mobile broadband technology

Apple's new iPad tablet computer may be fine for surfing the web and watching surfing movies, but Panasonic Computer Solutions thinks many field workers need a tougher companion. On Wednesday, the maker of Toughbook mobile computers released its Toughbook H1 Field, described as "the world's most rugged handheld tablet computer."

The new model is targeted at field sales personnel, first responders, supervisors, inspectors, maintenance workers, and other mobile professionals.

No Wimp

Looking to build on its recent rise to No. 1 in the U.S. PC market, Hewlett-Packard has taken the wraps off a new line of notebooks for small businesses that aims to merge business functionality with a sophisticated, yet minimalist, design.

The new HP ProBook series, which combines sleek matte and glossy surfaces in the user's choice of merlot or glossy noir finishes, also promises to lower costs for business notebook buyers through aggressive U.S. street pricing that begins at $529.

Six in 10 people on the face of the globe have cell-phone subscriptions, and more than 60 percent of cell-phone users come from developing nations.

So says a United Nations report published Monday. The report's findings suggest that mobile phones are the communications tool of choice in poor countries.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reports an estimated 4.1 billion cell-phone subscriptions at the end of 2008. That compares to about one billion just six years ago. Fixed-line subscriptions grew by only one billion since 2002.

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