Dell pitches MacBook Air rival, Sony enters netbook market

Expect IT to begin 2009 with two major announcements in the notebook segment: Dell continues to work on its image and give Apple's MacBook Air a run for its money with a new ultra-thin notebook called Adamo. Sony is prepping a new Vaio portable computer that walks a fine line between an ultra-portable notebook and a netbook. What about Apple? As the race to knock down the MacBook Air heats up, the company remains mum on a MacBook Air successor, although Apple is expected to announce a $600 Mac netbook at MacWorld Expo in early January.

It appears that the fame of the Apple MacBook Air may soon be up for grabs as big vendors like Dell and Sony are preparing new products designed to improve Apple’s Macbook Air design. Both vendors claim their upcoming products will be thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, with more features and lower price points. Dell has been trying to work on its image as an innovative computer manufacturer for some and now is building some extra noise around the upcoming Adamo. The computer maker even took a page out of Apple's book by resorting to guerrilla marketing tactics and secretive teaser announcements in an effort to generate the same level of buzz and excitement surrounding Apple's new gadgets.

Dell successfully kicked the rumor mill into motion with a brief post on Uptown Life that showed a teaser image. Dell's spokesman Bob Kaufman told the NY Times that the post was in fact a teasing ad for an upcoming product dubbed Adamo that is slated for a February launch, around the MacBook Air's one year anniversary. The paper wrote that Dell indeed owns copyright to the Adamo trademark and pointed to an Adamo mini-site. Dell officials declined to talk about the product beyond confirming that it is in fact an ultra-thin notebook targeted to compete with the MacBook Air. Kaufman noted that Adamo goal is to "wake up the personal computing category and create some buzz."

According to Engadget, Dell will describe the Adamo a "the world's thinnest laptop," meaning the company is confident it will beat the MacBook Air within the ultra-portable category. 

Although ultra-thin and ultra-light notebooks represent only a niche in the notebook segment and appeal to a very specific group of customers, they come with a premium price and hefty margins. Given Dell's aggressive pricing strategy, Adamo may attract consumers who consider the MacBook Air as too expensive or are simply looking for an alternative. 

Sony will also join the game with a new product aimed at the MacBook Air. The company even mirrored Dell's move by setting up its own teaser mini-site that announces a "revolutionary new Vaio that will change the way you look at laptops." However, the page has been taken offline again. Little is known of the new Vaio beyond the 9.5" x 4.5" dimensions that put the product within the netbook category that caters to different types of customers than the ultra-portables do.

Engadget believes it will incorporate wireless 802.11b/g/n networking, Bluetooth and both EVDO and HSPA cellular network connectivity, courtesy of Qualcomm’s Gobi chipset. The lack of mobile broadband Internet connectivity is considered a deal breaker for some potential MacBook Air customers, although there are USB-based mobile Internet cards for it. Some other vendors have notebooks that try to compete with MacBook Air on thinness and lightness, like HP's Voodoo Envy 133 and Lenovo's ThinkPad X300. However, the MacBook Air has remained the defining comprehensive ultra-thin notebook so far.

We expect something new form Apple as well. There is no information on a potential Macbook Air successor and an actual update for the device seems to be unlikely as there have been only limited hardware advances. But there is a persistent rumor that Apple will announce a $600 Mac netbook at the MacWorld Expo in early January - a new product that industry watchers believe is the next big thing for Apple. Since we know that the economy is rather unlikely to get back up on its feet in the first half of the year and since we know that Apple will be vulnerable as well, a cheaper version of the Macbook Air in the $600 segment certainly makes a whole lot of sense.

Sony Ericsson Xmini Phones

Sony Ericsson has released cute little walkman phones in Japan, they are the Xmini series. The new compact Xmini comes with an 8.0-megapixel camera. This slider has a bright colored keypad and music controls, 4GB internal memory and choose from white-light blue combo or the classic black-grey look. The phone measures 75 × 44 x 18 mm. Not sure if it is available in other countries or not.

Google and Facebook jostle for mobile supremacy

Opera survey shows our off our networking addiction

Opera has unveiled its Mobile Web report for 2008k based in date pulled from its Opera Mini browser. And the results are pretty obvious.

Opera users have been all over Google and Facebook this year, the former because the Google search box is built into the browser's home screen, the latter pipping Yahoo to number two and the BBC (third place) as our networking addiction bites harder. Indeed, Bebo also makes the top five, but it's not good new for all the web 2.0 sites. Yes, our love affair with MySpace is almost certainly over, with the site trailing in 10th place.

It's good news for web browsing generally, with Opera's traffic doubling over the course of the year - and with web-friendly (and non-Opera) handsets like the iPhone 3G, BlackBerry Storm and G1 doing swift business too, that figure might even underestimate the rise. 

Rumor: New iMacs Shipping Next Month

Plausible, but still rumor-y: Chinese paper Economic Daily News says new iMacs are coming next month, which goes with what we've been hearing about about Nvidia chipsets and new Intel quad-cores.

Rolando rolls into the App Store

Rolando has finally hit the App Store as the most anticipated game for iPhone and iPod touch this holiday season. Great use of tilt and touch controls, unique idea and smooth gameplay make this a must-have iPhone game that numerous reviewers already describe as killer gaming app and a potential system-seller that Apple has been waiting for. Combined with a $9.99 price tag and a digital distribution model, Rolando also demonstrates the advantages of Apple's platform. The fact that gaming content on the App Store is becoming a big business should get Sony’s and Nintendo’s attention.

We knew all along that games would become a significant portion of the App Store business, but we are taken somewhat by surprise by recent wave of games for the iPhone and iPod touch. Apple on its part has been insisting from the very beginning that the iPhone and iPod touch should as well be viewed as gaming platforms. And while we have seen several interesting games that showcase the entertainment potential of the platform, App Store games only recently moved to become a serious gaming business.

Apple's distribution platform now offers a wide variety of gaming genres so there is something for everyone. Several publishers invested considerable amounts of money into porting old franchises like EA's Tetris, Konami's Frogger and Gameloft's Brother in Arms: Hour of Heroes and Hero of Sparta and it shows in their quality. In addition, Electronic Arts is putting its money into releases like Spore Origins and Sim City.

More than anything else, a list of games slated for 2009 arrival proves that big publishers are targeting the platform, like EA's Need for Speed: Undercover or Konami's Silent Hill: The Escape, Metal Gear Solid Touch and Dance Dance Revolution. Still, the App Store lacks so-called system seller, a unique title that can only run on the iPhone or iPod touch.

With yesterday's release of Rolando by Ngmoco, iPhone and iPod touch now has what most reviewers called as the platforms' very first killer gaming app. Ngmoco describes Rolando "the premium platform experience" which has been created exclusively for Apple's platform. The game features cartoonish visuals created by pop-culture illustrator Mikko Walamies and break-beat music by Mr. Scruff, but it is the combination of innovative use of tilt and touch controls and fun use of physics that make this game a must-have in my opinion.

Basically a physics platformer, you control spherical creatures called Rolandos through a series of obstacles by tilting your device, combined with touch-based input, like an upward stroke with your finger that makes the Rolandos jump. You need to draw bridges with your fingers and manipulate other objects, like lifts, catapults and bomb dispensers.

Different Rolandos, each with a different set of abilities, are combined with cleverly designed levels to form a unique gameplay experience. There is a total of 36 levels. Rolando's $9.99 may also be an inviting proposition, at least for those who have been paying $20, $30 or even $40 for Nintendo DS or PSP games. In addition, its digital over-the-air App Store distribution certainly beats the traditional game store around the corner. 

Titles like Rolando and other quality games slated for a 2009 arrival have put iPhone and iPod touch on the map as a viable gaming platforms – as an increasingly competitive product that grows into a rival for Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS. 

Ngmoco is one of several dozen startups funded by Klein Perkin's $100 million iFund. The company has released five well-received games on the App Store so far. It debuted with a free Maze Finger touch-based maze game, followed by Tetris-like Topple, the arcade shooter Dropship and Dr. Awesome, which allows the player to slip into the role of a microsurgeon. Dropship and Dr. Awesome now sell for 99 cents, while Topple is offered free of charge. You can check out a video of Rolando on Ngmoco's home page .

Artificial bone marrow created, can grow blood keeping supplies high

In a University of Michigan laboratory, scientists have created artificial bone marrow that's capable of creating a continuous supply of red and white blood cells. Such technology could enable a neverending supply of blood for transfusions, as well as better studies of pharmaceutical drugs and their interactions, as well as advanced studies on immune system defects.


[Editor's note: We realize this isn't a typical TG Daily story, but the ramifications here are astounding. Imagine blood banks that are constantly stocked even when donors are low. Or the ability to reproduce your own blood, your own antibodies directly and continuously even if your bone marrow is damaged by some form of drug treatment, just by taking a sample before the medications are given. We at TG Daily don't believe the significance of this finding can be overstated. This is the kind of research that earns people Nobel Prizes.]


The artificial marrow is not designed to be put into a body. Instead, it operates only in the lab. According to Nicholas Kotov, a U-M professor heading up the project, "The substance grows on a 3-D scaffold that mimics the tissues supporting bone marrow in the body. This is the first successful artificial bone marrow. It has two of the essential functions of bone marrow. It can replicate blood stem cells and produce B cells. The latter are the key immune cells producing antibodies that are important to fighting many diseases."

Many cancer fighting drugs significantly depress bone marrow function. As a result many cancer patients need bone marrow transplants - a painful and dangerous procedure which often involves a close match donor, such as an immediate family member. The new marrow could help researchers determine how drugs react, and what different types of drug interactions might be that would affect marrow operation. The dangerous components of new drug therapies could be sorted out ahead of time with artificial marrow, long before any human trials put people at risk.

Creating artificial bone marrow has proven to be difficult. It requires a "high number of precisely-sized pores to simulate cellular interaction," according to Kotov. The 3D scaffold design was absolutely crucial in creating the artificial marrow.

Once created, the scaffolds are then seeded with regular bone marrow components (like stromal cells and osteoblasts). According to Kotov, "The geometrical perfection of the polymer molded by spheres is very essential for reproducibility of the drug tests and evaluation of potential drug candidates. The scaffold for this work had to be designed from scratch closely mimicking real bone marrow because there are no suitable commercial products."

He also found that "Certain stem cells that are essential for immunity and blood production are [also] able to grow, divide and differentiate efficiently in these scaffolds due to the close similarity of the pores in the scaffold and the pores in actual bone marrow."

The team has even demonstrated that the artificial marrow gives a "human-like response" to the "New Caledonia/99/H1N1 flu virus," which is believed to be the first time such a reaction has been observed.

To support even further the "realness" of the artificial marrow, researchers also implanted some in mice with immune deficiencies. The mice produced human immune cells. New blood vessels even grew through the artificial substance. Truly remarkable!

A full paper describing the technology called "In vitro analog of human bone marrow from 3D scaffolds with Biomimetic inverted colloidal crystal geometry"appears in the journal Biomaterials. U-M receives funding for this kind of work from the National Science Foundation.