Posts

Posted on

Disturbing news: Revenue drops in ASUS, Pegatron and Gigabyte

ASUS has suffered a disturbing 16.15% drop in the month of January and even-more-disturbing 38.91% yearly due to the various disturbances in the Eastern Europe. The ASUS shipped a modest 300,000 unit of Notebooks and Netbooks in the month of January and also shipped 1.3 million motherboards in the same month.

Coming to Gigabyte, which although shipped 1.6 million motherboards and 250,000 graphic cards in the month of January also suffered a drop of 31.46% this year.

Pegatron announced drops of 18.4% on month and 35.7% this year. It shipped 1.56 million motherboards, 400,000-450,000 notebooks and 482,000 graphics cards.

Now, we know why the ASUS would not be coming out with any new netbooks in the coming months. Given the current market conditions, the companies have no choice but to wait for sometime to let the market heal itself.

[digitimes]

Posted on

No Single core Intel Atom processor in 2009 [Netbook]

Although the dual core Pineview is going to be launched in the Q4 this year, the single core version of the Pineview processor won’t be able to hit the markets until the Q1 of 2010.

The bad news does not end there. According to Intel, the dual-core Pineview processor will only be allowed in cheap desktops (nettops) and their usage won’t be allowed in Netbooks. I can see their point of not allowing the dual-core chip in netbooks as that might make the netbooks as powerful as the entry level laptops. As a result of which, the laptop companies may have to face problems in selling those units. On the bright side, the single core Atom Processor will have display interface, integrated memory controller and graphics on board.

Posted on

TouchFlo Detacher [Windows Mobile]

TouchFLo is a simple app that allows HTC Touch Diamond / Pro / HD devices to run TouchFlo3D outside of the Today screen. You may wonder how is it different from the ones already there like the SecondToday? Here are the words from the developer himself

So what makes mine different? Well, my app is actually very similar to MastSogo’s ManilaControl. The main difference is that I plan to actively develop it now for a while, whereas ManilaControl has been a bit frozen in development for a few months. Mine is also open source, licensed under the Ms-RL. Mine is on CodePlex, so download speeds should be much better than the average rapidshare link. Finally, mine is in English and not Spanish. :-) Other than that, it’s just another solution for the same problem!

Get the application from here

[via freewarepocketpc]

Posted on

"Netbook" word banned from Google Ads? [Netbook]

Psion, which claims that the Netbook word belongs to it has been able to convince Google and Google has decided to remove the Netbook keyword from the Google Ads.

Psion has never been a happy since the word netbook started gaining popularity. I wonder, what would happen to those websites who use the word netbook in their domain name. Chippy from UMPCportal contacted Sasha, the owner of netbooknews.de and this was his reaction:

“I am shocked. 50% of my ad income comes through Google and i definitely have a problem now. I am gonna try to get some reactions of the Taiwanese “Netbook” manufacturers after the weekend”

[via UMPCportal]

Posted on

Samsung Application Store launched [Windows Mobile]

Samsung has recently launched their own online store for Windows Mobile phones and non-smartphones. But, clearly on their store, the focus seems to be on the Windows Mobile softwares. You can find applications of all the big software houses like SBSH and SPB.

Currently, it seems to be only focused on the UK market. The best part about it is that Samsung has included not only commercial applications, but freeware (see this link) applications too.

Go to Samsung Mobile Store

Posted on

LG releases SU200 aka Incite Windows Mobile phone in Korea [Windows Mobile]

LG has released SU200 in Korea today. The SU200 is Windows Mobile 6.1 powered phone, which is targeted to be a cheap phone. It was released in US last year as LG Incite. It will be made available in the second half of 2009 via LG and KTF

Specifications

  • Windows Mobile 6.1
  • WQVGA resolution (240 x 400)
  • 3-inch display
  • Wifi
  • 3G
  • 3MP camera
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

The specifications are not earth shattering but since this is going to be a budget handset, we can spare LG for it ;)

[LG electronics Korea] [via newswire]

thanks to Jamie for the tip!

Posted on

Microsoft going to change the name of Windows Mobile to Windows Phone?

According to various market sources, Windows Mobile division is going to go through a name change from Windows Mobile to  WIndows Phone. This is not the first time Microsoft has change the name. Earlier, Microsoft changed the name of Pocket PC phones and Smartphones to Windows Mobile Professional and Windows Mobile Standard. The name of standalone Pocket PCs was also changed to Windows Mobile Classic.

Additionally, Microsoft will be unveiling the BETA of Windows Mobile 7 later this year and the final version will be delivered to the OEMs in April 2009.

[digitimes]

Posted on

Gachapin and Mukku netbook by Kohjinsha for kids, but for $880?

Kohjinsha and Bandai have jointly unveiled a Gachapin & Mukku Netbook for the children. Now, for the non-Japanese folks, Gachapin and Mukka are famous Japanese TV characters.

Sporting a very bright green color and running Windows Vista, this netbook has usual netbook specifications:

  • Intel Atom N270 processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 120GB HDD
  • Digital TV Tuner (works in Japan only)

The price is a little not-so-kiddish. This green netbook costs Yen 79, 800, which brings it to nearly $880! Given the features, I think that it a little too over-priced. I’m sure that the kids will have to apply a lot of pressure on their parents to make them buy it.

[lalabitmarket] (google translate) Japanese version here

More information (on TV characters): Gachapin is a 5 year old baby dinosaur and Mukku is a 5 year old Bigfoot

(via akihabaranews)

Posted on

HTC TOUCH 3G review – excellent value for money [Windows Mobile]

The HTC has been working diligently on it’s Touch range and has been unveiling some of the very high quality Windows Mobile devices from quite some time. The HTC Touch 3G is a powerful elder brother to the original HTC TOUCH. The HTC TOUCH 3G combines speed and style in an affordable package. Read the full review to find out!

DESIGN and BUILD

The HTC TOUCH 3G continues to carry the mesmerizing looks of the original HTC TOUCH. It follows the minimalistic approach that is followed in the Touch series. The TOUCH 3G has the same pebble shape which was earlier sported by the original HTC TOUCH. Continue reading “HTC TOUCH 3G review – excellent value for money [Windows Mobile]”