Category: Mobile Computing

Article

Toshiba Satellite U925T is First NFC-Enabled Ultrabook#xtor=RSS-181#xtor=RSS-181#xtor=RSS-181

My Comments

From this article, I reckon that Toshiba has used the Satellite U925T Ultrabook to push themselves ahead of the game by integrating the “touch-and-go” near-field-communications technology in to a portable computer.

One key advantage that I see of this is exploiting the mobile-wallet systems like MasterCard PayPASS and, perhaps, Google Wallet to allow NFC-compliant payment cards to facilitate an online transaction that doesn’t have the fraud risks associated with “card not present” transactions. This would be facilitated by the use of appropriate software that interlinks with the NFC reader and merchant-side software that runs the transaction as if you are paying for the goods at a store using your card and their card terminal.

Similarly, the Android and Windows Phone ecosystem would benefit from this feature through access to the mobile wallets that can be hosted in the NFC-capable smartphones. This can extend to device-to-device file-transfer functions like Android Beam where users could upload pictures and sync contacts and QR-discovered Websites to the notebook from the smartphone.

In addition, the setup routines associated with commissioning Bluetooth or Wi-Fi wireless devices with this notebook can be simplified to a “touch-and-go” procedure if these devices support this functionality. This can then lead to the ability to transfer “extended-functionality” files to the host computer so as to open up advanced feature sets like sound-optimisation functions for headsets and microphones.

What I see about this more is that this Toshiba Windows 8 hybrid Ultrabook is an example of using NFC to demonstrate a synergy between open-platform computing devices. This then simply leads to a breeding ground for innovation.

Article – from the horse’s mouth

Bluetooth Smart Ready product announcements piling up

My Comments

I have given some coverage about the new Bluetooth 4.0 “Smart” and “Smart Ready” technologies. These are improvements to the Bluetooth specification to allow the use of Bluetooth sensor and control devices that can work on low battery requirements – think 2-3 AA or AAA Duracells or a “watch” battery – for in an order of six months or more.

This has opened up paths for health and wellness devices like blood-pressure monitors, glucose monitors and pedometers. Even the old 80s-style digital watch is coming back with a vengeance as a smartphone accessory due to this technology.

Most of the Bluetooth-equipped tablets and smartphones issued over the past model year or so are equipped with this technology fully with software support. But an increasing number of newer laptops are equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready functionality at least on a hardware level and underpinned with OEM software. An example of this is the recently-reviewed Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 which has this interface.

These units would have full inherent implementation when they run Windows 8 and it could open up questions about how the Bluetooth 4.0 Smart technology could be relevant to the laptop or desktop “regular-computer” device class.

One way I would see it being relevant to this class is the availability of Bluetooth wireless keyboards, mice and game controllers that don’t need special rechargeable batteries to operate. Here, they could run for a long time of use on just the two or three AA batteries.

Sensor devices like temperature or humidity sensors that are important to particular profession or hobby groups like refrigeration / HVAC engineers or gardeners could benefit from this technology especially when used with a laptop or tablet. Here, these computers could work with data-logging software to record trends or monitor for abnormal conditions.

At least what is being proven with the current crop of Bluetooth-Smart-Ready capable regular and mobile computer devices is that the world of innovation with this low-power wireless netowrk is being opened up.

Article

Pressure-Sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 Stylus Coming to iPad#xtor=RSS-181#xtor=RSS-181#xtor=RSS-181#xtor=RSS-181

My Comments

The Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready ability that the Apple iPad has now is being considered of use. Here, Ten One Design have introduced a pressure-sensitive stylus that works with this touchscreen tablet and turns it in to a digitizer. This has the ability to increase the thickness and darkness of a line as you add pressure to the stylus in a similar vein to the real pen or pencil

Six of the iOS drawing apps provide inherent support for this stylus with more on the way. Here, the developers would have to integrate the functionality for this device in their software to have it work. As well, it would require you to work with the files being held on your iPad.

But, with appropriate bridging apps for the iOS platform and the MacOS X and Windows regular computing platforms, this could make it feasible for an iPad that is tethered to a regular computer to become an improved version of one of those “digitizers” or “graphics tablets”. These devices had a tablet surface and a stylus so you could trace hand-drawn graphics or do freehand drawing in to a graphics program. In some cases, these tablets also were a command surface for some CAD programs where you entered drawing commands by “picking” them using the stylus.

Here, the combination of an always-updatable touchscreen display could allow for a variety of options for this class of work. For example, it could permit the direct edit of work on the iPad while using the main screen as an overview display. This could include freehand digitizing and drawing with the iPad providing a natural “paper” feedback and the work appearing on the graphics program.

Similarly, a CAD / CAM program could benefit from turning the iPad in to a “tabbed” command tablet with the stylus being used to “pick” the commands.

Here, the idea of a Bluetooth stylus or, in some cases, a “puck” could make the iOS or Android tablet earn its keep in the CAD or graphics-design office rather than just as a tool for media consumption.

Product Page

sockITz.com.au sockITz

My Comments

A common reality with many of today’s personal electronics is the requirement ot use wall-warts to charge up or power these devices from AC power. Recently there has been a push by the industry to make the USB device-power standard the required standard for supplying power to mobile phones and similar devices. This is underscored with standards-compliant mobile phones being required to be equipped with micro-USB input sockets as the only power-input sockets on these devices.

Similarly, the agenda is to have the battery charger not being supplied as a standard accessory with the phone. This is to encourage us to use the charger that came with our previous phones as the current phone’s charger.

A new company has taken this further by supplying to the Australian and New Zealand market a double power outlet that also has an integrated USB charger for two devices. This outlet, supplied by sockITz, is intended to be installed as a new or replacement power outlet, allows us to charge or power two phones or similar devices while powering two AC-operated devices.

The outlet, which is finished either in classic white or with an aluminium front and either black or white switches and socket surrounds, also satisfies the zero leakage test with shutters that come over the USB sockets and shut off power to the charger circuitry when a device is unplugged from the USB sockets.

Of course, an ordinary old “sparkie” would have to install these outlets and they are best used in the office, kitchen or beside the bed, They would also go well with public spaces like cafes so that people can “top up” their gadgets on the go without carrying a wall-wart battery charger with them.

Personally, I would like to see this concept taken further with desk lamps and electric fans that have a self-powered USB hub in their bases so these devices can work as mobile-phone chargers or USB peripheral hubs. These kind of standards don’t just satisfy environmental friendliness but open up paths for real innovation and thinking “out of the box”.

Article

Will The New Wave Of Prosumer Tablets Beat The iPad In The Enterprise? | ZDNet

My Comments

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet – fit for business

A trend that has been occurring over the past year or two regarding workplace computing is the implementation of consumer and “prosumer” tablet computers in this environment.

This has been underscored by the concept of “BYOD” and “consumerisation of IT” where technology hardware that is owned by employees is used to fulfill work tasks with this hardware existing under the control of the employees. This situation occurs commonly in a small business’s office environment but is being viewed with worry in medium and large businesses who are used to a company-supplied fleet of computers managed by an in-house IT team.

Issues that are commonly raised include the security of the workplace data held on the device and a desire to have a device that is manageable to company policies. This is especially where there is a “Bring Your Own Device” scenario where the employee buys and owns their device and uses it in the workplace.

Even hardware manufacturers are answering this trend through equipment like the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, both of which are equipped with styluses for rapid data entry as well as support for manageability.

Similarly. Microsoft and Apple are intending to court this market through the development of hardware and software that answers business needs like data security and system manageability.

Relevance to the small business

The large-business management options may be considered important for those businesses that have a solution provider or value-added reseller satisfying their IT needs. This is more so with retail and food / beverage / hospitality industries who implement computerised point-of-sale or similar systems. Here, a cafe  or restaurant who have their waitstaff taking customer orders at the table could benefit from tablet computers used for order entry.

It is also worth knowing that some of these tablets have been known to be cheaper in many ways to repair than the Apple iPad. This could be evident both in the increased availability of OEM and third-party spare parts as well as the increased access to expertise when it comes to repairing these units.

But any of these tablets can be relevant to the small business not just for jotting down notes, having reference material on hand or using them as a secondary communications-service terminal. Once loaded with the appropriate software or pointing to the appropriate Web resources, these units would come in handy for long-form data entry such as medical applications or surveys or frequent order entry like the aforementioned food and beverage industry.

A stylus can be a valuable option, if not a requirement if you are expected to do data entry using the tablet. This means that you can quickly “pick” options or “type” on the keyboard. Some devices may even recognise handwriting using this stylus.

For some small businesses, the tablet computer with its touchscreen is a valid trend to observe and, where relevant, implement. Similarly, the idea of “bring your own” IT is not new news in small operations but the manageability of this concept can be investigated when the business becomes larger or deals with a solution provider whom assists with the IT needs.

Article

HP Communities – Your Office in Your Briefcase – HP Communities

My Comments

I have reviewed a significant number of the ultraportable computers and had assessed them in their capacity for “working on the go”. The regular 15” computers would work well if you do most of the travel by car, but I have found the 13”-14” computers as being able to come up to the job when you do a lot of travel, by offering a lightweight form while being able to type easily and benefit from an easily-viewable screen.

Input devices

I have written an article about the kind of pointing device to use with your laptop, including the situations when the integrated trackpad would come in handy. For the wireless mice that the article was suggesting that we use, I had found that most wireless input devices would require a proprietary dongle transceiver that plugged in to the USB port on the computer. Here, I would prefer that we go for a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct mouse especially as nearly all laptops have integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and you wouldn’t need to carry or worry about losing those dongles.

Power Needs

As for power supply, it may be wise to check through the manufacturer’s direct-sale Website store incase they offer one of those AC/Auto/Air adaptors. These adaptors have a DC input and a cord which connects to the EmPower airline DC connector or the cigar-lighter socket in a car; alongside an AC socket for the regular power cord.

If you do visit one or two particular countries or regions regularly, you could use AC cords that have plugs that are local to those particular areas for your laptop and other gadgets that use standard AC input sockets. This can be seen as a way to “free up” travel adaptors for other gadgets like mobile-phone chargers or bathroom necessities.

If the laptop uses a user-replaceable battery, you could find that you can run longer with a spare battery. It is also worth paying attention to the optional “long-run” battery packs like what Sony offers as an option for their VAIO S and Z Series notebooks. These high-capacity battery packs clip on to or install in the computer and run as secondary batteries that provide a lot of extra run time.

Of course, there had been mention about the use of headphones or a headset for your laptop as well as use of Microsoft’s Office 365 and Office Web Apps as part of your business computing needs.

Conclusion

One might say that, because the article was written at an HP Website, it may favour the HP products but I would still give the competing products like the Acer and Sony products a go.

Article

The Future Of TV Is Two Screens, One Held Firmly In Your Hands | Fast Company

My Comments

There is something that is becoming a reality with TV. It is where our TV-viewing sessions are involving two screens – one large screen carrying the main video and one smaller screen that we are holding in our hands.

This has been brought about by the popularity of the tablet, laptop and smartphone which are serving the second-screen role.

Some of us may think it is just for checking email or the activities of our Facebook Friends or Twitter followers. But a fair bit of this activity is to do with the content itself.

For example, one could be using GetGlue, Fango or other TV-related social networks to find out who is watching this show and what others have to say about it. Similarly, one could be checking the show’s Website and looking at other information and commentary that exists there. These are activities that may not work well on the big screen.

Similarly, most big-screen applications cannot support multiple concurrent logins for social-network or similar uses; and they are typically require “pick’n’choose” or “SMS-style” text entry.

In the case of news, a good quote for this is that “the revolution doesn’t have to be televised”. Here, one could be checking other news resources to verify the veracity of a news story, which can be very difficult during election time. This is augmented through comment feeds and Tweet feeds that are set up during news events like the one I participated in during the UK parliamentary inquire in to the News Corporation phone hacking scandal where I was dropping Tweets in to the feed from a Fujitsu laptop that I was reviewing. Similarly the scoreboard apps that I have mentioned about previously could simply work as an always-live scoreboard display during a sporting event and some sports like cricket or racing may benefit from these apps further by displaying supplementary scores like track position or bowling scores.

Of course, the commercials as we know them will be hamstrung by the two-screen viewing experience. This is more so as the traditional goal of eyeballs at the screen during ad breaks is reduced more. Here one could be following up information on the second screen while the ads play on; as well as visiting the kitchen or bathroom or stoking up the log fire. But the information that one could be following up on can relate to what was in the TV program; or it could be to follow up on something that was advertised during that ad break or a previous ad break.

As I have noticed and observed, this concept of two-screen TV is hard to adjust to for some people, especially the older generation who are more interested in focusing directly on the screen. It may be us simply glancing down at that smartphone or tablet so we can know further what is going on with some events.

I see this as becoming an interesting chain of events as we integrate in to an online and highly-interactive media-consumption life.