A random list of things that puzzle me these days. Battery Life specs: Nobody believes them. Everybody publishes them. Why don’t we all admit this is just another meaningless marketing gimmick. Battery life specs mean nothing in a vacuum and less in a press release. CRAPWARE, whether it be malware, viruses or any other exploit, [...]
Just some random thinking on Tablet PCs and UMPCs on a Sunday. It might be worth sharing, it might not. I still enjoy the freedom a Tablet PC gives me in the workplace. Every day. I’m increasingly trying to integrate a UMPC in those same situations but find that a UMPC is becoming a one [...]
I knew and predicted that this conversation was going to happen and it appears to have started in earnest. With the imminent arrival of the iPhone, some of speculation on how folks are going to take to the most hyped device in the universe is beginning to revolve around the fact that (GASP!) it doesn’t [...]
Wow. I must be failing big time as a Tablet PC evangelist. In the last three weeks I’ve had three of my employees come to me and solicit advice on buying a new portable computer. Three others have made a new purchase since the first of the year and also sought my advice. They are [...]
There has been a lot of news in the Ultra Mobile space of late, some of which is just breaking out of Computex in Taipei. Frankly, I’m not sure where all of this news is heading and I don’t think anyone else is either based on what we are reading and what we are seeing, [...]
When HP’s Vice President and GM for Commercial Products declared recently that Tablet PCs “were not a mainstream device” and that there was no “horizontal usage” for Tablet PCs as a consumer device it got some attention. In posting about that statement, Rob wanted to know what the Tablet PC community thought in response. Here’s my [...]
I’ve been wondering about this for awhile. Attending this weekend’s Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester it came flying back on to my radar screen. Being connected while on the go is a luxury that is at the mercy of the companies that control the pipes. There’s certainly no surprise in that statement. At this weekend’s festivities, like [...]
Apologies to the Baha Men for the reach in the title. The cartoon heads are barking about Tablet PCs. I don’t mean cartoon head in any negative way certainly. I’ve got one myself and I’m opening my big mouth to let out a few yelps of my own. I’d like to see others do the same, since we are [...]
Words have meaning. Until legal and marketing departments get ahold of them. That appears to be the case with Verizon and their unlmited Broadband service. There have been stories of late from folks getting billed for exceeding bandwidth limits, but without limits specified. This often leaves the customers grasping for air and for clarity in [...]
I’m sure coverage here recently at GottaBeMobile.com has made the home page look like GottaBeAsus.com for some. Sorry if anybody feels like we are slighting other coverage. But there’s certainly plenty to talk about on the Vista Driver and UMPC front and not just with Asus. I’ve also been following the coverage of issues that [...]
Here’s a call I wish everyone from Microsoft to OEMs would heed. In this crazy time the world is dealing with new drivers and new updates being released on what seems like an almost too frequent occurrence. And of course many of them have such wonderfully descriptive names that they may as well be called ““anydriver.zip†[...]
I have to sympathize with Matt Hamblen and the good folks at ComputerWorld. Unlike, GottaBeMobile.com where we only cover Tablet PCs, Ultra-Mobile PCs, and mobile technology, they cover the full gamut of the computing world. I know it is tough to find news in our small segment of the industry (they call it a niche), as [...]
Microsoft’s Vista operating system is taking quite a few (but not unexepected) hits from some interesting corners lately. A few worth noting: Chris Pirillo is breaking up with Vista and “upgrading” back to XP and the US Department of Transportation has decided not to upgrade to Vista because there is no compelling business reason to [...]
Time to celebrate and we almost missed it. We’ve been so busy here at GottaBeMobile.com that we almost missed a couple of important milestones. One year ago today, February 26th, Rob Bushway and Dennis Rice opened up shop here with GottaBeMobile.com and started a conversation. What an exciting and fun year long conversation it has [...]
Earlier today I posted a link to some information that allowed users to create a work around to install The Origami Experience on other than an Ultra-Mobile PC. Unfortunately, I didn’t check things out as thoroughly as I should have. The information I linked to contained a link to a software tool that was being distributed in violaton [...]
The back and forth jumble between Apple and Microsoft has heated up lately with a couple of interesting developments. First, Bill Gates in an interview with Newsweek predictably and finally lashed back at Apple for their very clever advertising campaign featuring the “I’m a Mac” and “I’m a PC guys.” Although he claims he has [...]
Oh, my. How quickly we forget. As we get closer to the Vista consumer release (the clock is ticking) and more and more folks who have already gotten their hands on Vista begin experimenting, there seems to be a growing consternation that some of the first generation of the Ultra-Mobile PCs, and some of the [...]
There has been lots written about the iPhone. First the hoopla, the swooning, and the drooling. Then the inevitable criticism from a chorus of boo birds because it doesn’t do this and it doesn’t do that. Heck, the jury hasn’t even convened, much less gone into deliberations on what is, at the least, an undeniably [...]
While we’ve still got a few CES Inkshows to roll out, here are some thoughts after a few days digesting what I saw and experienced at CES. The things that impressed me the most: The Toshiba Wireless Port Replicator was the most impressive piece of new hardware I saw the entire conference. I hope others follow [...]
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 [...]
There is an old saying in the still young blogosphere industry. When the mainstream media jumps on a story it is already old news. Or it is the harbinger of a downturn soon to come? (Think Sports Illustrated cover curse.) Time Magazine has come out with their “Person of the Year” announcement and this year [...]
Black Friday has become in many ways an American cultural tradition and also a shoppers and retailers’ nightmare. The feeding frenzy is certainly intense. Expectations dance like visions of sugar plums in kids’ dreams of Christmas morning. Long lines, tricky manipulative advertising, thronging crowds, and even a bit of violence thrown into the mix occasionally when [...]
Much as been made of Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) as a new security feature. Given how vulnerable we all are to malware, Microsoft really didn’t have much of a choice but to make a major improvement in security features and follow the path that Apple and Linux take by keeping users away from the core of the OS. [...]
Brian Krebs, in a Washington Post column, is reporting that in order to keep things out of the courts and (speculation alert) to keep things on track for the release of Vista, Microsoft relented and made it easier for outside vendors (think Symantec, McAfee, etc..) to hook their software into the Vista OS. This is [...]
In a recent GottaBeMobile.com Audio Inkshow interview with Jim Forbes of ForbesOnTech, Jim mentioned a disturbing instance where two PR flacks representing two different Tablet PC OEMs told him he couldn’t review their respective client’s Tablet PCs. Why? Because he had suffered a stroke and that might effect his handwriting. Jim mentioned that we would talk about [...]
Lora Heiny, The First Lady of the First Family of Tablet PCs, has an interesting post, actually an interesting plea, on What Is New. Mobile computing users are always concerned and aware of power managment and battery life, and always looking for ways to improve. Lora’s plea is aimed at developers as she urges them [...]
A interesting conversation got started at BloggerCon IV about video blogging and the quality of productions. Robert Scoble picked up on it, as have others. As GottaBeMobile’s InkShows are some of this site’s most viewed content, I think the discussion of the quality of production values is an interesting one. Some are arguing for more [...]
Dennis already weighed in on this one, but I couldn’t let it pass without opening my yap and chiming in.So warning rant ahead. You knew it was coming. You just knew. With the announcement of The Transitioning of Bill Gates, (I’m betting that is going to become some sort of Channel 9 web documentary or [...]
One of the topics that gets my ranting engine revved up is CRAPWARE. You know, software demos and other programs that come preinstalled on a new Tablet PC (or any computer for that matter) that cause many a new user to wade through countless pop-up options when they first boot up a new computer, and often [...]
I get asked the question that titles this post a lot, living and working in a small not-for-profit world where most folks beg, borrow, and operate with used computer equipment and are thankful to have that. People observe me working with my Tablet PC, read my blog, and until they get a chance to actually [...]
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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
As exciting as it has been to talk, postulate, and speculate about the Galaxy S III’s hardware and specs before the third-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone was announced on May 3rd in London, once the device was announced one thing became apparent: Samsung is now a software company. That doesn’t mean that Samsung is shying away [...]
Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
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Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
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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 [...]
