My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com
Jim Dalrymple at The Loop spotted a small but important change to the iPad’s hardware functionality: the switch previously set for mute has been changed to a screen lock. Seems trivial, but I suspect this will soon become a standard feature for any tablet with accelerometer-based screen rotation.
I regret banking on lack of inking as my reason to not get the iPad. I’ve already been shown that ink on the small iPhone screen can look good. Now there’s a video demo of an app called PadNotes that shows how it might work on the iPad. You hear that? That is the sound [...]
The name is a lawsuit waiting to happen, but the concept is brilliant, and I’m not just saying that because I’ve been thinking the same thing. Behold the SmartBook, a concept phone + tablet combo by METATREND that pairs a slate tablet with a phone handset that folds out into a QWERTY keyboard.
Warner grabbed some choice quotes earlier from Fortune’s look at tablets. But one that really grabbed me was from HP chief technology officer Phil McKinney responding to questions about their reaction to iPad and why they didn’t release a slate before Apple.
Leaked documents (still the best kind) regarding the Dell Mini 5, a.k.a. The Streak, have made their way to Engadget revealing a bevy of color and design selections and a partnership with Amazon for music, eBooks, and video.
Word out of Computerworld is this should be a good year for ARM thanks to a deluge of new tablet devices, not to mention the eReaders, smartbooks and other devices that prompted them to reserve more space than usual at this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei. They also share details on a couple of [...]
Pondering the future of the Windows operating system, Technologizer asked a group of 28 revered journalists, technologists, and former Microsoft employees how Microsoft can keep Windows relevant. Fortunately, one of them declined and Xavier was asked to step in. Bazinga!
Well, well, seems Apple wasn’t the only company showing off their flashy slate this weekend. HP managed to sneak a couple of videos into their YouTube channel as well. The first is a demo of Adobe Flash and AIR on the slate running Windows 7. The second, uh, reminds me of something else I’ve seen [...]
Yeah, I know that headline isn’t saying a lot. Last TV commercial I saw for a tablet was for Lenovo’s ThinkPad X41T and it never even showed the thing in action. Hence, when I saw Apple’s iPad commercial last night during the Academy Awards, I felt at once both excited and mournful.
On his freshly minted blog HGGADGETS, Hector Gomez is churning out the videos of his new Lenovo S10-3t convertible tablet in action. His latest shows off the ink action on the capacitive touchscreen using a Dagi stylus.
Larry O’Brien of Knowing .NET has taken to task the main photo from the latest Courier sneak peek, calling it “misleading” and pointing out that the writing shown on the screen could not have been written at that size. He went so far as to sector the screen and determine that the lettering was only [...]
Word cycling around the Internets is that Google is giving away Droid and Nexus One smartphones for free to Android developers who have at least one app that’s scored 3.5 stars or better and more than 5,000 unique downloads. And for once, everyone seems on the same page as to why this is good.
Via the Evernote Blogcast (and the update notice I saw last night), Evernote 3.5 for Windows has gotten an update that, in addition to the usual widespread improvements, offers options for where to send your screen clips and how to view your notes.
Word out of Engadget is the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PT convertible tablet will be priced at 599 Euros. They’re guessing that means it’ll be priced at $599 in the States. Sounds about right, especially since one of our forum members, Elmstrom, already found it priced on Play.com for £599.99 recommended retail.
Finally, a search option on a modern mobile I can get excited about: Gesture Search on Android 2.0. Draw a letter on the screen and find anything on your Android phone that starts with that letter.
Been going back and forth on universal remotes for my media room, including iPhone solutions, but this RedEye mini from ThinkFlood could have them beat: an IR dongle for the iPhone headphone port, offering macros and touch control for only $49.
Are they cloning a killer crocodile? Building a computer assisted way to look fabulous on the runway? From the name, one might think this Microsoft Research project was a hybrid of both, but in fact, Project Gustav is an attempt at “immersive digital painting”. Looks fierce… and a little familiar.
Panasonic has refreshed their Toughbook Tablet PC line with the C1, which they claim is the world’s lightest 12.1″ convertible Tablet PC at 3.2 pounds, yet it remains tough enough to be called a “Toughbook”. On top of that, it packs an Intel Core i5 2.4GHz processor and optional multi-touch screen that works with gloved [...]
Wacom has updated their Cintiq 21UX with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity but not multi-touch control. Instead, the new tablet display sports a pair of touchpads on the back of the bezel, allowing for many of the same functions as multi-touch gestures. The “Touch Strips,” used in conjunction with the thumb-controlled bezel buttons, allow up [...]
Word out of Android and Me is that an update to Android 2.1 is not just possible for every U.S. Android phone but inevitable, even for phones like the G1 previously believed to lack the onboard memory for it. Good news for everyone running Android in the States, just don’t expect to be seamless or [...]
Seems like I can’t read a blog today without tripping over some mention of a capacitive stylus. This one comes from pocketnow.com and it’s as simple as rolling a piece of paper (for an art project or other legal activity), except the paper is antistatic film.
A new capacitive stylus making the rounds lately is the ST C400 from HTC. Looks pretty slick, particularly with that transparent tip that lets you see where you’re inking, but as several people have pointed out, it’s actually a rebrand of the Dagi transparent stylus, which can be found on eBay for ~$12.
Long time Tablet PC user Maraderz has shared via YouTube a demonstration of the ink-friendliness of the Fujitsu UH900 with resistive touchscreen vs. the Lenovo S10-3T with capacitive touchscreen. Both have their advantages, but for inking, the winner is clear (and both would get their pens handed to them by an active digitizer).
Straight out of Stockholm, from Neonode comes the zForce Pad, an infrared touchscreen solution for screen sizes in the 5- to 13-inch range. Offers low cost, low power consumption, multi-touch capability and above its competing technologies, 100% screen transparency.
Even if you’re a keyboard junkie, we all jot down notes in some way, shape or form. But whether it’s on paper or on the screen of your Tablet PC, with software such as OneNote and Evernote, your handwritten notes can be nearly as searchable as anything you type, as celebrated today by jkOnTheRun.
The multi-touch convertible Viliv S10 Blade, which I got to handle at CES, is coming to the U.S. from Dynamism. Featuring a 10.1″ HD LCD (1366×768) and Intel Atom processor up to 2.0GHz, it’s a compact but potent package with options for built-in HSPA 3G and 64GB SSD.
![Toshiba Portégé M780 Tablet PC gets official with i7 and [NOT] multi-touch](http://gottabemobile.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/ToshibaM780Thumb.jpg)
Toshiba’s refresh to their Portégé M700 line of Tablet PCs just got official and the specs are hotter than previously seen with an option for Intel Core i7 processor and multi-touch confirmed. This puts the Toshiba Portégé M780 near the top of my upgrade short list [well, maybe not anymore].
The guys at Computerworld were apparently thumbing through the classified ads recently (on their touchscreen devices, not newspapers, of course) and stumbled upon an interesting posting by Apple for an engineering manager to “lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms.” New platforms? Color me intrigued.
Interesting article out of Ars Technica looks at “How smartphones are bogging down some wireless carriers”. Turns out the problem may not be capacity, but the way current smartphones, including but not limited to the iPhone, manage their connection to the network, as explained by a representative from UK carrier, O2.
Word trickling out of Engadget is that Microsoft Asia is busy working on a smarter inductive charging pad. Out of blog, I’m Just Being Manan, a patent for the technology was revealed. Later, reader jihuiwen did them one better and shared photos of the actual prototype on his Flickr account.
On the forum, Steve S shares with us word (from digitaldoctors at TabletPCBuzz) that Electrovaya has listed a new Scribbler Tablet PC, the first upgrade in nearly two years. The Electrovaya Scribbler SC4100 sports the same slate form factor as the past couple iterations, but not only updates the processor (Intel Core 2 Duo L7400 [...]
Reading all the comments for, against, and otherwise on Adobe Flash on mobile devices have been quite enlightening. I am mostly ambivalent about it, which is why I haven’t come out with a solid position yet. But since everyone else has shared, it’s only fair that I reciprocate.
Leaked documents (always the best kind) via WM PowerUser layout the application platform for WP7S, and it’s all about XNA and Silverlight. XNA isn’t surprising given it’s the framework used for the XBox, part of Microsoft’s entertainment division, but Silverlight, as a competitor to Adobe Flash, creates an interesting situation.
If there’s one thing I know about my good friend Warner Crocker, it’s that he loves pundits and punditry. Just loves ‘em. Hence, it is with great giddiness that I share news that Freescale, the semiconductor maker that puts the “smart” in smart devices, has named Warner one of the top 20 Smart Mobile Device [...]
Engadget has been putting their comment-ambivalent paws on a prototype of the Dell Mini 5, a.k.a. the Streak, and have returned their early first impressions of the MID, along with a truckload of photos and video.
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Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video)
When Sprint had debuted the original WiMax-capable HTC EVO 4G nearly two years ago, it was an instant hit on the Now network. Not only was the HTC EVO 4G the first 4G smartphone in the world taking advantage of Sprint’s then speedy WiMax network, but it brought some new features and pizzazz to the [...]
Last year Toshiba waded into the Android tablet market with the Thrive, a 10.1-inch slate that served as the company’s response to what they deemed missing in the then current crop. Thus, it had several full-size ports, a rugged-ish exterior, and a thick chassis to accommodate both. Though a decent tablet, the Thrive didn’t generate [...]
Samsung Shows That It Is a Software Company
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Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
With its large touchscreen, the iPad seems like the perfect platform for Real Time Strategy games, and Autumn Dynasty proves it, mostly. Autumn Dynasty is an RTS iPad game with art that looks like tradition Chinese painting. The story involves quelling a rebellion while solving a mystery of shady noblemen. The story though, just serves [...]
Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
The Griffin GuitarConnect Pro interfaces with your Guitar and your iPad or iPhone so you can record your music easily using apps like Apple’s GarageBand. My son Daniel, who’s learning to play guitar, helped me test it out and he loved it. When he gets as good as Jimi Hendrix, I’m sure he’ll steal my [...]
Google Search App iPhone and iPad Update Looks Beautiful (Video)
Google just delivered a beautiful update to the company’s Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad The Google Search app for iPhone and iPad replaced Safari as my browser of choice, earning a spot in the iPhone and iPad dock. It’s faster and offers a beautiful new full screen image search which looks awesome on the [...]
