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IDF Showcase Likely to Reveal New Ultrabooks


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Dell, HP, Fujitsu, MSI, Samsung, Packard Bell, Sony. There are still a number of laptop manufacturers that haven’t announced Ultrabooks but at next weeks Intel Developer Forum there’s something happening that could reveal devices and add to the list.

Aside from an Ultrabook-focused keynote and a number of Ultrabook technical sessions, there’s an Ultrabook showcase that could be the perfect place to highlight new developments. We’ve seen it in previous years with netbook and MIDs and we don’t expect the Ultrabook Showcase to be any different.

There are very few industry events left this year and precious little time to be getting excitement ramped up before the Christmas sales season so if models aren’t launched by the end of this month with availability in October, it could be too late.

Indicators of an Ultrabook Developer Forum


Although we’ve already had two IDF (Intel Developer Forum) events this year it’s the San Francisco event starting in September that’s the highlight. It kicks off a new technology year for Intel and allows attendees to gauge what might happen in the next 12-18 months. You get to watch one of the leading technology companies in the world dance around some its leading technology. Read between the lines and you’re able to gauge a whole lot more than what the marketing reveals.

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The earliest indication that you get of the marketing slant is the official keynote and session list. In years past we’ve seen ultra mobility and networks taking center stage. Last year we saw a huge push for Atom, this year the priorities look different. IDF is likely to be the springboard for Ultrabooks.

Intel will put a huge amount of money into promoting Ultrabooks and key features of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge and advising their customers how to get the best out of the platforms. Take a look at some of the Ultrabook-related sessions that are on offer…

Read the full story

Intel AppLab Tour: London and Berlin Signal a MeeGo Catalyst


meego-to-appup During a snowy week in Europe I travelled to London and Berlin to moderate the the AppLab events being run by Intel. I learnt more about the strategy and details but also got some interesting feedback and feelings from the atendees. For those of you not up-to-date with the Intel AppUp Developer Program (IADP) let me try to explain I’ve got time; A 5hr journey back from Berlin to Bonn! Skip the first section if you know the history.

The story so far…

Intel have a strategy (a ‘continuum’ in their words) of mobile and embedded platforms based on the Atom CPU core that stretches way into the future. The new generation of Atom-based platforms start to move away from the traditional PC architecture in order to gain a foothold in the ‘always-on’ category of devices. Unfortunately, there isn’t a Microsoft OS product that works well with these platforms (a first for Intel?) so Intel have teamed with Nokia to build an open-source Linux core that if focused on mobility and fits with both Intel and ARM platforms. That OS is called MeeGo and it is under the care of the Linux Foundation. Meego implements a user interface layer using the Qt product that Nokia own. The Symbian Foundation also use this in Symbian. A basic application suite is being built along with reference UI models.In order to compete with similar mobile products, Intel is also building an application store framework with monetisation possibilities. Finally, there’s a marketing program aimed at seeding the applications. That’s the Intel AppUp developer program. Phew!

Intel Atom platform + MeeGo core + Qt layer + Apps + Appup monetisation for new apps + pot of gold to stimulate the whole stack.

MeeGo is clearly critical for Intel. It’s also critical for Nokia. They are public in saying that next generation smartphones, high-end products, will be based on Nokia. It scares me to think of the amount of money that is on the table here. It’s also interesting to note that AppUp is already available for Windows and targeted at netbooks, a category that is merging with laptops and getting less and less attention as time goes on. Marketing efforts for AppUp and MeeGo have just kicked off with the MeeGo Portal on the AppUp website.

What is AppLab?

We’ve seen The Intel Elements AppUp event in San Francisco (Sept. Report here) and the first joint effort for MeeGo in the MeeGo conference in November.  Both were very big events. On a smaller scale, Intel’s regional offices are running their own programs in order to grow local developer interest and to make connections with ISV’s and finally, we get to AppLab, the events run by the Europe, Middle-East and Africa team (EMEA) who seem to be leading the local effort.

If you’re a developer interested in MeeGo and Intel’s new mobile platforms and opportunities, you definitely need to keep an eye out for events in your country. They are small, well-focused and bring some of the senior members of the teams to you. If you’re not interested in Atom, MeeGo and AppUp, then all I can say is that you need to keep an eye on it!

As you’d expect the events expand on what I’ve just summarised and go deep into explaining the MeeGo architecture, how AppUp works, what tools to use and what the platforms will be able to offer in terms of products.  See below for links to the slides and a video stream.

London.

A slightly busy exhibition of mobile applications in London (Apps World, Olympia) meant that the crowd was largely transient although it was good to see a core of a bout 30 people stay and listen to the whole 4 hours of talks. The crowd were from various parts of the UK with about 30% developers and 30% marketing people. Presentation detail was good but speakers should definitely aim to pep-up and tidy-up their presentations. To be honest, as the moderator, there’s room for me to do the same! This is a critical product for Intel and that impression didn’t come across despite the obvious excitement from the speakers when in a one-to-one chat. Intel should also aim to bind the community together under some sort of interest group created for each event. With many people coming from London it makes sense to sponsor user-group meetings.

Berlin

AppLab Berlin Setup

The mood and setup was convivial, the church-hall location surprisingly well set-up. The sessions and speakers went from top to bottom and as deep as was needed and the small number of local people (about 25 at the Berlin event due to some terrible Europe-wide weather in the days running up to the event) helped to create a real atmosphere of community that should aim to keep connected in Berlin. The specialists brought across their subjects well although again, a measure of excitement needs to be injected. For those in Berlin that are interested in connecting to other users, check out Mobile Freidae, an independent website and community that has already held MeeGo get-togethers.

Use Local MeeGo Networks as connectors?

MeeGo, AppUp, IADP and the related products are new, interesting opportunities and Intel/Nokia really need the word to be spread. If you’re interested in setting up a local MeeGo interest group and covering AppUp, see the MeeGo Wiki.

New News

These events aren’t meant for major announcements but if you listen carefully, you can pick up a few hints.

  • The IADP team is going to LeWeb in Paris, France this week. There was also a mention of new languages for AppUp. Add the two together for the answer!
  • The MeeGo SDK is coming for Mac-based development to add to Linux and Windows-based environments.
  • There’s a desire to make some of the (expensive) software tools low-cost or free for MeeGo devs. The Intel tools (compiler, libraries etc.) are very Atom and power-focussed. If this happens it’s a major advantage for Intel/MeeGo developers.
  • I’m getting the feeling that AppUp for MeeGo is coming in Q1 2010. Certainly the marketing is ramping up already.
  • There’s lots of prizes, support and free marketing available for early developers. More coming in 2011 (Bigger, apparently.)
  • Dixons/Currys/PC World in the UK are ready to push a AppUp on their products; Right up into Laptops.

Uli Dumschat - Presenting 1 Is MeeGo the catalyst?

One thing that was easy to spot at the events was the interest in MeeGo. It’s not difficult to see why because the ecosystem for Windows is already mature and splintered. MeeGo is connected with a new, clear and mobile strategy. It’s new too which means there’s an excitement about being first. As we go into 2011, I expect the MeeGo/AppUp story to converge although it will be interesting to see how Nokia markets MeeGo/OVI. In theory, Qt provides a way to write an app and put it across both platforms but that message hasn’t really gone out yet and will be quite the marketing challenge as both sides look to promote their own developer opportunities. Will Windows+MeeGo be bigger than Symbian+MeeGo?

More events planned? MeeGo Roadshow!

I asked Stefan Englet, segment manager for EMEA at Intel about future Intel AppLab events…

We will continue doing “AppLabs” to give developers a full overview of the Intel AppUp Developer Program, the support they [can receive] and the opportunities for monetizing their applications. Additionally we will set up a MeeGo road show through central Europe, providing the latest about the cool new mobile OS – stay tuned, planned for 2nd quarter 2011.

The AppUp team is at LeWeb this week. Keep an eye out for Scot Appland and Peter Biddle, both senior members of the core AppUp team.

As for global activities, we’ll have a chance to catch up with the AppUp teams at CES in January so stay tuned here for more.

You can also check out this forum on the Intel Software Network for more event information.

All presentations from the event (PDF)

More information.

The AppLab events were fun and educational and really underline the importance of these products for Intel. Next update is expected in just four weeks at CES, Las Vegas.

The 1K Challenge. Mobile computing Put To Test.


IMG_5325 It’s rare that a new father gets 3 days alone but next week I’m in that position and I want to make the most of it which means I’m going on tour to test some 1KG mobile computing solutions the cost under 1000 Euro. I’ll write 1000 words on each and do my best to travel 1000km. It will be fun and productive at the same time and that’s what I really really love about mobile computing.

I’ve got a device shortlist but it’s not finalized and as yet, the tour route is unknown. I’ll be planning that this week and taking into account mobile blogger meet-ups and company drop-ins.

You can read more about the details over at UMPCPortal and stay tuned here, or there, as we countdown to the start on either Saturday or Sunday and if you’re in Germany and want to meet (business or pleasure) please let me know. Sponsors are also welcome.

The 1K Challenge: Working my E-book in Grams, Euros, Words and Kilometers.

The 1K Challenge: Working my E-book in Grams, Euros, Words and Kilometers.


How easy is it to work for a day on a PC. Easy! How about writing 1,000 words and carrying less than 1KG of equipment that costs under €1000? How about doing it while traveling and not carrying any mains adapters?

Next week I have three days on my own and I plan to get away from the home office. I’m not sure where I’m going but I do know that I will be setting myself a challenge to finish my e-book which is now nearly a year past my planned schedule. I’m also going to throw in some other targets too and it should be interesting for you to watch. Can I work for a full day carrying less than1KG of equipment worth less than €1K.

This isn’t going to be easy because what I’m talking about here is a full mobile office with the following features:

  • ‘PC’ with email, web browser, document editing capabilities, storage, screen, keyboard and Wifi
  • 3G internet connectivity
  • Navigation system
  • Camera (minimum 2MP)
  • Video camera (MIN VGA)
  • MP3 player and headphones

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The PC alone is quite the challenge as you’ll see from an article I wrote in the summer. Finding a netbook under 1KG is impossible so you’re left with specialist devices or ARM-based tablets and ‘smart books’ and even then, adding the additional capabilities (obviously via a smartphone) and ensuring you’ve got enough battery power is something i’ve never been able to do in 1KG before. My reporting kits of the past have rarely got close to 1KG. This one was an exception.

I’ve set a few ground rules which also narrow down the choice.

  • Screen: 7 inch or more. In my experience, trying to work efficiently on anything less is going to result in stress, aches and embarrassment as you crouch over the device to read the screen or enlarge the text so much that you haven’t got enough working space. For most people 9 or 10 inch is entry level.
  • Battery life: 5 hours. A full day would be regarded as 8hrs or more by most but there are only a few devices around that could deliver more than that in an always-connected, screen-on scenario. The iPad springs to mind as the #1 choice in terms of battery life but I need to consider other, more business-oriented options.
  • Document editing capabilities includes offline text input and formatting capabilities with embedded images and links. In summary: offline rich text.
  • Connectivity does not have to be on-board and can be provided via BT tethering, 3G dongle , MiFi or free wifi connectivity.
  • Charging: No re-charging. Spare batteries allowed if they fit in the 1K allowance
  • Multiple test rigs per day. I know that some of the solutions won’t last for more than 5hrs. In order to get the most out of my 3 days, i’ll be taking multiple ‘rigs’ so that I can switch to a new setup if needed.
  • 4 Setups will be tested. If I can’t get a rig working in under 1KG, I will make it as near as possible using the resources I’ve got.

The Shortlist.

As I mentioned, there isn’t a netbook out there that can do this so we’re looking at UMPCs. The Viliv S7 (830gm), Sony Vaio P11 (632gm) and Viliv X70 EX (660gm) head up the list of PCs that I could choose from although there’s a good chance that the Tega V2 will turn up here in time for the test. That would be an interesting one at 800gm and with a nice 10 inch screen. Adding a keyboard and the phone would probably take it to 1.2KG though. We’ll have to see. There are some other non-windows devices too. The Toshiba AC100 runs for 7hrs and weighs only 800gm. I would only need to add a smartphone to complete that setup in under 1KG. The Viewsonic ViewPad 7 would be a very very interesting option. It would only need a keyboard to complete the set-up as it already has GPS, 3.2MP cam, navigation, voice, SMS and 3G built-in. I will try my best to get hold of one of these for the test. There’s the iPad to consider too but getting a stand and keyboard in under 1KG could be a challenge. I’ll see what I can do about getting an iPad setup for the test.

Current shortlist:

More K’s?

The 1K challenge starts on Saturday and I’m thinking of adding one more ‘k’. Can I travel 1000 kilometers while I do this?

Sponsorship.

Naturally this project is open to sponsorship. If you’re a reseller of mobile computing solutions and want to put your name or products forward, please contact me. German resellers, I’d especially like to meet you! Lass uns zusammen ein bier trinken! Get in contact with me via the contact form available through the link on the site header

Help / Meet-and-greet.

If you live in Germany/UK/Netherlands and have a Vaio P11, an iPad 3G or another solution you want me to consider, (UK or German OS please) get in contact with me via the contact form available through the link on the site header. If you live in Duesseldorf, Hannover, Stuttgart or some other major city and you fancy a mobile blogging meet-up, let me know and I’ll try to plan it in.

Stay tuned to UMPCPortal for more information on the 1K challenge later this week.

IFA Coverage Starts on Thursday


I’m already testing and charging my kit for IFA because on Thursday morning I’ll be on my way up to Berlin to start coverage. The 2nd of Sept is a press and launch day and we expect Samsung to launch the Galaxy Tab in the morning. Unfortunately I’ll still be in the train but I’ll be watching out for news. In the evening we’ll get to see the Tab at the Showstoppers event. We’ll also have a chance to speak to HP.

FOLLOW CHIPPY on TWITTER

On Friday we’ll be hitting the floor and covering as much as we can for you. We’ll give Toshiba a visit to find out about the ‘Smart Pad’ (and the plans for the AC100) and we’ve got a good list of other events and booths to attend too. There’s a tweet-up in the evening.

On the 4th we’re covering the floor again but in the afternoon we’re attending the Intel Software event where we’ll get some Atom, AppUp and MeeGo info and hopefully, hands on with the WeTab.

240520102453The 5th will see us on the show floor again so you can expect a big bunch of content both here and over at UMPCPortal going into the following week.

As for equipment I’m afraid its nothing really new again. I’ve got the good old Gigabyte Touchnote and the Canon S2IS that I use for photos and video. The Xperia X10 will be my phone but I’ll also take the N82 as a Flickr Camera and backup. The suspicious looking MiFi and Power-Pack combo will do its job as the roaming hotspot. I used the same setup at Computex and you can read more about that here.

I’ll also be taking the Toshiba AC100, the Viliv N5, S10, X70, S5, U820 and the UMID BZ to the Intel meet-up on the 4th so I’ll have a few backups should anything go wrong!

And once IFA is all over, we’re off to California for the Intel Developer Forum. More about that soon.

IFA Coverage Starts on Thursday


IFA-Logo-Date-160x150 I’m already testing and charging my kit for IFA because on Thursday morning I’ll be on my way up to Berlin to get busy. The 2nd of Sept is a press and launch day and we expect Samsung to launch the Galaxy Tab in the morning. Unfortunately I’ll still be in the train but I’ll be watching out for news with Sascha (netbooknews) who’s traveling up with me. In the evening we’ll get to see the Tab at the Showstoppers event. We’ll also have a chance to speak to HP.

FOLLOW CHIPPY on TWITTER 

On Friday we’ll be hitting the floor and covering as much as we can for you. We’ll give Toshiba a visit to find out about the ‘Smart Pad’ (and the plans for the AC100) and we’ve got a good list of other events and booths to attend too. There’s a tweet-up in the evening.

On the 4th we’re covering the floor again but in the afternoon we’re attending the Intel Software event where we’ll get some Atom, AppUp and MeeGo info and hopefully, hands on with the WeTab.

240520102453The 5th will see us on the show floor again so you can expect a big bunch of content both here and over at Carrypad going into the following week.

As for equipment I’m afraid its nothing really new again. I’ve got the good old Gigabyte Touchnote and the Canon S2IS that I use for photos and video. The Xperia X10 will be my phone but I’ll also take the N82 as a Flickr Camera and backup. The suspicious looking MiFi and Power-Pack combo will do its job as the roaming hotspot. I used the same setup at Computex and you can read more about that here.

I’ll also be taking the Toshiba AC100, the Viliv N5, S10, X70, S5, U820 and the UMID BZ to the Intel meet-up on the 4th so I’ll have a few backups should anything go wrong!

And once IFA is all over, we’re off to California for the Intel Developer Forum. More about that soon.

Atom Developers – Tweetup and Free Training – Prizes – Berlin next week. (During IFA)


netbook_apps If you’re in the Berlin area for IFA and you want to learn more about Intel’s Atom platform, MeeGo operating system, Atom Developer Program and AppUp app-store, this one is for you.

On the 3rd Sept there will be a tweetup that is sponsored by Intel and will be attended by a number of people presenting on the main event on Saturday the 4th.  On the 4th you can attend a training day which includes key people from the Intel software groups and a lot of information. Sascha (netbooknews) and myself will be there and we’ll be available to chat independently about Intel hardware and software.

There’s a very good chance to win some swag too and I’m not talking about pens and USB sticks. There are three netbooks and a WeTab up for grabs!

Tweetup Details:

Sept 3rd

Starts at 19.00h at St. Oberholz, Rosenthaler Str. 72, (Tel. +49 30 24085586)

U Bahn Station: Rosenthaler Platz, U8;

http://www.qype.com/place/492-Sankt-Oberholz-Berlin

Main Event Details:

Sept 4th (Sat)

Event Webpage:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144065815611069&ref=mf
Address: HomeBase Lounge
Köthener Strasse 44
10963 Berlin
Tel: +49 30 257 938 56
U-Bahn/S-Bahn Station: Potsdamer Platz

Agenda:
10.00 12.00h        Intel presenters and bloggers arrive, please
12.30 13.00h        Registration and small fingerfood lunch
13.00 14.00h       Technical Training Part 1
14.00 14.15h        Break
14.15 16.15h         Technical Training Part 2

16.30h 17.00h    Registration (repeat) starts
17.00h 17.10h    Welcome by Beatrice Frädrich
17.10h 18.00h    4 presentations 10min. Each

  • Vipul Chopra – Validation
  • Jens Weller apps porting QT
  • 4iitoo application examples with WeTab
  • Stefan Englet AppUP/IADP
  • Moderated by Chippy and Sascha

18.00 18.30h       Wind-down
20.00            Announcement of raffle winners
18.30 22.00h        Buffet dinner/drinks/networking

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