ASUS to keep 8.9-inch netbook for the procurement market

We have heard several times(here and here) about the ASUS phasing out the 8.9-inch netbooks soon. Now, they have decided to keep them for the procurement market. But, reports do say that ASUS will eventually phase them out as they want to concentrate more on the 10-inch netbooks. The report also said that the company will also keep the 7-inch models for the telecom market.

I still do not completely agree with their decision of phasing out the 8.9-inch models. I love my EEE 1000H and other 10-inch netbooks that I have, but they are not as portable as EEE 900, whose size is quite similar to the EEE 700-series.

[via digitimes]

Microsoft: 96% Of Netbooks Run Windows?

There is no doubt in the fact that the netbooks have become very popular among the consumers. In fact, it is so popular that almost every notebook manufacture has a netbook under its brand. That is why we completely agree with the statement by LeBlanc who is a Microsoft in-house blogger.

The growth of Windows on netbook PCs over the last year has been phenomenal

He further pointed out that those who bought linux netbooks returned them after sometime and bought themselves a netbook running Windows XP. Well, according to me it is due to the stubborn mindset of the people. They have all developed a notion that Linux is only for geeks. They do not want to spend few days learning the new OS.

On the brighter side, he confirmed that there will be a netbook version of Windows 7, which will be highly optimized.

[via informationweek]

HTC to launch Internet enabled feature phone later this year – will not be running Windows Mobile?

Digitimes is reporting that HTC is planning to launch an Internet-enabled feature phone later this year. However, contrary to what we would think, this would not be running Windows Mobile (or Android). It would instead be running BREW MP. HTC will be bundling it with wide range of flash applications to provide multimedia services to the user.

Last year, HTC did give us all a hint that they will be launching an updated version of the HTC Advantage (X7510), but we did not know that it would not be running Windows Mobile.

For those who do not what BREW MP is: It is a mobile platform made by Qualcomm

Learn about BREW

Twitter for Windows Mobile

There are two several ways to twit on a Windows Mobile:

  1. The best way is to use a dedicated twitter application like Pocketwit which is a freeware. With it, you can post to Twitter using a URL you want to share, a picture you have stored on your smartphone, or a picture you just snapped with the camera, and you can even insert a GPS link showing your location.
  2. HelloTwitFace: It gives you the ability to post your status on Twitter and Facebook or HelloTxt
  3. ceTwit
  4. Twobile
  5. Tinytwitter
  6. You can just redirect the mobile browser to http://m.twitter.com and you will be taken mobile webpage of the twitter. It is fairly bandwidth friendly.

I personally use m.twitter.com as the Pocketwit takes a while to start.

[via microsoft]

Updated: Thanks to freewarepocketpc.net for letting us know about other twitter applications.

Intel believes high-end machines need SSD. What about netbooks?

From fudzilla,

Intel advises its customers that the high end system from Intel should have both SSD and HDD. For $1100 or more Intel propagates that a user should get Core i7 920, X58 motherboard 4GB memory, even that would be hard for Nehalem system that usually feature 3GB or 6GB. X25-M Intel´s mainstream SSD drive, 750GB HDD.

I like the idea of HDD and SSD in a single machine, but I wonder why Intel is still not producing SSDs meant for netbooks. May be they think that the netbooks are good enough with HDDs and they do not have a need for SSDs. Fortunately, there are some netbook manufactures who do not think this way. Take MSI Wind U115 for example, which was the first netbook with both SSD and Hard Disk drives built in. The HDD can be used to store big files while the SSD can be used to drive the OS.

Benq to launch AMD Neo-based netbooks in Spring

Benq, third largest netbook maker in China, is planning to introduce a number of thin notebooks based on AMD’s Neo and Intel’s CULV platforms later this spring. The ones on the roadmap include a 12.1-inch and 13.3-inch netbooks notebooks in May, 2009.

However, nothing more is known about the notebooks at this moment. That said, if they stick to the Sempron U210 processor, the price of the notebooks is going to be affordable.

[via digitimes]

MyHome – Get Windows Mobile 7 interface

Windows Mobile 7 is still more than an year away from making its debut, but folks at SHBT have come up a software which looks a lot like the sliding panel interface found on the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones (non-touchscreen based).

While Microsoft did not being the sliding panel interface in Windows Mobile 6.1, they are bringing it in the Windows Mobile 6.5.

SHBT MyHome is available for 14.95 euros from here

[via solsie]

Compal to develop netbook based on Android platform

About a month back, we heard rumors of ASUS to come up with Android based netbooks at the end of this year. Looks like, manufactures are thinking that there is a lot of potential in Android-netbooks. May be that is why Compal Communications, a Taiwanese mobile phone manufacture has plans to develop netbooks based on the Android platform. Right now, it is looking for the vendors that may be interested in Android netbooks.

Whenever I hear about such big manufactures talking about making Android based netbooks, only one question arises in my mind, “What is the need of running a mobile phone OS on a nebtook when it can run Windows XP and Windows 7 so nicely“. If the rumors of Android netbook are really true, then I am pretty sure that we will soon start hearing rumors of netbooks coming from Nokia and Apple.

All of my netbooks either run Windows XP or Windows 7. I do not see the need to run a mobile phone OS on my netbook that has the capability to run desktop OS. Period.

[via digitimes]

Redfly Mobile viewer impressions from a netbook and Windows Mobile user [Video]

Redfly recently released a viewer that can run on PCs. This viewer lets you to view and use your device’s screen directly from the PC. Now, Redfly is not the first company to come  up with such solution. Many other companies like SOTI have been offering similar solutions from quite a lot of time. What makes the Redfly different then? Well, it lets you:

  • use different resolutions (800×480, 800×600, 1024×600 and 1024×768)
  • has a projector mode which basically runs the Redfly applications full screen (useful when you are connecting your notebook to a projector)

I decided to load it on my netbook (EEE 1000H) instead of my laptop as netbook is something which I carry almost everywhere I go. Here is a video showing the real-life performance of the Redfly Viewer.

The Opera browser crashed at 1024×600(or x768). Google Maps loaded but did not display the maps. However, Excel Mobile and Word Mobile worked fine. The dictionary application occupied only one quarter of the screen. Contrary to what people must be thinking, it is not Redfly’s fault. Most of the developers just hard code their applications to certain resolutions.

Download Redfly Viewer here

You will also need to download the appropriate device driver. Select and Download from here

Tip: I recommend putting the toolbar in Autohide mode as it takes a lot of ‘vertical’ space.

Some Amazing VGA games for Windows Mobile – list

There are many games for the Windows Mobile platform, both freeware or paid-ones. There are few games that offer 3D racing game experience. It is harder to find ones that will work on VGA screens (640×480). Even then, those games have a long way to go when compared to other operating systems. This review/guide is intended to show the games that offer 3D-experience and how they perform on devices that come with VGA display. Although there are few ported games like “Doom” or “Call of Duty”, I will focus on some newer ones.

Flux Challenge

Flux challenge is made by PDAmill. This game is a racing game where you fly in a ship against other ships. In short, you have to go through 24 races and in those races, you get to glide, skid dive in what appears to be underground sewer pipes. Different tracks provide different obstacles. In the end, you get to choose between 6 ships.  You can use either the D-Pad or the screen to move around. To move around on the screen, you just use your stylus or finger and tap the direction you want to go in. The graphics are pretty fluid. There was little stuttering here and there. I tried the game using the game on a Sprint Touch Pro which has the QUALCOMM chip that is known to have issues with graphics. All in all, the game is well worth the $3.00 PDAmill is asking.

Need for speed: Undercover

Need for speed: undercover is made EA games. This is another racing game.  There are 11 cars you get to chose from, where the cars range between Porsche, Nissan. The game is about scoring points. You do this by evading cops; going through the street looking for curves to drift on as well as winning races.  The game can be controlled by either your touch screen or the hardware buttons. The graphics are fluid and run nice and smooth. There is a bit of trick in doing the drift. The game is kind of pricey compared to the others. This came will set you back 10 dollars. But if you’re a racing fan, it’s a must buy.

Asphalt 4: Elite racing

This is just another street racing game. In this game, you get to chose between 10 elite cars ranging between Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari F430 Spider and Nissan GT-R. You also get the chance to race in 6 cities threw out the world each with their own stunning graphics cities include Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, Shanghai, NYC, Dubai, Paris.  This game also allows you to use either your D-Pad or screen to move around other cars. This game is my favorite one. The graphics are really nice for a windows mobile device. I had no issue while playing the game. There was no stuttering all my turns and nitro boost looked smooth. I also found that using the screen to move around had no lag like the lag experienced in Need 4 speed.

Xtrakt

This game, although not official or even beta provides another type of racing game. The game is pulled from Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. The game had to be modded to make it work on VGA devices as it was designed for WVGA only. The Xperia sports a larger screen with higher resolution (800×400). In this game, you are a girl (maybe) and you have to go through a futuristic city fighting off the robots who are trying to knock you off from your motor bike. With you kill a robot, you earn points as-well-as a diamond. I only managed to get to level 3 so far. Due to that reason, I don’t know how many levels are there in the game. The game recommends that you use a stylus for the game but I had no problem using my finger. Overall, the graphics are impressive and the game play is very fluid and addictive. This game is going to be hit, once it’s officially released. At this point, there is no price or official release date. There is no word, if it would be released for other devices (other than the Xperia).

Like I said in the opening that this wasn’t an attempt to go into extreme detail, but enlist the games that are suitable for the VGA devices. There is a lot of rumbling that iPhone OS has so many great games, but people don’t realize that similar games can also be made for the Windows Mobile Platform.

LINKS:

Flux Challenge

Asphalt 4

NFS undercover (handmark link)

Even cheap mobile phones play games, so don’t think you need to get the most expensive phone.