Not from Hugo, but from Kaz911 Rescue Service comes some more quick hands on reporting of the HTC Shift. He has some interesting info on Windows Mobile: the prototype he worked with had a limited edition of Windows Mobile 6, none of the mobile office apps. He also verifies the native screen resolution at 800 x 480 and that at 1024 x 600 the screen “is a bit muddy to look at.” He also says a rumor is floating around that it may have some form of multi-touch. Read more of his impressions here.

Via jkkmobile

Doggie, a GottaBeMobile.com forum reader, is one of the first folks I know to take ownership of a Fujitsu T2010 Tablet PC. He's posted some great pictures and is offering up an initial and ongoing commentary review.

Head over there to check out - that screen is looking mighty nice! I can't wait to get my hands on one next week.

I just spoke with my contacts at Samsung and they tell me that the much anticipated docking station for the Q1 Ultra UMPC will be released in September. No word on pricing, but as we get more information, we'll be sure to pass it along.

One of the awesome things about being a part of a technical world and being a technical professional is that there are never any shortages of cool things to be involved in!  The dilemma it creates however is that there are only so many hours in a day to be involved!  This is where I am at today.

As you may have noticed, my posting and activity on GottaBeMobile has slowed quite a bit in the past several months.  There are a number of reasons for this, but it is primarily due to an increase in the activity of my bread and butter day to day job as a network designer and engineer (which pays the bills for most of my gadget lust – a most critical function!).  Combine that with a great family I spend too little time with, and a couple of new interests in my life (including an awesome job working with my church!), and the result has been a marked lack of time to devote to GottaBeMobile.  In spite of my absence, the site continues to grow and morph into a better community each day. It has been amazing to see how much the community has grown and continues to do so, and I have come to realize that GottaBeMobile is so much bigger than any one individual, it is truly a community.

So in a pretty difficult decision, I have decided to change my status here to reflect my need to adjust personally.  I have officially sold my partnership interest in the site to my most capable partner Mr. Rob Bushway, and will now assume a somewhat reduced role on the site.  I will still be around to keep Rob and crew straight (which is not easy, believe me), but will from now on be a contributing writer, maybe do the occasional InkShow or review, and continue to support GottaBeMobile  in any way I can as time allows.  This change makes sense for all involved and more correctly represents my involvement in the day to day activities of running this quality community.  Rob has done a great job running and supporting the site and creating content on a day to day basis, and will continue to do so.  Warner, Matt, Eddie and Hugo are an awesome group to work with, and their contributions speak for themselves.  I now take the enviable position of being able to spread out into other things while maintaining a relationship that has and continues to mean so much to me personally and professionally.

I have a huge passion and commitment to Tablet PC, UMPC and related technologies.  I continue to welcome any and all correspondence, questions, etc. in this area, so please don’t be shy, my email will remain (dennis@gottabemobile.com), and I will most definitely still be around the site.  I would love to continue to hear from the community.

Let Team GottaBeMobile know how they are doing folks.  It takes so much more time than people realize to maintain and grow a community like this.  There is no way to properly describe the joy of getting even a simple comment or email that shows appreciation for all the effort put forth.  The team deserves and needs to hear from its community members as an honest gauge of their effort.  When you take the time to make those comments, it can really fuel the team’s effort for the next day.  Trust me on that – I’ve been there!

So with that I officially hand the ownership and future of GottaBeMobile to Rob Bushway and the rest of the team.  They are most capable hands.

See ya around the site.

Linda Epstein at TabletPC2.com, who has had her hands on quite a few Tablet PCs, is wowed by Fujitsu’s T2010 Tablet PC. She is impressed with the indoor/outdoor viewability of the screen saying it is the best she has ever seen, and the up to 11 hour battery life. You might want to head over and give her review a look-see.

And don’t forget, the T2010 will be making an appearance at the GBM Meetup in Colorado Springs next week, so if you can find your way to Colorado Springs you can go hands on with this device and find out what has Linda all excited.

No doubt the HTC Shift has generated quite a bit of interest. Even without solid answers to many questions it has generated much love and some strong dislike. The latter especially centering around the native screen resolution. Hugo reported that on the device he got to try out briefly the native screen resolution was 800x480 and immediately some who were very interested in the device began some wailing and gnashing of teeth. Many users, this one included, would love to see the native resolution of the Shift be 1024x600. The pixel interpolation/doubling that we’ve seen in other UMPCs isn’t going to cut it for many folks.

Well, David Maiden has begun a small crusade to try and influence HTC’s mind on the native resolution. Head over to this site and leave a comment on David’s post. He’s hoping to gather quite a few responses and put some pressure on HTC to make a shift to The Shift. The real question is will HTC listen?

This looks like big news from Sharp in the mutli– touch screen realm. The 3.5 inch LCD has an optically sensor embedded in each pixel. It reduces the need for films or special coatings.

Sharp developed its proprietary System LCD technology to successfully embed an optical sensor used in devices like scanners in each pixel of the LCD panel. This technology eliminates the need for films, resulting in a thinner, beautifully clear screen display compared to conventional touch screens. In addition, tactile recognition based on simultaneously touching multiple points on the screen is now possible, a feature previously difficult to implement. For example, users can easily tap the screen with two fingers to enlarge or reduce a displayed map. Also, the scanner function can be used to scan in a business card placed on top of the screen, and further improvements to this function are expected to enable fingerprint authentication in the future.

 Sharp is aiming for mass production next spring.

Thanks to Kenneth Auchenberg who tipped us to the Engadget post.

 In my last InkShow, you got a glimpse of how I mounted a Samsung Q1P running StreetDeck in my GMC Yukon. During the creation of that InkShow, I was so impressed with the ProClip line, I knew then what my next show would be about. Today, it's all about the best mobile mounting solutions I have ever found. Combine superior quality products with excellent sales support and you have a winner. My first experience a few years ago was with a ProClip holder that I fitted to my motorcycle. It worked great. I have looked for a long time for a mounting system that would not be cheesy (cheep) and at the same time look like it belonged in a USMC Hummer (industrial) . ProClipUSA is dead on the money. They have a complete line of excellent mounts and holders for many different vehicles, and many, many different devices. They even have an excellent solution for mounting most of the devices at your desk. Be sure to check out the "extra" video below for a peek!

As this article from InfoWorld points out, mobile workers continue to enter the mobility space uninformed about the issues of security revolving around email, WiFi, data syncing, tethering, data stored in the cloud and accessible from just about anywhere, corporate data stored on mobile pcs and tablet pcs, etc. Wherever we step, there seems to be danger lurking. The challenge is in knowing what the danger is, where it is, and how to protect against it.

In that light, I'm pleased to announce that in September, we are launching a regular series focused on mobile computing and security. Our goal for this series is to equip our readers so they can "go mobile with a security mindset". Our Contributing Writer for this series is Terry Bradley, a Senior Network Security Analyst with Futures-Inc.com. Futures Inc provides network security consulting and products for the government and small / large corporate sector. I'll share more about Terry in the coming weeks as he begins this series, but until then, join me in welcoming him as a Contributing Writer for GBM.

As Sgt Phil Esterhaus would say,  "And, hey - let's be careful out there."

Thanks to our good friend John Hill, from Allegiance Technology Partners, folks attending the GottaBeMobile.com Readers Meetup will be able to see and use the just released Fujitsu T2010 Tablet PC up close and personal. I'll also have my HP 2710p there, so folks can do a hands-on comparison between the two very similar devices.

By the way, I just heard that John is also sending us an Amtek T770 UMPC and a Motion Computing LE1700.

So, if you didn't already have enough reasons to attend the GBM Readers Meetup, we just upped the ante for you!

I’ve been giving some thought to what comes next for me regarding an Ultra-Mobile PC. There are a lot of shiny new options out there, but I have to admit it is tough going looking through the options available and comparing them to my needs. For what it is worth, I’m sharing my thoughts here. Share your responses if you care to.

Currently I have two UMPCs: The Asus R2H and the Samsung Q1P. I certainly don’t need them both so I’m going to consolidate and I am probably moving on to another device. Or maybe not. Neither of the above fills my needs completely for various reasons, and for many of the same reasons, I’m not sure the current crop does either. Here are my needs:

1. Note taking in rehearsals and occasionally in meetings.
2. Mobile media playing when on the road.
3. Internet surfing, blogging, email, and the occasional document creation while on the road.

That’s it. Simple and direct. Why do the two I have not fill those simple needs? I’ve spoken about this many times, and in this GBM InkShow and this GBM Short. The Asus R2H doesn’t like to play well with Vista, no matter how you tweak it. It is an excellent UMPC for note taking, but its slow performance just doesn’t cut it for other purposes. The Samsung Q1P handles the latter two chores quite nicely, but for note taking the soft touch screen just doesn’t work for me. So, what’s available and what am I considering?

There was great rejoicing when cities started talking about providing free municipal Wifi. Now there seems to be great back-pedaling going on.Recently San Francisco and Chicago are re-evaluating their plans. It looks like Earthlink’s financial woes is a key factor in the possible pull backs, as is the revenue model to keep this networks humming. Apparently there are about 175 muni-WiFi projects on the books at the moment. Chicago is also now working with Sprint’s WiMax initiative, so maybe there is still some hope for the Windy City connectivity.

Yanko Designs always has concepts that are fascinating. Apparently this concept is aimed at those folks who don’t want too many bells and whistles on a cell phone, but would occasionally like to write a message. The slide out touchpad allows you to enter one letter at a time apparently and the pad itself looks vaugely like one of those pin or nail like gadgets that respond to pressure. Of course, touch has moved on a bit, but nonetheless, it is intriguing. More pictures at this link.

This is interesting. Microsoft’s Mac Unit is hearing from users that they’d like to see OneNote on a Mac. Nadyne, who works in Microsoft’s Macintosh Businss Unit, and writes the blog go ahead, mac my day is asking users where their interest lies. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Microsoft ported OneNote 2007 to the Mac and it finally got the publicity that this killer application deserves? Maybe then it wouldn’t remain the best application that no one ever heard of.

Via Dan Escapa

I’m guessing Chippy won’t do a Solar Tour to this place. The Grenadines’ Palm Island Resort in the Caribbean according to The Raw Feed has banned mobile devices within a half mile of the beach in front of the resort. In my opinion, it really isn’t an issue because if I’m going to be soaking up rays, I’m not going to be carrying any gadgets with me. But I’m guessing others don’t feel that way.

Via Engadget

When Dynamism offered to send me the HTC Advantage to review, I knew it wouldn't be an exact fit for what we normally cover on GBM, but I was interested in it because of some unique features I had heard about: a built-in accelerometer. What is unique about this accelerometer is that Opera Mobile takes advantage of it.  The page automatically scrolls up / down / left and right depending on the angle the device is being held at. Tilt it up and the page scrolls up, etc.

This interested me because of the usability possibilities for tablet pcs and ultra-mobile pcs, especially those that don't have scroll buttons. Take a look at this video and you'll see what I mean - it is pretty cool stuff, but it definitely needs some work as you'll see in the video.

Follow the Read More link to watch the video.

The response to the GottaBeMobile Reader Meetup has been really good. We've gotten a great response from OEMs and ISVs with plenty of giveaways. In fact, I just received a box from Lenovo containing 20 2 gb flash drives. Active Ink Software is donating a license of their software, Forms2Base is donating a license of their software, Allegiance Technology Partners is sending some good stuff, TabletKiosk,  Microsoft, Samsung, Otterbox, and Motion Computing are getting in on the action, too. We have tons of shirts and stuff coming in from HP, OQO, TechSmith, Bluebeam, and more. GraphicResults.com is donating some specially made GBM T-Shirts for us, too. Wow - I'm gonna need a truck to get all that stuff to Pikes Perk.

For many, handwriting recognition is a thing of joy. If you are like me, one of the most ongoing and frustrating things in my life is my handwriting. It is horrible. Mix in some electrons and no wonder I get such mixed results with handwriting recognition. Wanting to do a better job, here are a few tips that I found that may help make an improvement.

Microsoft has announced some details on the availability of Vista Service Pack 1 and XP Service Pack 3. Here is a quick run-down, but you can read more here.

Vista Service Pack 1

• Expect Vista Service Pack 1 during the first quarter of 2008, but that date might change based on beta testing.
• It is not designed to significantly change the UI or cause regressions in application compatibility
• It will be around 50mb in size
  Read more ...
  
  

Part of being in a community is getting together with readers, listeners, watchers and friends, so in a couple of weeks, we're doing just that - GottaBeMobile.com reader meetup.  In this Podcast, Warner, no, I mean Rob - well it really is Warner (you'll figure it out when you listen...) talk about the fun times in store for everybody in Colorado Springs at the meet-up.  Should be nice to see all the GBM Team members, well everybody that can make it but Hugo, since he'll still be on vacation - he's a little far anyway's...  Speaking of Hugo, he's been found and sent some answers to Rob, we discuss the Shift a little more during this Podcast, but the most important hardware related discussion on the show is about Acer buying out Gateway. 

Active Ink Software has released Professional Designer 6.0, which is forms designer software designed for the Tablet PC. I have been using the beta version for awhile now, and the improvements are quite good. Look for an InkShow on Active Ink in the next week or two. Learn more by reading the press release below and visiting Active Ink Software .

That was quick. Same Samsung has refreshed its line of Q1 Ultra UMPCs. Intriguingly all three SKUs are running Windows XP Tablet Edition and from what I can tell that is the reason for the refresh. They also contain 300nit LED Backlight screens. Supposedly the battery life is up to 4.5hrs. As with the previous entries in the Q1 Ultra line there are three entry points.

• The Q1U-ELXP runs a 600MHz A100 processor with a 40GB HD priced at $999.
• The Q1U-XPUMPC runs a 800MHz A110 processor with a 60GB HD priced at $1149.
• The Q1U-SSDXP runs a 800MHz A110 processor with a 32GB Flash NAND SSD priced at $1649.

From what I’ve seen so far I’m unsure if these replace the existing SKUs or are in addition to.

via DigitalTech News

TabletKiosk has opened their own forums for users. As you would expect there are forum categories for each of the models of UMPC or Tablet PC that TabletKiosk is selling and also one for accessories. Several other OEMs have forums available and the communication between compaines and users is sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Asus is a prime example of the latter. Here’s hoping TabletKiosk will have a strong presence in their own forums beyond just reading the posts.

Here is official word from TabletKiosk:

TabletKiosk™, a leader in mobile computing solutions, has launched a new section on its website featuring FAQs and an online discussion forum www.tabletkiosk.com/forum functioning as a centralized support area for communicating with TabletKiosk staff members while providing users with a community knowledge base.

In the new TabletKiosk forum section, visitors will find online discussions offering assistance in solving specific issues and information about new product releases. 

“We have added FAQ section and community support forum in response to customer requests”, said Martin Smekal, president of TabletKiosk.  “We know that our customer base is anxious to communicate with one another for sharing success stories and troubleshooting.  Therefore, we encourage our site visitors to browse, register and post their questions and experiences with our products.”

To provide a more personalized user experience, TabletKiosk staff members, including representatives from Tech Support, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, will monitor the forum section on an ongoing basis to answer specific questions.   This will add an unprecedented level of responsiveness to assist TabletKiosk owners with their specific questions. 

It is always a good thing when the "higher ups" at OEMs come out talking about their technology. It usually gives insight in to their thinking and future product movement. This comment from Fran O'Sullivan, Lenovo's Chief Operating Officer, is no different. She was interviewed  by ITPro and offered up this answer when asked if all mainstream notebooks will eventually turn into tablets or is it really just a vertical market?

TheUnwired.Net is reporting that the HTC Shift will be unveiled at the GITEX tradeshow on September 8th. So, for those not satisfied with the amount of information provided in our video review and answers to questions post, the floodgates will be lifted shortly.

Via UMPCPortal.com

 HP went back to the drawing board when they redesigned their convertible Tablet PC, and with the 2710p Tablet PC, the hit a home run in the design department for sure. From the moment the 2710p Tablet PC is opened up, it is clear that its origins came from the TC1100.

Along with the stunning new design, there are some nice new features like a webcam, keyboard light, business card scanner, WXGA screen, and capacitive touch volume controls. However, as you'll see in this InkShow video review, some of the design choices HP made were at the expense of function. For example, the capacitive touch volume controls sound like a great idea, but practically speaking, the lack of tactile feedback make them difficult to use. In addition, they are not available while in tablet mode.  In fact, there are very few options available while in tablet mode. While the 2710p is a fantastic unit and I'll continue to use it, there are some things about the 2710p that prospective buyers need to know before making a decision, and I try to cover most of those in this review.

Matt Miller has been giving the HTC Advantage a thorough going over and has published a review replete with quite a few photos of the device as well as a short video. In his review he asks the question, Is the HTC Advantage really the most powerful mobile office? I won’t spoil the answer here. Rob has his hands on the Advantage also, so I’ll be interesting to see what reactions he has to the devcie as well.

While the jury is still very far out on a lot of information on the HTC Shift, the Advantage seems to be gaining some interesting momentum for those who aren’t looking for a complete Windows Vista solution in their mobile device and can handle their needs with the Windows Mobile OS. The fact that you can put your hands on these devices at CompUSA has got to be a factor there as well.

Perry Reed, who just celebrated a birthday, is back with another Tablet PC Show podcast. In episode #63 he covers a range of topics from new hardware to software that are bouncing around the Tablet and UMPC scapes. He also has his hands on the new Sahara i440D and offers some impressions there. I’m enjoying getting to know this slate Tablet PC and am looking forward to doing an Inkshow of it soon.

Check out the show notes, listen or subscribe here. Happy Birthday, Perry.

Looks like Michael Connick now has a blog to communicate his thoughts about mobile devices. He used to do so only via Twitter. He had some great Tweets on the Nokia N800 and now is doing the same with the Kohjinsha SH6. He’s put up a couple of videos about the device here and here. One shows the device running multiple Office 2007 apps and the other shows the device as a media player. I’m subscribed.

UPDATE: Michael has posted a likes/dislikes post about the Kohjinsha SH6.

Gizmodo is linking to some interesting coverage from Aving on Samsung’s SPH P2000 UMPC. The touch screen device has a fold out origami-like keyboard and 4G WiMax connectivity. The UMPC is being unveiled at the Samsung 4G Forum 2007 in Korea.

Well, well, well. We know Tablet PCs are a great tool for students and we know the medical industry is a one of the key vertical markets for Tablet PCs. What we didn’t know was how Med Students of Genius feel about Tablet PCs. This little video is quite funny.

Interesting stuff. Acer acquires Gateway for $710 Million. Interestingly enough Gateway also has a right of first refusal to purchase Packard Bell. So, Acer could in essence end up owning both Gateway and Packard Bell. Like others I wonder what this all means for mobile users. In looking at some of the information on the deal from Gateway’s site (here’s the link) this came up on one of the slides. Note the UMPC.

John Hill, of TabletPCBuzz.com, is running a great new video series on Tablet PC Heroes. John's goal in this series to highlight people in professions that might not seem like "typical"  professions for tablet pc use.

His first video is of Dr. Steven Gilbert, a dentist with Gilbert Dental Care.

This will be a very good series to follow as John proves that the Tablet PC is not a "niche" product.

Team GBM is getting together for some planning meetings September 7 - 9th in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We've got a whole slew of stuff to talk about and plan for, but a major item on our agenda is the first ever GottaBeMobile Reader Meetup! This first meetup will happen in Colorado Springs.

We'll have a lot of Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs to showcase, some Splotches and GBM Gear to give away, and maybe even some OEM / ISV giveaway stuff. Be sure to bring your own Tablet PC / UMPC, too. With what we all have and what readers might bring, I bet we'll cover most of the OEMs. Should be a lot of fun as we sit around, drink coffee, show off our mobile gadgets, and talk tablet!

If you can't make it, we'll take plenty of pictures and maybe  ustream the meetup, too.

Here are the details:

• What: GottaBeMobile Reader Meetup - Colorado
• When: Saturday, September 8; 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
• Where: Pikes Perk Coffee & Tea House at 5965 North Academy Blvd. #203 ( map ) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• WiFi: Pikes Perk has free WiFi and GBM will pickup the tab on coffee!

If you know you can make it, please leave a reply on this post so I can give Pikes Perk a rough idea on how many to expect.

UPDATE: The response from OEMs and ISVs has been really good so far. Trust me, we're going to have some good stuff to give away at this meetup. You don't want to miss it.