Filed under: Handhelds
Still confused about the whole MID thing? Fret not, as you’re certainly not alone in nodding your head furiously up and down. About the recent Bossaconference 08, one particular fellow managed to get some quality face time with Ubuntu Mobile and Moblin and break things down in bulleted fashion. Put simply, the former is a handheld (read: not phone / desktop) Linux OS that’s optimized for touching and meant to be seen on 4- to 7-inch displays. As for the latter, it’s merely a “project site for embedded Linux development,” not an operating system in and of itself. Think you’re ready to get schooled further? Tap the read link and dust off that Trapper Keeper.
[Via jkOnTheRun]
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Filed under: Handhelds
You know what’s great? Synergy. We’ve had an OS crush on Android ever since it was first rumored, and of course the Nokia N810 has been warming our hearts for a good while now with its mysteriously useful QWERTY-tablet powers. Put the two of them together and we’re practically beside ourselves with joy. If you’re feeling gutsy you can try it for yourself with the handy tips over at eLinux.org, but we’re content to watch this magic from the sidelines for the time being.
[Via Talk Android]
Update: Looks like eLinux is down at the moment, here’s a cached version. [Thanks, Mail]
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Filed under: GPS, Handhelds
Although officially unveiled at Intel’s IDF forum last week, the UI of Lenovo’s Ideapad U8 MID has remained a bit of a mystery. Oh sure, we saw the teaser video. However, that vid was all flash based animation. Now we’ve got the real goods thanks to the folks at PCHome.net. That ain’t Windows kids, the U8 features a sexy Lenovo-grown UI which has us asking when we can get our hands on it outside of China… and for how much? Unfortunately, you’ll notice some serious lag between finger touch and application launch in the video posted after the break. We’ll attribute that to what we presume is a prototype device — certainly it can’t be the fault of Intel’s highly touted new Atom processor could it?
P.S. Anyone speak the native tongue found in the video? We distinctly heard “SSD,” “WiMax,” and “SIM card” mentioned, all of which would be new details.
Update: Helpful readers Riceman and rdy0329 provided us with the following snap translations: definitely a prototype, will not include WiMax but will support China’s 3G TD-SCDMA standard for voice and data, will ship in 4, 6, and 10GB SSD options.
[Thanks, Engadget Fan]
Continue reading Video: Lenovo’s Ideapad U8 interface scrolls like butter, looks like candy
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Filed under: Handhelds
The AP has a story out on the Amazon Kindle‘s impact on the teensy tiny e-book market. It hasn’t been insubstantial, with some reporting double digit increases in e-book sales since the Kindle’s release, and it hasn’t hurt the competition either — Sony numbers were apparently doubled or tripled from what they were before the Kindle arrived. Opinions are still torn as to whether the Kindle is really the right device for the job, but the press buzz around the device has certainly impacted the struggling e-book market, which is hovering around $33 million of the $35 billion publishing business. Some analysts are fairly certain e-books will remain a small niche, similar to audiobooks, but we think everybody’s missing the big picture here: direct-to-brain downloads. Get on it, people.
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Filed under: Handhelds
While it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise given
recent developments, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has now told a House subcommittee that the Census Bureau will in fact be ditching its much-ballyhooed PDAs in favor of paper and pencil for the
2010 census. According to the AP, that fairly drastic move comes as part of a package of changes that will ultimately add as much as $3 billion to the cost of the census, bringing the total cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 billion. Among other things, Gutierrez said that a “lack of effective communication with one of our key contractors” was one of the factors that “significantly contributed to the challenges.” The handhelds will apparently still see some use during the census, however, although only for verifying street addresses using the PDA’s GPS functionality. For its part, Harris Corp. (which had the contract to provide the PDAs) put the best spin on things, saying that it was “encouraged that automation and the adoption of new technology is moving forward, even if in a more narrowly focused fashion.” Of course, it’s still getting its $600 million+, so it can’t really complain all that much.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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Filed under: Handhelds
It was brief but it sure was impressive. With all the hubbub surrounding Intel’s launch of Atom, let’s not forget what’s coming: Moorestown. That fiberglass isn’t yet populated with the CPU, chipset, WiFi, GPS, 3G cellular radio, or memory… but it will be if you can wait until 2010. See it revealed after the break.
Continue reading Video: Intel reveals Moorestown PC motherboard, possibly world’s smallest
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