driving the ultra-mobile enterprise

A few years ago, I was writing embedded microprocessor firmware for a small, eleven-employee power monitoring sensor shop when a feud broke out between the three engineers and the two salesmen.  The firm was purchasing some new laptops, to be shared around as they were needed, and the two groups wanted different things from their notebooks.  The engineers wanted to be able to sit down at a foreign desk, at home or abroad, and get work done with the complex software they used to design things.  If I’d been senior enough to have a hope at taking laptops from the pool, I’d have wanted the same. 

But the salesmen wanted a smaller, more portable machine, something sleek enough to whip out at a trade show and send a quick email with, or jot down notes about their latest sales lead.  The sensor shop compromised, buying an ultraportable and another, more traditional business laptop.

These days, that same instrument shop would have more options, because of the exploding popularity of netbooks.  The tiny notebooks which burst from the gate in November 2007 with the launch of the Eee PC have since sold 15 million units, with 30 million netbook sales likely in 2009.  The form factor is almost exactly what the salesmen wanted, and costs are very low.  Although netbooks were initially aimed at consumers, new models aimed at the Enterprise, with Enterprise-focused features discussed elsewhere on this site, may soon encourage business to begin taking notice.  And what will this do to the desktop? Read More »

Back in the early days of the dot-com era, when there were still such things as rockstar game developers, John Romero left ID Sofware and struck out to found his own development house, Ion Storm, on the back of a single dictum: “design is king.” The idea was that an over-emphasis by a developer on the under-the-hood aspects of games could actually detract from the overall user experience, especially in a world where game engines had become commoditized and anyone could license on to create yet another clone of an existing title.

Though Romero ultimately failed in his quest to create a breakthrough (or even an on-time) game, today’s portable makers would do well to adopt his design-centric philosophy, especially in the red-hot netbook space.

A recent study of online opinions about netbooks by market research firm Biz360 showed that netbook buyers who post user reviews are talking about three things: performance, display, and features.

Netbooks right now are based mainly on Intel’s Atom processors, and given that the entire category is a variation on a basic reference design there’s really not much to be done in the performance area (other than add a fast SSD, which can make a huge difference). The Biz360 article does note that users don’t seem to be that impressed with netbook performance across the board, and are bringing to the products expectations formed from using more high-powered portables. This is something that netbook makers should be aware of, since performance still matters to users. Read More »

Productivity for mobile workers revolves around more than simply getting your notebook and hitting the road. In 2009, there are a few things that I would like to see happen in mobile computing to make working on the road easier and more productive.

One of the most important parts of the mobile productivity puzzle is Internet access. I’d like to see more notebooks and netbooks (especially netbooks) come with 3G and 4G internet connectivity integrated. The integration of 3G service (which is a necessity for many mobile workers) could result in more subsidized computers along the lines of the $99 Acer Aspire One that went on sale at Radio Shack recently. The netbook isn’t ideal for some mobile workers, and there’s probably a larger market for full notebooks that offer integrated 3G (along with a subsidized price tag) than the currently low number of such offerings would indicate.

I’d like to see faster 4G service become more commonplace, but Sprint’s WiMAX has a long road to go and may not amount to anything more than a footnote in the road to LTE 4G service. Many don’t foresee WiMAX becoming a strong competitor in the market due to Sprint’s inability to launch the service outside of a very limited number of markets. Verizon has announced that it hopes to roll its 4G LTE service out at the end of 2009, so 4G service is on its way. The key to making mobile Internet access more appealing is for the ISPs to eliminate the often ridiculous monthly download limits on mobile Internet service. Some service plans limit downloads to the point where one driver update blows the usage for an entire month. Read More »

There is more to being a mobile worker than simply picking the notebook with the best performance and battery duration your budget can afford. Working on-the-go is often not as productive as working in an office because most portable notebooks aren’t designed for users who work for extended periods.

Tip #1: Increase comfort and battery life with a laptop stand

To increase productivity notebook users can outfit themselves with a few basic accessories and peripherals that make working on a notebook more comfortable. I know when I work on a notebook for an extended duration, one of the first things I notice is that my neck gets sore from looking down at the screen.

This issue is easily avoided by utilizing a laptop stand. A laptop stand will raise the screen of your notebook making it much more comfortable to work on over a long period. Some notebook stands can also help keep your notebook running cool with integrated fans, thereby increasing battery life; even stands without fans can passively increase battery life by opening up airflow under the unit and preventing the laptop’s internal fan from kicking in. The thing you have to look out for when buying a laptop stand is to not go too bulky or too heavy. There are stands on the market that work well and will add very little to the weight and bulk of your mobile gear, so keep an eye out for something that fits in your bag. Read More »

GPS receivers look to the sky to plot their precise point on the globe at a precise point in time. But if you can’t see the sky, what good does have nearly three dozen satellites orbiting the earth do you?

That’s where WiFi positioning comes in. While not a new technology, a series of high-profile adoptions of WiFi positioning as a supplement to or alternative to GPS made 2008 the year that a device finding itself via WiFi network signals became as mainstream as GPS in a cellphone did just a couple years ago.

WiFi isn’t a precise technology, and it’s deployed on an ad-hoc basis: People, companies, government bodies, and institutions install WiFi gateways as they see fit, using unlicensed spectrum—which means no regulatory permission is required in advance to use certified devices.

WiFi positioning uses a property of WiFi networks to establish location. Nearly all WiFi networks are configured so that the access points that comprise them send out a frequent beacon, a message that allows WiFi network adapters to learn the name and unique adapter address of a base station. (Access points set to “closed” or “hidden” turn off the beacon.

Even though you only see the network name, even when the network has 3,000 unique access points, each of those access points’ unique BSSID (basic service set identifier) is broadcast. (The BSSID is equivalent to an Ethernet adapter’s Media Access Control or MAC address, using the same format.)

Skyhook Wireless was the first to take advantage of this characteristic. Starting years ago, the company began having drivers pass up and down every street in larger cities in the U.S. with a kit on board that recorded GPS coordinates and associated them with snapshots of the name, BSSID, and signal strength of each access point its WiFi radio could pick up. Read More »

In my previous discussion on increasing the battery life of mobile computers, I touched on such areas of improvement as the choice of processor, advanced LED-backlit displays, and power-sipping solid state drives (SSDs). While all of these advances in mobile technology are key areas that are helping in improving battery life, we still need to look at one key area:  improving the actual battery.

When it comes to next generation batteries, there are two promising advances that mobile users should look forward to in the coming years.

Silver-Zinc Batteries

A company called ZPower is promising to leapfrog existing lithium-ion battery technology used in today’s laptop with its silver-zinc batteries. According to ZPower, its silver-zinc composition holds 40 percent higher energy density than comparable lithium-ion cells.

The batteries are water-based which makes them as safe to use as alkaline batteries. There are also no risks of unexpected flare-ups which turned the notebook lithium-ion battery world upside down in 2006. Also, according to company officials, the batteries are also 95% recyclable which makes them a great pick for companies that want to maintain a “green” profile.

ZPower’s silver-zinc battery has been in development for a number of years, and ZPower CEO Ross Dueber expects that a major OEM will use its batteries during 2009. Read More »

It was not so long ago that notebook users were constrained by annoying cords. At first, it was just the power cord that kept people tethered to a wall socket most of the time. As battery technology progressed over the years, the reliance on the power cord has become less of an issue for most new notebooks.

But it’s not just the power cord that has been a hindrance; notebooks have been strangled by serial, PS2, parallel, modem, Ethernet, and finally USB cables. However, we’re in a new computing age and wireless technology is revolutionizing the way we interact with notebooks.

Here are a couple of key wireless technologies that corporations should look at when selecting new notebook machines for employees.

Bluetooth

While it’s true that RF dongles can be used to wirelessly connect a mouse to a notebook, Bluetooth is the absolute best way to go. Since the Bluetooth radio is actually housed within the machine, there are no unsightly or obstructive dongles jutting out from the notebook chassis.

Bluetooth is a relatively low-power wireless protocol and allows mice, printers, and even cell phones to be connected to notebooks. When an integrated touchpad or TrackPoint just isn’t your cup of tea when sitting down in a hotel room while away on business, a Bluetooth mouse is a welcome friend. Read More »

In 2002, ultrawideband (UWB) seemed like the next big thing for home and office networking: a short-range, very low-power, very high-speed technology that wouldn’t interfere with existing networks. UWB was poised to replace wired USB 2.0, become Bluetooth’s next-generation radio standard, offer mobile device and gadgets PAN (Personal Area Network) connectivity—all while not draining batteries.

In the words of Fred Willard’s agent character in “A Mighty Wind”: “Wha’ happened?” Squabbles over the right approach, delays in maturing the technology, and the rise of 802.11n seem to have combined to put the short-term kabosh on UWB appearing everywhere for everything. Some firms that make UWB chips have turned off the lights or sold their technology; Intel opted recently to stop in-house work on UWB silicon. Read More »