- Rob Bushway

In Part 2 of my Axiotron ModBook InkShow series, I take a look at how the ModBook performs as a Windows Vista based Tablet PC under Bootcamp and under VMWare's Fusion.

In short, Vista Bootcamp provided a near seamless slate tablet pc experience, with the added benefit of having 512 levels of pressure sensitivity and a built-in cd drive. Although a heavy slate Tablet PC, the ModBook performed wonderfully, and is a compelling solution for those needing to keyboard in OS X and ink in Vista using one machine. VMWare's Fusion was a different story, though. There was digitizer support via VMWare, so all inking was accomplished using the standard mouse driver. In addition, there was no TIP support. This VMWare installation was using the Bootcamp partition tested above. For my usage scenarios, I would be more interested in a VMWare solution that worked seamlessly rather than Bootcamp, so this was a disappointment for me.

Be sure to watch Part 1 where I tour the ModBook and review some of the software included with  the ModBook. In Part 3, I'll take a look at Apple's InkWell applications. I'll then wrap it all up with some closing thoughts.

• Watch the embedded version below
• Download the high res version here ( 24 minutes, 185 mb)
• Visit Axiotron
• Visit VMWare.com
• Watch Part 1

 

 

 

 

- Rob Bushway

I've been looking forward to reviewing Axiotron's ModBook ever since it was announced in January 2007. Several weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to finally receive a ModBook and experience an Apple Tablet for the very first time.

There is so much to cover on the ModBook, I decided to break this review in to a three-part series. In Part 1, I take a tour of the hardware and show off some of the software included with the ModBook , including a sneak peak at a beta ink brainstorming / mindmapping application developed by Mage Software.

Stay tuned for Part 2, when I take a look at the ModBook running Vista Bootcamp and Vista under VMWare's Fusion. In Part 3, I'll take a look at Apple's InkWell applications. I'll then wrap it all up with some closing thoughts.

• Watch the embedded version below
• Download the high res version here ( 29 minutes, 239 mb)
• Visit Axiotron
• Visit Mage Software

 

 

 

- Warner Crocker

Apple rolled out the iPhone 3G yesterday, or at least rolled out the announcement of it, making sure they will dominate the tech news at least until the end of July after the new device reaches stores on July 11. There was quite a bit of disappointment that the devices weren’t on the shelves yesterday, but it was probably a factor of timing and smart marketing that led to that.

I’ve made no secret that I think Apple is well on the way to knocking down a lot of its competition in the mobile space with a combination of the device and the Apple SDK. Nothing I heard yesterday changed that opinion. Apple will dominate this space, but not as soon as I think they’d like to. In the final analysis, yesterday, from a hardware perspective was about delivering on things that should have been there in version 1 (and some things that are still strangely missing) and I’d call it evolutionary and not revolutionary. The real news was about marketing, and the infrastructure that will support Apple’s mobile platform. Here were the big announcements in my view:

- Rob Bushway

Here is a wrap-up of Apple WWDC iPhone news that I followed via MacRumorsLive.com and live audio feed courtesy of iPhoneAlley.com

 

• Next iPhone: 3g, enterprise support, sell in more countries. Pricing - more affordable. Today introducing iPhone 3G. 3G approaching WiFi speeds.
• Available: July 11 in 22 countries
• Pricing: 3G - 8 GB: $199, 16 GB: $299. White also available.
• Camera, flush headphone jack, thinner, black plastic back. GPS built-in.
• They sold 6,000,000 iPhones in first year.
• entirely New - MobileMe. "Exchange for the rest of us". We all get push email, contacts, and calendars. Access from iPhone, Mac, PC, or other devices. Keep it all sync, just like Exchange. Works over the air wirelessly. me.com - new web application for MobileMe. iDisk is integrated. iPhoto synchronization. From the sounds of this, and from images I'm seeing on MacRumors, this has the potential to really challenge Gmail and their disparate solutions. This solves some huge holes for many not in the enterprise space. $99 per year. 20 gb of storage. Free 60 day trial. Available in early July with iPhone 2.0 software. What about .mac? MobileMe replaces .mac.
• ad hoc distribution of apps - distribute your app to up to 100 iPhones at a time. Must be certified to do it.
• enterprises can also distribute their own apps, create apps that only run on certain phones, and can distribute those apps over their intranet
• app store distribution: 10 mb or less - download iPhone apps over cellular. More than 10 mb, download over WiFi
• early July release for iPhone 2.0 software, free for iPhone owners, $9.95 for iPod Touch
• handwriting recognition for Asian languages
• New contact search
• bulk move and delete
• Support for word, excel and powerpoint
• Save images from email to local storage
• Scientific calculator - landscape
• Parental controls ( yeah! )
• Almost all the focus of WWDC was on the SDK and from companies like eBay, Modality, MIMVista, TypePad, etc that have already developed software to be available on the App Store at launch for a fee or for free. Tons and tons of demos - touch, music, gaming using the accelerometer, etc.
• Initial focus was on Exchange for enterprise support in iPhone 2.0 software

- Warner Crocker

Today, one way or the other, will be a big day for news, mostly dominated by Apple. Apple is set to open WWDC and the hype machine and the rumor mill have both been boiling hot. The big news is that we’ll get a look at what some developers have been doing with the Apple SDK.I’m on record as saying I think this will be a revolution of sorts in mobile computing. Of course the other news is that everyone expects Apple to roll out a 3G version of the iPhone. There are also rumors of a carrier subsidy this time around, making the purchase price a bit easier to swallow as long as you are willing to sign a service contract.

And of course there are Apple Tablet rumors. I’ve been following those, and the rumor that has the most logic to it is that we won’t necessarily see a device announced for sale today, but that we might see such a device mentioned and promoted to developers so that they can begin working on it for a later fall release. Some think that is the reason we might hear about a new Leopard revision, some are calling Snow Leopard, which will have whatever bits in it needed to make such a device operate.

Who really knows, but we’ll find out in a few hours. One way or the other, whatever Apple unveils today, it will have more than significant impact.

Other news to follow today has to do with Twitter. Twitter has had its ups and downs of late, while becoming a favorite tool of many. Some are quite dissatisfied with Twitter because of those downs. They’ve been making some plans to survive the surge of traffic headed their way during WWDC, and we’ll see how those plans work. Is today a pass/fail day for Twitter?

And Twitter isn’t the only service to watch. Om Malik has an interesting piece on how Apple unveiling a 3G iPhone will test AT&T’s 3G network, especially if the rumored video chat comes to be.

Should be an interesting day.

- Warner Crocker

This will be big news for Sling Player and iPhone and iPod Touch fans. Sling is announcing that they are working on a Sling Player for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It is only in pre-alpha stage at the moment and intriguingly, Sling hasn’t been accepted into Apples developer program yet. From the looks of it this isn’t imminent but it will be an interesting development when it does roll out.

Oh, and I heard that Apple might be announcing something today.

Via Engadget (there’s a video of this in action there as well.)

- Rob Bushway
OQOTalk.com forum members JT and Troy lit the mobile blogosphere on fire when they demoed an OQO Model 02 running Mac OS X. They have now posted complete instructions on how to do this yourself. Be sure you purchase a license of Leopard before going down this trail - you definitely want to remain in compliance with all the legalese. We do not recommend violating any license agreements in order to get this going.

Here are some more instructions on getting a TRIPLE boot into Ubuntu, XP, and Leopard.


via OQO's Dennis Moore

- Warner Crocker

Duck and cover. We’re getting close to Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) and just like clockwork, the Apple Tablet rumors start flying. This one is from Jason D. O’Grady at ZDNet and contains the usual caveats, and reliable sources info that we can all quote in our sleep. But here’s the interesting part about this rumor. O’Grady isn’t talking this summer, he’s talking this fall. Whether or not the timing means anything there is some logic behind it, and I base that on the platform that the Apple SDK will quickly become. If you look at the specs for the rumored Tablet as featured in O’Grady’s post, the logic starts to make sense. O’Grady’s source says a 12 or 13 inch Tablet, (although that’s not what is pictured in O’Grady’s post or here.) but we’ve also heard of smaller form factors that are “larger versions of the iPhone” (much closer in size, I’m guessing to this picture.) Steve Jobs must love the speculation.

Our course at this point, it is still nothing more than a rumor.

 

 

- Rob Bushway

I'm glad I have Axiotron's ModBook for two weeks. I'm going to need the entire two weeks to get my hands around this unique offering. I've been holding out on the video review portion until I have a good handle on the tablet features of OS X, other 3rd party software available, and the Vista Bootcamp Experience. I really want to get a firm grip on how the ModBook holds up as a slate Tablet PC.

That said, here some initial impressions after using it for the last couple of days. These impressions may change once I get to the video reviews next week.

• The ModBook is the heaviest slate Tablet PC I've ever used. This is not a great mobile solution. It is awkwardly heavy. As a comparison, the ModBook is 5.5 lbs. Motion Computing's LE1700 slate is 3.5 lbs. The ModBook is also 2 lbs heavier than the 3.5 lb Dell Latitude XT LED-based convertible Tablet PC.
• Others have noticed my comments on the constant fan activity and the heat. They have indicated that their ModBook doesn't act that way. So, it might be an isolated incident. I have not been running anything CPU intensive to kick off the fan, and it does run almost 100% of the time.
• I've been corresponding with the good folks at Mage Software about InkBook, a Journal type application built for the ModBook. They've also been prepping some other cool demo apps for me to show you. Think "brainstorming"
• No native rotation on the OS X side for the MacBook / ModBook, but thanks to the Mage Software folks, I've been clued in to some hacks that enable rotation on the ModBook. Stay tuned. I find the lack of native rotation to be quite bothersome because staying in landscape mode just isn't conducive to slate use. Here is the weird part: rotation IS support on the MacBook Pro. Apple, for some odd reason, took out that support in the MacBook.
• I have not given inking a try in Fusion or Parallels, but will be trying that out over the weekend.
• The lack of any hardware buttons is very frustrating, especially the lack of scrolling buttons. The lack of hardware buttons, coupled with the weight, heat, and lack of native rotation support, reinforces my suggestion that the ModBook is not the optimal mobile choice.
• I've really been enjoying Apple's WriteAnywhere feature. It does a good job of breaking down the barrier of the Windows-based TIP. That said, the TIP is much more powerful in terms of correcting the recognition errors. I really hope Microsoft brings back WriteAnywhere in Vista, but improves upon it for correction purposes. Microsoft still has Apple totally beat on the whole reco side. I'll video this in a comparison next week.
• Is it a good Tablet PC? I'm not sure. I've certainly seen better designed slate Tablet PCs from the likes of Motion Computing, TabletKiosk, and others.
• I've been trying to figure out where the ModBook makes the most sense and the point someone should seriously consider it. I'm not fully there yet
• The artist that needs native digitizer support at the desk and occasionally goes mobile to meet with clients, work from home, etc. The integrated Wacom digitizer supporting 512 levels of pressure sensitivity is enough of a draw to cause someone to totally turn their head to the ModBook instead of a Windows-based Tablet. This is a no-brainer and fits the mark perfectly for the artist. The added benefit of being able to see what you are drawing on without messing with the hand/eye coordination issue of digitizer tablets is also a major benefit. Wacom's latest digitizers, though, are starting to change that picture.
• The bootcamp scenario offering native tablet support in both Vista and Mac OS X offers some major cost savings options for those current slate users who also live in a parallel Mac OS X world. If someone currently uses a digitizer on a Mac and also enjoys inking on a Windows-Tablet PC, then they should give the ModBook a serious look. Having both options at your disposal is huge, and has the potential to offer some serious savings.
• The ModBook is not a good solution for those who primarily work in Windows, but occasionally work in OS X. There are better slates on the market for the windows user.
• The ModBook is a better choice for those who either work entirely in OS X from a digitizing standpoint and who don't need or rarely use the Windows functionality.

More to come when I start to release video reviews next week. I still need some more time over the weekend to get comfortable with the ModBook.

- Rob Bushway

I just rebooted the ModBook into Vista using Bootcamp. It runs remarkably similar to a regular Vista-based Tablet PC. What is remarkable about the ModBook is that it allows someone to run the Mac OS X and a Vista Tablet PC on the same box - a MacBook. Amazing

I ran the Experience Index in Vista and got the following scores:

• Processor: 5.1
• RAM ( 1 GB ): 4.5
• Graphics: 3.5
• Gaming: 3.5
• Primary Hard disk: 5.1
• Base score: 3.5

I will say that the ModBooks runs remarkably hotter than a regular MacBook. I twittered earlier that the fan doesn't seem come on near as much in Vista, but I was wrong. It runs just as much and is just as hot.

The viewing angle on the ModBook is not near as good as other Tablet PCs I've used.

I'm definitely enjoying playing and experimenting with this ModBook, though - so many possibilities, so much to try, so much to compare.

- Rob Bushway

When news first got out in January 2007 about Axiotron's ModBook, yours truly was beyond ecstatic at the thought of an Apple-based Tablet. We'll, we've been waiting ever since to get our hands on one, and am pleased to say that Axiotron notified me yesterday that the ModBook is on its way to us!

Here's the kicker: Axiotron configured boot-camp with Vista, so in addition to covering the Mac OS X side of the tablet, I'll also be checking out how the ModBook holds up as a Windows-based Tablet PC.  With 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, built-in GPS, and built-in SuperDrive, it ought to be fun. I have a friend who is an awesome graphic artist, so I'll be getting his impressions of it from that perspective as well.

There will finally be a review on the ModBook Tablet from a site that knows Tablet PCs - GottaBeMobile.com!

- Warner Crocker

Almost on cue, Intel has disclaimed yesterday’s report/rumor from ZDNet.de that there would be an Apple Tablet or MID or larger iPhone running Intel’s Atom chip. Though this was mentioned by an Intel exec, Hannes Schwaderer, he has now layered some nuance on the intial report/leak saying he mentioned the Apple product as an example. The funny thing about Apple rumors is that disclaimers usually cause the rumor to pick up steam. Like I said, here we go again.

Via The Guardian Unlimited

 

 

- Warner Crocker

As if all of the 3G iPhone rumors weren’t enough to clog anyone’s bandwidth, it appears that yes, wait for it…. there is another Mac Tablet rumor out there.

MacRumors is reporting that according to ZDNet.de, there will be a larger iPhone running Intel’s Atom chipset. Stand back, the Apple Tablet rumor mill is cranking up again.

 

 

- Rob Bushway

CarryMobile.com sent me a case for the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet to review. I'm not that big of a case person, but it is a pretty nice one. It is also priced right at $28. In addition to looking at the CarryMobile.com case, I demo a case I'm using for my iPhone from CoZip.com.

Enjoy!

 

 

- Warner Crocker

A sign of things to come? Or just another in a long list of iPhone rumors? It appears that Apple has included Chinese Handwriting Recognition in the iPhone 2.0 Firmware Beta according to o MacRumors.com. Chinese users can apparently draw a character on the screen with their finger and then choose from among options for the recognition.

Via MacRumors.com

 

- Warner Crocker

Very funny. Lenovo has crafted a very clever little ad and slogan going after the MacBook Air featuring the Lenovo X300.

Via Gizmodo

- Warner Crocker

When I did the InkShow on EverNote's new beta program that allows you to sync your notes among multiple devices for some reason it wasn't working on my iPod Touch. Others reported that it was working on their devices and also their iPhones. A day after posting that EverNote pushed out an update and whether it was related or not, I can now report that EverNote works swimmingly on my iPod Touch. This extends the usage of this terrific application to all of the devices I'm currently using or testing and I can't tell you what a difference that makes for my work flow.

Here's a quick GBM ShortCut using EverNote on the iPod Touch.

By the way, I've got some more EverNote Beta invites available if you're interested in trying this application out. Leave a comment on this post (make sure you leave your correct email address in the comment form. You won't see it appear but we do.) and I'll get them out within the next day.

Download the high res version.

- Warner Crocker

This is still under development, but it shows off what you can do with an accelerometer beyond changing orientation on a mobile device. The folks at Hermitworks have ported Quake 3 over to the iPod Touch.

Via 9 to 5 Mac

 

- Rob Bushway

I posted up our N-Trig interview on Thursday and wanted to pass along my own thoughts on what N-Trig's Mr. Lenny Englehardt had to say. Since I had the opportunity to speak with Mr.  Englehardt, I had the benefit of hearing repeated comments, voice inflection, and coming away with an overall impression. I think the question / answer summary I posted captures the essence of the interview quite well. Overall, I came away with the impression that N-Trig is very frustrated with Microsoft in terms of marketing ( or lack thereof ) and not talking about its superior multi-touch solutions ( (N-Trig's ), palm rejection technology as implemented in Vista, is not that impressed with Vista, and is quite thankful that Apple is generating and talking about their great multi touch products. N-Trig has become quite the beneficiary of Apple's successes.

More detail:

• I think it is a good sign that N-Trig sees a market need for capacitive touch and pen in the 7 - 8.9" small form factor. He knows a lot about what OEMs are doing, and his statement is a good sign
• A focus on the 7" to 17" market for laptops has huge implications for bringing ink and multi-touch to more folks.
• When asked about Vista and the iPhone, I found Mr. Englehardt's replies quite telling and wonder how common his feelings are with other manufactures building Microsoft-based solutions - Redmond marketing nowhere to be seen, wishing Microsoft would do more to point out that what Apple is doing on the touchpad, N-Trig and Microsoft is doing to the screen; and thanking Apple for generating great multi-touch products ( notice he didn't thank Microsoft ):

Great steps for pen and touch, not enough traction in their own software apps like Outlook, PowerPoint etc.. Vista as an OS is not a very user friendly product, way too many crashes, hangs etc. They don’t seem to be keen to scrub it and flush out all the issues. If they would push ink in their own apps and to ISV’s it would be great. The average consumer and enterprise user still doesn’t  know that Microsoft has touch and ink capabilities built into Vista, while everyone knows how the iPhone and MacBook Air work. Redmond marketing is nowhere to be seen.

also....

As mentioned above, we thank Apple for the efforts in generating great multi touch products. We wish Microsoft would do more and point out that what Apple is doing on the touch pad, we are doing on the screen.

• I also found his above statements on Vista to be quite the indictment, especially for a company working so closely with the inner workings of Vista.
• Mr. Englehardt is quite frustrated with Microsoft and their palm rejection technology in Vista, saying "Our expectation was that Microsoft would do more with handling dual-mode, and basically ignore all inputs when writing" and "We will work to improve palm rejection in dual-mode regardless of what Microsoft has in store for future versions of Windows.  We are enhancing palm rejection on our own, independent of Microsoft. Improvements will be ready sooner than one might expect..stay tuned."  Wow.....
• As someone working closely with human interaction technologies, he doesn't see the market need for a UMPC, especially when someone has a good phone and a Tablet PC. I've seen the same thing in my own experience: a Tablet PC plus the iPhone is providing me with everything I need. If I only had a desktop, though, the UMPC would be a good solution. As more people are moving to mobile computers, is the UMPC getting squeezed out? Is this where we will see the phone technology ( like the iPhone ) continue to improve, thus negate the real need for UMPC? The iPhone, for me, has the been the Origami device originally described by Microsoft - a device that I go back in to the house to get.
• Pen only or touch only solutions is not their playing field. It is the combination of pen and touch that N-Trig is focusing on, and that is a good thing for the Tablet PC space.

- Rob Bushway

Check out this Apple job posting uncovered by Engadget, looking for a handwriting recognition software engineer. Notice that the technology they would be involved in may extend "beyond Mac OS X to other applications and the iPhone."

The Handwriting Recognition team is seeking an engineer who will be responsible for advancing Apple's handwriting recognition technology for Mac OS X. The ideal candidate will be an expert in the area of pattern recognition, with an excellent understanding of handwriting recognition issues. The person will also assume primary responsibility for maintaining and enhancing existing code and tools. The recognition technology you create may extend beyond Mac OS X to other applications and the iPhone.

Key Requirements
* Expert in the area of pattern recognition
* Strong design and analytical skills
* Strong coder with experience in C or C++
* Ability to work on several concurrent projects
* Track record of innovation and excellence on previous assignments

Additional Success Factors
* Well versed in the area of handwriting recognition
* Knowledge of and experience with hidden markov model and neural net algorithms
* Proven track record of writing high quality code in shipping products
* Experience in developing recognition solutions for non-Roman languages
* Experience with Unix and familiarity with Mac OS X
* Familiarity with language modeling and natural language processing
* Knowledge of Cocoa
* Excellent communication skills