Palm Pixi: the Pre's smaller and cheaper brother

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After the initial success of the gorgeous Palm Pre, Palm announced the second device running the WebOS operational system: Palm Pixi.

The device is a streamlined Pre: lighter, longer but thinner and with a soap bar (not slide) design. As for features, the most noticeable difference is the lack of Wi-fi. Also, according to Wired's Gadget Lab:

Its screen is smaller, with 320 x 400 pixels, as opposed to the Pre’s 320 x 480, and it has just 8 GB of memory. The software is the same webOS as used by the Pre, though there are new applications for Yahoo Messenger and Facebook, but Pixi has dropped the Pre’s single navigation button. (The functions of that control are evoked simply by tapping the screen.)

Another difference the Pixi is bringing is the option to personalize it through the use of colorful custom back plates (see image below). I'm not sure I like the "personalized" editions (I'm probably not the target), but the device is certainly as beautiful as its predecessor. It is great to see Palm gaining ground by launching sexy gadgets again.

The device will be cheaper compared to the Pre (some say USD $100 with a 2 year plan with sprint), but the official price has not been realeased yet.

Learn more about the Pixi on Palm's website and fill out a quick form to be notified when the device is out.

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Windows Live SkyDrive gives you 25Gb of free online storage, but you need a personal dwarf to upload the files for you

It's been years since I last logged into my Windows Live account. Yesterday, I was browsing some tech news and was interested to learn more about SkyDrive, a service from Microsoft's cloud offering that supposedly offers 25Gb of free online storage.

At first I thought: wow, for a long time in years Microsoft seems to be ahead of the competition! Being used to seeing strong players such as Dropbox and Mozy offer 2Gb for free, Microsoft's offer seemed very compelling. Boy, I was so wrong.

I logged into my MSN account (now called Windows Live) to test it out, and quickly realized that the only way to upload files (even your photos) is by selecting them manually 1 by 1! And, by the way, maximum size per file is 50 Mb, in case you were considering it as a backup for your videos.

I really wish someday Microsoft will demonstrate better skills to create a better experience for their web users. I might wait another 5 years to check again if they learned something from the other companies that gets how the web works.

gliider: handy web application that helps you plan for your next trip

According to the company's self-description:

gliider is a digital file that lets you hold on to all of the interesting stuff you come across when you're researching and planning a trip. Find a cool hotel you don't want to forget about? See a great restaurant you want to try? No matter what website you're on, just highlight whatever you want with your mouse and drag it into your gliider. Photos, text, whatever!

gliider will then bring you deals related to what you're interested in. No spam, no overload. Only the good stuff and just the right amount of it.

If you are traveling with your friends, gliider let's you share your findings with up to 4 people for collaboration, so can have all info in one single place. 

Currently available only for Firefox (3+) as an add-on, its drag-and-drop is very polished and easy to use. Versions for other popular browsers (including IE) are under development, but you can also access your stuff by sending an e-mail to your iPhone.

gliider currently in closed beta and is free. Try it here.

Honey, Sharp shrunk the netbook! [Engadget]

We've been constantly reporting on the trend for netbooks to increase their screen sizes. Since the debut of the first Eee PC (7-inch), screens have been slowly growing in many product lines, with the most recent ones sporting 11.6-inch. However, Sharp is trying a different approach with its charming little NetWalker.

According to Engadget, the Ubuntu powered Zaurus successor will have a 5-inch touchscreen (with1024x600 resolution) and weigh only 409g. The other specs are:

  • 800MHz Freescalei.MX515 CPU built around the ARM Cortex-A8 architecture
  • 512MB of memory
  • 4GB of on-board flash storage (with microSDHC expansion for another 16GB)
  • 802.11b/g WiFi
  • 2x USB
  • QWERTY keyboard going 68 percent of full-size.

The device will be available in Japan only on September 25th for the equivalent of USD ~$479.

Read the original Engadget post here.

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Google Chrome: a browser optimized for netbooks out of the box

Firefox is among my prefered browsers. However, to have a good experience in netbooks, you need to take some time to tweak it. Another great alternative to improve your web experience on your little machine is to download and intall Chrome, the web browser from Google.

Among the differentials it offers, the most noticeable in netbooks are:

  • Chrome is very fast. It loads quickly and the pages are visibly rendered faster compared to other browsers. As you know, netbooks don´t sport the most powerful gear, so it is always helpful to have snappy software.
  • Its design is optimized for small screens. It is clean, the menu bar is hidden under an icon on the top right and searches are performed straight from the URL box, eliminating the need for 2 distinct boxes.
  • Similar to Opera, when you open a new tab, Chrome shows thumbnails of your most visited sites, saving you from typing a few keystrokes.

See the full list of features here.

The stable version of Chrome is available for Windows only, but there are developer versions (as the one on the screenshot above) for Mac and Linux. Download Google Chrome here.

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Nokia enters the netbook market: an important milestone for the mobile computing industry

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After many rumors, Nokia finally announced that the company will enter the netbook market with its new Nokia Booklet 3G.

The new device, despite the fact that it will bring a couple of enhancements to the current available models (see below), marks an important move on an exciting and rapidly changing industry. If you watch Jobs and Gates describing their take on the future of computing, both tend to agree that most people will have their main large-screen computer for work and productivity and a second, mobile device.

What this mobile device will be, nobody knows. There are speculations about flexible screens, some say it will be the size of an iPhone, many believe that soon we'll see an Apple tablet, but the devices that are really accelerating the mobile computing industry are the 10-inches lightweight and affordable netbooks. And that's the market where the world's best-seller mobile phone maker will start to compete from now on.

Nokia's move seems to make total sense, but it will be very interesting to follow how the cell-phone company will perform against the entrenched computer makers (Dell, HP, Acer) and the emerging current leaders on the netbook industry, the Taiwanese ASUS and MSI.

According to All About Symbian:

The Nokia Booklet reinforces Nokia's Ovi strategy, which sees software and services (such as Ovi Maps and Nokia Music Store), running across multiple devices - on multiple platforms, a key trend for the future and an important growth area. The Nokia Booklet 3G will feature multiple Ovi services, including Ovi Maps (on desktop gadget), Nokia Music Store (including streaming services), Ovi Files (cloud storage) and enable full sync to Nokia's mobile devices through Ovi Suite software.

Key hardware information

  • Intel Atom Chipset (Z530 running at 1.6 Ghz). No fan, which means near silent running.
    120 GB hard disk
  • 3G / HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, plus integrated Bluetooth for local wireless communication
  • 12 hour battery life
  • 19.9 mm thick x 264 mm width x 185 mm depth
  • 10.1 inch glass HD ready display
  • Front facing video camera mounted, on top of the screen, for video calling
  • 1 x HDMI port (for HD video out), 1 x integarted SD card reader, 3 x USB ports, 1 x audio port
  • Integrated A-GPS
  • Stereo speakers mounted on the front right and left corners

Besides the expected features related to other Nokia's products and features, the highlight goes to the 12-hour battery life, which represents double the time currently offered from the most advanced netbooks. The device will run Windows 7.

There is no word on pricing nor availability dates. However, with such advanced specs, it seems hard to believe that pricing will be competitive. Well, there are always the subsidized plans, a business model that Nokia understands very well.

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Acer Aspire AS1410-8414: larger screen, RAM and HD running Vista [NetbookReviews]

Netbook Reviews reported that the new Acer's larger screen netbook is already available for pre-order at Amazon US.

Compared to the usual netbooks, this new machine brings some important advantages: 2 GB of RAM, 11.6-inches screen, 250 GB HD and Windows Vista pre-installed. Processor is theMobile Intel GS45. It keeps the expected light-weight (1.4Kg) and 6-hours battery life.

It is available in Saphire Blue, Ruby Red and Black for USD $449.99. You can pre-order it here.

Aurora: the web browser of the future

 

Mozilla and Adaptive Path released a series of 4 concept videos that show potential ways in which the web browsers could be used in a few years from now. According to the site's description:

Aurora is a concept video presenting one possible future user experience for the Web, created by Adaptive Path as part of the Mozilla Labs concept browser series. Aurora explores new ways people could interact with the Web in the future based on projected technological trends and real-world scenarios.

The videos show different usage in computers and mobile devices. The use cases focus on social interactions and information access, which is the direction the web is evolving more and more.

I don't know if these concepts will become reality, but the organic and intuitive interfaces certainly look appealing for current and future users.

Check the complete video above (compilation of the 4 parts) or access the official Aurora page here.

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Doris: simple and free online task manager with iPhone integration

I recently wrote a post saying why, in my opinion, Toodledo is the best GTD web application available. I still think Toodledo is terrific but, in some cases, you might need a simpler tool that allows you to be more effective without the learning curve of setting up and using a new app. That's where Doris comes in.

According to the team who is behind Doris development, they built the tool with the following requirements in mind:

  • Simplicity: we have often been overwhelmed by the amount of projects, tasks, deadlines and priorities that needed to be tracked - we needed an app that didn't get in our way, made it simple to manage work, and that allowed for hiding complexity.
  • Great usability: the UI had to be fantastic, frictionless, fast, minimum clicks, keyboard optimised and of course very responsive.
  • Speed: there almost seems to be a requirement in GTD circles to make Todo apps as complicated and painful as possible. Reminds me of submitting bugs in Bugzilla where you need to fill in 50 fields per ticket as opposed to Trac where you need 2. Typical task options we've seen are priority, category, mood, colour, status, due date, flagged, starred, notes, tags, contexts ... no kidding, just unbelievable! So with Doris we wanted single field, keyboard-friendly task entry. Lightning entry! We do actually make other aspects of classification available to users, but these must be enabled in your settings first.

I've been trying Doris for 1 day now (switching back and fourth from my computer and iPod Touch) and I'm loving it so far. It is so simple to drag and organize tasks around, and the design is totally well thought. It doesn't have stars, deadlines, priorities, etc.. However, since its goal is to be simple, you can easily create different groups (there is a default Today group) and organize you actions in order of priority. I, for example, created groups for Next Actions, Waiting on and other GTD typical organizational method.

The web application is free and I paid USD $1.99 for the iPhone app. There is one free version available, but apparently it won't sync with the web version, which to me would not be enough for my needs. The app is also very well-built and the commands are a pleasure to learn and use.

There are different functionalities that are still under development (team collaboration, integration with e-mail services, gadgets, etc..), but the app is ready to use for those who just want a simple but flexible to-do list.

Check out Doris here.

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Solar-Powered Wi-Fi Bus Stops in San Francisco [Popular Mechanics]

By 2013, San Francisco will have 360 new bus stops with "green" energy-efficient Internet connection. The rooftops will have solar panels to power Wi-Fi routers and interactive information panels.

Since a good portion of the energy generated will not be used, a mechanism is being developed to channel the remaining power to the city grid.

According to the article,

Built-in Wi-Fi routers will help the city create a comprehensive wireless Internet network

Access the original article from Popular Mechanics here.

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