Mobility & Email Blog » Computers

Mac OS X Lion Takes a Bite Out of the Competition

Chinonye — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:00:25 +0000

This month, the new Mac OS X Lion 10.7 is set to sink its teeth into what Apple considers to be its proving grounds – the world of the Trackpad and multi-touch gestures.

First, the big numbers. The new OSX is set to come soon, and according to Apple, 10.7 will have “250 new features and 3000 new developer APIs”, making it a significant upgrade to the existing operating system.

Apple is quite confident about its place in the market, and senior VP Phillip Schiller has said that not only are Apples outpacing PCs, but that “with OS X Lion we plan to keep extending our lead”. For this OS, Apple has focused on a “back to Mac” mentality, and has focused more on making a Mac work as Apple imagines it should, rather than like a PC clone.

When it comes to specifics, there are a number of interesting new features that 10.7 is set to unleash when the cage door comes open, the first (and most talked about) being multi-touch gestures. For years, Apple has been encouraging users to ditch their mice and start using trackpads and the multitouch system is an attempt to make this transition ever easier and more intuitive. The goal is to make multitouching both more responsive and direct.

Full-screen apps are another selling point of the $29.99 OSX. These apps are designed to take up full display space, while still allowing you to run standard-side apps alongside if you so desire.

Resume is a new function that will let you pick up where you left off with your apps, even if you’ve installed new versions of software or shut off your Mac. In addition, the Auto Save feature is meant to take out the need for constant concerns about keeping work saved. At every pause in work or every five minutes, a new version of a document is saved, overwriting the old one to save space.

The new Lion OSX is also borrowing from the iOS with the introduction of the Mac App Store that will let you buy and install free and paid apps to the Lion Launchpad and be immediately used. Just like in the iOS, you’ll be notified when updates are available.

If you’re ready to toss your mouse or upgrade your Mac to a mobile-inspired OS, Lion OSX 10.7 may be your best choice.

Windows 8: Microsoft’s Next OS is Shaping Up

Tim Attwood — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:00:23 +0000

Microsoft, long known for its series of Windows desktops, recently showcased some of the functionally of its new Windows iteration, Windows 8. This new version of Windows has no hard release date but is targeted for a 2012 roll-out, and will be used on PCs, laptops and tablet PCs.

At the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, Microsoft showed off some of the benefits of its new OS to those in attendance, the main one being a completely redesigned user interface that will be unfamiliar but hopefully intuitive to most users. Replacing the “start menu” will be a “start screen,” which will feature live application tiles, some of which include weather or store apps or RSS feeds. A traditional desktop option can also be chosen.

This new version of Windows is intended to maintain Microsoft’s tradition of non-hardware enhance UI’s, and is being designed to run with 16:9 resolution as its focus. The company claims that, thanks to better processor and memory use, the OS will run more smoothly than other versions and will have the same or lower system requirements as Windows 7.

There are also rumors about a Windows 8 tablet that might hit markets in 2013, but Microsoft has not yet confirmed this information. Sources claim that the company has been in talks with both Texas Instruments and OEMS about distributing a Microsoft-branded tablet, but developers aren’t so sure that this is the case. Other Microsoft hardware lines, save for the 360, have not seen a great deal of success, and there is concern that they might limit their market share by releasing a Microsoft-specific tablet.

Some tablet manufacturers have mentioned the “restrictions” that Microsoft often places on developers that wish to use its platform, and wonder if the company might not follow a similar plan with Windows 8 as they did with Windows 7, which required that manufacturers follow a strict set of criteria in order to have the OS on their tablets.

Concerns also abound about whether or not a Windows 8 tablet or any system running the new OS will be subject to the “curse” that has followed many of the even-numbered iterations of Windows such as Windows ME and Windows Vista. First impressions seem to indicate that the company is devoting much of its effort to increased performance and synced cloud applications, which will hopefully help sidestep any potential issues.

Introducing the Samsung Chromebook

Ozgur — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:03:22 +0000

At Google I/O 2011 in San Francisco, California, the new Samsung Chromebook was exhibited. Attendees were allowed to touch and play with the new notebook, not just a new product but a whole new idea, according to Google executives. The product is expected to get far better with subsequent releases, but spectators were surprised and impressed with the high quality of the small machine, and tech enthusiasts were excited about its potential.

The Chromebook is 12.1 inches and is to be released to the market on June 16. The notebook does not use local storage, but rather relies on internet access as a cloud based server. This is apparent as soon as you see the keyboard. Where the function keys are usually located, this keyboard has keys for web browser navigation buttons. Instead of F1 or F8 you will have keys for refresh page or new window.

The machine comes in two color selections, Titan Silver and Arctic White. It weighs 3.3 pounds, which is a little heavy for the size it is, but it is a durable, sturdy, high quality made machine. The battery is one of the most impressive things about the Chromebook. It has an 8.5 hour battery life during active use, and the battery will last about 5 hours for high consumption activities such as videos. It is supposed to be good for over 1,000 battery cycles.

The multi gesture track pad is one of the best seen on a notebook. It will boot up in a mere 10 seconds. Samsung and Google have promised that there will be no security issues at all related to the Chromebook, something they will have to prove to many.

Verizon Wireless is the mobile provider for the Chromebook, named for its Google Chrome operating system. It was expected that Verizon would provide 100 mb per month for free, but they will only provide this for two years, not the life of the product as was expected.

The screen resolution is 1280 x 800 and onlookers were pleasantly surprised at its crispness, sharpness and clarity. It is clearly visible from a wide angle. It is one of the best offerings in the less than $450 price range.

It is still not clear how readily the general public will receive the new cloud, web based technology. There are a lot of benefits, such as no local memory and storage problems and easy access on multiple devices. The cons are that you cannot get to anything if you do not have internet access. And many people are worried about security issues associated with keeping all of your information remote to you.

Lenovo Android Tablets: What can you expect?

Ozgur — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:00:26 +0000

Lenovo’s big plans to release the LePad Idea Pad Tablet K1 globally slipped out when their FCC application got (predictably) leaked to the online media. Only a drawing of the device is currently available online. It is a Compal device. The LePad is only available in China for now. Leveno has confirmed reports that they expect and intend to launch the device on the global market in June.

It is not yet clear whether the globally released LePad Idea Pad will have the Honeycomb OS or Froyo. It will have a 10.1 inch screen, 1.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB or 32 GB of flash storage, a screen resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, a 2 mega pixel web cam, Wi Fi, Bluetooth and 3G.

The device is expected to cost between $399 and $499 US dollars. The LePad Idea Pad Tablet K1 was designed at the same time as its 2nd generation. Two separate teams of designers developed the products so that the 2nd generation will be available a mere 9 months after the first one is released to the public. The 2nd generation LePad Idea Pad is slimmer, according to Levano, but not many more details were released or leaked to the press.

Levano also has plans to release the U1 Hybrid, a sleeker LePad, but it will probably be called the Skylight slate, named after Levano’s notepad that never was actually released.

The Lepad Idea Pad was available for photo opportunities at the Mobile World Congress this year along with a lot of other Android tablets. Most of the models sported Android 3.0, which is optimized for running on tablet computers, and many hope that Levano is able to give the LePad Idea Pad upgrade from Froyo to Honeycomb before its June release. Android 3.0, or Honeycomb, is Google’s mobile operating system.

The release of the LePad Idea Pad to the global market should coincided nicely with Computex 2011 to be held in Tiapei. The LePad should feel at home, it was also featured in the 2010 Computex convention.

Chromebooks: Chrome OS is Coming, But Not for Tablets

Ozgur — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:39:21 +0000

Google’s I/O 2011 Developer’s Conference came and went, and the only thing tablet users got out of it was that they are, so far, not going to get Chrome OS on their machines. The Senior VP of Chrome made it clear that tablet computers were not the focus of Chrome at this time, “Chrome OS is a new experience we’re working on. It’s hardware agnostic in a sense. We are fully, 100 percent focused on laptops. Most of the web usage -greater than 90 percent- is on laptops. That’s what we’re working on today, and we have no other plans on any other form factors.”

Chrome is being actively marketed as a software and hardware combination package, inseparable, the two of them. This is supposed to provide a guaranteed experience for the users. They do not want to detract from sales of the Android slate tablet to offer a Chrome tablet as a competitor. Laptops are getting all the love from Chrome right now.

Acer and Samsung are the manufacturers ring the Chrome OS laptops. They will be released in June 2011. Chrome works on web based software rather than the traditional native software. For example, instead of using Microsoft Word, Chrome users will instead have access to Google Docs.

The upside is that wherever a user has internet connection, that user will have access to all of the files and documents in it. It can also be accessed from the desk top computer or the mobile phone. The down side is that if you have no internet connection, you cannot get to any of your stuff. It is still not certain how well the average user is going to go for the cloud based systems.

There has been rumor for some time that Google would bring Chrome OS to the tablet table, but this just isn’t happening quick enough for some tablet users. In April, rumors of a tablet version of Chrome came up when Google’s web app operating system source code revealed evidence of development for a tablet. Mock ups of the proposed project were done over a year ago.

The big news at Google I/O 2011 was that Android device activations have reached 100 million. Over 400,000 Android devices are activated every day. Not shabby considering the Android launched in a single market in a single country with a single device to offer consumers. There are over 200,000 apps, both free and paid, available for the Android devices. Over 4.5 billion apps have been installed from the Android market.

Android Apps on the BlackBerry Playbook: Is this foreshadowing the end of the BlackBerry OS?

Ozgur — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:46:30 +0000

BlackBerry just released the new Playbook, and there were a few surprises. The device was using Android apps, and was acting very Android like in other ways as well. But the BlackBerry OS is still alive and well on the BlackBerry smartphones, so it is a little early to hold a candle light vigil for the operating system.

BlackBerry Playbook manufacturer RIM knew that a lack of apps at launch can be the death of a mobile device in this age. Apple is killing everybody with their wild selection of apps available for the iPhone and iPad. Hewlett Packard released a beta version of their new WebOS months ahead of releasing their new Palm tablet computer so that developers could get a jump start on apps and help them to be competitive with the models that already have a great selection of apps for users to enjoy.

The Android Player, as the Android tablet will be officially called, has not yet been released. Users will need to go to App World to get their Andriod Apps for the BlackBerry Playbook. An interesting side note is that the radically popular game Angry Birds will be a native game on the BlackBerry Playbook and it will not even be cross platform.

RIM took a lot of heat for not making three critical features available since they first launched their tablet computers. The Playbook will now have these features: native email, a calendar and the contact list app. BlackBerry tablet users had to have a BlackBerry smartphone or a web based (cloud) email server client to access email before the new release of the Playbook.

Version 6.0.0.570 has been leaked, but not officially released, to the public. It is available for download online, but since it is not official, you do so at your own risk. Most of the downloads so far have been done by the Smartphone users.

The BlackBerry is being hailed as the first tablet computer market to professional users. It is as close as any tablet computer has come yet to the experience of a full desk top computer. It probably will not be enough to sway people who are already committed to the Apple platform, but for a web experience close to a desk top computer and for the business professional that uses the BlackBerry phones, the Playbook will be the best choice.

Android Tablet: ViewSonic 7X with Honeycomb

Ozgur — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:15:37 +0000

The new Android tablet will be powered by Honeycomb. It will be ViewSonic’s first attempt at the market for 7 inch screens, and will join the ranks with their other three tablet offerings. It will also be Honeycomb’s first 7 inch attempt, but reports hold that the interface looks good in the size.

The current ViewSonic tablets range in price from just under $300 to almost $600. No word yet on where the Android tablet will fall in the price range. The Android tablet is expected to be introduced at the Computex convention in May 2011. It is possible that the mobile device will be available to customers as early as June of this year.

The 1 GHz Tegra 2 powered Viewpad will be Wi Fi ready with HSPA+ mobile broadband connection support. This could give users up to 4 G capabilities with mobile providers like AT&T and T Mobile. The phone weighs a mere .84 pounds with a HDMI port and a triangular design on the back that has drawn a little criticism among techie bloggers. Looks have played a surprisingly large role in the sale of electronics and mobile devices, a fact the Apple designers can attest to.

The phone will be an Android 3.0 (rumor had it a 2.2, but that was debunked) with a camera in the front and a camera on the back. LED flash. It is not yet clear if ViewSonic is planning to phase out their ViewPad 7 to avoid competing in an already tight market with its own products, or whether it will continue to offer both in hopes that the share of the market will get to them somehow.

Some say Google rushed the launch of the Android 3.0 to compete with the Apple iPad and that the OS was lacking in its 10 inch version. Many of the details are not yet clear, but it will not be long before we find out. The convention will be in Tiapei this month. With all of the new technology, pictures of the latest and greatest will likely reach consumers before the registration process is complete.

The tablet era is officially being ushered in at this year’s Computex convention. According to Computex, the tablet computers are drawing the most interest, with models from Tiwanese manufacturers having some notable mentions. Consumers are looking for light weight, thin replacements for their laptop and notebook computers.

Sony VAIO + Chrome OS: Will it happen? What are the rumors?

Ozgur — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:50:08 +0000

No developer is immune from their information being leaked prematurely by employees and other snooping sources. The market for smaller, neater compact computers is driving manufacturers to partnerships to beat the competition and provide the most to consumers for the best price possible.

Sony is developing two new computers, rumor has it, and one of them will be running the Chrome operating system. It will be a netbook computer. The display is expected to be 11.6 inches with 1366 x 768. The RAM will be 1 GB and the memory card will provide 16 GB of storage space for the small machine. The processor is NVIDIA’s Tegra 2. It should also have Wi Fi and WWAN.

GPS and Bluetooth technology will not be available on the model initially, but is expected to be added later. The Chrome OS is a combination of Google’s web centered platform and some customized Sony VAIO software. It is expected to be released in summer of this year.

About 60,000 users already have beta versions of Chrome OS for testing. The Sony VAIO netbook is expected to have an Arm dual processor and weigh just a hair over two pounds. Estimates of the battery life of the computer are anywhere from 8 hours (the most common estimate) up to over 16 hours.

It is also expected to have an ultra low power Ge Force GPU. The keyboard is expected to be wider than some netbooks, a full 18 mm. The keyboard may be exactly like the Google Chrome CR 48 laptop keyboard. It will not even be a full inch thick, about 11.7 inches wide and an a little less than 8 and one half inches deep.

Not much else is known about the machine, even as it draws near the expected release date. Sony is to be competing in a tight market with other small, highly portable computers that are high on power and low on weight. Photos of the Sony VAIO show colorful designs partially decorating the exterior. Other than that, it is a pretty basic machine.

The ultra light computer market is tightening up due to more cloud users who need less storage space on their own computers and devices. The portability of today’s mobile society also demands smaller, leaner machines with more power and longer battery life to accommodate computer users. There is a huge market for these machines in business and with students.

News and Information About HP Tablets, Powered by Web OS

Ozgur — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:30:14 +0000

The upcoming release of products such as the HP Touch Pad Tablet and the HP Opal (a smaller tablet computer) are being anxiously awaited by tech lovers. The platform for these and other Web OS devices is a cloud server.

Conceivably, if users get a new Touch Pat Tablet, Veer smartphone and a new HP desk top computer, all of their files, from music to work, could be easily accessed by any of their devices. No more burning CDs and DVDs and no more worries about whether or not you have enough storage space on your device.

In addition to the cloud services, HP products may be competitive with other products due to the large number of apps that will be available upon release of the products. They paired up with Grapple Mobile and released a beta version of Web OS early so that app developers had plenty of time to build plenty of apps when the machines are available to consumers. And develop they have.

The Touch Pad Tablet is expected to be released in June, and the FCC has already given their ok for the project. It will compete with the iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and the BlackBerry Playbook for consumer affections. Apple has the current lion’s share of the market with the iPad2.

HP can be competitive with Apple if they come out with a super sleek design that attract consumers and if they are able to tap into the business market, so far untouched by the tablet computer wars. The HP Opal is due out in summer of this year.

Early reports of Web OS are very favorable, stating that it was stable and ran smoothly. Web OS will be available on the HP Touch Pad Tablet, the Veer smartphone and the Pre 3. Some of the features that have consumers excited are the Wireless Printing, the Just Type and the Touch To Share web browsing between the tablet computers and mobile phones.

There is also talk that HP cloud users will have access to the HP Enterprise Class storage, which will eliminate the worries of HP users that they will ever run out of memory.

Screen shots of the HP Touch Pad Tablet were clean and clear. The unit looks not unlike the design of the popular Apple iPad. With the right apps available at release and the right marketing, HP could soon be competing for the top tablet spot with the Apple iPad.

Defeating the iPad 2: What are the top 5 tablets with the best chance of dethroining the iPad?

Ozgur — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:36:43 +0000

The iPad is the top tablet and is ruling the market place with its sleek, attractive style and down to earth marketing that has made Apple products a huge success for years. Apparently, it is not enough for Apple to dominate the music market with the tremendously successful iPod. But, there are some really great deals out there on tablet computers that do not have the iPad 2 price tag. While other companies may not get consumers with the looks of their products, they can lure a lot of them with an attractive price tag.

1. The Motorola Xoom is an Android platform tablet computer or Honeycomb by Google. The display is a 10.1 inch HD wide screen. Some online tech geeks believe that the Motorola Xoom is one of the few tablet computers that can visually compete with the iPad. The software and accessories make this one of the pricier iPad 2 competitors, but business users are willing to pay the price for better usability and solid performance.

2. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is another Honeycomb Android platform tablet. Though competitive with the Xoom in software features and usability, the ability to plug in the Transformer tablet and use it as a laptop computer is attractive to a lot of buyers. The Transformer is an Android platform tablet.

3. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is being marketed to gamers, which should help its sales in comparison to the other tablet computers competing with the iPad. The first Galaxy Tabs had only 7 inch screens and were not a real competitor with other tablets, but the newer 8 and 9 inch screens are getting some attention. The Galaxy is also an Android platform tablet computer.

4. The BlackBerry Playbook uses the operating system of the BlackBerry Tablet from QNX software systems. The video chat application is useful for business needs as well as fun for personal users. It is being marketed more to the professional computer consumer that needs real computing power in a more portable device.

5. The HP Touch Pad Tablet is expected to give iPad a run for its money. The Web OS was released in beta version for developers long before any devices that used Web OS were scheduled for release. This will give Hewlett Packard the advantage of having tons of developed apps for users to enjoy from the get go. That and some smart marketing strategy could give them an edge when it comes to competition in the tablet computer market.