Microsoft Getting Ready for Tablets in 2011

Microsoft are set to unveil lots of new software for tablets at CES next week, as well as news on a full version of Windows that runs on ARM Holdings Plc technology. However, while they are definitely trying very hard to compete with Android and Apple in the growing tablet marketplace, is it simply a matter of too little too late?

Keith Goddard, CEO of Capital Advisors Inc and Apple share holder certainly seems to think so, saying “By the time Microsoft gets it figured out everybody will already own an iPad,” adding “That train has left the station.”

However, Microsoft themselves do not agree, and are set to invest a lot of resources into tablets and other mobile technology in 2011. The new version of Windows will be tailored for mobile devices such as tablets, and use chips based on ARM technology made by Qualcomm Inc, Texas Instruments Inc, and Samsung Electronics Co.

However, some people seem to think that loading a full version of Windows onto a tablet that is powered by a chip designed for phones may not be such a good idea. Michael Cherry, an analyst at Seattle based research firm Directions on Microsoft says “Existing Windows tablets are difficult to use” adding “Current Windows tablets are what I call Frankentablets – part laptop and part tablet. They do neither role well.”

Only time will tell if Microsoft’s vision of taking personal computer software and adapting it for mobile touchscreen use will be successful, although at least they are offering consumers an alternative vision to the oversized iPhone paradigm of the Apple iPad.

2010 may have belonged to the iPad alone, but 2011 is fast shaping up to be the year of the tablet, and CES is where we are going to find out exactly what manufacturers have in store.

Source : http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/microsoft-getting-ready-for-tablets-in-2011

Samsung Code (i220): A 2-megapixel camera cell phone

Samsung wants to leave no doubt it is one of the companies that is always looking for the complete satisfaction of every single target group in the mobile industry. For that reason, it has introduced another mobile alternative that will be available soon. We are talking about Samsung Code (i220): a new mobile phone that, apparently, will be very appropriate for instant messaging fans.

Some of the features of the Samsung Code include:

* A built-in 2-megapixel camera
* QVGA Screen
* EVDO Rev
* Predictive Text function
* USB Connection
* Bluetooth 2.0 Connectivity
* RAM: 128MB – ROM: 128MB
* MP3 Player
* QWERTY Keyboard
* Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system
* Video player and recorder
* microSD card slot to extend memory
* Internet Explorer Mobile with HTML support
* GPS/E911

The design of this gadget won’t be its most remarkable feature; however, the company hopes it fits the needs of many people around the world who could be interested in buying this phone.

There is no official announcement (so far) about when this phone will be available for sale. Even, there is no official words from Samsung about the countries where this gadget will be available initially.

We will be alert to any news surrounding this upcoming smartphone. It is difficult to say more about it because there is little information, at least in an official way. Anyway, we guess it will be made available to the public shortly.

Source : http://www.myddnetwork.com/new-gadgets/samsung-code-i220-a-2-megapixel-camera-cell-phone/

Samsung mobile phone with Android is delayed

Contrary to recent speculation, Samsung announced the company won’t introduce a mobile phone based on Google’s Android mobile operating system next week. The launch of this phone based on Android has been delayed until the second half of this year, according to the company.

According to some reports, Samsung had planned to introduce the Android phone next week during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona, but the head of marketing at Samsung’s mobile division, Younghee Lee, denied the rumors in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. Lee confirmed that the Samsung’s Android phone would not be ready to be announced at the MWC 2009 next week and also he said to the British newspaper that the company is “planning internally” for a release in the second half of the year.

This year, many other makers are close to launch mobile phones that use Google Android. For example, the T-Mobile G2, which is manufactured by Taiwanese company HTC, is supposed to be introduced soon (maybe in May). Also, it is very possible that Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Asus and Toshiba launch Android smartphones during this year.

Some people say that the Samsung’s Android phone will be thin and glossy, just like the Samsung’s Omnia and Instinct models. But, the truth is that no specifications or images have been published officially. So at this time, it’s really difficult to know how the new Android phones will look like (including phones from all the makers, not only from Samsung).

Source : http://www.myddnetwork.com/new-gadgets/samsung-mobile-phone-with-android-is-delayed/

Casio G’zOne Commando

Smart phones are cool but often they’re a little on the fragile side. Take them for a hike or drop them in the toilet and they’re pretty much done for. Casio (the company behind some of the coolest calculators in the 1990s) has come up with a solution: The G’zOne Commando.

This smart phone should have hit the shelves at your local Verizon retailer this week. It features a design that meets 810G military specifications so you don’t have to worry about how strong it is. It’s waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, vibration proof, salt fog proof, can handle temperature extremes to either end of the thermometer and even has protection against cosmic radiation!

But unlike some phones that claim to be smart and rugged, this one actually is. Inside it runs on Android 2.2 (A.K.A. Froyo) and comes equipped with a 5mp camera in addition to the microSD slot for memory expansion. It has all the wireless connectivity you’d ever need including 3G cellular, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, and even functions as a hotspot for up to 5 devices.

The phone comes preloaded with helpful apps (like a compass) and makes the perfect companion for most all of your outdoorsy activities. Now if only MacGyver had had one of these.

And another area in which the Casio Commando is unlike other rugged smart phones is the price. You can get all of this performance in this stylish package for just $200 (with contract agreement of course).

Source : http://www.myddnetwork.com/new-gadgets/this-week-in-extravagant-tech/#more-3143

Ziiro’s Aurora and Orbit Watches

If these watches just told time we wouldn’t even stop to take notice of them. However, it is the innovative (and tricky) way in which they keep track of the hours that sets them apart from the rest of the pack.

The first thing you’ll notice is their elegantly simplistic style—they’re like something out of a 1980s sci-fi movie. The Aurora watch features a false horizon that chases itself around the clock face representing the hours and minutes. The Orbit has two little planetoids circling around a central dark “sun.”

Each watch comes in a variety of colors you can choose to apply to both the face and the flexible metal bands.

These are a little on the pricey side at $184 a piece but you can’t really put a price on such retro-glam style, can you?

Source : http://www.myddnetwork.com/new-gadgets/this-week-in-extravagant-tech/#more-3143

The Cool Leaf Keyboard

It’s hard to remember exactly when we saw our first button-less keyboard on the big screen but ever since they’ve been a mainstay of futuristic movies. Now, thanks to the folks at Minebea and their Cool Leaf keyboard, the future is here.

This slick looking little keyboard features a backlit mirror surface with touch-sensitive “keys.” The peripheral is thin, light, and portable to an extent but would make the perfect accessory to a space age computer set-up.

However, it remains to be seen how the flat design will affect the keyboard’s ergonomics. I would venture a guess that this would not be a good investment from those suffering from carpal tunnel disease.

At launch, this cooler than you machine will only be available in Japan and in Japanese. However, the company has announced they will be releasing other versions (including an English version and PC and Mac-friendly versions) later.

The price tag is a little large (at roughly $245) but hopefully by the time the alternate versions hit the streets it will have shrunk a little.

Source : http://www.myddnetwork.com/new-gadgets/this-week-in-extravagant-tech/#more-3143

San Juan Islands, Wash.

Bold-face restaurateurs vie with unspoiled nature. Nature wins.

The big draw for the San Juan Islands this year just might be its dining scene. Blaine Wetzel, a former chef at the wildly acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant Noma, took the reins at Willows Inn on Lummi Island (due to reopen on Feb. 10), while Lisa Nakamura, who has trained with big-name chefs like Thomas Keller, opened Allium on Orcas Island.

But the eternal lure of the San Juans — what brings chefs out as well as tourists — are the landscapes. On islands from Shaw to Decatur, pastoral hills give way to broody forests and scrappy escarpments that overlook fjordlike inlets. Thanks to an active land preservation effort by organizations like the San Juan County Land Bank, each year new areas are protected from logging or unruly development, and in turn provide fresh terrain for the public to explore.

Last year, the San Juan Island National Historic Park grew by 312 acres with the purchase of densely forested Mitchell Hill. On Lopez Island, a 50-year lease signed by the state Department of Natural Resources in 2009 now protects the Lopez Hill area from logging; a web of public trails winds past mossy conifers and madrona trees with peeling cinnamon-red bark. And some smaller parcels have the air of a secret about them, like the spectacular Watmough Bay Preserve on Lopez, with a trail that leads to a strip of beach on a wooded inlet, its moody water as magically lighted as a Bierstadt painting.
— SARA DICKERMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html?ex=1315800000&en=da215190d88b3099&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=AD-D-I-NYT-AD-BIG-41PTG-ROS-0311-NA&WT.mc_ev=click