Todays & Tomorrows Technology

If carrying your computer like a plastic handbag appeals, and you’re also a fan of pen-computing, then Daewoo’s latest netbook may be the best thing for you. The SOLO C920-mini starts from humble netbook beginnings – an Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 60GB 1.8-inch 4,200rpm hard-drive – then throws in an 8.9-inch touchscreen and nifty carrying handle.

That should give you something to hold on to when you’ve flipped the touchscreen around and are using the C920-mini as a slate. The display runs at 1024 x 600, the same as ASUS’ Eee PC T91, and there’s a 1.3-megapixel webcam and stereo speakers sensibly located in the screen bezel rather than just above the keyboard where they’d be covered up.

Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, two USB 2.0 ports, ethernet and audio in/out. Thanks to Microsoft’s netbook software licensing policies, though, you can’t get the Daewoo machine with XP Tablet Edition, so there’s no standard handwriting recognition or any of the other pen-enabled niceties. No word on pricing nor availability outside of Korea.

It’s Monday morning, so what better way to start the day than with two netbooks most people can’t officially buy. Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A is one such device, complete with a touchscreen display in place of a traditional trackpad and Intel’s Atom N270 CPU, while the 1.86GHz Sony VAIO P25G has the faster Atom Z540 processor currently unavailable through official channels in the US. After the cut there’s a boot race video, plus more details on that surprisingly clever touchscreen.

Contrary to initial belief, the touchscreen used in the NJ70A isn’t a standard capacitive panel such as you might find gracing the front of the iPhone 3G S; nor is it a resistive panel. In fact, the Sharp netbook uses a 4-inch “photosensitive” screen, which can not only respond to finger-touch but also pen input for recognizing Chinese, Korean and Japanese handwriting.

What will be particularly interesting is whether such displays – which seemingly combine the touch-feel of capacitive with the stylus-flexibility of resistive – transition over into Windows Mobile devices. Microsoft have justified their mobile platform’s dependence on resistive touchscreens as that it caters for handwriting recognition, important in Asian markets.

T-Mobile USA have officially announced the myTouch 3G, the carriers second Android-based smartphone and the follow-up to the T-Mobile G1. Based on the HTC Magic, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G features a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, UMTS/HSPA and WiFi b/g, as well as a 3.2-megapixel camera.

All of the usual Android applications are present, including Google Maps with Latitude and Street View, a messaging app supporting POP, IMAP and Exchange accounts, a media player supporting MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, OGG and RM files, and stereo Bluetooth A2DP. T-Mobile will also load the Sherpa app, featuring GENIE (Geodelic ENgine for Interest Evaluation), onto the myTouch 3G, which promises to recognize patterns of use and offer suggestions based on past behaviours.

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is expected to go up for pre-order on July 8th, though initially only for existing subscribers to the carrier. National availability is expected in early August, with the handset priced at $199.99 with a new two-year agreement. Three color options will be release: black, white and merlot.