Internet experience

Nokia is exploring the possibilities of vying for a piece of the laptop market. The world's largest cell-phone manufacturer's CEO told a Finnish television audience that the company is "actively looking" at entering the laptop fray where Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer dominate.

Skype is offering its Voice over Internet Protocol service to Android and Java-enabled mobile phones, and to Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). This is the first time the software has been released for mobile users in the U.S.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, Skype announced Thursday the release of a light beta version of Skype for Android and Java-based phones. Java-enabled phones include those from LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Call Anywhere

Yahoo is making a bid for Internet television. The company's Connected TV group unveiled the next generation of technology and services for Internet-connected televisions, along with a slew of partnerships that promise consumers plenty of options.

The first fruits of Yahoo's partnerships with leading consumer electronics manufacturers, which include Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics, and Vizio, is a widget-based user experience that delivers Web content to TVs. The products that tap into Yahoo's Connected TV technology will be available in the spring.

HP has just unveiled three mini-notebook PCs in a push to dramatically build upon the inaugural Mini 100 model it rolled out for education applications in April. The PC maker's overriding goal is to match speeds with rivals in what is fast becoming a high-growth segment globally.

At this week's Intel Developer Forum in Taiwan, Intel conducted its first public demonstration of Moorestown -- a new Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform that company executives say will "increase battery life an order of magnitude" in a variety of portable devices.

With the launch of Moorestown, Intel is on track to reduce "idle power by more than 10 times compared to the first-generation MIDs based on the Intel Atom processor," said Intel Senior Vice President Anand Chandrasekher, who is also general manager of the company's ultra mobility group.

Mobile Internet

American Airlines has announced the availability of Wi-Fi Internet service aboard three of its domestic routes. Customers aboard American Airlines flights from New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco and New York to Miami can access the Internet for $12.95 per flight on its 767-200 airplanes via the service, called Gogo.

According to AA officials, beta testing in May and early August with real customers on cross-country flights showed that the service would be well received.

Intel Corp.'s push to create and boost new categories of small, cheap Internet-connected devices is taking the world's largest chip maker in some unusual directions.

It's investing in wireless networks, or even buying them outright. It's relying on software that isn't from Microsoft. And it's looking at making processors cheaper and smaller rather than faster and faster.

To Chief Executive Paul Otellini, it's all part of bringing the Internet to new places and people, and computer makers are responding.