Mobile Computing

MVP Renewed!

Frank — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:00:00 GMT

I received the email today: Microsoft has re-awarded me Tablet PC MVP for another year.

W00t!

Thanks, Microsoft!

I'd also like to extend congratulations to new and re-newed MVPs the world over, including Andy Leonard.

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,MVP,Microsoft

A Tablet Future

Frank — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Industrial designers recently took a stab at predicting what the laptop of 2015 would look like.

Note the "tablet-esque" features of the devices, especially this dual display model with detachable monitor.

Here's another model that replaces the mechanical keyboard with a touch screen display.

Pen and Touch computing are here today.

Dual screen devices are here today, too, and quite common place, if you consider the Nintendo DS a device (and not just a toy).

When these kids grow up, they'll expect dual touch screens on their devices, just like kids who grew up with the Gameboy expect mobility today.

Something to think about.

[found via Slashdot]

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,Laptop 2015,Future,Concept Laptops

Layoffs at Motion Computing

Frank — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:27:00 GMT

Motion Computing, a leading hardware vendor in the Tablet space, is laying off 15 - 20% of its employees.

Here are some details (emphasis added):

The reduction in work force is 15 - 20%, comprising of about 40 employees.
The cuts are coming from three different areas in the company: 1) Reduction of inside sales to utilizing 100% of channel partners, 2) removal of a duplication of effort between Motion and their manufacturing partners (Compal and Pegatron) , 3) admin and marketing. The biggest cuts are coming from #1 and #2 above.
This is the third series of layoffs in the last 12 months, the most recent coming in December. The first layoff, in April of last year, was due to the cancellation of a development project.
Motion is still experiencing 30% growth year to year, but were projecting more. They are not hitting previously set milestones which were used to justify personnel hires, so they are having to bring expenses in line with current revenue.
Milestones were originally set without fully comprehending the extremely long adoption cycle in the healthcare field, in which they are marketing the C5 Tablet PC. It is taking much longer than originally thought to move from trial to implementation (ie, closing the sales loop). They feel very good about the F5 and the Field Force vertical, which should bring the points in the adoption cycle much closer together.
The current sales pipeline looks very healthy and they are still encouraged about the healthcare vertical space.

Tablet haters and sceptics will cite this as bad news for the Tablet PC platform, but it looks like their business is healthy.

They're just not hitting the sales targets they expected, which is more indicative of the economy in general.

[found via Gotta Be Mobile via Warner's Twitter feed]

Technorati Tags: Motion Computing,Layoff,AIS,Round Rock,Texas,Austin

Mobile Demand xTablet T8700 First Look

Frank — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:56:00 GMT

Fellow Tablet PC MVP Linda Epstein has just completed a preliminary review of the Mobile Demand xTablet T8700 Rugged Tablet PC.

From the post:

For those of you who need or a rugged Tablet PC Mobile Demands new xTablet 8700 is a an amazing piece of equipment with enough accessories and options to meet the needs of anyone who uses it.
[..]

TFT Digitizer & Passive Touch Screen with the xView Sunlight Readable option is a dream come true for those who need or want to be able to use there Table PC outside in full sunlight.
For those who are in need of a rugged Tablet PC the Mobile Demand xTablet T8700 is the answer to your prayers. Rugged, Sturdy and easy to hold and with enough accessory options to suit everyone's needs this Tablet PC will be very hard to beat.

I'll be looking forward to the full review and maybe getting one of these. :)

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,Ruggedized Tablet PC,Mobile Demand,xTablet,T8700

So, No Silverlight on the iPhone for Now

Frank — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:51:00 GMT

Yesterday's candid interview keynote between Guy Kawasaki and Steve Ballmer was a blast, even if there was no huge announcement about Silverlight coming to the iPhone.

Speaking of the iPhone: what's the deal with Apple's terms to develop for the iPhone?

Apple thinks they're entitled to 30% of revenue of apps running on the iPhone.

Are they serious?

Who's going to sign up for that?

I bet Adobe response to that was laced with profanity and disbelief, which is why Steve Jobs made such disparaging remarks about Flash on the iPhone.

Technorati Tags: iPhone SDK,Silverlight,Flash,Steve Ballmer,Guy Kawasaki

Rumors: Could Silverlight Be Coming to the iPhone?

Frank — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:00:00 GMT

Rumors are rampant around MIX about a curious set of circumstances and interesting turns of phrases heard at the Keynote.

First of all, a disclaimer, I have no inside information and all of this is conjecture and maybe even rumor mongering.

The first curious tidbit was an interesting phrase Scott Guthrie used during the keynote when he said that Silverlight would be ported to any mobile device "with an SDK."

This was right after the NOKIA "official" announcement. So, at first, I assumed he meant other Symbian-based phones.

But then, it hit me: Apple is set to release an SDK for the iPhone this week.

Curious.

Then things got really interesting when Steve Jobs said Flash isn't fit to run on the iPhone.

The rumors on the MIX floor were flying.

The keynote set for tomorrow afternoon includes Steve Ballmer and Guy Kawasaki.

For reference, here's Guy Kawasaki's bio from the MIX08 website:

Guy Kawasaki is the co-founder of Truemors and a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures. He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

His presence here at MIX may have more to do with his work post-Apple, but his connection to the Steve Jobs 1.0 era has only fueled the speculation about what may be coming out today.

Loren Heiny offers up some speculations about the situation.

As excited as I am about the potential of Silverlight coming to the iPhone, I've learned the hard way to not read too much into wild rumors.

After the rumors of a MacTablet and the subsequent letdown at MacWorld, I've learned to be cautious about things that seem too good to be true.

Either way, today looks to be another interesting day at MIX. :)

Technorati Tags: MIX08,Silverlight,Silverlight Mobile,iPhone,SDK,iPhone SDK,Guy Kawasaki,Steve Jobs,Steve Ballmer

Silverlight on Your Mobile Phone

Frank — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:05:00 GMT

The next logical step for Silverlight is deployment on mobile devices.

Sure, the Silverlight on Windows Mobile story is well known, but here's a nice surprise: Microsoft is working with Nokia to bring Silverlight to its handsets.

Nokia has the largest market share of mobile phones, so it makes sense to bring Silverlight to their platform.

Best of all is this quote from the article (emphasis added):

Microsoft's Silverlight browser plug-in will be bringing videos and other rich media to Nokia smartphones later this year.

That's right, Sivlerlight is coming to your mobile phone. This year.

W00t!

Not even this craziness is going to keep me away from MIX. :)

[found via Shawn Wildermuth]

Technorati Tags: Silverlight,Windows Mobile,Nokia,Mobile Phones,Mix08

Bill Gates at the Office Developer Conference

Frank — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:37:00 GMT

In this Channel9 interview backstage at the Office Developer Conference, Bill Gates talks about Office as a development platform and his ideas on what the future of Office office holds.

Interesting to note is how he mentions keeps mentioning Tablet-related tech: including OneNote, Touch, Natural Input and Surface.

Technorati Tags: VSTO,ODC208,Office,Bill Gates,OneNote,Tablet PC

XBOX 360 Elite Portability Mod

Frank — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:19:00 GMT

Do you travel a lot and can't bear to be away from your game system? Do you wish you could play Halo 3 on your next long-haul flight? (Just make sure it doesn't get seized.)

Then here's a case mod for you: an XBOX 360 crammed into a laptop form factor.

Watch the demo video and drool.

[found via Andrew Duthie via Gizmodo]

Technorati Tags: XBOX 360,Ben Heck,XBOX 360 Laptop Mod