Sony-Ericsson XPERIA™ X1

Sony Ericsson today confirmed that it will be running Windows Mobile® 6.1 on its stand-out arc-slider phone, XPERIA™ X1, the innovative multimedia phone announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress. Using Windows Mobile® 6.1, together with Sony Ericsson’s unique XPERIA™ panel user interface (UI), will enable a highly user-focused experience with enhanced connectivity, messaging and multimedia features.

As the mobile broadband comes of age, consumers are waking up to the vast array of multimedia services and content they can access on the move through their mobile phone. The XPERIA™ X1 from Sony Ericsson enables consumers to personalise their experiences through a distinctive touch screen, panel-based UI creating an interface which is uniquely relevant to them and how they live their lives. This continually active desktop allows users to organise the phone’s active dashboard as they want, changing between panels just like they change their mood, activity and information needs in the course of every day.

“No two individuals have the same tastes and desires. Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA™ X1 has been developed to ensure that mobile web communication and multimedia entertainment can be tailored, putting the individual at the heart of the mobile experience in a uniquely personal way,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, Head of Portfolio and Propositions, Sony Ericsson.

Operators will also be able to custom build the touch panels that run on the XPERIA™ X1 to provide the consumer with a rich, aggregated offering of their applications and services. In addition, Sony Ericsson also plans to align with key partners around the panel technology to enable them to develop exciting applications that can be enjoyed by users on the XPERIA™ X1.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA™ brand of multimedia mobile phones will bring a totally new user experience to the mobile phone market, putting the consumer at the heart of their experience and allowing the individual to create a touch panel dashboard that is unique to them and how they live their life.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA™ X1 will be available in selected markets in the second half of 2008

Intel unveils 2nd-generation Intel-powered classmate

Intel Corporation unveiled a new design of the Intel-powered classmate PC today at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. As announced in a keynote by Andrew Chien, Intel vice president, Corporate Technology Group and director of Intel Research, the second-generation Intel-powered classmate PC is an affordable, fully functional, rugged Internet-centric computer platform. These simple-to-use PCs have wireless capability, longer battery life, water resistant keyboards and are more shock resistant if dropped. Intel is calling this category of PCs "netbooks"

The Intel designed computer offers different choices to manufacturers so each can tailor laptop models for a variety of education needs. The new classmate PC blueprint is the latest innovation and educational tool for parents and teachers to use technology, computers and Internet access to better educate students around the world.

"Only 5 percent of the world's children today have access to a PC or to the Internet," Chien said. "Education is one of the best examples of how technology improves our lives. We have seen how technology helps teachers create fun learning experiences more efficiently. We have also been touched by children's excitement when they are inspired by technology. The Intel-powered classmate PC is one of the ways we support the IT industry in spreading the benefits of technology in education for children around the world."

The second-generation classmate PCs are built on Intel® Celeron® M processor with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and mesh network capabilities. The top range of these netbooks includes a 9-inch LCD screen, 6-cell battery life, 512 MB memory, a 30 GB HDD (hard disk drive) storage and an integrated webcam. An Intel powered classmate PC supports Microsoft* Windows* XP and variants of the Linux* operating environment. When pre-installed with the education software stack, these netbooks are ideal for classroom-learning environment. Software and content will be available in more than eight languages.

More than 80 software and hardware vendors, content providers, educational services providers and local OEMs have been working with Intel to develop a complete infrastructure that supports the Intel-powered classmate PC. They were present at today's announcement in Shanghai.

Chien also said future Intel-powered classmate PCs will be built with the Intel® Atom^TM processor. It is an energy-efficient, low-cost computer chip designed to provide wireless capability to small mobile computing devices such as netbooks.

The updated child-sized computer will continue to be deployed as part of the Intel World Ahead Program, a global initiative aimed at spreading digital accessibility and educational opportunities.

Lenovo Unveils IdeaPad

Ever though that Lenovo notebooks were dull drab and gray? Well you might reconsider with Lenovo's new IdeaPad the U110. A far cry from the normal Lenovo notebooks and part of Lenovo's Idea line of products, the U110 ought to disprove that Lenovo only comes up with grey, monotonous looking products.

The IdeaPad U110, an ultraportable 11-inch widescreen notebook PC, weighs only 2.4 pounds and is 0.7 inches deep. The textured design embedded in its red or black aluminum alloy top cover blends style and durability. Ideal for highly mobile users, the powerful notebook provides extensive computing time with an additional battery and the performance of optional solid state flash drives. Lenovo also equipped selected configurations with its Active Protection System, an air-bag like device that parks the hard drive to help protect data during a fall.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 ought to hit the stores sometime this month so stay tuned for pricing and availability once it comes.