Looking to address the needs of vertical markets that require rugged systems, Dell announces the industry’s smallest 12.1 inch rugged convertible tablet PC complete with multi-touch display – the Latitude XT2 XFR.

Designed to withstand “changing mission requirements” and to “withstand harsh environments”, the Latitude XT2 XFR shares common images and components with the Latitude XT2 and features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processors
• Up to 5GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM
• QuadCool Thermal Management System enables excellent performance, even in extreme temperatures from minus 10 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 4, 6, and 9 cell battery options
• Impact resistant, sunlight viewable, 12.1-inch wide LED display with capacitive multi-touch gestures-enabled or optional resistive touch screen
• Optional hot-swappable modules including GPS (in the coming weeks) and webcam.
• Wireless LAN 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and mobile broadband
• Optional expansion sliver provides camera/light, serial, and RJ11 inputs.
• Thickness of a mere 1.5 inches
• Weight of 5.4 pounds with four cell battery and solid state drive
• Meets MIL-810G standards for operations in harsh environments (certification to follow in the coming weeks)
• Compression-sealed and rugged I/O doors, LCD, and keyboard

The XT2 XFR is ideal for markets such as defense, law enforcement, homeland security communities, field service departments, and utility companies – places where touch-screen computers excel but could use more ruggedness.

The Latitude XT2 XFR is available in the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, UK, Germany, and Italy with a starting price of $3599.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Latitude XT2 XFR, rugged Tablet PC

For those of you disappointed that Apple failed to deliver any news on a possible tablet device with their recent product refresh, here’s an interesting story to keep your interests possibly peaked. 

In a private speech delivered to the New York Times digital staff around October 15/16th, New York Times executive editor, Bill Keller, states the following:

“We need to figure out the right journalistic product to deliver to mobile platforms and devices… I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.“

Yup.. that’s right.. the “impending Apple slate”.

So the real question is – did Keller make a boo-boo with the reference to the Apple slate/tablet device? In addition, if this indeed was a confirmation for a table device, did Keller spill the beans on the name of the device? Are we talking about the Apple “slate” or the Apple “Slate”?

Keep in mind that the term “slate” isn’t new to the Tablet PC world. Tablet devices that consist of only the touch-screen display and nothing else are typically referred to as “slates” while Tablet PCs that convert from a notebook form factor to a “slate” form factor are known as “convertible notebooks”.

Yeah I know.. this is probably a whole lot of nothing right now but hey – it keeps your interest in the matter right?

You can check out a video of the speech over at the Harvard Nieman Journalism Lab website.

[Check it out via PC World]

Technorati Tags: Apple Tablet Rumor, New York Times

HP goes all-in with multitouch computing with a bevy of new multitouch-enabled product announcements including three new consumer HP TouchSmart PCs, a new business oriented all-in-one touch-enabled PC, and the company’s first fully interactive 42 inch HD digital signage touch display. Here’s the complete breakdown of the new product announcements.

New Consumer HP TouchSmart PCs:

In the desktop PC front, HP announces new TouchSmart PC models spanning 20 and 23 inch widescreen systems. The new models include the HP TouchSmart 300 and the HP TouchSmart 600 – both of which feature:

• Supports either HD capable or HD widescreen display with a multitouch enabled screen
• Features exclusive “built-for-touch” applications including Hulu Desktop, touch-enabled Netflix app, Twitter app, Rhapsody app, Pandora Internet radio, TouchSmart RecipeBox, TouchSmart Live TV app, TouchSmart Canvas APp, and TouchSmart Link
• New swivel stand and tilt webcam
• Meets ENERGY STAR 5.0

The TouchSmart 300 will have a starting price of $899 and will be available on November 1st. The TouchSmart 600 will have a starting price of $1049 and will be available on October 22nd.

On the consumer mobile front, HP announces the multitouch-enabled TouchSmart tx2 notebook PC with features such as:

• Tablet PC capabilities
• Multitouch support within HP MediaSmart
• Features most of the same apps found on HP TouchSmart PCs as well as exclusive touch-enabled games and Corel Painter Sketch Pad
• Weighs 4.65 pounds
• 12.1 inch WGXA HD HP LED widescreen integrated touch-screen convertible display
• AMD Turion dual core processors
• Glossy HP Imprint finish with titanium color “Reaction” pattern
• Enjoy the notebook in three modes – PC, display, and tablet
• Rechargeable digital ink pen
• Starting price of $799 and available on October 22nd

Consumers aren’t the only ones to enjoy new HP multitouch-enabled products. The company announces the industry’s only full-featured, all-in-one multitouch-enabled business PC – the HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC. Features include:

• Supports Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• Windows 7 Professional
• Up to 8GB of RAM
• Up to 500GB HDD or optional 64GB SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce G200 integrated graphics or upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce GT230 discrete graphics using Mobile Express Module (MXM) graphics slot
• Optional wall mount adapter attaches the PC to a VESA wall mount or a VESA compatible articulating arm
• Firewire output
• DVI output
• Optional wireless keyboard and mice
• Optional Blu-ray combo optical drive
• ENERGY STAR qualified and EPEAT Silver registered
• Starting price of $1299 and available in December

Finally, HP announces their first fully interactive 42 inch HD digital signage display – the HP LD4200tm. The display utilizes infrared technology to recognize multitouch gestures for on-screen interaction. Features include:

• 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution
• 178 x 178 degree viewing angle
• Designed to run 24/7 with low power usage
• MSRP of $2799 and will be available in December

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: HP, HP TouchSmart 300, HP TouchSmart 600, HP TouchSmart tx2, HP TouchSmart 9100, HP LD4200tm

So the big news of the day (in case you haven’t had a chance to peruse other gadget/technology news sites out there) arguably came from Gizmodo.com where they reported on a skunkworks project over at Microsoft codenamed “Courier”. Headed up by none other than J.Allard himself (yes the golden boy behind the Xbox 360 and um.. the Zune), Courier is a completely fresh take on the tablet device concept.

First and foremost, take everything you knew about the Microsoft Tablet PC and throw it out the window (no pun intended there). Courier is a complete re-envisioning of what a tablet device could be like. Using a journal/booklet-styled form factor, Courier features dual touch-screen displays, a built-in camera, and a unique customized multi-touch user interface.

Much like the Microsoft Surface, users can interact with objects on the display using finger gestures. Want to share a note with a contact? Flick the contact over to the note and instantly share the note with the contact. Want to capture an image for a scrapbook? Capture it and then flick it over to the scrapbook section.

Yes.. one look at Courier and you’d think it came from Apple! (Ironically enough, Courier is so “cool” looking that one has to wonder if this leak was done on purpose to cool off any Apple buzz on their supposed upcoming tablet device. Nothing like conspiracy theories!).

To find out more about Courier, you’ll want to head over to the Gizmodo webpage and check out the embedded video clip.

There’s certainly a lot to like with Courier.. but will the project ever see the light of day? Will it be competitively priced? Will it have a large application eco-system (a la iPod touch/iPhone)? Will it actually jump the threshold of being “nice to have” to “must have”? All questions that are yet to be answered.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Courier, J. Allard

Lenovo is introducing multi-touch capabilities into two of their mobile products – the ThinkPad X200 Tablet which increases the # of supported fingers from one to two and the ThinkPad T400s – the first Lenovo laptop to feature touch-screen capabilities.

Here’s a quick through on specs:

ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC:

• Users can now use two fingers on the display for a variety of gestures including pinching, zooming, tapping, and flicking through documents, webpages, and pictures etc.
• Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 12.1 inch Enhanced Multitouch WXGA LED Panel with Wide viewing angle
• Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics
• 1GB RAM
• Trackpoint
• 160GB 5400 RPM HDD
• ThinkPad Wi-Fi connectivity
• Integrated Mobile Broadband
• 4 cell Li-Ion baattery

ThinkPad T400s Laptop:

• Lenovo’s first laptop to support touch-screen capabilities
• Users can use four fingers on the display to easily manipulate objects and move images etc
• Displays are sensitive and responsive to even the slightest touch of the finger
• Anti-fingerprint coating
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor SP9400
• Windows XP Professional
• 14.1 inch WXGA+ TFT Multi-touch with LED backlight display
• Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics
• 2GB RAM
• UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader
• 120GB 5400RPM HDD
• DVD recordable drive ultrabay slim
• 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
• Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100
• Integrated Mobile Broadband

Finally, Lenovo also introduces a new application called “SimpleTap” which “simplifies the multi-touch screen experience.” The app is designed to enable uninterrupted use of people’s touch-screens by providing access to hardware-based functions that may be more easily accessed via touch input. To use SimpleTap, a user simply needs to double-tap anywhere on the display to launch the application. A colorful transparent grid pops up which allows users to access functions such as turning on or off the wireless radio, ThinkLight and microphone, previewing the camera, enabling mute, adjusting the volume or screen brightness, locking the screen or putting the PC to sleep.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T400s with the multi-touch display will have a starting price of $1999 while the ThinkPad X200 Table with multi-touch will have a starting price of $1654. Both products are available now through business partners and at lenovo.com. SimpleTap will be available for download after October 22nd.

Technorati Tags: Lenovo, ThinkPad X200 Tablet, ThinkPad T400s

I suppose it was bound to happen. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch has turned his little “CrunchPad” idea into a separate venture called aptly enough – CrunchPad Inc. With 14 employees already on tap in Singapore, Arrington claims the “prototypes are real” and they would be “ready for unveiling by the end of July.”  Pretty cool – gotta hand it to the guy for capitalizing on a growing desire for inexpensive computers. Now.. any way we’ll be able to snag one of these prototypes for review? Hmm.

[Check it out via PC Magazine]

Technorati Tags: CrunchPad, Singapore

If you didn’t already know – pictures of the CrunchPad prototype have popped up all over the web. What is the CrunchPad? Well it was an idea for a inexpensive touch-screen computer proposed by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch. He puts it better of course:

“The goal – a very thin and light touch screen computer, sans physical keyboard, that has no hard drive and boots directly to a browser to surf the web. The operating system exists solely to handle the hardware drivers and run the browser and associated applications. That’s it.”

Thanks to several partners (but apparently the biggest player being Singapore-based Fusion Garage), images of a working prototype have surfaced on the web. The system utilizes an Intel Atom processor, can be built for less than $250 dollars and runs Ubuntu Linux.

The real question is – aside from Mr. Arrington – how many of you out there would consider getting a device such as this if it was priced at under $250?

[Check it out]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and in French

Technorati Tags: CrunchPad

Motion Computing announces their latest creation – the rugged J3400 Tablet PC. Designed for a “broad range of demanding work environments”, the rugged and lightweight J3400 features a hot-swappable dual battery (for all day computing), integrated shoulder strap attach points, rounded corners, and a slip-free grip surface – all ideal characteristics for a device designed to be used all day long.

On the ruggedness side, the system is IP-52 rated and meets military specs (MIL-STD-810F) which means it’ll survive a three foot drop on plywood over concrete.

Other features and specs of the J3400 include:

• 1.8 inch HDD for extra shock protection
• Shock-mounted display
• HDD with DataGuard – accelerometer which protects data during drops etc
• Optional low-cost 64GB SSD
• 2.0 megapixel webcam
• Smart card reader and biometric fingerprint reader
• Built-in GPS
• FlexDock with full input/output connectivitiy
• Intel Centrino 2 processor technology
• Speak Anywhere technology which switches between 2 to 3 microphones for high fidelity voice and sound input
• Intel 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Integrated Gobi mobile broadband chipset
• 12.1 inch wide-screen display with active digitizer
• Weight of 3.6 lbs

Prices start at $2,299 for a system with:

• Windows Vista Business
• 12.1 inch WXGA display
• Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 clocked at 1.2 GHz
• 2GB RAM
• 80GB HDD
• Wi-Fi
• One battery

[Check it out]

Read this in Chinese Simplified or French.

Technorati Tags: Motion Computing, J3400 Tablet PC

As expected, Dell announced their latest Tablet PC device yesterday in the form of the Latitude XT2 convertible tablet. As with Dell’s previous Tablet PC, the XT2 features multi-touch capabilities allowing users to leverage natural gestures to interact with applications running on the desktop.  You can perform actions such as pinch or tap for scrolling, panning, rotating, and zooming etc.

Other notable features of the XT2 include:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 12.1 inch WXGA display
• Windows Vista OS
• Multi-touch finger/capacitive touch-screen display
• 80 to 120GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD or 64GB/128GB SSD
• Battery life up to 11 hours, 28 minutes with 6-cell battery and optional 6-cell battery slice
• Daylight Viewable display has up to 100 percent more luminance than the HP EliteBook 2730p
• Full-size keyboard, touchpad, point stick and battery-free pen
• Improved connectivity with new LCD-based wireless antenna design
• Enhanced hinge design for improved panel stability
• Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
• Expresscard/54 and SD card slot
• Weight of 3.62 lbs with 4 cell battery and 3.78 lbs with 6 cell battery
• Dell ControlVault and ControlPoint Security Manager
• Up to 5GB RAM DDR3
• Manageability with integration of Intel vPro and DASH 1.0 compliance.

The systems are available now with prices starting at $2399.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell Latitude XT2 convertible tablet

Here’s another product leakage report. This time it’s the upcoming Dell  Latitude XT2 Tablet PC with a spec sheet that has apparently made it to the Internet. The XT2 is expected to be announced by Dell this Wednesday, Feb 11th. Here’s a summary of the specs:

• Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor (1.2 or 1.4GHz)
• Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics
• 12.1 inch WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution dipslay
• 4 cell battery standard; optional 6 or 9 cell battery available
• Up to 5GB of memory support
• 80 to 120GB 5400RPM SATA HDD or 64GB SSD
• Multi-touch display and battery-free pen
• Full sized keyboard
• Windows Vista OS
• Wi-Fi
• Gigabit Ethernet
• FireWire USB 2.0, eSATA, VGA, Ethernet, Audio jacks
• ExpressCard/54
• SD card slot

No word on pricing as of yet.

[Check it out via SlashGear]

Technorati Tags: Dell Latitude XT2, Latittude XT2 specs, Tablet PC