02/18, 9:50pm
Qualcomm wins case, can keep smartbook title
Qualcomm scored an important if now largely symbolic victory in its dispute with Smartbook AG over the "smartbook" label. Germany's Patent and Trademark Office ruled that Smartbook AG's two trademarks on the formal name couldn't be applied to the generic term, which Qualcomm applied to any small, ultralight notebook using a cellphone-class processor and OS. Qualcomm can now use the term freely as long as it isn't in the formal context.
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01/16, 3:10pm
HP says webOS netbooks in the future
HP in a webOS learning guide has virtually confirmed that Palm's mobile platform will come to netbooks. It promised webOS on a "phone and a slate and a netbook" in part of the presentation. A review quiz reinforced the point by asking a question where the only correct answer to a " you'll see webOS on multiple devices like" question included netbooks as part of the answer.
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04/30, 10:20am
MS may suffer 2nd defeat in tablet wars via HP
HP is about to drop its Windows 7 slate in favor of a better operating system, a major leak may have revealed late Thursday. Despite being championed by Microsoft at the CES 2010 keynote, the slate is reportedly being scrapped because HP doesn't like Windows 7 as a tablet OS. Instead, it could use Android or or webOS.
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02/12, 9:50am
HP Compaq Airlife 100 gets 12-hour runtime
HP ahead of Mobile World Congress has confirmed the Airlife 100. The company's first smartbook, the 10-inch touchscreen system is much like the concept design shown at CES and switches away from x86 to ARM, likely a 1GHz Snapdragon. The switch, along with the use of a 16GB flash drive, gives the system 12 hours of battery life (and 10 days of standby) even though the design is thinner than a typical Atom-based Mini netbook.
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01/21, 3:50pm
HP Compaq Airlife 100 now known to be smartbook
HP in an FCC filing submitted in just the past day has confirmed that it plans to bring its concept smartbook to reality. The device shows up at the US agency using the previously hinted Airlife badge and would be titled the HP Compaq Airlife 100. Little is shown about what the device would use, though the FCC label shows an icon for what's likely a SIM card slot for 3G.
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12/30, 3:45pm
HP hints at major mobile push in filings
HP has filed for a pair of US trademarks that hint at a major return to handheld devices. One, for the term "Airlife," would apply to handheld computers, PDAs and phones as well as computers. The other, "Zeen," would apply to a handheld that can play images, sound and text as well as the software needed to do the same. Both trademarks were requested within five weeks of each other and, given differences, that the two are complementary rather than alternate names for each other or for existing products.
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