Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, July 18, 2008

Intel CEO: Atom Platform Something "Most of Us Wouldn't Use" [D'OH]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/338342168/intel-ceo-atom-platform-something-most-of-us-wouldnt-use

In a quarterly conference call today, Intel CEO Paul Otellini dropped the aforementioned diss of the low-cost, low-power 45nm Atom chipset that can be found in a few current and many future netbooks, redirecting attention to the just-updated Centrino 2 and somehow-still-alive Celeron platforms as more viable for most consumers, and more profitable evidently for Intel. Otellini has also described Atom as "something for the next 2 billion computer users" in developing markets, so I guess this is a us/them, poor/rich tech classes pair of statements. This does nothing to explain the strange excitement most of us have when thinking about $200 laptops like the Asus eee, though. [Daily Tech

Microsoft Backed Zumobi Browser Now Available on Blackberry Devices [Zumobi]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/338429813/microsoft-backed-zumobi-browser-now-available-on-blackberry-devices

I have been keeping up with the Zumobi browser platform since it was launched last year, but up until now the tile-based UI was only available on Windows Mobile devices. However, the Microsoft-backed company announced today that it will deliver the application for 81xx, 83xx, or 88xx Blackberry devices with OS 4.2 or later. The browser is free, so it is worth trying out at the very least. Hit the Zumobi website to pick up the download. [Zumobi]

Zumobi Now Offers Innovative Mobile Widgets Application to BlackBerry Users

Award Winning Mobile Widgets Now Give Brands Direct Connect to a Broader Mobile Audience

SEATTLE, WASH. – July 17, 2008 – Zumobi (www.zumobi.com), the innovative mobile widget company, today announced the launch of its application for BlackBerry devices. As the profile of Smartphone users expands to include more than just business users, Zumobi has developed its BlackBerry product to enhance the user experience by providing easy access to small "bites" of customized Web content via mobile device. The Zumobi platform, which is ad supported and gives a fully-branded experience to users, is an ideal medium for advertisers and content providers to directly reach consumers in an engaging and highly-targeted manner.

With an already robust library of widgets (Zumobi calls them "Tiles") to entice users of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry with news, sports, weather, entertainment, games and more, Zumobi now offers even more new Tiles for users including NPR, AP Olympics report, Major League Baseball as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. Users can also create their own Zumobi mobile widgets from just about any Web content with the new Tile Creation Wizard now available on Zumobi's website.

Popular industry weblog BlackBerry Cool will l! aunch a branded Zumobi Tile to extend its brand to the mobile space. "BlackBerry Cool is the first choice for timely news, opinion and reviews of the BlackBerry space, delivered to an audience that expects updates when they are available," said Douglas Soltys, editor-in-chief of Blackberry Cool. "Until now, there have been few options to do this successfully over mobile. With Zumobi available now on BlackBerry devices, we will be able to reach our audience directly with news that is important to them while they are on-the-go."

The unique design of the Zumobi application provides the user direct access to what they want, when they want it, with cached content for quicker retrieval of fresh information. This puts content at their fingertips, and allows for a more engaging and immersive experience for brands. In the new age of mobile marketing, this direct contact with consumers is ideal for brands looking to deliver products and services that are tailored to a specific audience.

"By adding BlackBerry as our second major mobile platform, Zumobi significantly expands our reach for brand and content partners. We're thrilled to introduce Zumobi to Blackberry's data-savvy users, and look forward to providing them with a highly-engaging mobile experience," said Ken Willner, vice president of Market Development.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of the release of an updated application for Windows Mobile announced in June. For a tour of the Zumobi mobile widget platform or to download the mobile widget platform for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, please visit http://www.zumobi.com or get.zumobi.com on the mobile Web.

Panasonic Shows Off Surface-Like Digital Wall [Digital Wall]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/338557485/panasonic-shows-off-surface+like-digital-wall

Microsoft's getting some competition for its Surface device. Panasonic is showing off a very Surface-like product it's calling Digital Wall, and it's exactly what it sounds like. While at this point it doesn't appear to offer all the the features of Surface it could also come in much cheaper that the Microsoft version, and for many people that's the key. Hit the jump for a short video of the Digital Wall in action. [Digital World Tokyo]

HP set to launch the Compaq 2730p Centrino 2 tablet PC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/338072010/

Filed under: Laptops

According to our friends at AVING, HP is set to launch a business-themed tablet PC with Intel's Centrino 2 on-board. The device -- dubbed the Compaq 2730p -- will be an update to the 2710p, and will feature a 12.1-inch WXGA display, a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo L9400 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics chipset, and Windows Vista... of course. No word on a price or release date, but plenty of handsome pictures if you hit the read link.

[Thanks, Elais]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

T-Mobile Germany says sipgate makes jailbreaking too attractive

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/338206314/

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Alright, can someone help us out with a little primer on German law here? California-based sipgate offers up a VoIP client for the iPhone that -- for the moment, anyway -- requires a jailbroken handset to run. It goes about its business on WiFi airwaves, so from the carrier's perspective, no harm, no foul, right? Not so much. T-Mobile Germany takes issue with the app, claiming that it's enticing its iPhone users to jailbreak -- a violation of its contract terms. Furthermore, the contract disallows VoIP of any kind, WiFI or otherwise, which pretty much makes sipgate public enemy number one in T-Mob's eyes. They've gone ahead and sent out a nasty little cease 'n desist, which sipgate says it plans to fight all the way through the court system if that's how T-Mobile wants to roll; meanwhile, it's still providing service and says that "for the time being [its] users are safe." Fight the good fight, guys.

[Via TUAW]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments