Tablets increasingly seem to want to go from companion device to dedicated device, but there’s a lot of catching up to do in terms of productivity before that can actually happen. Today, most modern smartphones are capable of capturing 720p video, that means that if a tablet wants even a chance at being a standalone device, it’s going to need to at least be able to edit those files.

Android 3.0 (honeycomb) comes pre-baked with a Movie Studio application which wowed the press with what appeared to be full-fledged video editing on the tablet. But now that the Xoom [tracking page] is available to the public, we have to ask (and I can’t believe I haven’t seen people be more critical about this): Is the video editing really up to the task? You be the judge:

Incidentally, this video was shot, edited, and processed on an iPhone 4 (but not uploaded, damn YouTube file size limitations!).

After watching the official HTC Flyer intro video, you’ll see that a lot of the device’s identity relies on customizations made to Android 2.2 made by HTC. The inking, for example, is completely dependent on the proprietary HTC ‘Sense’ UI, which has been modified from it’s phone roots to play nicely with tablets.

HTC has now confirmed that the Flyer will receive an upgrade to Android 3.0 once it becomes available. On their official Twitter page, they responded to someone inquiring about Android 3.0 on the Flyer with this:

We will be offering a Honeycomb upgrade when it’s made available. What feature are you most excited about?

What is less certain is how this will impact the Flyer’s inking capabilities and the features that rely on the custom HTC Sense UI. For the time being, Google has delayed the Android 3.0 source-code which means that developers have not yet been able to get their hands on the raw software for modification. Google also may desire to keep a tighter grip on the modifications that they will allow to be made to the tablet-specific interface (likely to reduce the potential for fragmentation that has been seen with the smartphone version of the Android.

There’s also the issue that the HTC Flyer has capacitive Android buttons built into the bezel of the device while Android 3.0 moves these into the software… which would create an odd redundancy, or force HTC to disable the buttons on the tablet (or within the software).

I’ve reached out to HTC to find out whether or not they’ll be able to retain the important inking features, and whether or not they’ll be allowed to bring the HTC Sense interface over to Android 3.0. I’ll update this post if we hear anything back from them.

via NetbookNews

Update: HTC has responded, rather vaguely, when asked if they’d be able to make Sense and inking customization to Android 3.0 with the following:

HTC will continue to implement the popular HTC Sense experience on future Android updates.

I’ve asked for further clarification, but this seems to indicate that there will be no barriers to adding HTC Sense and inking to the Flyer post Android 3.0 update.

We’ve got the Motorola Xoom [tracking page] on hand and have a nearly 30 minute-long overview session for you on video. You’ll be taken around the hardware of Motorola’s first slate and then we’ll dive into Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).

WARNING: please turn your volume down around 0:30, 16:06, and 17:24. My phone vibrated during recording and it came out very loudly on the video, my apologies!

If you are at all interested in astronomy, you’ve likely heard of a little site called APOD. Short for Astronomy Picture of the Day, NASA’s APOD posts an incredible astronomical photo each day, with a written description by a professional astronomer.

“But Ben, how does this fit into mobile technology which is covered on this site? inch you might ask. Well dear readers, it turns out that astrophotos make awesome background images.

One of my favorite Android apps is called Astronomy Picture of the Day (by Sam Oakley). In addition to downloading the latest picture and description from APOD for your perusal, it’ll automatically set the photo as your background. This is even cooler if you have multiple Android devices because it’ll keep them visually in sync.

Did I mention that it’s free? Definitely give it a try if you want a hassle free way to get a fresh background automatically every day.

AppUp is the Intel-designed platform for app-stores on Windows and Maemo/MeeGo devices that utilize their Atom products. Smartphones, netbooks, tablets, UMPCs and MIDs navigation devices, Internet TV and in-car entertainment all fall under that banner which make AppUp an interesting move as we consider the addressable market over the next 5 years.

Progress continues (AppUp was only born just over a year ago) and we expect to hear a lot more about it at the Intel Developer Forum in Sept but there have been two announcements recently that are worth updating you all about. I know there are some developers out there and a lot of Atom users!

Firstly, Intel and Adobe have announced that support for AIR apps is now working. This is particularly interesting as it gives AIR app developers a place to monetize their apps. Up until now, most of the popular AIR apps have been free so although we’re unlikely to see those app developers start charging, it might stimulate them to think of other possibilities within the multi-million netbook market. I know the Smartphones haven’t arrived yet but developing an AIR app that could be sold in multiple markets with simple UI changes sounds attractive for developers. Intel provide more information here. Let us know if AIR is something you’re considering. [Via Liliputing]

If you’re a gaming type of person, the second announcement will interest you because it’s all about getting games onto the netbook platform. I’ve long wondered why people like Electronic Arts don’t go through their back-catalogue and release netbook versions of their old classics. With over 50 million netbooks out there, you’d think there would be some opportunities for them. At Computex, Konami announced that they are looking at AppUp but this new competition should drive even more interest. The Games Creators, a site sponsored by Intel, is offering a pot of $8K to games developers. Obviously the criteria is netbook focused which means you’ll need to be getting the best out of the screen size, the processing power, controls and also targeting the netbook user. We’re probably not talking about hardcore gamers here but think about the 1-hour time-period and the places that netbooks get used. Trains, planes, sofa, bed and coffee-shop. How about a game that finds other netbooks in the area using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and social media like Foursquare and Twitter. Get the game to run in the background, check into Foursquare and put out some sort of signal on Twitter that other people running the game would automatically pick up. You’d have a cool network of like-minded location-focused casual gamers in no time! Come to think of it, maybe that’s something that Starbucks should sponsor. You heard it here first!

Anyway, all the details are in the pages here. Good luck and please let us know if you’re interested in this. We’d love to find out about your experiences. [Via Liliputing]

Stay tuned over the next month for more AppUp news. We’re expecting AppUp for MeeGo to be announced along with more competitions and updates on progress. More on AppUp, here. The AppUp forum is here. We’re also at AppUp Elements, a 2-day AppUp conference on the 15th and 16th of September (invitation only, no-less!) where we will be attending some unique sessions and presentations. We’re not software developers ourselves but we’ll be trying to pick-up and relay key information about how to develop, port and make money with AppUp. We’ll also be sharing some of our experience from end users and developers so if you’ve got thoughts you want us to take to Elements, let us know in the comments.

I got myself a big piece of Intel info-marketing at the Intel Atom Software Summit this week and it’s very clear and very significant that Intel managed to drag something like 200 people away from the Computex show floor for 2.5hrs. Atom, MeeGo and AppUp are such important parts of the Intel strategy now that they are getting pushed hard and it seems to be at least raising some eyebrows. The Intel Atom Software Summit at Computex was aimed at the ODM, OEM and operating system community in an effort bring them all up to date about what you might call the continuum within the continuum. Intel talks about a horizontal line of silicon products that serve different markets (the ‘Compute Continuum’)but there’s a vertical within the Atom segment that includes software, user interface and applications. It starts with 6 Atom silicon platforms that support many operating systems. Windows and MeeGo getting special attention and getting their own application ecosystem which includes an application delivery framework, back-end billing, application marketing and developer support.

Here are some notes from the software summit that I hope outline the key points that Intel is trying to put across. The full slide set is available here. (PDF) More information links are included below.

Session notes

Navin Shenoy VP Intel Asia Pacific introduced the compute continuum (Xeon, Core, Atom) by saying that “Software is the difference between success and failure inch [slide: “User Experience inch] and introduced Doug Fisher. VP Software and Services.

Doug presents…

[Slide: Mobile Internet is driving, possibly 10B units. ] The message here is that there’s a significant opportunity within the internet-connected device category.

Intel is a ‘Port of choice. inch Multiple operating environments are offered. MeeGo Android Windows and Chrome were highlighted. [Sidenote: Chrome and Google are starting to appear more in the marketing i’m seeing.]

Value proposition Slide:

For OEMs:

• Open platform critical for value
• Best internet Experience
• Faster time to market

For Service provider:

• Strong ecosystem
• Reduce Churn consistent environment across ecosystem

Value for Developers

• Revenue opportunity.
• Consistent tools and API.

MeeGo, joint OS build and UI framework highlighted. May release achieved. 1.0 reviews were good. Highlighted. on slide.

Doug introduced some partners who highlighted their experience and expectation for MeeGo. As you would imagine, all three partners highlighted good experiences and expectations!

Novell’s Guy Lunardi talks about MeeGo 1.0

Telekom Italia: We are participating with MeeGo on Cubo Vision. The product was ready in 4 months.

Orange and MeeGo;   Talks about value-add. Truly cross-platform device. No talk about real products. We can assume something is coming I guess.

Doung introduced demos of MeeGo 1.0 on netbook, IVI and Tablet.

Message to developers: Amount of work to move apps to move from one product to another is minimal. Only 20% of code base re-write needed (user interface)

Tablet Demo:

See video from yesterday for more on the MeeGo Tablet UI.

[Chippy sidenote: I think this is known as ‘Info Launcher’ and is a product of the MeeGo Enabling Center in Taiwan. It should be available later in the year. Note too that user interfaces are being developed alongside MeeGo and don’t fall into the 6-month update cycle planned for MeeGo.]

AppUp The Intel framework for application stores on MeeGo and Windows operating systems.

Peter Biddle demonstrates AppUp on MeeGo for tablets AND handhelds (video) first time ever.

Peter: We see phenomenal market in consumer software. We are engaging with Dev community. How:Dev program includes tools, sales channel and marketing.

Plea to audience: Work with us to create customers. Peter highlights this as the kick-start. [Chippy sidenote: Intel needs AppUp to be pre-installed on devices to succeed]

Peter talks about the efforts being done. The work to connect with top iPhone devs. Intel have hired some iPhone devs to help define ‘small’ developer requirements. See slide below.

Biddle: We need to enable devs to get reputation because that is a significant requirement for many small devs.

Soma Games on stage: demo game:

Konami on stage: Joe Morris talks about poetential. [Chippy: Would be great to see Konami games on the AppUp store.]

Peter continues on AppUp:

• Planning on coming out of beta soon.
• Not worried about our ability to attract developers. We need consumers.
• Online user awareness campaign has started.
• AppUp.com relaunched.
• AppUp demo on a Moblin smartphone (port to MeeGo is not complete yet)

Ellis Wang of Asus on stage:

Highlights the launch of Asus Access Cloud: Built on AppUp for notebook and Eee PC customers. Enhanced AppUp.

Note that ASUS and Acer have committed to releasing products that use MeeGo so one would expect that this service will appear there too.

Presentation ends.

At an after-event, we were given the opportunity to ask questions.

• Is multi-user support going into MeeGo? Yes, it will be added to the roadmap.
• MeeGo 1.1 will be released in October and will include always-on, sensor and gesture support. (It will support Oaktrail and Moorestown)
• 4 main user interfaces are being worked-on by user groups. [Chippy sidenote: I’ve heard of 5. Handheld, tablet, netbook. In-vehicle and TV]
• Intel has no position on the threat of patent issues with MeeGo (i.e.. No comment when I asked them whether MeeGo is guaranteed to be free from intellectual property issues.)
• AppUp is not something that will go into Intel’s Android build.
• Intel’s Android build is an official part of the Android work and work done will be sent back upstream.
• Intel’s intention is to have X86 Android devices recognised by Google. (i.e. marketplace, maps , sync etc.)

The summary here is that Intel want to enable a choice of stacks that can run on Atom solutions. Intel wish to enable an application ecosystem for Windows and in Meego, another, free software choice for some selected markets such as in-vehicle, tablets and handhelds. The big take-away for me though is that a huge amount of Intel marketing effort is going into MeeGo and AppUp.

Related:

My hands-on overview of MeeGo 1.0 on a netbook.

A close-up demo of MeeGo’s tablet user interface on an Oaktrail platform.

Intel official slide set from Atom Software Summit

Intel Fact Sheet – MeeGo* and Intel AppUp^SM Gain Momentum at Computex

One of the best things about the iPad is that it is seeding great discussions, thought and experimentation. Dr. Juan Luis Chulilla Cano, Director www.onlineandoffline.net [personal blog] , Spain, sent us this article which I’m sure is going to start another good discussion. Thanks Juan.

—————————

I am not surprised at all by of the extraordinary reception given to the iPad. The exaggerated and raptured descriptions are explainable keeping in mind the huge expectations that media groups have about the iPad: if the iPad is the wonder-device which can make pay-per-content solutions acceptable for the first time in the Internet Age, then Media is forced to bomb the population with out of control hype. What I cannot totally understand is how and why the disappointment of late January, when we met the real characteristics of the device and all its shortcomings, has been magically transformed into renewed infatuation and fascination for a lot of tech bloggers, as if this disappointment has gone through a process of double-thinking.

Of course, a good number of bloggers have maintained their critical approach about iPad and what it means for the public. Indeed, the first wave of hype and uber-criticism has calmed down, and it has no sense to repeat the main criticism. Instead of it, I would rather prefer to focus on two linked topics: format variety and PC software model.

I am still amazed about how many people are, well, raptured by the SAME device. Technologically speaking, it is as if one day I get up, get out of my house and I find that most of the people I meet on the street are wearing the Mao suit. Actually, distinction is one of the most important engines of consumption, whether we talk about clothes or cars and people need to buy and use different formats of computers and Internet browsing devices, MID and the like, because they have different requirements and usage environments.

iPad nowadays is very efficient in helping their users to feel themselves different, comparing with the sheer majority of have-nots. BUT all of them are happy with ALL its characteristics and size? I just cannot accept that on the long term.

The second topic (which disturbs me a lot) is the PC software model. The astronomical PC revolution wouldn’t have been possible if all the main vendors would not accept an OS which has no limitations on what can be installed on it besides the development of the application. For sure, Windows is far from perfect (mainly because of its vulnerabilities against malware), but its unlimited software paradigm has been essential for the PC revolution. Linux shares this model, but Apple not totally: although MacOS X has no limits on what you can install on it, you cannot legally install that OS on a non-produced Apple PC. That was not bad as apple sales have been anecdotal in the last fifteen years

I do believe that all this freedom of operation has been essential for the PC revolution. A PC is much more that a browsing and text processing device, and the lack of software limitations have made possible the adaptation of the PC to a huge variety of environments and user requirements.

There, my main concern about the iPad is its tyrannical and obsessive control about what the customer may or may not do with the product they purchased, its theoretical property. As it is well known, the only legal software source for the iPad is the AppleStore, and Apple has full powers to decide what is permissible or not. Besides, recently Apple has reduced drastically the programming languages and environments that can be used for iPad development.

Some people say that this is a clear benefit for the users, because users need just “devices that work” carefree. This is connected with the prior topic (different formats for different requirements): maybe “mums” can be satisfied with such a lack of options (Cory Doctorow has a smart insight about it in his post Why I won’t buy an iPad), but a lot of users cannot be satisfied with such a proposal. The comparison with Meego is very illustrative: you can install an application in a Meego-powered device (ANY compatible device) from their future “market” (repository is an old-fashioned term these days), or from any other source. It is not going to be any restriction of language or programming environment within the capabilities of a Meego-powered device.

The amazing success of iPhone has affected Apple in a wrong and harmful way. I also find insulting that it is acceptable to treat people as minors with their rights stripped away. PCs have had a fundamental role in the process of Internet adoption for the population, with all its revolutionary consequences. But don’t forget that PC were successful before Internet adoption, and its success is totally linked with their software model.

Nowadays PCs are not the only way of accessing Internet anymore, and they aren’t going to be the main way to do that for much longer. Mobile devices are the protagonist of the next evolutionary wave of Internet, since they link Online and Offline reality in a double way; allowing Internet access anywhere, anytime, and being the basis for generating augmented reality experiences. However, if PC software model is abandoned, if we happily give up the control of our devices to the vendors, it will have negative consequences to the evolution of Internet

———————————-

Thanks again Juan. Over to you, readers.

AllMyApps, with the support of Intel, have launched a helpful one-click online app installer for small-screen windows devices which looks like it might make a nice stop gap during the wait for the real applications store.

There’s no feedback, monetisation, rating or suggestion mechanism here but it’s a good first step for new ultra mobile PC and MID users. You install a small application which enables one-click download for any of the available applications. The service currently only supports Windows XP although it could work with Vista and 7. I haven’t tested it on those systems.

I’ve spoken to the developers about feedback and, of course, they’d love to hear from us so may I suggest that you ultra mobile PC users out there propose applications (and improvements) that AllMyApps could add? Lets help the new users. I’ll gather up the results and ship them off to AllMyApps.

Remember that there’s a Wakoopa ultra mobile PC group that a group of ultra mobile PC users use to monitor ultra mobile PC application usage. I suggest that ultra mobile PC users consider joining up. The tiny tracker runs quietly in the background and really helps us to discover new applications.

Allmyapps are at LeWeb this week too

My initial suggestions are:

• Wakoopa
• Twhirl/Seesmic
• Foxit Reader
• Opera 10.1
• WinSCP
• Windows Live Gallery, Writer