Congratulations, Mark - well deserved!

Team GBM

• Lenovo W700ds Quick Hands-On Video, Part 1
• Lenovo W700ds, Part 2
• Free Inking Applications for your Tablet PC
• 2009 Predictions - Rob’s Take
• 2009 Predictions - Warner’s Take
• A Christmas List for Tablet PC and Mobile PC Geeks
• Samsung Prepping New Netbook for 2009
• Netbook Sites Getting Cease and Desist Orders
• Sony’s New Mobile Device

Beginning the first week of February I’m off for the first of several audition conferences where I see actors and technicians who might be hired for our 2009/10 season at Wayside Theatre. I’ll be visiting Washington DC, Memphis, and Birmingham, Alabama on this year’s trip, as well as a possible trip to New York City, if needed. I think in April I’ll be heading out to a possible MVP Summit in Seattle, Washington in April, but I’ll have to wait and see how that goes.

By the time I’m done traveling in March or April, I pretty much settle in for the rest of the year at the theatre as the schedule there doesn’t allow for much other travel. I spend a good portion of each year prepping for these trips. As I blog about new mobile tech here on the pages of GBM, I’m also looking our for what I will be using on these trips for both work and relaxation. Anything I can add to the arsenal that can improve my efficiency is always a plus.

This year the hardware I’ll be using is listed below. Thanks to Lenovo’s generous sponsorship of GBM’s CES 2009 coverage, my primary work horse will be a Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC. I don’t have a touch model, but as with the X61, I anticipate the X200 to handle the chores from CES quite well.

• The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC
• Apple iPhone 16GB
• Nokia E71
• iPod Touch 16GB (first gen)
  
• Canon Powershot SD1000 Digital Camera
• Flip Mino HD Video Camera

When I hit the road for auditions, I’ll also be carrying the Canon Pixma i90 Printer.

I’m an unabashed ThinkPad fan, and I’m quickly becoming an iPhone fan boy as well. The Nokia E71 has been added to the kit for some video work at CES primarily, but might come in handy at auditions as well. We’ll have to see. Why both an iPhone and an iPod Touch? My wife and I love to drive on the trip to and from Chicago. It is our annual end of year catch up and our pre-planning for the next year time, and we also feel like we are more in control of our travel destiny as we head from the East Coast to the Midwest and back again during winter. (That looks especially true this year.) Anyway, I prefer to use the iPod Touch to listen to music, podcasts, and audio books on the 11 hour one way trip, rather than the iPhone. I also load the Touch up with a few movies for traveling back and forth to Vegas, although I anticipate sleeping on those flights more than anything else.

All of this will be lugged around in the Wenger Maxxum bag, a bottomless pack that seems to hold any and everything I can throw in it.

In future On The Road 2009 posts, I’ll be sharing info about some of the accessories I use as well as the software, and I’ll also let you know how what I’m using works on doesn’t. This is a year where syncing between devices will be an essential part of my operation, so we’ll see how the cloud plays into things.

Last week we got word through jkOnTheRun that Psion Teglogix, the company that owned the trademark on the term Netbook and Netbook Pro was issuing cease and desist letters to some fan sites that were using the now familiar moniker. Tonight, Kendrick reports that he’s gotten a response from Psion and he’s published it on jkOnTheRun.

The upshot, as I, and I think most resonable people suspected, is that Psion is saying that they weren’t going after blogs or fan sites, but going after concerns that were seeking to profit from using the Netbook trademark.  As Kendrick points out, the response from Psion clears up a few things and leaves a few questions hanging in the air. A site that might have generic ads placed on it using the term Netbook could potentially be open to receiving a C&D letter, but we’ll have to see how this all plays out on a larger level.

What’s more interesting at the moment though is the section of the letter that says the following:

There is of course a legitimate and important question centered on the extent to which corporations can influence or control the language we ordinarily use.  If your readers are really interested in the words they use, then perhaps they might give some careful thought to why they started using the term ‘netbook’ in a generic way in the first place. If you’re aware of substantial ‘generic’ use that pre-dates Intel’s 2008 marketing efforts to promote its Atom processor, I’d be interested to learn of it.

Incidentally, we have started to receive direct responses from recipients of our letters.  So far, all have agreed to use a different term. I think that’s because, when you really look carefully at the merits of the situation, both legal and ethical, Psion has a fair point.

That raises a number of questions now that the term Netbook has more than crept into the lexicon. Certainly we’ve got Mini’s, Mini-Notes, Eee PCs, Winds, and Aspire Ones but will these small portable computers be genrically called in the future?  Is that important? A quick glance at the popular online retail and gadget sites this evening shows the term Netbook prominently featured in descriptions. Searching on these sites using the term Netbook calls up up the various models from various companies. Another quick glance at product pages from leading manufacturers shows some using the term Netbook and others not.

The big question that goes unanswered in the attorney’s response (logically) is what will Intel have to say about this. Intel has been a big part of the muscle in pushing Netbooks with their Atom platform and the marketing that has accompanied it. Indeed Intel’s site proudly proclaims that “It’s not a notebook; it’s a netbook.” How will Intel continue to brand the category and will the other manufacturers follow suit to avoid a suit?

Let’s just hope the legal fees don’t drive the costs up too much.

Enjoy the day with your family and loved ones, and we’ll see you again on Friday.

Team GBM
Rob, Warner, Matt, Sierra, Matthew, Truc, John, and Craig

So, take the jump and see what I’m wishing for. Feel free to chime in with yours as well.

I’d like to see Microsoft start talking more about Tablet PCs and their Inking ability in a positive sense. But then that would require that they understand Tablet PCs and its unique abilities in the first place.

Since Microsoft is rumored to be talking about job cuts in January, I hope they start with their marketing folks. Microsoft’s marketing needs a do-over.

I’d like to see the advances we keep hearing about in battery life come closer to reality.

I’d like to see Intel’s roadmap for MIDs sped up.

I’d like to see the Telcos and Broadband providers focus less on creating the crappy software and services they provide with smartphones and instead focus on actually rolling out and maintaining their networks and providing good customer service.

I’d like to see those who sell and market the products be forced to open them and use them. Then perhaps we wouldn’t see such dangerous packaging that can mutilate, and we’d hopefully see less silly mistakes in the age of Beta hardware.

I’d like to see Toshiba and Fujitsu shift their PR strategies and more actively compete with Lenovo and HP when it comes to selling Tablet PCs.

I wish we’d see some software that will justify the move to multi-touch in Windows 7.

I hope we’ll see a capacitive touch digitizer from Wacom that will work magnificently.

I’d like to see Netbooks continue to roil the market place no matter what we call them.

I’d like to see Apple actually market a Tablet, not because I would buy one, but because it might actually bring a sea change in thought about Tablet PCs. I don’t think they will, because obviously they can’t figure out the handwriting recognition.

I’d like to see Windows Live Mesh hurry it along. This is a great service in the making.

I’d love to see the next version of OneNote get the attention it deserves.

I’d like to see the Obama administration’s initiatives on Broadband come to be.

I’d like to see Apple get over itself, or tell AT&T to take a hike, and put in a decent Bluetooth solution for the iPhone, install a decent camera, allow Flash on the iPhone, give us cut & paste, and continue to innovate.

I’d like to see something, anything, from and about Tablet PCs that excites me and the market as much as the iPhone app store continues to do.

I’d like to see a move away from glossy cases and screens that do nothing but attract smudges and fingerprints. Who in their right mind thinks that a product that is full of smudges 10 seconds after unboxing is a good idea?

Oh, and as always, whirled peas.

Here is my best guess for what 2009 holds for us mobile tech enthusiasts:

• Windows 7 will get released in time for the 2009 holidays, and it will get rave reviews. Corporate customers will upgrade in huge numbers, going straight from XP to Windows 7.
• Most Tablet PC OEMs will begin switching to capacitive touch screens, but we won’t see an uptick in adoption until 2010
• 2009 will be a telling year for N-Trig as the numbers line up on who switches to N-Trig and who goes with Wacom Capactive Touch - my guess is that Wacom will be the winner of 2009. InPlay’s new digital pen technology will show up on a few notebooks, but we won’t see it make a lot of headway until 2010. 2009 will be about going with a proven winners in the space. N-Trig and InPlay will have to continue to make their case.
• Multi-Touch will be a dominate story in 2009, with many families opting to get HP TouchSmart All-In-One type of systems in their homes
• Dell will release the XT2 early next year, but it will fall along the same pricing scheme as the XT, minor upgrades only. Dell and N-Trig will not do anything about current XT problems and that will plague them going in to the XT2
• Lenovo will continue to dominate the corporate tablet pc space
• HP will continue to be creative in its approach to the consumer tablet pc space
• Slate tablet pcs, like TabletKiosk / Motion Computing / Fujitsu, will continue to be a quiet, but strong vertical market.
• OQO will come to market with a Model 03 - capacitive multi-touch, the keyboard tweaked a little. They will have a low end model under $1000.
• The pricing of Netbooks will force regular notebooks down in price, and people will begin making size vs feature trade-offs, likely opting for features. Netbooks will still be a big item through 2009, though, due to costs, the economy, etc.
• Book readers, like the Kindle and Sony eReader, will continue to make strong headway. The new Kindle will spark another fire in eReaders. They will show up in more places like coffee shops, student centers, etc
• We won’t see much innovation in the tablet pc software space until late 2009 / 2010 when Windows 7 is released.
• The software story of 2009 will be about sync, with solutions like EverNote and Microsoft’s LiveMesh leading the way. Sync will continue to head-off cloud-only computing, with people not trusting whether Web 2.0 companies will make it through 2009. As a result, they will want their documents and files local, but available on other platforms through seamless sync.
• Video recording will finally show up on the iPhone, the camera will still stink, though.
• The Blackberry Storm will become the laughing stock of the year
• The Google Android OS will make major headway against Apple’s iPhone, coming in to its own toward the middle / late of 2009.
• There will be an Apple Netbook, but no Apple Tablet.
• In large measure, I see the first three quarters of 2009 as a “hold steady” time. By the 4th quarter, money will begin to get released again, and we’ll begin to see alot of technological releases that were being worked on during the first three quarters. Tough times beget innovation, and we’ll see the benefits of that going in to 2010.

Regifting tech items used to be impractical primarily because of high cost and lack of device availability.  The game has changed now as supply has outpaced demand for many of the following items.  These tech treasures will come in handy if somehow you never find the time to take care of last minute shopping.  You might consider regifting the following items or even picking them up as stocking stuffers to keep the holiday cheer alive.

1) SD Card/USB Thumbdrive/Multi Card Reader: Who doesn’t have a drawer full of SD Cards or USB thumbdrives?  The cost of these useful storage companions has dropped dramatically in the past two years.  It’s now possible to find a 4GB SDHC card for a very reasonable price.  You can never have too many, and these cards have found life in many of our everyday devices.  Many cell phones, mp3 players, digital photoframes, MIDS, and computers feature SD card capabilities.  Original Price: $15-30 for 4GB, even less for 2GB.

2) iTunes gift card: An iTunes gift card is an easy, fast regiftable.  It takes little time and wrapping paper to redirect this gift.  Always useful, anyone that is a music lover would benefit from this present.  Original Price: $15, $25, $50, or $100

3) Beta Software with License/Serial #: Sharing the beta love can bring joy, let your friends experience new software, and help developers fix bugs.  The key is making sure that you gift software that you’re permitted to share.  The easiest way to do so is referring friends to developer’s sites when beta software or invites are being made to the public.  Make sure that the recipient is familiar with beta software and aware of potential risks.  A site like InviteShare allows you to get the scoop on the hottest beta software.  Original Price: $0

4) Webcam: The popularity of Skype and video conferencing has led to significant price drops for webcams.  A quality webcam can be purchased for little out of pocket, and just a few bucks will grab you the basics.  Webcams are great not only for video chat but also security cameras, baby monitors, or hosting your own outdoor weather/birdcam.  I managed to snag a very basic webcam for $1.40 on eBay, and it works great.  Original Price: $2, $20 and beyond.

5) An original/unique email account: Nobody wants to be Matt.I.Was.Born.1890@, Matt.99Grad@, or 1234Matt@.  You can brighten your friends day by giving them an original, easy to remember email address like JediMaster@, or HockeyStop@.  Best of all, this gift costs you nothing but clever brainpower and a little time.  This works great for parents, grandparents, or folks who are new to the Internet.  Think of adjectives that describe the person.  Original Price: $0

6) Travel USB Hub: On top of misplacing all of the items listed in this article, I’m always running out of USB ports.  A Travel USB hub is a great item to regift because it’s portable and useful.  Newegg features several different models.  Original Price: $4 to $20+

7) USB Optical Mouse: Just like the webcams and USB hubs, every tech-enabled household seems to have several mice running around.  A travel USB optical mouse can be purchased for nearly nothing at your neighbood Walmart.  With the explosion of netbooks, a companion travel mouse makes any task easier.  Additional features like Bluetooth make a travel mouse even more useful.  Several of the USB travel hubs featured on Newegg have packages that include mouse, adapters, and USB hub.  Original Price: $8 to $30+

8) iPod/mp3/PMP Earbuds: I’m always misplacing my iPod earbuds.  If you’re looking to score a cheap pair of replacements, Amazon can hook you up with a plethora of choices.  I’ve even seen Duracell battery packages that included free earbuds!  Original Price: $.74 to $40 and above.

A few regifting tips for your technology items.

• Make sure your item is new.  While you may think it’s ok to wrap some dusty old item up and give it as a gift, you should technically only regift new items that are sealed in the original packaging.  Open items can be regifted as long as they include all original packaging, documentation, and appear in a like-new condition.
• Be sure that the person you’re regifting to won’t be offended if they find out your item was regifted.  Somehow, the truth always seems to work its way to the surface.  Don’t regift a something trashy to your significant other unless you want to spend Christmas with the dog.  Take the time to purchase something important and meaningful for your special loved one.

What are some of your great regifed tech ideas?  Hit up the comments to share your gift giving wisdom.

That said, here we go (after the jump) with my predictions for 2009. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.

Netbooks

Netbooks will remain a dominant story throughout the year. That’s actually easy to predict. What’s more difficult is what the story or stories will be. I’m predicting the following:

• Prices will stabilize with $500 being the high end and $300 the low end. We’ll see a few at lower points but they will be quickly dismissed.
• We will see more subsidized Netbooks.
• Sales of Linux based Netbooks will continue to drop, with XP continuing to be a user favorite. Even Microsoft recognizes this as they keep extending the life of XP.
• Microsoft will continue to tell us that Netbooks can run Windows 7. OEMs will tell us Netbooks will run Windows 7. We will not see Windows 7 Capable or Windows 7 Ready stickers on Netbooks.
• We will see more touch screens on Netbooks. They will continue to be a novelty.
• As Netbooks continue to proliferate we’ll see fewer and fewer notebooks in the $600 range. Low price Netbooks will usher in a move to the $750-$1000 notebook by OEMs.
• Netbooks will be the most returned electronics gadget throughout the year.

Tablet PCs

• We’ll see new Tablet PCs as we get closer to Windows 7. Most will feature multi-touch. The question is with what digitizer: Wacom or N-Trig. I’m betting on Wacom.
• HP and Lenovo will continue to dominate the Tablet PC space. Toshiba, Dell, and Fujitsu continue to slip.
• We will not see any new Tablet PC applications of any significance in 2009.
• Inking will continue to take a back seat to touch.

Mobile Computing

• The US will continue to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to broadband speeds.
• Apple and Google (and Google’s Android partners) will dominate the news about Mobile computing.
• Intel will continue to make noise about MIDs. We’ll see a few more entries in 2009, but it will be too little too late.
• AT&T will continue to frustrate customers on all levels leading to strong calls for Apple to end its exclusivity arrangement.
• Sprint will continue to loose customers but hang in there, betting on WiMAX, which still won’t be prevalent enough to make a difference.
• The continued push to deliver HD content over broadband will continue to be frustrated by old school business models and poor decisions that were made years ago.
• Broadband companies will use the poor economy and the planned vision by the Obama administration for an excuse to up rates.
• Nokia will continue to dominate in Europe and Asia, but will begin to fade in the US.

Apple

• Steve Jobs will step down from Apple.
• There will not be an Apple Netbook or an Apple Tablet PC, instead we will hear about a new device that will tie more directly into Apple’s delivery pipeline.
• The Apple App Store will become an even more dominant story both for good reasons and for bad reasons.
• There will be a next generation iPhone in 2009.
• Apple will begin to feel some heat from continued releases of products that have problems.

Microsoft

• Microsoft will continue to garner good (and deserved) early notices for Windows 7.
• Microsoft’s marketing will find a way to screw up all the good will they earn in the run up to Windows 7.
• Microsoft will continue to confuse customers and itself with all things Live.
• Microsoft will unveil touch applications prior to the end of the year geared for Windows 7 and multi-touch. Not many will care.
• The next version of OneNote will not get any real boost from Microsoft marketing.
• Someone will through a shoe at Steve Ballmer.

Other Stories

• Cloud computing will continue to be a dominant story. Users will continue to do more with less until companies begin looking for revenue streams from all those free services.
• We’ll hear more and more about the real-time web. We won’t get close to having anything like it.
• Google will introduce or begin talking about an Android OS for devices other than phones.
• CES 2009 will be called a disappointment.

Here is a picture of the presentation, a little writeup from David (there’s much more in the forums, so head over there), and a thank-you note from The Restoration House themselves. A huge thanks to HP, Microsoft, the Windows Live team, and Buzz Corps for helping make the lives of single mothers just a little bit easier.

- David Arpino

What a wonderful day today.  Not just for me but for The Restoration House, the mothers living in the house, Gottabemobile.com, HP, Microsoft and everyone else involved.  God has truly blessed us all to have such a wonderful community.  Thank you especially to Rob Bushway for all your patience with me and for what you have done for the mobile computing community.

I met with Daniel and Mandy Watson of The Restoration House today to present them with their gifts from The HP Magic Giveaway, GBM, and Microsoft…as well as a few that I added in myself.  We had a great time and there was excitement all around.  We took a couple pictures for a press release and I have included one here for you all to enjoy as well.

That is me in the middle, Daniel to my right and Mandy to my left.  Most of the goodies are pictured in fornt of us with the exception of the HP HDX notebook which was damaged in shipping, and a couple of the desktops I’m donating.

Besides us in the picture is a Dell Optiplex GX desktop PC, the HP Pavilion Laptop, the HP Mininote, a Toshiba Tablet that I donated, the HP Multifunction Printer, a HP OfficeJet printer, two CRT monitors, and the DVD’s and software.

I should have the other desktops wiped clean and the OS’s reinstalled in a few days and I will present them along with the HDX NOtebook when it gets here.  My plans are to also take some pictures of everything once its all set up in the house.

Take Care,

David

Hello Rob.  I just wanted to say thank you for having gottabemoble.com host the recent HP Magic Giveaway contest.   It is such an incredible blessing.  David Arpino just stopped by a little bit ago presented us with all of the equipment in addition to the computers he was personally donating.  This is going to do so much for the operation of The Restoration House as well as our individual moms.  We have one of them starting school soon and that doesn’t currently have a computer.  But she will now!

Thank you for being a judge and seeing the value in the work that we do.  It is truly an honor and we feel completely blessed each and every day.  David told me you were raised by a single mother so I’m sure you know some what our moms are up against but it is incredible how resilient they are.  We know having both my wife and I having been raised by single moms.

Journeying toward Restoration…

Daniel Watson
Executive Director

The Restoration House

Mobile Computing

• The term “netbook” becomes a household name because many homes have adopted one or two as a second computer, child’s computer, or mobile companion.  Features, build quality, and battery life improve while price points still hover around $350.  More options for Integrated, 3G wireless develop with mixed reviews.
• MIDs struggle to exist as competition from netbooks, the iPod/iTouch/advanced personal media players (PMPs), and cell phones dominate.  The high price factor and impracticality prevent widespread adoption.

Tablet Computing

• Atom-based Tablet PCs like the 3rd generation Intel Classmate PC begin to flourish and become popular in the school setting and start to trickle into the consumer market.
• Tablet PCs obtain better and more sophisticated multi-touch support.
• The TechCrunch tablet grows from the original prototype, but the price is higher than anticipated and doesn’t experience success due to competition from the iPhone/iTouch and the flood of netbooks.  Look to Nokia for a Tablet that is inspired by the simplicity/hardware of a netbook and could have success if the price is right.
• Traditional Tablet PCs continue to be overpriced and marketed as business niche.

Hardware

• Other laptop manufacturers follow Apple’s lead and implement multi-touch trackpad support but keep the button(s).
• HDTV prices will drop as the DTV transition takes place, and more people will use their HDTVs as the entrance to their Internet and media world (see general computing space, below).
• Battery life will increase and manufacturer’s will release true all-day computing in a package that isn’t ugly or extra heavy.  However, consumers will still pay substantially more for the extra hours of juice.
• The push to USB 3.0 begins, although the standard does not experience widespread implementation until late 2009/early 2010.
• Green technology continues to be popular but is under implemented, mostly used as novelty, and expensive.  Computer manufacturers focus primarily on reducing overall power consumption, using SSDs, and LEDs.

Software

• The push towards cloud services continues and features improve greatly, but consumers are still more comfortable using local software that always works regardless of an Internet connection.  File synchronization options like Windows Live Mesh improve in terms of features, reliability and grow in popularity.
• Social networking sites like FaceBook and LinkedIn continue to flourish, becoming even more socially accepted among adults and non-tech geeks.
• Additional builds of Windows 7 receive favorable reviews for being lightweight, battery friendly, stable, and featuring full tablet/inking capabilities.

General Computing Space

• The bridge from computers to the television begins to be strengthened and devices such as the Apple TV, TiVo, and Slingbox become more like slimmed down PCs for your TV rather than a device that simply redirects your media.  Similar to Microsoft’s WebTV in terms of user experience but much more advanced,  consumers begin to see the potential of having a “nettop” device hooked up to their television.  Nettop manufacturer’s will advertise the nettop as the cheap, media center PC for your TV.
• Traditional news and media outlets will experience continued decline in reader/viewership as Internet-based news and entertainment services/sites, such as Hulu.com (free) and Netflix (not free), continue to expand in popularity.
• A few companies that you should definitely keep an eye on: Apple, Nokia, and Palm.  Apple will of course continue to push their iTunes platform and the iPhone/iTouch.  Nokia and Palm (they’ll have new life and new products) as well as other manufacturers will begin to produce devices that merge the usefulness of netbooks with the form factor, call quality, and Internet capabilities of cell phones.  WiMax will become the word of ‘09.

Like looking into the future?  Check out Warner’s scoring of his ‘08 predictions and stay tuned for additional glances forward in time from the GottaBeMobile team.

One such piece is from the AppleBlog, where they just don’t see the thin profit margins in the Netbook scene making much sense in Apple’s current milieu and think a less expensive Netbook will eat into Apple’s other more profitable lines. Makes sense if you have no vision beyond the device itself.

ComputerWorld points out some info from anaylst Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research Inc, that Mr. Gottheil himself clearly labels as speculation, makes some interesting points, speculation or no. Gottheil sees Apple’s entry into the Netbook market as something that might be tied to iTunes and the App store in a similar way that Apple has seens succcess with its locked down silo and  the iPhone and its iPod business.

That is an interesting proposition, which if it came to be, (again, speculation) could change the dynamics of the crazy Netbook scene. Think about it for a second. Netbooks are meant for low overhead Internet computing. Tie in applications and services (where you control the distribution outlet) and the low margins on the hardware could yield better margins overall on the software. Would we see others follow suit with similar App store approaches? (Can you say Google Android?) Who knows. The jury would also be out on whether customers would be content with Apple’s silo approach on this kind of device, the way they appear to be with the iPhone.

But then there is that other elephant in the room that is just getting started: Android.

Fascinating to think about the possibilities.

Actually I don’t think I did  too badly.

Warner’s 2008 Predictions

• Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) will dominate the conversation for the first half of the year. What happens in the 2^nd half is anybody’s guess. (Mostly correct. The news about MIDs dominated following CES2008 but slacked off when the wave of early devices didn’t make it to market. We are in wait and see mode for what will happen in 2009.)
• Call it Ultra-Mobile PC, call it UMPC, call it Origami. Call it what you will, but by the end of 2008 call it in its dying throes. The ultra mobile vision will remain, but in other devices. (Correct. Say bye-bye UMPC)
• Unlike Rob, I don’t see Dell re-evaluating their price point on the XT Tablet PC so soon. The high price point is consistent with the markets they have been targeting from the beginning. If the prices drop it will be a year from now at the earliest. (Correct.)
• Apple will not market a Tablet PC in 2008. Instead it will be a communication device that takes advantage of the iPhone’s features as well as the Back to My Mac features for users to grab their data on the road. Because it will have a touch interface and be able to take advantage of InkWell, Tablet PC aficionados will call it a failure. (Mostly Correct. Apple did not do a Tablet, nor did they do a communications device as I described.)
• Touch will again be a dominate feature and news story. The real question is will anyone develop an application that makes it more than a fancy way to play media, turn pages, or manipulate photos. Or is that enough? (Correct.)
• Multi-touch is still a ways off. Someone, somewhere, needs to develop a real use for it on the Tablet PC and mobile devices. (Mostly Correct-Win 7 offers promise but the jury is still out until we see the bits in the Beta.)
• With the exception of the MID and whatever Apple will do in 2008, next year’s headlines will be about technologies that change or provide new content delivery methods, similar to the Amazon Kindle. (Not correct. I thought we’d see more of this.)
• Microsoft’s marketing will continue to be mediocre at best and miss the mark more than it will hit. (Mostly Correct, but only because Microsoft’s marketing went from being mostly mediocre to down-right awful.)
• DRM will continue to cripple operating systems and content delivery methods. Most consumers won’t notice. Those that do will root for Amazon, Walmart, and Independent music producers to keep putting the pressure on. (Correct.)
• New releases of new products across the board will slow down in 2008. Some consumers will remember Apple’s iPhone price drop from 2007, companies will try to get a better handle on delivery inadequacies. Consumers are starting to notice that their voices can be heard, and companies will start to slow things down a bit, to hopefully improve on what they eventually release. (Not correct. The age of Beta Hardware is upon us.)
• The word “open” will get bandied around a lot. As in Google’s efforts to make mobile devices more open with its Google Android mobile OS. The word open will lose all meaning in the marketing miasma. (Somewhat correct. Open is still talked about quite a bit, but not to the extent I thought it would be.)
• OneNote 2007 will continue to remain a secret. (Correct.)
• The Asus Eee PC story is just getting started. It will have much more impact in 2008.  (Correct.)
• The companies to watch in the mobile space who will have the greatest impact will be Apple, Nokia, HTC, Asus, and Google. (Correct.)
• HP, Toshiba, and Lenovo will continue to dominate the consumer Tablet PC space, although we probably won’t see anything really new until 2009. Fujitsu needs to make some noise here. (Mostly Correct. HP and Lenovo are the dominate players. Toshiba needs to catch up. Fujistu still needs to make some noise.)
• Inking on Tablet PCs will continue to remain the ultimate niche in a niche product. (Correct.)
• There will be a major Internet outage or Bot Attack in 2008, prompting all sorts of chaos and howling. This will lead to a renewed interest in client apps vs. the cloud. (Not correct.)

Colored S10 Netbooks can now be had for as low as $359, while the black model can be had for $349. Bumping up the memory and storage will also bump up the price to $399 / $409.

Thanks to Lenovo’s sponsorship of our upcoming CES 2009 coverage, Sierra will be using their S10 Netbook while covering CES. She’s hoping to evaluate the pink or red one!

via LogicBuy, via Engadget

1. A glutton for punishment/frustration
2. A sucker for shiny new things
3. A hopeless optimist

No matter which of the above labels fit, I find myself loving imperfect mobile devices and platforms. Without laying myself on some anaylsts couch, I’ve been trying lately to examine the reasons why. Here’s my thinking.

First up is my long standing love affair with the Tablet PC. I’m hoplessly smitten here. Not only does this imperfect Mircosoft solution offer me a way to take notes in my work and allow me to be less tied down when I do so, I really enjoy the freedom and flexibility it gives me when I use a computer for relaxation and fun as well. There are several things that I cannot imagine giving up on, should Tablet PCs ever cease to exist.

1. Taking notes in meetings and rehearsals
2. Web browsing in slate mode on a Tablet PC
3. Brainstorming using MindJet’s MindManager and a pen
4. Jotting off a quick reply in email using Ink
5. When creating a new project or schedule being able to mark up what I’ve previously done with the pen

I’ve also picked up a new relationship with Apple’s iPhone 3G and find the allure there to be just as powerful and from early indications, far from fleeting.

1. Browsing the web in places that even a Tablet PC is too inconvenient to lug around (this has become my go to stall surfing device)
2. Quick replies to emails when I’m out and about
3. Fantastic media consumption platform
4. Uh, oh, I find myself enjoying gaming again (This could be big trouble)
5. Quick photography and blogging of same (even though the camera is a pitiable excuse for one)
6. The location aware apps are starting to offer me some new found fun as well

But both platforms are fraught with woulda/coulda/shoulda’s. Many of which I’ve chronicled here on GBM before. Microsoft has yet to fully embrace the Tablet PC and Inking within its own walls and seems hopelessly confused on how to advance it. Strange, given that scribbling notes is something that everyone does every day, and that mobility is what is on most people’s minds these days when it comes to computing. Apple either doesn’t have the capability to add some essentials (uncrippled BlueTooth, cut and paste, decent camera, MMS, etc….) to its iPhone platform that have existed for some time on others, or just doesn’t care. I’m beginning to think it is a combination of both.

Of course it can be argued that no platform or technology is perfect, nor is any relationship. But the fact that I find myself drawn to, and wrapped up in, both of these imperfect wonders drives me a bit nuts at times.

Perhaps the key to both is that that even with their flaws, they provide me with a sense of freedom, and as I’ve said many times before, a sense of enjoyment in how I work and play with them. They also both provide me with a sense of discovery on any given day, even if I’m using the same tools day in and day out to accomplish what’s in front of me.

As mobile computing continues to evolve into whatever it will become, I’m sure some other gadget will come along and replace one or both of these two current dalliances. But for the moment, I’ll continue to dance with both partners happily, even though they offer great propensity for tripping over their own feet.

And now on to the winner of GBM’s HP Magic Giveaway contest……

Congratulations to Dave Arpino, the winner of $6,000 in HP computers, Microsoft and Windows Live software, and various HP accessories! Dave’s entry really touched my heart because of who he nominated, what he was donating to them, and their mission. Dave “spread the magic”  by nominating The Restoration House, a non-profit whose mission is to help birth and single mother families by providing them housing and other services necessary in helping single mothers achieve their goals and dreams. Except for the TouchSmart PC, which Dave really wants for himself, Dave will be donating the rest of prize package, including several of his own tablet pcs, desktops, and a server to the Restoration House. Dave Arpino, and his nomination of The Restoration House, represents an amazing opportunity to help a lot single mothers and their children with some amazing technology.

In addition to submitting a regular text entry,  Dave also submitted a video entry, and has been quite active in our forums. He earned bonus points all the way around. Most of the regulars in our forums will recognize Dave Arpino as “DaveTN”.

Here is an excerpt from the Arpino’s nomination entry, a video about The Restoration House, and the Arpino’s nomination video as well. I encourage you to visit their website to learn more. Dave, we look forward to hearing from you on how your donation to The Restoration House was received, and enjoy the heck out of that HP TouchSmart PC, ok?

For those that didn’t win, don’t forget to checkout the remaining contests - there are still plenty of opportunities.

Video about The Restoration House and their mission:

Excerpt of Text Entry

I would like to nominate Mandy and Daniel Watson who own and operate “The Restoration House“, a non-profit home for single mothers. The Restoration House provides not only a home and work but fellowship, jobs training skills, and counseling for women with children who can not afford a place to live and need to learn the skills necessary to function in the real world. Daniel and Mandy started the house on their own and survive by donations and non-profit funding. They purchased an old apartment complex and did most of the refurbishing themselves. Currently, they are at their max number of families until they can get more units ready to live in. For more information about The Restoration House, please visit their link. http://therestorationhouse.net/site/index.php

Video nomination entry

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