Have Laptop Will Travel

Microsoft Courier set to be released in “Q3 / Q4”

Originally posted on March 7, 2010 @ 9:28 pm

So, while everyone else is eagerly waiting for the release of Apple’s iPad, us who aren’t really convinced of the iPad’s abilities to walk on water or its promises to cure cancer are looking someplace else. Enter: Microsoft’s Courier. The Courier is being marketed as a “digital journal.” Instead of Windows 7, we’re seeing the Courier has the same software that runs Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series. It makes sense, really. The iPad uses iPhone OS because full Mac OS X will not work well for touch screen interfaces. And of course Windows 7, with all its touch-screen friendly glory, won’t even give the best user experience. [Read more…]

Nvidia’s Android Tablet rocks a Tegra 2 chip

Originally posted on May 20, 2010 @ 7:48 am

It’s pretty obvious by now that I’m not that that much of a fan of the iPad, given how much I criticize the damned thing over at Gadzooki. But honestly, I might not like the iPad, but I am a big fan of the concept. My dislike for the iPad stems from mostly hardware concerns, but for the most part Apple has got it right. Tablet computers, those that are optimized for full touch screen (read: stripped-down operating systems) – and not the ones with a full-blown desktop operating system crammed into it with half-baked touchscreen support created by OEMs – are the future. Sadly, the iPad’s hardware is a bit lacking. I still can’t believe that they didn’t even put a USB drive in there. [Read more…]

The MSI Air keyboard is perfect for your nettop

Originally posted on February 9, 2010 @ 9:13 am

I’ve always been intrigued with wireless keyboards for some reason. I can’t really put my finger on it, but the prospect of lying around the house, keyboard in tow, while watching stuff on a huge HDTV is probably part of the appeal.

Oh wait, it’s not just part of the appeal, it has everything to do with it.

Anyway, if you’re using a nettop or any other computer as a media center, the MSI Air keyboard is probably for you.

From EeePC.net:

It has a keyboard where you can enter words for search boxes and has the full complement of media keys and directional pad for controlling menus. It even has hot keys for search. What’s more, it can use motion detection so you can use it as a mouse.

The RF based device needs a USB dongle to work and weighs 0.2kg. No word on how long the battery will last but it does use 2 replaceable AA batteries and goes to standby after inactivity.

So I’m pretty much sold on this except for the AA batteries. Those things aren’t exactly known for their longevity. But then I think the MSI Air Keyboard is worth giving a try, though.

Oh, yeah, one caveat: it’s available in Germany for now- no, wait, in March. So if you do find one next month, be willing to fork over €79 (US$108) for the MSI Air Keyboard. It works for Windows and Mac OS X, by the way, so I’m sure you’re thinking that it’s worth it.

NVIDIA Tegra 2 tablets with Flash

Originally posted on February 18, 2010 @ 11:05 am

By now, everybody knows of Apple’s stand regarding Flash Player in their iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock all this time, Steve Jobs and company don’t want no Flash Player in their touch-screen gizmos, because they don’t feel that Adobe has been making a great Mac browser plugin. In fact, they’re blaming Flash for a huge percentage of Safari crashes in Mac.

Adobe has been trying real hard to strike back at Apple’s insistence that the rest of the web should hurry up and ditch Flash for HTML 5. An Adobe employee blogged about how the iPad’s browsing experience will pretty much suck because it doesn’t support Flash, and now they’re quickly developing Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for Google Android. [Read more…]

Is the Google Chrome Tablet as good as it sounds?

Originally posted on February 2, 2010 @ 11:09 am

So the highly-anticipated iPad just got released and everyone is talking about it. A lot of computer manufacturers have released tablet PCs before, but not one of those gadgets have gained as much buzz as Apple’s little tablet. Well, they don’t have an army of dedicated fans waiting with bated breath, and they don’t have Steve Freakin’ Jobs to show off their new products.

However Google seems to be on a collision course with Apple. After the search engine giant’s Google Voice app was pulled from the iTunes App Store, they responded by releasing the Google Nexus One. They’re also moving in the operating system business by way of the Google Chrome OS (I’ve been pretty unimpressed with it, by the way), and they’re poised to go for laptops/netbooks as well with the as-of-yet mythical Google netbook. [Read more…]