Tag: tablet computer

Highly-capable Android devices are dethroning the iPhone and iPad

Article

After several generations of loyalty to my mobile phone, the worm has turned on Apple | The Age (Australia)

My Comments

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet with stylus

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet – fit for business

I have observed over the past year that the Android platform has yielded a run of highly-capable mobile-computing devices that are placing the Apple iPhone and iPad on notice. These devices in the form of the HTC One X smartphone; the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note smartphones; the Google Nexus 7 tablet and the ASUS EeePad Transformer Prime tablet are yielding what high-performance and high-value are about. The devices that I have mentioned in this list implement highly-strung CPUs and graphics subsystems that can allow them to do advanced tasks like action-rich games or smooth video playback.

This has also been augmented by various features that the Android ecosystem offers over the iOS ecosystem. For example, most of these devices offer a user-replaceable battery. This was demonstrable with my Samsung Galaxy S smartphone where the battery failed to hold its charge and I had to use an external battery pack all the time to gain real use out of it. Then I just went to a mobile phone dealer and paid AUD$40 for an original battery for the phone on Thursday. iPhone users would have had to pony up more than this and be without their phone for a significant amount of time to replace the battery under this circumstance.

Another example is the fact that most Android devices use a user-replaceable microSD or similar memory card as well as onboard storage. This means that you could use effectively an infinite amount of memory with your device by purchasing extra memory cards. Infact I use different microSD cards in a similar manner to those cassette tapes or MiniDiscs that we remember where I have one card carrying music of one kind and another carrying music of another kind.

Speaking of music, you can add your media content to your Android device using your computer’s file manager or media management program if you have your microSD card in your laptop’s SD card slot or a USB card reader; or your Android device tethered to your computer via its USB cable. These scenarios present the device to the computer effectively as a floppy disk or USB memory stick. This is also a similar path for offloading images you took with your Android device. Similarly, if you run TwonkyMobile on your Android phone, you may be able to have the ability to add music to your phone’s collection by picking the tracks you want from your DLNA-hosted music collection and selecting “Copy to your device”.

The user interface can be easily customised by the manufacturer or the user through the use of animated live wallpapers, display and control widgets or similar items. This yields a sense of flexibility to the operating environment that the typical Android device presents, such as a “dashboard” view of battery status, operating modes and social-network activity.

There is even competition on the app and media storefront for these devices where competing app-store providers such as manufacturer-hosted or carrier-hosted stores can exist on the device’s app list. But there isn’t an online newsstand for the Android platform that can rival what Apple offers and this may limit the distribution of digital newspapers and magazines to these tablets.

But what the Android platform offers in value, capability and performance is making Apple and their fanbois worried so much that Apple have been litigating against Samsung and other Android device manufacturers on clams of patent infringement. Some cases such as the UK legal activity have been struck down due to legal assessment that the devices didn’t copy Apple designs.

But I have also observed commentary, including an Age article about the Samsung Galaxy S3, about people who have jumped from the iPhone to the Android platform due to the liberating characteristics that this platform offers.

USB Audio in Android Jelly Bean to mean more in the way of accessories

Article

Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video) — Engadget

My Comments

Sony CMT-MX750Ni Internet-enabled music system main unit

An iPod-enabled music system that can also benefit from Android’s new USB Audio interface

Apple iOS users have had the advantage of also having a USB single-wire or docking connection between their iOS device and accessory equipment, with the ability to channel the sound data, the control signals and power to their device using the same connection. This has built up the iPod / iPhone accessory market very strongly with the accessories allowing the user to start and stop the music or move between tracks and folders on their iPod or iPhone using the control surface that the accessory provides.

People who used Google Android devices were limited to an analogue or Bluetooth audio link between an amplification device and their smartphone or tablet with support for transport control if the phone was connected via Bluetooth. They typically had to run a separate USB cable if they wanted to supply power to the Android device from that accessory.

Now the latest iteration of the Android platform, known as “Jelly Bean” and version number 4.1, supports USB Audio. This is similar to how a USB speaker system or external sound card can work with most desktop operating systems. It can then allow a large manufacturer base to develop “Android-friendly” audio playback equipment like speakers, Internet radios and hi-fi amplifiers / receivers in a timeframe that allows the device to be “ready-to-market” quickly.

What could be looked at

Communications audio

There are some questions I have about this kind of setup. One is whether the USB Audio functionality in Android Jelly Bean can allow for communications audio as well as audio content from the media player program. This would be of importance with automotive applications where the USB Audio link could be used as an alternative to Bluetooth for hands-free telephony in the car.

Device control

The other issue to look at is exposing the accessory device’s control surface as a control point for the Android device’s communications and media-playback functions. This situation would be of importance for accessory devices which have other audio or video sources like broadcast tuners, optical-disc players or USB Mass-Storage device connection. In the automotive context, it also extends to nearly all car infotainment setups that allow the user to make or take a call using the controls on the dashboard.

Here, it could be feasible for the accessory to control the media player or phone user interface using either the screen on the Android device or using the controls on the accessory. Here, it could allow for “basic” transport control and metadata display on the accessory device while advanced “search and play” can be performed on the Android device. Similarly, call-progress control can be managed using controls on the dashboard with the ability to, when the car is parked, commence a call on the Android device’s touchscreen.

Similarly, MirrorLink or similar techniques culd allow the accessory device to be configured or controlled in an advanced manner using the touchscreen on the Android device. It could come in handy with A/V equipment which may need specific configuration and setup procedures or Blu-Ray players that may expose “second-screen” interactivity functionality on the handset.

Conclusion

At least, Google have integrated commonly-accepted open standards to add functionality to Android in a manner as to rival the established Apple mobile-device platform and stimulate a healthy competitive design environment.

Product Review–Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

Introduction

I am reviewing the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet which is Lenovo’s effort in providing a tablet computer pitched at business users. Some of the design factors that Lenovo used for this unit include a durable housing, a stylus as an alternative to touch control and the supply of security and manageability software.

Lenovo have also taken advantage of Android’s competitive app-store ability to provide an app store of their own so businesses can purchase and control the apps that a tablet can be equipped with.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

Price
– reviewed configuration
AUD$639
Screen 10” size LED-backlit LCD
User Memory 16Gb
extra-cost 32Gb
SDHC card, USB memory key as storage device
Operating environment Operating system Android 3.1 Honeycomb
Performance Quadrant Benchmark 1542
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11g/n
Wireless Broadband 3G
Bluetooth 3.0
USB MicroUSB, Standard USB
Audio 3.5mm headset, digital output via mini-HDMI
Video Mini-HDMI

The unit itself

Aesthetics and build quality

The Lenovo ThinkPad tablet feels heavier to use than most other tablets, more like the first-generation Apple iPad tablet and is similarly thick. But it has a rubberised back which really permits non-slip use, especially if you are likely to be cradling it around your business to show Websites, around home to watch videos personally or around the express train to read ebooks or play Angry Birds.

Display

The touchscreen display is as expected for most of the 10” tablets including the Apple iPad 2, being easy to read in varying light and also very responsive. The only limitation that I would find with this is the glossy display which attracts the fingermarks too easily and is a common issue amongst products of this class.

Audio

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet USB host port

USB host port for connecting memory keys and input devices

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet performed very well with the sound especially when you use it with headphones. The internal speakers don’t yield enough volume for any use except if you are close to the tablet.

Connectivity and Expandability

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet bottom edge connections

ThinkPad dock connection as well as micro-USB, mini-HDMI video output and headset jack

Lenovo has made a desktop dock and a keyboard folio that connects to a special connection port as optional accessories. But this Android-powered ThinkPad Tablet does allow you to connect to a larger variety of devices using industry-standard connectors.

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet SD card and SIM card slot

Slot for SD card slot alongside 3G modem’s SIM card slot

Here, you have a standard USB host port so you can plug in USB memory keys; as well as a standard SD card slot for those camera cards when you want to preview your pictures. External power from its supplied charger, a car charger or an external battery pack is supplied using a micro-USB connector that is commonly used for Android smartphones.

If you needed to use external audio-video equipment, you have a headphone socket and a mini-HDMI socket for this purpose.

Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet was very responsive in many ways. For example the graphics performance lived up to the Tegra norm and it was able to run multiple tasks concurrently without slowing to a crawl.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet with stylus

The ThinkPad Tablet can be controlled with a supplied stylus

I even noticed how the battery performed after watching an episode of “Spiral” (“Engrenages” – a new French crime-drama series that I like watching) through SBS’s on-demand-video Website, then playing a few rounds of the supplied Solitaire game. Here, the battery was half-empty after this run of intense multimedia activity.

Other factors

As expected for business computing equipment, Lenovo have supplied the ThinkPad Tablet with security and manageability software for larger business setups where this tablet is part of a fleet of company-owned tablets. It also comes with remote-desktop software for Citrix-based remote computing environments which would be used in this class of computing environment.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

I would personally like to see Lenovo provide security, manageability and remote-computing software for the small business owner. This could be in the form of a remote-desktop client that works with the RDP (Windows) protocol as well as low cost remote-servicing tools for IT contractors and business-grade security that is positioned for this class of user.

As well, Lenovo could target the ThinkPad Tablet effectively at the small-business users through their marketing.

Technically, this tablet could be equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 technology so that it can work with sensor devices that use this low-power technology, which could appeal to medical professionals, technicians and similar user classes.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet as a durable “open-frame” tablet-based solution for small businesses, especially anyone who repairs or installs anything.  Here, they could keep PDFs of product / parts catalogues, service manuals, price lists and similar documentation “on hand” and ready to show to the customer; as well as an read-and-quick-reply terminal for email, a camera to take example photos to show the customer amongst other things/

Product Review–Toshiba AT1S0 7” tablet

Introduction

I am reviewing Toshiba’s Thrive AT1S0 7″ Android tablet, which is also known as an AT150 tablet. This unit is pitched as a “coat-pocket” or “e-book” tablet rather than the the “cradle-around” tablet that the iPad and similar 10″ products are, essentially offering higher performance and capability than a typical “e-book” reader or similar device.

Toshiba Thrive AT1S0 7" tablet

Price AUD$399
Screen 7” widescreen(1280×800) LED-backlit LCD
User Memory 16Gb Micro-SDHC
Operating environment Android 3.02 Honeycomb
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11g/n
Bluetooth  2.1 + EDR
USB Mini-USB 2.0,
Proprietary Apple-style docking connector
Audio 3.5mm headset jack,
Digital audio via Micro-HDMI
Video Micro-HDMI
Cameras Front 2Mp on short edge
Rear  5Mp

The unit itself

Aesthetics and build quality

The Toshiba AT1So 7″ tablet is a well-built thick unit with a black-plastic ribbed back, in a similar vein to most of the good-quality 7″ Androiod tablets. It can easily fit in to a coat pocket which improves on this device’s portability credentials.

Display

The LCD display is an easy–to–view unit that has highly responsive graphics. The only letdown about the display here is that it is very glossy and can attract fingerprints easily.

Audio and Video

The AT1S0’s AV subsystem does perform properly even as I was watching video-on-demand content from the SBS Website. As typical for portable devices, the speaker quality leaves a lot to be desired due to the requirement for allowable size in these devices’ design. But, once used with headphones, the Toshiba tablet just performed very well with the audio reproduction.

This tablet, like most of its similarly-priced Android-powered peers, has two cameras – one on the front and one on the back. But if you do want to use Skype or other Android video-conferencing software, you have ot have it in the portrait arrangement for it to work properly.

Connectivity and Expandability

Toshiba Thrive AT1S0 7" tablet connections

Connectivity and expansion options - micro-HDMI socket, mini-USB 2.0 socket, microSDHC card slot

With most Android tablets, there is the ability to expand on these tablets’ function very easily.

There is a microSDHC slot so you can increase useable memory up to 32Gb or use the microSD cards as swappable media. There is a miniUSB socket so you can connect the unit to a computer or transfer data between other devices; or you can use the Toshiba “docking” connector for this same purpose. As well, you can connect the tablet to an external display using a micro-HDMI connector for that big-screen view. These are hidden undar a rubberised plastic strip on the same side of the unit as the volume and on-off buttons.

Performance

It still performs very snappily for most Android devices and has been able to work with online photos and videos very quickly. Even activities like browsing between screens is very quick and smooth.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

Toshiba could use the standard micro-USB connector for power and data in addition to the Apple-style docking connectorm so you don’t have to worry about having to use or not lose a special cable for this unit. The docking connector that Toshiba implemented here could be licensed out to all Android and Windows Phone 7 devices as a standard “data/digital-audio/power” connection with docking stations and accessories. This is especially if they have to compete with Apple’s iPad platform when it comes to allowing others to design docking stations and similar accessories for these devices.

They could also deliver this unit with Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” as the standard operating environment, which could take advantage of what this platform has to offer.

Conclusion

Toshiba Thrive AT1S0 7" Tablet I would recommend this tablet more as a highly-portable coat-pocket-sized solution for most tablet-based activities like reference material, video playback while on crowded trains and similar activities.

It could also work with apps that that utilise the screen as a remote control or a remote camera viewfinder if you place emphasis on that 7″ coat-pocket-size form factor.

Bluetooth Smart Ready–Relevant to the tablet form factor?

During the recent media hype surrounding the release of the new Apple iPad, one feature that was mentioned but played second fiddle was the tablet’s support for Bluetooth 4.0 “Smart Ready” connectivity.

This technology, which I covered in a previous article, is where the Bluetooth infrastructure can implement sensor / control devices that work on low-power-drain requirements by reducing the need to transmit frequently. They are typically pitched at the health-care and fitness market in the form of heart-rate monitors, blood glucose meters, personnel scales and the like as well as “smart watches”; and would typically be expected to work with the “Bluetooth Smart-Ready” smartphones rather than a tablet device.

But I would still view the Bluetooth Smart Ready integration for the iPad as very relevant to its form factor. In the health context, the larger screen would benefit a “spot-measuring” device like a sphygmomanometer (blood-pressure meter), thermometer or scales when used with an app that keeps records of the measurements. Here, it could be feasible to see a table or chart  of previous measurements alongside the current measurement so you can make a comparative assessment against the previous observations.

The automotive application class would also benefit from Bluetooth 4.0 implemented on a tablet, especially in the context of people engaging in DIY car maintenance and tuning (read “petrolheads” / “gearheads” / “boy-racers”). Here, Bluetooth 4.0 could interlink devices like a tachometer / dwell meter to a tablet that acts as a large-screen display for these devices when you are tuning that car for performance.

It may also benefit the so-called “app-cessory” concept market where the tablets become control surfaces for appliances, but this would not really need to specifically use Bluetooth 4.0 if the appliance needs constant power to work, because of it benefiting from that constant power.

But there are some applications that need power to provide local needs on a spontaneous basis. These exist primarily in the security / safety product class and represent devices like electromechanical locks or safe locking systems. They can benefit from a Bluetooth 4.0 tablet being a service / programming terminal or even utilising the notification functions in the tablets to signal events and situations.

What really needs to happen is that the next Apple iPad with its Bluetooth 4.0 subsystem and the next generation of Bluetooth 4.0-equipped tablets be a chance to exploit the large screen of the tablets to take the abilities of Bluetooth Smart Devices further.

Similarly, if an idea does not justify the software existing in the iTunes App Store or similar app stores, I would support the ability to “sideload” the app This is where the software is delivered to the customer by physical media or the manufacturer’s own Website then the customer uploads it using a program like iTunes. There could be an authenticated-software measure to verify the authenticity of the code and protect against malware distribution, but this concept of “sideloading” under the developer’s and consumer’s control may not wash with Apple and their fanbois.

App stores moving towards larger downloads – how about dynamic packaging

Lately I have observed Google Play (was Android Market) and the Apple iTunes App Store for iOS moving towards permitting the download of larger deliverable files for their platforms’ apps. What I see of this is a move towards PC-style app packaging where there is an executable image of the program along with separately-packed “library” or “resource” files.

This may yield a limitation with it taking a long time before the app becomes ready to use as well as increased pressure on the bandwidth. The latter issue will affect those of us who use wireless-broadband services because of reduced throughput and increased costs to use these services.

What could be achieved would be to allow the app stores to implement dynamic packaging where the user only downloads what they need rather than the same large package. This would be very handy with game franchises and similar programs which have the same runtime code but users download variants which “expand” the program further. Similarly, there could be developers who build function libraries such as peripheral-interface libraries and share these with other developers. It also appeals to app packages which may be packaged for particular device classes like a “smartphone class” app and a “tablet class” app that exploits the large screen of these tablets.

The app stores should then work towards the dynamic package model when they permit larger deliverable packages for the apps that they provide. This setup can work alongside the other mechanisms like background download or Wi-Fi-only downloading to ease the pressure on the devices and their networks.

The next-generation Apple iPad–how I see it

Articles

Apple’s new iPad: Hands-on | CNet

Apple’s next-gen iPad: New battlefields emerge | ZDNet

Apple unveils new iPad, Apple TV | Digital Life – The Age (Australia)

Apple unveils new iPad with high-definition screen | BBC Technology (UK)

My Comments

Over these last few days, Apple had warmed up the hype machine over their just-released iteration of the iPad. It is to implement a 9.5” very-high-definition “retina” display which allows it to show more detail; as well as the use of the A5X quad-core RISC processor, allowing, for example, the Angry Birds to throw those stones faster and harder at the pigs. This iPad will also be the first Apple iOS product to work with the 4G LTE wireless-broadband networks.

Similarly, Apple had driven down the price of their current-generation iPad 2 range in order to snap at the low-cost tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire. But this price attack is unrealistic due to the Kindle Fire and others offering the 7” screens and pocketable size whereas the iPad is more the larger 10” “satchel-size” variety.

But I see it more as being part of a highly-competitive touchscreen tablet computer marketplace with some powerful Android tablets on the marketplace such as the Asus Transformer Prime; as well as the upcoming appearance of Windows 8 this year with its support for tablet computers.

It will be like the late 80s where there have been three or more GUI-equipped computer platforms appearing on the consumer and business marketplace, offering their different capabilities. In some cases, this included implementing technologies that were considered “cutting edge” for that time. It is also like the way the smartphone market has become with two major competitors appealing to consumers and a few more competitors appealing to business users.

I would see the rest of this year as being a keen-edged time period for tablets and tablet-based apps as the competition heats up and the value factor for these products increases. It would also include whether these tablets will displace the regular computer from its place as one’s primary personal or business computing device as Steve Jobs wished for the Apple iPad platform or simply work as an auxiliary computing device. This includes the ability for these tablets to please the “core” gamers as a gaming system or a screen-equipped controller; or just be useful for casual ad-hoc gaming sessions.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012–Part 1

This year, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has achieved a record of 3100 exhibitors and has made an opening for newer technology companies. This is through the establishment of the “Eureka Park TrendZone” which had space for 94 of these startups.

For Microsoft, this year was their last appearance as an exhibitor and Paul Allen had given the last keynote speech for that company at the CES. They will simply work alongside their hardware and other software partners at further events.

Trends

The major trends have been taking place with the portable and mobile computing aspect of our lives. This is mainly in the form of more powerful smartphones and tablets as well as an increased number of Ultrabooks – small slim ultraportable computers that snap at the heels of the MacBook Air.

Technologies

Energy-efficient powerful processors

This show is being used to premiere NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 ARM processor, which is an improved processor for mobile devices. This is intended to allow for increased power and longer runtime for these devices. This processor isn’t just intended for the tablets but also for use in the car dashboard as has been demonstrated with the latest Tesla electric supercar.

As well, Intel were premiering their Ivy Bridge “classic” processors which are optimised for improved graphics while being energy efficient. These processors are intended for the upcoming generation of laptops including the Ultrabooks.

New operating environments for the regular computer

Microsoft were also demonstrating the Kinect gesture-driven user interface on the PC and this wasn’t just for gaming like its initial XBox 360 application was. They used this show to promote Windows 8 as being the next computer operating system for tablets and regular computers.

Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready

It was also the year that Bluetoot 4.0 a.k.a. Bluetooth Smart was being promoted. This was a very low-power Bluetooth specification which made the technology work properly with sensor applications due to allowing these devices to run on a pair of AA batteries or a watch battery for many months.

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices could work with these Bluetooth Smart devices and permit them to work in an energy-conserving way. This has legitimised the Bluetooth technology in personal health and wellbeing applications, with this application class being premiered at this show.

Mobile Computing

One technology that is affecting this class of devices is the launch of LTE-based 4G wireless broadband in to most of the USA by many of the US mobile carriers. This is expected to allow for higher data throughput and bandwidth for the data-based services.

Smartphones and Multifunction Internet Devices

One major brand change that occurred over this show was Sony’s handheld-communications identity. This was previously known as Sony Ericsson but is now known simply as Sony Mobile Communications.

Here, Sony had launched the Xperia S Android phone and their first LTE-enabled phone inthe form of the Xperia Ion. These are also to be “PlayStation capable” which allows them to run Sony’s PlayStation games in the manner they are meant to be played. They also released the Walkman Z series which is Sony’s answer to the Apple iPod Touch and the Samsung Galaxy Player multifunction Internet devices.

Samsung had released their Galaxy S Blaze 4G which is their LTE-enabled iteration of their Galaxy S Android phones. LG also released some more of the Spectrum Android smartphones to the US market. Lenovo had launched the first Intel-powered Android smartphone in the form of the K800.

But, for the Windows Phone platform, the big announcement was Nokia’s Lumina 900 which was a Windows Phone equipped with a 4.3” AMOLED touchscreen. Was this a way for Nokia to claw back in to the multifunction smartphone category again?

Tablets

Here, this device class has become more powerful and capable, especially with the spectre of Windows 8 coming around the corner and a strong effort by all to unseat the iPad from its dominant position.

Toshiba had shown a 13” and a 7.7” prototype tablet but were exhibiting their 10.1” Android tablet/ As well, Coby were launching 5 ranges of 7” and 10” Android Ice-Cream-Sandwich-powered tablets with the maximum having 1Gb RAM and 32Gb expandable flash memory.

Acer had launched the Iconia A700 series 10” tablets with Tegra quad-core horsepower, 5Mp rear camera and HD front camera, and driven by Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Asus had launched the Transformer Prime Mini 7” Android 4.0 comverrtible Android tablet which coudl be similar to the EeePad Memo. This Android Wi-Fi tablet was a 7.1” 3D-screen-equipped unit with 5Mp rear camera / 1.2Mp front camera, stylus and 64Gb flash storage.

Samsung had used this show to premiere the Galaxy Note to the US market and premiere the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE which was enabled for the 4G wireless broadband networks.

Sony had launched their S1 Android Homeycomb powered tablet. This one had a 9.4” screen and could work as an electronic picture frame or alarm clock; and was able to work with 4G LTE wireless broadband as well as Wi-Fi. Of course it would work with the DLNA Home Media Network and implemented an “off-centre-of-gravity” position for stability. They also showed the Tablet P clamshell tablet to the US market even though it was available in other markets. They weren’t sure if it would be launched in the carrier-controlled US market.

Regular computers

Ultrabooks and other “traveller” notebooks

This year had been a changing year for the lightweight “traveller” notebook computer. This class of computer had seen the tablet computer appear as a serious competitor and Intel had defined the “Ultrabook” as a new lightweight slimline class of portable hotspot-surfing computer.

ASUS and Lenovo had exhibited convertible Ultrabook computers which could become tablets, with Lenovo’s example known as the Ideapad Yoga which was powered with the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset.

Acer’s next Ultrabook is the Aspire S5. This was claimed to be the thinnest Ultrabook and had an 8 hour battery runtime. It also had a USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt peripheral connect for use with higher-capacity hard disks for example. LG also launched the XNote Z330 Ultrabook as did Toshiba with the Portege Z835 and HP with the 14” Envy Spectre Ultrabook.

Lenovo were exhibiting their IdeaPad U310 (13”) and U410 (14”) Ultrabooks with a choice of processors but with 4Gb RAM and a choice of 64Gb SSD or 500Gb regular hard disk. The 14” U410 variant was also available with 1Gb NVIDIA graphics.

Dell has jumped in to the Ultrabook bandwagon with the XPS 13. This had the standard spec set with an Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor, 4G on the RAM and a choice of 128Gb or 256Gb solid-state storage. The display is typically the 1366×768 resolution with Gorilla Glass screen as well as Bluetooth 3.0. Like the HP Folio 13 Ultrabook, this could be available in a “big-business package” with the business-security and customisation needs or as a regular consumer/small-business package.

Samsung launched their redesigned Series 9 ultrabooks with 13” amd 14” models. These were powered by a Core i5 processor and were equipped with 4Gb RAM and 500Gb hard disk as standard. The 13” variant had a 128Gb SSD as an alternative option.

Of course, the Ultrabook and the tablet had placed doubt on the viability of the 10”-11” netbook. But Lenovo was one of the few who had pushed on with a netbook in the form of the S200 and S206 series. These 11.6” units are available with an AMD or an Intel Atom chipset and  have 2Gb RAM and a choice of 32Gb SSD or 500Gb hard-disk secondary storage.

Laptops

Of course, the regular 15”-17” laptop has not been forgotten about with the calibre of these computers approaching “multimedia” specifications. Most of the 17” units had 1080p resolution and were equipped with Blu-Ray as a standard or option for their optical disks. The hard disks came in the order of 1Tb or, in some cases, 2Tb and system RAM was in the order of 8Gb.

For graphics, most of the laptops on the show floor had NVIDIA graphics chipsets with display memory of 1Gb to 2Gb and able to operate in dual-chipset “overdrive” mode. Samsung even exhibited the Series 7 “Gamer” which was pitched as a thoroughbred clamshell gaming rig.

In-car technology

This year was a chance for new upstarts to integrate the car with the Internet. MOG and Aha by HARMAN have increased their “Web-to-radio” footprint by integrating CBS Radio into their Web content aggregation lineup and partnering with Honda, Subaru, JVC and Kenwood to increase their equipment availability. This is in addition to improving the Aha iOS app and porting this same app to the Android platform this year.

Similarly, Parrot have extended their “Asteroid” Android-driven in-vehicle infotainment platform to three different devices – the Asteroid CK which yields telephony and audio content;, the Asteroid NAV which also provides GPS navigation and Internet access via Wi-Fi; and the Asteroid 2DIN whcih is effectively a car-radio replacement by having integrated AM/FM/RDS tuners.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next instalment of the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 series which will cover the networked lifestyle at home.

Internet-based health care–now a reality

Article

BBC News – Health care by TV and remote control

My Comments

The home network and the Internet is now becoming an essential part of personal health care in may ways thanks to a variety of technologies.

Facilitation technologies

Level playing field for health-care sensor devices

Certain technologies are making this feasible through the use of device classes for health-specific devices such as blood-pressure / pulse cuffs, blood sugar monitors and heart-rate monitors. They are also being enabled with low-voltage wireless technologies like Bluetooth Smart and up-and-coming low-voltage Wi-Fi designs.

These devices are being made able to work from two AA batteries or a 3V watch battery for a long time, yet use an industry-common data link and device class. The actual benefit from these design factors is the ability to supply health-care sensor devices that are cost-effective to buy and maintain; yet are able to integrate with common computing devices.

Ubiquity of open computing platforms for this application

It is being extended with the availability of regular, mobile and TV-based computing platforms like Windows, MacOS X, iOS and Android as foundations for software that records and / or reports medical-status information.

The software can be designed to keep a local or cloud-based record and signal to health-carers and/or close relatives and friends if there are abnormal events. In some cases, details can be passed through immediately to the health-care professional who is supervising the patient.

Where do I see this being applicable

I see this technology being applicable for the management of chronic illnesses where the patient can manage the illness themselves with little outside intervention. This may extend to the care of pregnant women who have a low risk of birth complications. Even when the patient must travel to the health-care professional for an appointment, both the professional and the patient are in a better position to know “what’s going on” through the treatment process.

It also adds a sense of dignity to the care and treatment process by allowing one to integrate the management procedures in to their lifestyle without feeling awkward about it. This would benefit younger and middle aged people more so especially when they are encumbered with these illnesses like diabetes.

I see it also benefiting people living in rural areas in many ways. The telehealth technology can allow a specialist based at a small or larger town to manage multiple patients and only have to travel out to attend those at risk. As well, the patient wouldn’t need to travel out to the doctor unless necessary.

It can also assist with the ageing process for seniors who want to live in their own home, live in an “own space” near their relatives such as a granny flat or live in low-needs supported retirement accommodation. Here, the technology can help with supervising medical and other therapies or simply make sure they are OK without intruding on their lifestyle and dignity. In this case, it could augment other technology projects that are in progress or being completed that assist older people with their daily lives.

Similarly, the technology would help with sports medicine in allowing athletes and fitness enthusiasts, along with their trainers, know their limits and how they are performing through their workouts so they can exercise in an optimum way.

Conclusion

I would still like to see the telehealth technologies work as a complement to the personal touch in personal health care rather than distance the patient from the professional. The technologies can be seen as a tool for helping us stay well and independent; as well as conquer distance.

The idea of the convertible ultrabook becomes real with ASUS

Articles

Asustek to showcase swivel-screen notebook at 2012 Computex | DigiTimes

Un ultrabook convertible chez Asus ? | Le Journal Du Geek (France – French language)

My Comments

A question that many people will be pondering nowadays when they consider a secondary computing device is whether to get a small laptop computer like a netbook or Ultrabook or a tablet computer like the iPad along with an accessory keyboard. There will be the tradeoffs of each platform such as software availability and user-interface requirements.

This will become more so when Windows 8 with its Metro touch user interface being part of the operating system and becoming another full-bore competition to the Apple iOS platform.

But ASUS have answered with an Ultrabook that can bridge between the notebook / laptop and tablet form factors in the cost-effective and power-efficient way that has been required of the Ultrabook. This machine will be the first “convertible” Ultrabook that has the “swivel-head” screen design like what I have experienced with the Fujitsu TH550M convertible notebook.

This will work tightly with the integrated touchscreen interface that Windows 8 provides rather than the previous practice where the manufacturers fabricated their own touch-optimised shell for these computers.

The ASUS convertible Ultrabook could offer a tablet-style user interface for casual computing needs yet have the full proper keyboard that would appeal to us when working on emails or documents; yet it will have the benefits that tablets like the iPad offer like quick start-up and long battery runtimes.

The main question is that whether other manufacturers would make the convertible Ultrabook form factor and make these computers cost-effective and widely available or will they be taken in by just supplying tablets as a distinct touchscreen product class?