Tablet Market in future will outstrip PCs & reach 900million people

When unveiling the first iPad in January 2010, Steve Jobs suggested that it would fill a gap between the smartphone and the PC - one that at the time was being taken on by netbooks. "The problem is netbooks aren'tbetter at anything," Jobs said at the time. "They're just cheap laptops. And we don't think they're a third category of device."

Now, netbooks are dead, and Forrester Research says that Jobs was right - and that the tablet format has become the "third form" of computing, along with the other two. The tablet, it suggests, has become like a microwave in a kitchen: a mainstay device that people expect access to both at home and work.

Forrester's new report, which the Guardian has seen, suggests tablets will become a mainstay of households in developed markets by 2017, with 60% of online consumers in North America and 42% in European owning one by 2017. By then 905 million people worldwide, equivalent to one in eight of the global population, will have one, predicts Forrester Research.

The figures compare with PCs, which took over 20 years to pass the 1bn installed base mark in 2008. Another research group, Gartner, reckons the installed base will reach 1.5bn by the end of this year, but sales are dwindling amid lengthening replacement cycles and growing consumer interest in tablets and smartphones.

Taking off with the tablets

By contrast the tablet market is enjoying rocketing growth. New figures from a separate research business IDC show that in the second quarter of 2013 worldwide tablet shipments rose by 60% year-on-year to 45.1m, even while the three top-line vendors Apple, Samsung and Asus all saw a sequential drop in sales. Apple also saw year-on-year sales drop in the absence of a refreshed version of its iPad. And while Apple was the single largest vendor, with 32.5% of the market, Google's Android took over the majority share with 62.6%.

Forrester's analysis points to tablets becoming an essential part of office as well as home life, which will "catapult the tablet from merely a popular mass-market device to a highly visible mainstay device among consumers and businesses in developed nations."

Intel Designs a Phone Based on Atom

While the thought of putting the Atom into a phone may seem like overkill, Intel’s got larger visions of what a home phone should be.

Some of us have already ditched the phone line at home in favor of the cell phone because the mobile version can do all the same things that the wall-plugged one did. Oddly enough, now cell phones are more capable than old home phones, with the ability to browse the internet and send text messages.

Intel hopes its Atom processor can completely change things and bring a new and improved phone concept back into the home. Instead of focusing on calls, Intel’s concept for the new age phone incorporates many of the functions on would expect of any other net-connected device.

Although Intel isn’t getting into the business of making home phones, Intel has created a reference design for a media phone that it hopes will inspire other companies to follow in the chipmaker’s example. And not only did Intel put together the hardware for the reference design, it also includes schematics and validated software stacks.

The reference design for Intel’s media phone is based on the Atom Z5xx series and is paired with the Intel System Controller Hub US15W, which supports serial interfaces such as serial ports, RS232, Wi-Fi card, Bluetooth module and a pair of card reading slots. Connectivity can come from PCI Express and six USB 2.0 ports. While phone functions need only full duplex sound, US15W supports up to four audio streams. Intel plans to tie it all together using its own customized Linux OS called Moblin.

The full specifications for the Intel Media Phone Reference Design are as follows:

Dimensions • 5.4 inch x 9.6 inch (137.3 mm x 243.7 mm)

Processor • Intel Atom processor Z5XX 533 MHz FSB

Chipset • Intel System Controller Hub (SCH) US15W

Supported operating systems • Moblin

Memory • 1 GB DDR2 533 MHz SODIMM

Storage • 8 GB Compact Flash• 1 SATA optional

Display/Video/Graphics • 8.9-inch resistant-touch LCD (16:9 aspect ratio LVDS)

Audio • HD audio, up to 4 audio streams

I/O connectivity • 2 SDIO/MMC serial interfaces • RS232 • 1 PCI Express port • 6 USB (5 external, 1 internal) • 2X RJ45 (LAN and PC) • 1 HDMI • 1 RJ22 • 3.0 mm audio jacks – mic input headset output • 2.0 mm phone headset jack • Internal speakers and mic

Modular options • Wi-Fi/Bluetooth • USB port (DECT FXO) • (Camera optional) • 1 mini PCIe slot

Essentially, Intel wants to create a phone system that can work with the traditional plugged or VoIP habits, but also expand with the connectivity of a netbook. The fact that Intel put an HDMI output on the reference design shows that there’s far more at play here than just a fancy voice communications device.

For a conceptual demonstration of Intel’s idea of the phone of the future, check out this YouTube video.

You May Get Your Stolen Nokia N96 Back...!

The much anticipated Nokia N96 will be available in India from 16 September 2008. The phone will have a new feature to track your stolen or lost handset.

The N96 is also the first ever mobile device to come preloaded with Wave Secure, a S60 security application that allows consumers not just to track their handset in the event it is lost or stolen, but also to create a backup for the phone data via Internet. This is an application being offered exclusively to consumers in India.

The application also allows consumers to secure everything on the device wirelessly. One can save and create a back up of all data (contacts, SMS, call logs and calendar entries) through the Internet. Additionally, in case the phone gets lost or stolen, WaveSecure helps remotely wipe out all data from the device to prevent misuse, lock the device remotely and even track any new SIM card inserted.

If updated, the massive 24GB (16+8) memory of the N96 can store up to 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images at 5 megapixel, up to 60 hours of video or 20 full-length movies. Equipped with multifunctional media keys and a 2.8-inch screen, the N96 offers music, movies, games and more at the touch of a button. To make playing, watching, listening or experiencing the content even more enjoyable, the Nokia N96 features a 'kickstand' on the back cover that allows for hands-free viewing.

The N96 allows DVD-like quality video capture at 30 frames per second. One can also find, play and queue favourite tracks on the go with the most advanced music player. For a superb music experience, the Nokia N96 features media keys, a 3.5 mm headphone connector and built-in 3D stereo speakers. The N96 also enables game enthusiasts to compete with friends from the palm of their hands. Users can enter the N-gage arena and challenge the world to a wide array of games or even blog about their favourite games and chat online with other gamers.

Well, if you are not happy with the iPhone, here is Nokia N96.

Sony to launch thinnest LCD TV

Sony Corp said it would launch the world's thinnest liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs this year, broadening its product line-up ahead of the critical year-end shopping season.

The new 40-inch model, which is 9.9 mm thick, is estimated to sell for 490,000 yen ($4,478) in Japan, Sony said. The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate will also offer the world's first LCD TVs that display 240 frames per second, compared with 120 frames for Sony's existing models.

More frames in a given time make fast-moving images in sports programmes and action movies look seamless. Sony, the world's second-largest LCD TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd expects a 46-inch model with the 240 frame function to sell for around 400,000 yen.

Both models will go on sale in Japan on Nov 10, closely followed by overseas launches. Sony said a slowing economy has had little effect on its LCD TV sales, and that the maker of Bravia brand flat TVs is on track to hit its target to sell 17 million LCD TVs in the year to March 2009.

Sony shares were down 0.7 per cent at 4,140 yen, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index IELEC which fell 1.1 per cent.

Intel Launches New Eco-Friendly Xeon Processors

Intel is promising that besides the lower power requirements, the new processors will offer an increase in performance and a savings for the environment. The new Intel Xeon X5492, X5470, X5270 and L5430 processors are Intel’s first Xeon processors to be halogen-free, although from this point on, all Xeon 5200 and 5400 series processors will be. Intel is looking to make most of its 45 nm processors and 65 nm chipsets halogen-free by the end of 2008. The new Xeon processors will also offer greater energy efficiency in part to a 45 nm manufacturing process and a reinvented transistor technology using a halfnium-based high-k metal gate formula.

The new quad-core quad-core Intel Xeon L5430 processor is the least power hungry of the new chips, featuring a 2.66 GHz clock-speed, 1333 MHz FSB and a very power-efficient TDP of just 50 W. The Intel Core http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core 2 Quad Mobile processor for comparison has a TDP of 45 W and a 2.26 GHz clock-speed. The new X5470, also a quad-core, features a 3.33 GHz clock-speed, 1333 MHz FSB and a 120 W TDP, while the new X5492 quad-core features a 3.4 GHz clock-speed, 1600 MHz FSB and 150 W TDP. Lastly, we have the new Xeon X5270, which is a dual-core dual-core processor that features a 3.5 GHz clock-speed, 1333 FSB and an 80 W TDP.

The new processors are all drop-in compatible with existing platforms, though the Xeon X5492 will be only drop-in compatible with the Xeon 5400 chipset. Intel claims the X5470 processor has set a world record score of 150 using SPECint*_rate2006, which measures integer throughput performance. Prices for the new

24-Hour Battery Life Laptop from HP

One fundamental requirement for a good laptop is good battery life. On Monday, HP announced it had reached an astounding 24-hours of battery life with its EliteBook 6930p laptop. While just last month Dell had announced its Latitude laptop had reached 19-hours of battery life, it looks like HP wanted us to know it could do one better. The all day battery life HP promises does not come cheap however and there is a strict laptop configuration HP states that is needed to achieve the feat.

The 14.1-inch EliteBook 6930p has been designed to a military standard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Standard supposedly helping to defend it against bumps, drops, spills, vibrations, extreme temperatures and high humidity. The laptop is not the lightest laptop around though, starting at 4.7-pounds and still needing to achieve the all day battery life the laptop must be configured with an optional Intel 80 GB SSD ssd drive, an HP Illumi-Lite LED display http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/light-emitting_diode that will not be available until October, an optional ultra-capacity battery, Windows XP and updated software drivers.

HP claims with the 24-hour battery life of its laptop, business users can now easily use their units non-stop on the world’s longest scheduled commercial airline flight, linking Newark Liberty International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Changi_Airport , an 18-hour and 40-minute flight. One could also take more than 10 trips on the EuroStar train between London and Paris, approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes in each direction, before needing to recharge. For those laptop users stateside, 24 hours of battery life would be enough for a car passenger to continually use their laptop while making the trek

Microsoft Manager Says Windows Vista Has Problems

In fairness, Windows Vista got off on the wrong foot when it launched in early 2007. Microsoft microsoft knows this, but for obvious reasons must downplay many of the operating system’s issues. It is for that reason, then, that it surprised many that a “high-ranking Windows product manager” spoke to Maximum PC in mid-June about Vista’s teething problems.

The Microsoft employee detailed several key issues that plagued the early days, many of which can be attributed to bad GPU drivers from Nvidia nvidia . While it would be unwise for Microsoft to point the finger at a major hardware partner, internal Microsoft memos put 18 percent of all Vista crashes around launch time as a result of unstable Nvidia drivers.

Along with unstable drivers, gamers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamer had a reason to be especially disappointed with the OS as games ran better and faster on Windows XP windows xp . Moving to the newer OS was often a dramatic downgrade in performance. The source told Maximum PC that “spending the money to port DirectX 10 to Windows XP would have been worth the expense.” Even more crushing might be his view on the Games for Windows initiative, calling it “a disaster, with nothing more than 64-bit compatibility for games to show for years of effort.”

The source also conceded that Apple apple ’s control over the software and hardware side allows it to avoid such compatibility problems, making Macs macs more and more appealing to consumers.

Windows Vista also annoyed users quickly with its User Account Control, prompting users at every change made to the system. Vista users have become so accustomed to clicking “allow” on all warnings that one has to wonder if the system is really that much more secure when factoring user habits.

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of Windows Vista is that it launched before it was fully ready. While many users still maintain their preference for Windows XP, few may realize how far Vista has come thanks to Service Pack 1.

With half a year already under Windows Vista SP1’s belt, the operating system is now performing at levels expected of it at launch. Windows Vista is now stable, fast and perhaps most importantly, more secure. It’s unfortunate then, that most current Windows XP users won’t see the strides made by Microsoft until the launch of Windows 7.