Though he’s probably best known as one of the original XBox founders, Otto Berkes was a key figure in the Tablet and Mobile PC world. Yesterday, he announced his departure from Microsoft, leaving a big tablet-shaped hole in their brain pool. Brier Dudley of The Seattle Times broke the news. As lead developer on Origami [...]
As screenshots from Windows 8 circulate around the ‘net (round-up at Notebooks.com), I feel as if I am unable to appreciate the new elements being introduced because I’ve seen them before. They were already introduced five years ago. By Microsoft. On tablets. What’s being called “Immersive”, I call Origami 3.0.
Remember when all the talk was about UMPCs and folks were hitting up Microsoft’s OrigamiProject.com for all the latest hints and clues about what this new platform would bring us? It seems like eons ago, and a lot has happened in the mobile industry over the past several. Unfortunately, the UMPC concept never really took [...]
VREO, a real estate software company that focuses on Tablet PC e-signature software, has a brief 4:36 minute video outlining the differences between a Tablet PC and a laptop. This is a good video for people new to the Tablet PC arena or anyone who might use a Tablet PC in real estate. If you’re [...]
A couple of weeks ago I had posted that I might be moving to a regular laptop as my main ‘work’ computer (not personal mind you :) ). I also said that I wouldn’t mind checking out the HTC Shift to maybe use as a ‘companion’ device to that laptop. Well, the good folks at [...]
Looks like the Origami Team just released the Origami Experience 2.0 according to the Origami Project.com. Their are four applications in 2.0. Origami Central updates the original OE application to allow users to access media, but has added a fully-optimized browsing experience for UMPCs and a RSS reader. The media features have also been extended. Origami [...]
How times quickly change. When the Origami / Ultra-Mobile PC platform was rolled out in 2006, Microsoft and Intel defined the platform as having a touch screen that was seven inches or smaller. They then modified that to include devices with active digitizer screens like the OQO Model 02. Now, we are seeing devices like [...]
ASUS has posted a new product page for the ASUS R2E Ultra Mobile PC. This system really excited me! It has a 7″ SunRead “glare-proof” touchscreen, built-in 3G module, fingerprint reader, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and WiFi, all running on Windows Vista. For me, one intriguing element is the ASUS InfoPen. Although the pen in [...]
OrigamiProject.com has posted a request for folks to fill out a survey on UMPC usage and perceptions. As an incentive they are giving away some prizes, too. So, here is your opportunity to give some feedback to Microsoft and help impact future design. Here are the details from OrigamiProject.com: Dear UMPC Enthusiasts, As part of [...]
I’ve seen a lot of Ultra-Mobile PCs here at GottaBeMobile.com, but I have yet to see a UMPC perform as snappy as the Amtek T770. With its good performance, configurable buttons, and well designed track stick / mouse buttons, the T770 should make the short list of anyone looking for a UMPC. Unfortunately, there are a few niggles [...]
Layne Heiny, of UMPCBuzz.com, has some very insightful commentary on the state of the ultra-mobile pc space and how it lines up with the Intel MID. Layne doesn’t mince words when he says: Sitting back and considering the events over the past six months, one can easily get all excited over the silly drivel about Intel [...]
Loren Heiny, a Microsoft Tablet PC MVP, has written up a fantastic essay on his thoughts regarding the Moorestown prototypes and the MID devices rolled out during Intel’s IDF conference. Intel is squarely marketing its platforms as a Mobile Internet Device, not a UMPC–even though they toss in UMPC support every now and then. It [...]
Picture the following: You are in your car about to leave and you suddenly realize that you forgot your “device” . You stop and think: “Do I need it enough to go back and get it?”. That scenario was posed to us during the February 2006 Microsoft Mobility Partners conference, where the groundwork for the [...]
WallStreetJournal.com‘s Jeremy Wagstaff has written a really good article about on the “hole” in our lives that companies are recognizing and trying to fill with the UMPC / internet tablet / mini computer. The hole, as recognized by many, is the place between a cell phone and laptop. In a lot of ways, Jeremy is [...]
Does the virtual mouse touch pointer on Origami/UMPC devices drive you a bit crazy? It certainly drives me bonkers until I get rid of it. I also know that in the GBM Forums asking how to remove it, is a frequently asked question. Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun has put up a short video demonstrating how [...]
Well, as promised, here is my InkShow review of the Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC. I spent a LOT of time on this machine, and attempted to answer as many of the questions I could folks posed on it, but there were so many I am sure I missed a few. I would like to have [...]
Well, I have been waiting impatiently for my new OQO Model 02 to show up while playing with the new Lenovo X61. No shortage of fun around here right now. When I saw a box had arrived today, I got the familiar old feeling I get every time something electronic shows up on the doorstep [...]
We first got news of this company when at CES this year where I did a quick standup interview with Derek Prentice of Azentek. Since then, we have stayed in touch with Azentek. Well I recently got an email from Derek, outlining they’re new UMCP being released sometime in July. This will be called the AxSS (pronounced [...]
Well, we’ve been talking on GottaBeMobile.com for a while about the “Wow” factor being low to people in the Tablet PC arena. Rob isn’t being wowed enough to keep him happy, Warner seems to think marketing is a big issue, and for me? Well, I still love the feeling of opening any new box that [...]
WinHEC certainly appears to be the place to be for UMPC news this week. It has been a steady stream of annoucements and such all week. Now comes news of Origami 2.0 specs: CRN’s Paul Rooney is reporting on a converesation he had with Microsoft’s Vikram Madan: “The second set of possible UMPC specifications under [...]
Recent developments in the Ultra-Moible PC scape seem to have had an effect on a few mainstream tech media folk and they are starting to sing a slighly different tune about the smaller devices. David DeJean of Information Week has done a 180 in an article entitled, “OK, So I Was Wrong About Origami.” What [...]
The folks on Microsoft’s Origami Experience team are running a poll and asking for feedback on how you use your Ultra-Mobile PC and the Origami Experience software. According to this blog entry from Rob, a tester on the Origami Experience team, the feedback will help them a lot in their design for future versions of the Origami [...]
This is not a new question. It has been debated and asked many times in the past few years. I have entered into the fray a number of times myself, and been most involved in touting it. So where are we in the Tablet PC world? Here are my current rambling thoughts: Tablet PC has matured [...]
It may surprise you all to know that I am a gadget junkie. Okay, maybe not. I like to act like a plain old guy, but I am reall a geek through and through (and proud of it actually!). My wife does not necessarily understand the importance of having a gadget within reach at all [...]
Is it me or is the UMPC market developing slowly (as did the Tablet PC)? Is it the device? Lack of good software? Marketing issues? Who knows, but it seems slower than expected. That’s why I always like to see stories like this one about UMPC adoption. Apparently Middle Eastern countries are seeing a good [...]
While we were all standing around the Tablet PC meetup in Vegas, we got to see the new Origami Experience for Windows Vista. We were also given a copy of the program to try out, and of course I had to ask if we could do an InkShow on it… as you can see, [...]
As we traveled around the CES convention floor in search of Tablet PC/UMPC/Mobile devices and news to cover we found some interesting developments in the mobile space. We also listened to a lot of discussion about UMPCs from different manufacturers. There is a lot of excitement about the UMPC as a concept but something is [...]
When we first headed over the UMPC area of Microsoft’s booth at CES, I saw two Asus R2H UMPCs running an interesting looking program. Turns out it is the new Origami experience designed for UMPCs running Vista. You can get an entire rundown with a ton of pictures from Sears and Dustin on the Origami [...]
We are all expecting to see a lot of Ultra-Mobile PC / Origami news coming out of CES in January. When the Origami was launched in March of 2006, we were all told that the first year was expected to be a learning experience in what customers really wanted in a UMPC device and how they [...]
Throughout the year, I’ve made it no secret that the Lenovo Thinkpad X41 has been my favorite convertible Tablet PC. I thorougly enjoyed it – the size, the keyboard, the weight, the extended battery, etc. The only negative I had was the speed – it handled my day to day to tasks well, but after [...]
This week I received a new UMPC! The new unit is an Asus R2H Ultra Mobile PC with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. I’ve been busy playing, I mean working, with if for the last couple of days, and let me tell you it’s been fun. This is my first chance to use this form factor, and so [...]
The team over at Only UMPC has just opened up a box with a new toy inside. It’s the Asus R2H Ultra Mobile PC and he has posted a whole bunch of nice looking pictures on his blog. Included in the pictures are some great shots of everything that comes in box and some great pictures from [...]
I’m having fun with eo. We have gotten quite close in the last two weeks or so since he arrived at the GottaBeMobile.com SE regional office. I am slowly adopting him (yes, it’s a him) into my lifestyle, and “adapting” me to his abilities bit by bit. I have played music, watched movies, etc. quite [...]
The TabletKiosk eo i7210 Ultra-Mobile PC returns in a real life run through! Okay, so I have had this unit for a week or so now, and had a chance to spend some time using it. What I decided to do for this InkShow was a quick and real run through using some screen recordings [...]
Well, Vista is looming just over the horizon. Ultra-Mobile PC’s are also coming out fast and furious right now. The TabletKiosk eo i7210 I received last week has a “Vista Capable” logo on it. One of the reason I wanted this unit was that I felt it would effectively be able to be upgraded to [...]
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These days whenever someone mentions the word “Tablet” visions of the iPad or something similar dance in their heads. Not that long ago a tablet was something quite different: a Windows-based slate computer. Since the rise of the new idea of the tablet there have been a few Tablet PCs trying for relevance in an [...]
