection sites using a mobile device. The Accela Wireless application, optimized for Intel® Centrino® Mobile Technology, is compatible with PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs running on the Microsoft Pocket PC, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating systems.

First look at Fujitsu P1610 - Hugo Ortega
ubertablet.blogspot.com

This week I must have done the reverse of walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror. First I got to upload the world’s 1st ever look at a RaonDigital Vega – Ultra Portable PC (UPPC), and today, as part of my “Australian Tablet Guy Duties” I have been graced with a new arrival from manufacturer Fujitsu.

Fujitsu has been manufacturing Tablet PC and dedicated to the space longer than anyone else. Their range is synonymous with quality and style, and as a result of a phone call I received yesterday I am pleased to post the First ever look at the new Fujitsu P1610 (designed to supersede the Fujitsu P1510).

Specifications - Chalice (codename) P1610:

Yonah ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) U1400 Pentium M - 1.2 GHz
512MB (mini SO-DIMM, still only one slot)
80GB 1.8" HDD
8.9" WideXGA Resistive Touchscreen
MDC, LAN, FingerPrint, TPM, Bluetooth, WLAN, Intel 3945ABG, UMTS antenna (that's the 3G bit), G sensor, US Keyboard, Pen and Battery.

Fujitsu Notebooks Again in Top Ranking for Overall Customer Satisfaction in 19th Annual PC Magazine Reader Survey
Market Wire

Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation today announced that is has repeated its strong showing in PC Magazine's 19th annual Reader Satisfaction Survey. The Fujitsu line of high-performance and reliable mobile notebook computers shared top honors in best overall satisfaction among PC-Windows based notebooks. Fujitsu scored above average overall results for the third consecutive year.

The PC Magazine article states, "Clearly, Fujitsu has its act together."

A leader in mobile computing, Fujitsu offers a complete line of LifeBook high-performance notebook PCs ranging from powerful desktop replacements to ultra-portable and convertible notebooks to fit the needs of every mobile user, from professionals to gaming enthusiasts. Fujitsu Stylistic® Tablet PCs offer unsurpassed levels of flexibility, productivity, and performance with both pen and keyboard inputs.

Bluebeam Software Releases v. 4.7 and Renames All Desktop Products
Business Wire

Bluebeam Software, a leader in PDF solutions for CAD users, announced today the release of Bluebeam PDF Revu v. 4.7, to help its customers share, collaborate and review documents more efficiently. Bluebeam users can create PDF files from CAD and Windows applications and view, markup and edit PDF files quickly and easily to improve productivity.

Bluebeam has renamed its portfolio of desktop products and now offers three editions of Bluebeam PDF Revu - Standard Edition for MS Office, general CAD and Tablet PC users, AutoCAD Edition for users of Autodesk AutoCAD products and a SolidWorks Edition.

"With the release of version 4.7, Bluebeam delivers its most robust PDF solution yet. Bluebeam is focused on providing PDF products that offer a complete set of tools for markup, editing, viewing, redlining and creating PDF files; it made sense to change the name to Bluebeam PDF Revu," says Richard Lee, President and CEO of Bluebeam Software, Inc. In addition to PDF viewing, markup and editing features, Bluebeam also installs buttons in Microsoft Office, AutoCAD and SolidWorks for one-button PDF creation, batch and advanced file conversion options.

Turn your Tablet PC into a PhotoCopy Machine
Whatisnew.com

The fun of using a new product like the Tablet PC is coming up with new ways of doing things. Here is one idea that may alter the way you think about making photocopies of books, newspaper clippings, sheet music, recipes, genealogy documents, and other printed documents.

In this article I'll show you how to use a digital camera and your Journal-enabled Tablet PC to photograph printed documents and "import" them into Journal as electronic collections that you can markup, highlight, or clip (using the Microsoft Snipping utility).

September 13, 2006

Babson Profs Win HP Grant For Teaching With Tablet PCs
Babson College Athletics News

Babson College Professors David Kopcso and William Rybolt have been awarded the Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant for their project: Transforming Teaching and Learning with Tablet PCs.

The project will evaluate the educational effectiveness of using Tablet PCs which are laptop computers whose screens allow hand-written entries to be captured in real time. Two sections of Babson College’s required MBA-level quantitative methods course are being used as a test bed to assess the impact of Tablet PCs. In one section students as well as the professor will be using Tablet PCs while in the other only laptops will be used. In the Tablet PC section, the instructor will use the wireless Tablet PC as an alternative to writing on the blackboard. In both sections, the instructor will obtain real time feedback from students in response to questions via the Internet, and results will be displayed on the instructor's PC. The instructor can then use these results to redress unclear or confusing issues or redirect the dynamics of the classroom.

Panasonic Introduces Three New Business-Rugged Toughbook Notebooks
Business Wire

Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, the leading provider of durable, reliable Panasonic CF-Y5 wireless mobile PCs, today introduced three new business-rugged Panasonic(R) Toughbook(R) notebook computers: The ultraportable CF-W5, tablet alternative CF-T5, and the thin-and-light desktop replacement CF-Y5.

Toughbook T5: A Tablet PC Alternative with Extremely Long Battery Life

Unique to the Panasonic Toughbook T5 is a 12.1 inch touch-screen LCD as well as a durable frame with a sleek, compact design and an ergonomic hand strap. Equipped with an ultra-low voltage processor, the T5 offers increased battery capability which translates into more than ten hours of life while weighing only 3.5 pounds. These features, combined with the touch screen and the included image rotation software, make the T5 ideal for use offsite and in the office.

Cool new Tablet PC app
ZDNet

Thanks to Warner over at GottaBeMobile.com for the tip on this. Graphite is a drawing program that allows you to generate Visio-style diagrams using digital ink. I use Visio a lot in my work and, frankly, it's not a very Tablet PC-friendly application. Graphite looks like a great way to augment Visio with and ink-friendly environment for capturing ideas quickly.

September 14, 2006

Tablet PC Time
pcmike.com

It's a good thing my wife dfoesn't read my blogs because I'd be in big trouble Tablet PC Mike confessing this to you.

I bought another computer. This one is a new Fujitsu T4210 Tablet PC. I've had Tablet PCs before and been impressed. But never enough to make them my main mobile companion. But as I've read and browsed various Tablet PC portals I've been noticing new features and software and bit the bullet again.

Bill Gates has repeatedly said that he believes the Tablet PC is one of the key platforms that personal computing will gravitate around and that Microsoft is commited to making tablets more versatile and popular. I still haven't seen him match that cheerleading with real marketing but I can say that tablets make a lot of sense. They are very fast. The model I have is a convertible, meaning it has a regular keyboard or, if I flip the screen around, can be used with a stylus to transofm my handwriting into digital ink, much like a pad of paper.

Microsoft Posts Free Office 2007 'Save As PDF' Add-on
TechWeb Technology News

Microsoft Corp. Wednesday posted add-ons for Office 2007 that allow users to save files in the electronic paper PDF and XPS file formats, making good on a promise after it stripped the features from the suite under pressure from Adobe Systems Inc.

In early June, Microsoft announced it would drop the "Save As PDF" and "Save As XPS" features from Office 2007, the application bundle upgrade slated to ship late this year to enterprises and in early 2007 to others. Then, Microsoft cited legal pressure from Adobe, a partner and rival, as the reason for dumping the functionality.

Handango Announces the 2006 Handango Champion Awards Winners
PR Newswire

Handango, the leading provider of mobile content, announced the winners of the Handango Champion Awards at the sixth annual Handango Partner Summit.

At the awards ceremony, Handango also recognized seven content providers with "Developer of the Year" awards for outstanding software development, committed customer care and innovation. The winners of the Developer of the Year awards are:

* Tablet PC: Agilix Labs, Inc

Next Gadget for Rewarding One-self
Geekzone

So far, my heart is leaning towards TabletKiosk eo i7210. Why? Wel.. it has added plus for being a full-blown OS running Windows XP Tablet PC with TouchPak, which allow me to run Outlook in full, and the "assurance" of having all my files and media with me while on the move. It is relatively small and looks pretty cool. And pair it with Vodem, I can basically get my daily email catch up and messaging anytime, anywhere. Though it will mean I need to implement a way to "hide" Vodem, but I got a brilliant idea, velcro will be my friend and using the USB cable to connect the two together while act as the antenna for HSDPA connection. SWEET!

ictQATAR ushers in e-Schoolbag
Peninsula On-line

doha • ictQATAR, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication, yesterday announced the start of the first phase of its ‘eSchoolbag' project which is being carried out at Al Wakra Independent School for Girls.

Initially, 200 seventh-grade students from the school will receive Tablet PCs to be used inside the classrooms where they can learn independently at a more creative level to gain an understanding of the subject matters and to continue interacting with their respective teachers from home.

The ‘eSchoolbag' package will provide each student with a Tablet PC that allows for digital inking technology like note-taking, sharing and editing information electronically.

Dell May Give Its Notebooks Some Tough Love
Channel Insider

Dell thinks some of its customers want notebooks that are a little tougher.

While speaking at the company's Technology Day here on Sept. 12,Alex Gruzen, general manager of Dell's Product Group, famous for standing on one of Dell's new Latitude machines to demonstrate its chassis' strength, said that the Round Rock, Texas, PC maker has been studying the idea of expanding its notebook lineup with a "rugged" model and a tablet PC.

The company, which could potentially offer one or both products as soon as 2007 continually looks at new mobile technology—it's even studied the Ultramobile PC space, according to Gruzen—and recently it has seen greater potential in the two areas of the market.

Dell sees similar potential for tablet PCs, he said.

The PC maker has sold tablets made by other manufacturers, such as Motion Computing, but it has not yet offered one of its own, due to what it feels is a fairly limited opportunity for it.

However, based on the fact that Microsoft has now said that it will include tablet PC features—now part of a special Windows XP Tablet Edition—with a standard version of Windows Vista, Dell believes tablets will become more attractive to buyers, Gruzen said.

"Until now, [the tablet market] has been just way too limited" for Dell, Gruzen said.

Indeed, analysts have predicted that tablet shipments will increase over time but by 2009 will still total fewer than 5 million units, a relatively small figure when compared with overall notebook shipments.

However, once tablet features are available inside Vista, the market "starts to look interesting," Gruzen said.

With the change in how tablet features are presented, manufacturers such as Dell have the potential to make their standard notebooks more tablet-like versus offering a specialized tablet PC product that could change the prospects of the computer category, analysts have said.

United Physicians to Enhance Patient Safety and Reduce Reduce Prescription Drug Costs with e-Prescribing
PR Newswire

With e-prescribing, United Physicians members will use a wireless tablet or desktop computer to write and electronically transmit prescriptions instantly to pharmacies. Handwritten prescriptions -- which can be misread or illegible -- are eliminated with e-prescribing. Doctors using e-prescribing receive alerts to patient drug allergies, drug interactions and therapeutic duplication. They can access insurance plan eligibility and formulary compliance, authorize renewals and refills, and easily track a patient's medication history. A doctor can perform these e- prescribing functions while seeing a patient or away from the office. "Using e-prescribing has improved our office workflow by significantly reducing phone calls to and from pharmacies related to prescriptions," said United Physicians member and pilot participant Gary Langnas, D.O., of Oakland Medical Group. "The features related to patient safety, such as drug interactions and formulary information, are very helpful."

September 15, 2006

CEDIA 2006: HomeLogic Controlling Everything From UMPC, Motorola Q
Gizmodo.com

HomeLogic has finally found a suitable task for ultra mobile PCs (UMPC), those solutions looking for a problem that have been pretty much useless up until now. Why not run the all-encompassing HomeLogic OneHome home control software on a UMPC? Heck, the Samsung Q1 shown here can do everything the HomeLogic's own touchscreen does, plus kinda do PC-ish stuff, too.

2technology: Origami

The first generation of UMPCs will run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, but future models will run a version of yet-to-be-released operating system Windows Vista. They will feature a 7-inch touch-screen display and a 30-60 gigabyte hard disk drive. Some models may include built-in GPS, webcams, fingerprint readers and TV tuners. WiFi connectivity is likely to be a must.

There is speculation mobile phone network operators may also choose to support the sale of UMPCs with built-in cellular connections and may end up subsidising the cost of the devices. It will be possible to attach a standard keyboard via a USB port or, wirelessly, using Bluetooth.

Erasing chalkboards via high tech
Providence Journal

In at least one local school, the days of the traditional chalkboard are numbered.

This month, courtesy of Hewlett-Packard, Washington Oak Elementary School started using tablet PCs in five of its classroom. Picture a laptop computer without the keyboard; students and teachers write on the screen with a stylus, and an image of what's written is projected on an overhead screen.

Hewlett-Packard, the software and computer giant, annually awards high-technology equipment to schools under its "HP Technology for Teaching" initiative.

This year, Washington Oak was one of 130 public schools nationwide to share $4.5 million worth of equipment. It was awarded a $35,000 package that, besides the tablet PCs, included a multimedia projector, digital camera printer/scanner/copier and software.

For lessons yesterday, students in Deborah Kolling's third-grade class used the PC tablet, which lay on a small table in the center of the classroom.

Students individually completed various English exercises on the tablet, picking out punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors in a group of sentences and editing them. Kolling wrote the sentences in blue script, while the students made the corrections in red.

Once the lesson is done, the students get a printed copy, in their own handwriting, which gives them a sense of shared ownership in the completed product and helps the learning process, Kolling said.

"It's more engaging for them," said Kolling, a teacher for 28 years, 18 in Coventry. "The children will have a copy that is more personal. They are already invested here."

Student Kyle Willett, 8, appeared fascinated. When Kolling asked if Samantha Falkowski had found all the errors, Kyle jumped out of his seat and skipped over to the PC tablet to flag something his classmate missed.

September 18, 2006

Review : Toshiba Tecra M7-S7331 Tablet PC
TabletPC2.com Exclusive

The Tecra M7 offers something for everyone. From the casual user who wants a full functioning Tablet pc to the Power user who wants it all.....

Always on the cutting edge the Toshiba Tecra M7 is the worlds first 14.1 TFT WGA+ Screen with Tablet PC Support. While a 14.1 inch screen isn't meant to be carried around all day, it does offer users the ability to watch movies and work on intricate graphics with out eye strain

A 14.1 TFT WGA+ Screen , 1.66 GHz Intel® Core™ Solo Processor, built in DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive and an 100 gigabyte hard drive make Toshiba's Tecra M7 Tablet PC an excellent choice for anyone who wants a Tablet PC that can be used as a desktop replacement with multimedia capabilities.

Real time with the TabletKiosk eo i7210
gottabemobile.com

The TabletKiosk eo i7210 Ultra-Mobile PC returns in a real life run through!

Okay, so I have had this unit for a week or so now, and had a chance to spend some time using it. What I decided to do for this InkShow was a quick and real run through using some screen recordings to show you what is actually on this thing.

I spend a few minutes looking at the installed apps and utilities, and giving some general commentary on hwat seems to work for me and what doesn’t. So if you are curious about the TabletKiosk Ultra-Mobile PC, or just about Ultra-Mobile PC's in general, check out this InkShow for a real world few minutes with a unit.

Watch the InkShow (22:55 minutes, 110mb, .wmv streaming or direct download.).
Visit the TabletKiosk website for more on the eo i7210

"Award Winning" InScribe 2007

Free Text Entry Program for Your UMPC and Tablet PC

InScribe is a fast and easy way to enter text on your UMPC or tablet PC, offering several methods of text entry, so you can find the one that is fastest for you. With InScribe, you can resize and customize your keyboard any way you want, saving new layouts or adjusting your keyboard as you work.

Features of InScribe

With InScribe as your keyboard you can:

Tap Through the Keyboard

Shrink and Restore Your Keyboard Easily

Choose Your Own Layouts

See Your Work Behind the Keyboard

Work How You Want

More Origami devices coming soon
PC Advisor

Asus will begin selling its first UMPC (ultramobile PC), the R2H, worldwide by the end of this month, while Samsung is readying one that eschews Intel microprocessors in favour of Via chips.

Asus's UMPC is designed with all the functions of a laptop, including a folding typing pad, as well as other devices, such as a GPS (global positioning system) so it can sit on the dashboard of a user's car to map the way home.

The R2H runs Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet Edition OS on a 900MHz Intel Celeron M

Although the suggested retail price of the R2H bound for the Taiwan market is TW$36,800 (about £600), it will come in different configurations users can choose from, so prices will be flexible. Asus will offer models with different-sized hard drives, ranging from 20GB to 60GB in capacity. The standard edition will come with just a two-cell battery, for about two hours of use before needing a recharge. Users will be able to select a four-cell battery as well, at an added cost.

The device is Windows Vista-compatible.

The company also launched a tablet PC, the R1F, and expects to produce a total of 3,000 units of the two devices each month, said Benson Lin, head of sales in the Asia Pacific for Asus, at a news conference in Taipei.

Samsung is readying an UMPC with a 7in screen that uses a 1.0GHz Via C7 microprocessor, but hasn't set a launch date.

The device, called the Q1B, will come with 40GB of storage space, WLAN and Bluetooth, and will weigh 3.7kg, according to Samsung's website.

The Q1B will come with a better battery than the R2H, a three-cell battery offering up to five hours of life before needing a recharge. Samsung is offering an upgrade to a six-cell battery at an additional charge.

Ink Analysis and Input Supplement for the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Development Kit 1.7
SysAdmin.it

The Ink Analysis and Input Supplement for Windows XP Tablet PC Platform SDK adds two new components to the Tablet PC development kit:

Ink Analysis
A COM layer for the StylusInput API.

The Ink Analysis APIs combine ink classification and layout analysis with powerful handwriting recognition technology, enabling you to create applications that understand and respond to ink in ways that are unique to Windows Tablet and Touch Technology.

September 19, 2006

FranklinCovey Releases PlanPlus(TM) 4.0 for Microsoft(R) Outlook(R FranklinCovey Makes Microsoft Outlook Project Friendly
Business Wire

today announced the release of PlanPlus(TM) 4.0 for Microsoft(R) Outlook(R), an upgrade to the company's planning and information management application for desktop, notebook and Tablet PC users running Microsoft Outlook. Franklin

PlanPlus 4.0 for Microsoft Outlook, which enhances Outlook by seamlessly integrating the proven planning methods from FranklinCovey within the Outlook application, has multiple new features, including a new Project Manager, a new user interface, new Palm(R) applications and new Windows(R) Mobile(R) applications. The software was created in collaboration with Agilix(R), FranklinCovey's development partner.

Tablet PC users will continue to have digital ink support for taking notes in their own handwriting within the PowerNotes note taking and note management module.

-- Tablet PC device required to utilize some digital ink and pen input features in PowerNotes

Asustek announces availability of R2H UMPCs and R1H tablet PCs
DigiTimes

Asustek Computer on September 18 announced the availability of its two tablet PCs, including a 7-inch tough-screen Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC), the R2H. Another model is a 13-inch tablet PC, which is being built based on Intel's Core2 Duo platform, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.

According to market sources, the R2H is priced at higher than US$1,000 per unit, in contrast to a unit price of about US$500 targeted by Microsoft, which has been pushing for a UMPC standard with Intel.

Targeting the in-car segment, Asustek aims to ship a combined total of 3,000 units of the R2H UMPCs and the R1H tablet PCs a month, Benson Lin, president for Asia-Pacific at Asustek, was quoted by the Commercial Times as saying.

September 20, 2006

Toshiba updates notebook drivers for Vista RC1
jkonthrun

No updates for the M200 Tablet PC series, but Toshiba now has Vista RC1 drivers for the:

M400
Qosimo G35
Tecra M4 and M5

If you have one of these models running Vista RC1, you'll want to take a look at Toshiba's support page . There are updated drivers for Bluetooth, hardware buttons, the touchpad, fingerprint reader, Intel chipset and more.

Secrets about keyboards
The Tide

Research is being conducted that would replace the keyboard with a means of using voice or handwriting for input. Current technologies based on these types of input are inaccurate because people pronounce and write words very differently, making it difficult for a computer to recognise the same input from different users. However, advances in this field have led to systems that can recognise a small number of words spoken by a variety of people. In addition, software has been developed that can be taught to recognise an individual's handwriting. The Tablet PC, a modern notebook form of laptop has adopted this technology.

HP enhances business notebook portfolio with latest dual-core
AME Info

HP Compaq 4400 series - This versatile series is ultra-light, power-packed, adaptable to the way users work and configurable as either a notebook PC or a convertible tablet PC. As a Tablet PC, the tc4400 is a full-function notebook with the added convenience of handwriting input.

All of these HP notebooks with Intel's new Core 2 Duo chip are now available.

Professors and laptops vie for students' attention
Princeton University The Daily Princetonian

Just as the ringing of cell phones in class was once the distracting bane of most professors' existence, instant messages cropping up on screens is the modern day equivalent. Stories of varied reactions abound — everything from Dayanik's friendly acknowledgement of the situation to one professor slamming a laptop screen on a student's fingers.

Merrill, the student in Dayanik's class, uses a tablet PC to ta

Samsung Q1 SSD is in da house!

Quick impressions of the Samsung Q1 SSD jkontherun

First look at Fujitsu P1610 - Hugo Ortega ubertablet.blogspot.com

Tablet PC Time pcmike.com

Features of InScribe

Toshiba updates notebook drivers for Vista RC1 jkonthrun

Quick impressions of the Samsung Q1 SSD
jkontherun

First look at Fujitsu P1610 - Hugo Ortega
ubertablet.blogspot.com

Tablet PC Time
pcmike.com

Toshiba updates notebook drivers for Vista RC1
jkonthrun