02:45 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Readers | Alternative Devices

News.com got a sneak preview of the UMPC devices that are the basis of Microsoft's Origami project. A slide show is available here.

Tuesday afternoon should have a full announcement and demonstration.

"As earlier reported, the first devices have a 7-inch touch screen, standard x86 processors, and can run full versions of desktop operating systems including the Windows XP variant being used for Origami.

In later generations, probably next year or later, the devices could have the pocket size, all-day battery life, and $500 price that Microsoft and Intel are aiming for, Graff said in an interview.

The first generation of devices are likely to get about three hours of battery life, he said."

Read the full article here.

02:21 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PalmInfocenter has news of the Palm Treo 700p (PalmOS version) in a Sprint store computer, scheduled for May/June release.

"Previous leaked details about the Treo 700p indicate it will run Palm OS Garnet v5.4.9. It features EVDO high speed data support, a 320x320 pixel display, 1.3 megapixel camera with a 1280x1024 max resolution and 62.8 MB of free RAM."

This is a device I'm personally very much hoping will end up in my pocket this year.

Via Palm Addicts.

01:02 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

In a surprise bit of news out of PC Magazine, the rollup displays we have mentioned previously are apparently ready to roll out right on schedule.

According to the article, "The Readius appears to have the slickest design of any e-book reader yet—straight out of Minority Report. As shown, the flexible display folds up like a scroll; when you're not reading, it's as pocket-friendly as a pack of gum.

Sony will have the jump on Philips, though, as the two gadgets square off. Third-party designs of the Readius won't ship until the summer. If these two products don't herald the age of e-books, nothing will."

Could this new era in e-books really finally be here?

Related story: Rollable color OLED prototype display (where Brian first made the Minority Report connection!)

Via TeleRead. (Wonderful source of e-book news!)

02:59 AM by Chaos in E-Book Readers | Alternative Devices

Akibahara News has a quick piece on the new Sharp Zaurus SL-3200. In the past the Zauri have been interesting, unusual, and often the first to implement some feature (such as the hard drive in the SL-C3000, or the hidden thumb-board in the old SL-5500). But it seems that Sharp is slipping somewhat...

So, what's new (vs. the SL-C3000)? A 6GB hard drive. No wifi, no bluetooth... Just a simple hard drive size-bump, in the more-than-a-year since the C3000's release.

The slightly-sarcastic (is that 'Enlish' really a typo, or a subtle comment?) news puts it this way:
Ok, the HDD gets a bump from 4 to 6GB, you get a ton of software to learn English in collaboration with the (very bad) Enlish school called NOVA so that you can improve your TOEIC score (the one that increases if your English gets worse). So yet another disappointing release by Sharp, that see their pocket computers, release after release, transformed more and more into an oversized dictionary.

If Sharp wants to remain any sort of valid competitor at all I think that they'll have to pull their act together... Wifi and bluetooth would be a good start, I think.

03:04 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

Guess what? E-paper is (still) coming soon. Yeah, I know it's been on the verge of widespread use for quite a while now. But this time they're (still) really serious.

Get a good look at the soon-coming technologies from Japan at NE Asia Online.

Via Make.

10:20 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Okay Microsoft. It may be a corny advertising scheme, but you've got us interested. Especially now that leaked pictures are coming out that are a lot more realistic than those goofy looking devices in the leaked teaser videos.

A bigger version of the picture is attached. (Click on this article to see the full post, and then click on the thumbnail to see the bigger image.)

Related: Microsoft's "Origami Project" is..., Microsoft lets Origami secret slip

Via Origami Portal.

10:13 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is not for the feint of heart, so I'd call it more like a proof of concept at this point. But nevertheless, someone has figured out how to remotely control a PC from a Nintendo DS portable game device.

The neat thing is that the dual screen is really a great bonus that's perfect for this sort of application. You get the "big picture" on one screen, and a closeup on the other screen for whatever you are currently working on. Very neat.

If you really want the dirty details of how to do it, take a look here.

Via Make.

05:41 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

This morning I returned from my brief trip to Oahu, Hawaii. Despite the torturous travel time (25 hours total), a scary incident on the airplane, and a few too many rainy days, visiting this island was definitely worth it. I put together some photos that you can look at if you wish.

http://www.4dots.com/hawaii/

I'd also like to take the time to thank everyone here at Mobileread for running the show so well without me. In fact, some of you - Bob, do you listen? - did such a great job that I am now considering early retirement. Also my best regards to Sammy of Palm Addicts for his continuous support of our site. Thank you guys!!