Intel’s CULV platform guns for AMD’s Neo: Danger Will Robinson, Danger!
Poor, poor AMD. Just when it found a niche above Atom and below the Core 2 Duo with its Athlon Neo, back comes Intel with its new “Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage” platform — something we started to hear about a few weeks ago. This from DigiTimes‘ “sources at notebook makers.” New CULV-based ultra-portables from the “top-three notebook vendors” (that’d be HP, Dell, and Acer by most accounts) should be hitting shelves in the second quarter of 2009 carrying prices between $699 and $899. DigiTimes claims that the new platform will allow Intel to divide the laptop market up into four segments for 2009: 1) Traditional 12.1-inch laptops and above, 2) Atom or Pineview-based netbooks, 3) Menlow-based MIDs, 4) Ultra-portables with displays between 11.x and 13.3-inches. It’s also interesting to hear that the rumored 13.3-inch HP Mini-note coming in June will carry the CULV instead of the Atom Zxx on “Intel’s insistence.” Well, well, being pushy again are we Intel?

Filed under: Laptops

Intel’s CULV platform guns for AMD’s Neo: Danger Will Robinson, Danger! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s 10-inch Aspire One 103 in photos

Acer’s 10-inch Aspire One isn’t exactly a secret, but we haven’t seen straight-on pictures of it yet — and glory be, it looks like the rumors of a revised trackpad button layout were true. Not only that, but it’s a multitouch model, so you’ll be ready for the Windows 7 party. Nothing spectacular other than that — you’re looking at a pretty standard 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM, optional 3G, SDHC card slot, and 3 USB ports. More pics at the read link.

[Via jkkmobile]

Filed under: Laptops

Acer’s 10-inch Aspire One 103 in photos originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre “Oops I’m Late” Feature Sounds Kind of Horrible [Palm Pre]

The Palm Pre is shaping up to be OMFGtastic, except it’s “Oops, I’m late” feature sounds more like a fatal flaw: It automagically tells people you’re gonna be late for a meeting.

What takes the Pre beyond other smartphones is that integrates all of your contacts, data and messages—like from Facebook, IMs, texts and email—into a single flow, and this super-calendar feature draws on that. The absolutely amazing part is that it downloads all of your calendars for the day, along with all the relevant info for your meetings, like maps and even Wikipedia pages about who you’re meeting with.

Here’s how the scary automatic “HAI I’M LATE” part works, according to Elevation Partners’ Roger McNamee (the venture capital firm that’s plunged nearly half a billion dollars into Palm):

When you’re late it — remember, this thing has GPS; it has a clock; and it has your calendar. So it not only knows where you are, it knows where you’re supposed to be and when….so when it realizes you’re going to be late, it says, ‘Hey, not only are you going to be late, but I can take care of it for you. I’ll send an email to your assistant or to the people in the meeting, which would you prefer? And oh, by the way, here’s the map.’

Does that not sound like an idea that seemed really cool in some bright young designer’s head, but would be absolutely terrible in real life? The proper way to handle being late is to make it seem like your presence is imminent, no matter how far away you are. Then it’s like you’re in rush and really, really trying to get there on time, so the guy you’re meeting with thinks that you think it’s a super important meeting, especially since you’ve obviously got so much going on you’re late even though you’re trying incredibly hard to get there.

Unless, however, you’re going to be absolutely egregiously late. But then you’re kind of a dick if you have a robot send a canned message for you. [Yahoo Finance via Precentral via PhoneScoop]

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When Coworkers’ Pranks Go Wrong: Guy’s Desk Gets Plastered by Big Brother Steve Jobs [Pranks]

One day late last summer, Flickr member jpegsrock returned to work from his vacation to find his cubicle just a little different, courtesy of his loving coworkers.

Apparently the unofficial Apple junkie of his office, jpegsrock’s coworkers thought it would be apt to welcome him back in an appropriate manner—by smearing Steve Jobs’ mug all over his desk. It’s a sight that’s awesomely astounding, and possibly a sweet and funny homage if a bajillion faces staring back at you watching your every move is your thing (yes, even while you’re eating). I’m glad I’m not forced to deal with my coworkers’ pranks on a daily basis: knowing them, they’d put Legos in my coffee and hang Mickey Mouse ears from the ceiling, but only after giving me a wedgie. God bless. [Flickr via TUAW]

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SkyBox: Microsoft’s MobileMe, But for All Phones? [Unconfirmed]

Next month at MWC, Microsoft’s cloud services will crash to earth: SkyBox, SkyLine and SkyMarket. Neowin says that SkyBox is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s MobileMe, the killer being that it’s maybe for non-Windows Mobile phones.

Basically, SkyBox syncs a phone’s info to the cloud: contacts, email/SMS, calendar and pictures, plus it has automatic backup and restore. Honestly, I’m not sure how this wouldn’t be for Windows Mobile phones only, unless they’re rolling out apps for other smartphones, which probably have their own cloud services anyway—Android’s got Google, iPhone’s got MobileMe—though I guess they could try to play ball in BlackBerry land, where a lot of Windows Mobile refugees wind up. But if they did offer this for all phones, that’d be pretty excellent.

SkyLine is a small business version of SkyBox, but with Exchange. And SkyMarket we first heard about in September—it’s Microsoft’s version of the App Store. Looks like it’ll get an unveiling with Windows Mobile 6.5. I actually like all of the “Sky” branding, but Neowin says that all of it will probably be called Windows ____ Live, which is really just too goddamn clunky, and well, makes people think of Windows and how they don’t use any of the Live services.

On a positive ending note, these are some confirmed concept shots for the new WinMo menu, first dug up by Smartphone France—they look as good as any skin by HTC or the like: Hopefully the rest of the OS got that kind of polish—and speed, more speed please—and then maybe, just maybe there will be a Windows 7-like Revival for Windows Mobile. Probably not, but fingers crossed. [Neowin]

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