Road trip

We'll be on the road for the next week or so and there may be a slight drop off in posts to this blog. We'll still try to keep up with everything that's happening in the CE world so remember to check in with us regularly.

We've noticed a real uptick in products becoming available from this year's CES in January. That's the way it is every year, just when you start to prep fro the next big show you're getting all of the products announced last year to review. I know, it's strange but it's the way it is. Look forward to a LOT of great reviews i the next few months.

Win8 Developer edition

MSFT took the wraps off Win8 this week at their developers conference. I haven't had a chance to try it as yet but from what I hear it sounds like I was spot on. Win8 is MSFT's attempt to create an OS that has a look and feel that works on multiple platforms. Imagine this: an OS that works the same on a computer, a tablet or a phone! Golly gee won't that be great? Here's a picture of the new desktop with the new "charms" on the right. Hmmmm, what does this remind me of?

I know! An Android tablet! The iFruit company and Google already have OSs like this in iOS and the Android OS. Keep copying, I mean innovating, MSFT. Maybe someday you'll catch up.

New Pentax camera with 18X zoom!

We received this news today and had to pass it on right away. A compact digital camera with an 18X zoom!! Now this is exciting.

PENTAX Imaging Company announced the Optio RZ18 digital compact camera. Featuring a slim, lightweight body, the new model offers a powerful 18X optical zoom lens covering focal lengths from 25mm wide angle to 450mm super-telephoto (in the 35mm format). The Optio RZ18 is the latest addition to the RZ zoom lens series, which provides photographers simple, effortless shooting of a wide variety of subjects and occasions, from travel and landscape to action and spectator sports.

The Optio RZ18 features include:
•    Generous 18X zoom (equivalent to 25-450mm) with extra wide angle lens captures subjects near and far.
•    High resolution 16 megapixel sensor for large prints or aggressive image cropping.
•    Slim footprint for outstanding portability and inconspicuous use.
•    Multiple PENTAX Shake Reduction (SR) image stabilization options, including sensor-shift SR, for sharp images in any lighting.
•    Large 3 inch LCD with HVGA resolution (460,000 dots).
•    Powerful automatic shooting modes such as Auto Picture and scene modes take the guesswork out of great photography.
•    Creative special effects filters add artistic flair to the common snapshot.
•    Advanced 9-point autofocus with a 4cm super macro mode.
•    Face detection for perfectly focused and exposed portraits, includes a dedicated pet recognition feature.
•    Widescreen HD video in 720p at 30 frames per second.

The Optio RZ18 will available in black, pearl white or metallic orange for $299.95USD in October 2011.

Google docs

Ever since I've been testing Android tablets I've been looking for a really good app for taking notes and simple writing tasks. I've posted about this before and received an excellent suggestion from one of our followers. The suggestion was to use Google Docs. Since almost all of the tablets we've tested this year use Android 2.x or 3.x we've learned to appreciate the wonderful integration of all of Google's online apps. It's great having our Calendar and Contacts available on every device and they never need to be updated. That led us to want to give Docs a try.

We have been working on a review of the Samsung Chromebook, a netbook sized computer that uses the Google Chrome OS, and found Google Docs easily available on the "desktop". We've been writing the review with Docs and have found it to be ideal. It's also great to be able to pick up any smartphone or tablet computer and be able to not just read the piece but also edit it. It's proving to be a very powerful app and at this point we love it.

Wintel

I recently read an article on the demise of Wintel and it got me thinking. For many years the computer industry was dominated by MSFT and Intel because the vast majority of users ran Windows on an Intel computer. But that seems to be  changing, and very quickly.

Part of the reason for this change is the way people use computers and what they use them for. Social networking has become the driving force because it's what people do with their computers. And you don't need a $2,000 Win7 computer with a quad-core processor and 8GB of RAM for Facebook. Your phone or a tablet computer will work just fine. And that's where Wintel is losing big time.

When I look back on the last dozen internet devices I tested, none of them use Windows and very few have Intel processors. This includes eBook readers, tablet computers and smartphones. All of them can access the internet, handle email, and just about anything else I want to do with them.

Wintel will be around far into the future because there's still a need for high-powered computers for many other tasks. But the day of Wintel controlling 90% of the market is gone for good.

HP computers

Hewlett Packard is certainly keeping me confused. First they terminated their new tablets computers only six weeks after they were introduced and announced they were going to spin off the PC business. Then they announced they were going to produce another run of tablets before they killed them all off. I don't know about you but I'm not spending good money on a tablet with a dead end OS! Perhaps they'll sell WebOS to someone else and keep it alive. Who knows.

The big news today is the new line of HP All-in-One PCs they're introducing. They're still trying to spin off the PC business and have even announced they are speeding up the process to get the spin off done sooner than later. I guess it makes sense to continue introducing new products to keep the value and name recognition of the product line.

Speaking of name recognition, I received a print copy of CRN magazine yesterday and was very impressed with the beautiful 3 page glossy ad in the middle of the issue for the HP TouchPad! Yep, the product line that has been cancelled!

MilSpec tablets

I had an interesting experience today. A friend of mine is being background checked for a security clearance and I was interviewed as one of his references. The interviewer pulled out a lined paper pad and pen to record all of the information that was needed. After we finished I remarked the it seemed a little out of date to be using paper and pen in today's world. It turns out that after she gets back to her office she'll need to re-write everything into her computer. What a huge waste of time!

We then had a nice discussion about how using a tablet computer would make her job so much easier. That's when we got into what the tablet would have to be like. Of course it would have to be physically tough because of the different environments she has to take it into. The biggest hazard though is heat and cold. There are areas where she can't even take a cell phone which means the device would have to stay in a locked car. Do you have any idea how hot the inside of a car gets on 100+ degree days? Or how cold it gets in mid-winter?

Another requirement would be security. The military and federal government have extremely stringent security requirements that would have to be addressed. An ID card reader, either built in or as a plug-in, would also have to be part of the package.

There are many excellent tablet computers available for reasonable prices but when you start making one tough enough for difficult workplaces the price skyrockets! Does anyone know of a MilSpec tablet and what they cost?