Sales of subnotebook reach for new heights

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:38:12 -0400

According to market-research firm Gartner, worldwide shipment of subnotebooks is on target to reach 5.2 million this year, with 8 million units expected to be sold in 2009. Gadget site Brighthand estimated that this could well represent a staggering 50 million units by 2012. Numbers aside, the question to ask when approaching this new category of devices is this: Do subnotebooks represent an additional sale for manufacturers? Or rather, do they end up cannibalizing sales from traditional laptops and desktops? Moving ahead, I suppose another pertinent question to ask would be whether some of these devices would find their way into the enterprise.

To more information from the original article:
- check out this Brighthand article

Wall Street Journal goes native on the BlackBerry

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:54:17 -0400

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has released a native BlackBerry application that was custom-created just for its site. Among other features, it comes with a tabbed design with stories separated by categories, customized category listings, stock quote tracking, and even social networking stuffs such as Delicious and Facebook support. In addition, headlines and viewed articles are cached for offline reading. The WSJ.com Mobile Reader is free, and you can download it here. Implicit to the release of such an application is the tacit acknowledgment that the number of mobile devices will not only remain superior to that of a full-fledged desktop environment, but will pull ahead as handset makers turn to churning out smartphones to compete.

To look at the original reference:
- check out the Mobilecrunch article

Overheated iPod batteries reported in Japan

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:53:46 -0400

A report from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says that there have been cases of iPods overheating and scorching nearby materials. While the exact cause of the overheating wasn't mentioned, it is not hard to imagine that it is likely related to malfunctioning lithium-ion batteries. At the moment, the Japanese government is only issuing a warning to iPod Nano owners to beware about overheating, in particular when charging.

The associated risk of lithium-ion batteries overheating is a long-running one. Laptop providers such as Apple, HP, Dell and others have, on occasion, issued recalls for batteries at great expenses. Apple's Japanese office did not have an immediate comment on this issue.

For more about overheated iPod batteries:
- check out the article from InformationWeek

HP unveils new range of ultra-portable business computers

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:52:38 -0400

Hewlett Packard on Monday introduced three new ultraportable computers, consisting of a standard notebook, tablet PC, and a lower-end machine in the "value" category. The smallest and lightest of the trio, the 2530p is built with a part magnesium alloy chassis that meets a number of military-standards tests for ruggedness. On the other hand, the 2730p is a pen-based tablet that can also be used as a lightweight notebook. Weighing 3.7 pounds, it is heavier than the three-pound 2530p, though it has a thickness of only one inch. More interesting, battery life for the 2730p could be extended to a total of 12 hours with an optional battery accessory. The Compaq 2230 notebook rounds up the offerings at four pounds, boasting a 12-inch LCD display.

Check out the other features of these new HP ultra-portables here:
- check out this article from InformationWeek

New Atom chips due as early as next month

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:52:00 -0400

If everything goes according to plan, Intel will launch its first dual-core Atom processor next month. This revelation was made by an Intel employee to a CNET reporter, even as senior vice president Pat Gelsinger delivered his Intel Developer Forum (IDF) keynote speech yesterday. Indeed, IDF saw Intel showcasing a plethora of Atom-based devices on operating systems ranging from Vista and XP, to Linux.

A Calpella system also was demonstrated, which is the mobile implementation of Intel's new Nehalem architecture. Due to appear late next year, the Calpella likely will feature a "turbo mode" technology that will dynamically switch off underutilized cores on a processor to conserve power. The idea is that two fully utilized cores is a better situation than running four cores inefficiently. It is fully built into the processor and requires no "operating system intervention."

For more on the story:
- check out this article from CNET News

Apple acknowledges releasing software fix for iPhone

Paul Mah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:50:09 -0400

Apple has acknowledged that a software update for the iPhone partially fixes connectivity problems with the new iPhone 3G. Reports have placed at least some of the blame on faulty 3G chipsets from chipmaker Infineon Technologies. Articles

Apple iPhone less stable than Windows Mobile

Paul Mah — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:41:12 -0400

The Mobile Gadgeteer of ZDNet, Matthew Miller, rants about a number of issues he experienced with his recently purchased iPhone. Probably the chief among them would be "major issues" relating to the native Safari web browser that "I never see on Internet Explorer Mobile or Opera Mobile on Windows Mobile."

Other issues include various problems related to the installation of applications. Miller went on to lament on the number of resets he had to do on his iPhone 3G to get it working stably. If you have ever been a Windows Mobile user like I was, you will know that is saying a lot by itself. Still, it is really only Apple's second mobile device out the door. It's not like Microsoft's Window Mobile was perfect a few years go either. Let's just sit back and see what the iPhone 3.0 will offer.

For the low-down on the iPhone 3G:
- check out this ZDNet blog