My CES roundup

Sitting back at basecamp (Sydney) I couldn�t help but think that CES in Las Vegas was a success, at least for Tablet enthusiasts that is. What I mean by this is that there were no major revelations, or developments in the UMPC platform, and that to me is a positive experience. Let me explain why!

I feel that we are almost always putting a R.I.P inscription on all newly released products immediately out f the box. As soon as a blogger posts the �first look� at anything, like this, or this, someone leaves a comment like �when is the NextGen coming��give me a break. Surely we all like the latest and greatest toys, but shouldn�t we spend a minute and get to know what is available before we right it off in the hope of achieving Nerdvana (read this blog).

So with all that in mind, I declare less UMPC a good thing; why, because now we can get to the know the existing form factor just a little longer, and put away the 7� coffin we ordered! Having said all this, there were several new releases like the TabletKiosk �Tough Tab� and the �Sahara Slate i440.� I also liked James Kendrick with this cheesy look at the HP TX 1000! (I thought I had the market on cheesy photos James!) You can also see it on CNETTV.

CES seemed to flow quite nicely and kicked off with a Bisll Gates keynote, which from what I could tell, left many wanting more, not less Bill! It seemed to showcase UMPC, but not highlight them in any big way. He did however seem to pick up a UMPC in one of he�s demonstrations while using it to control the ambience via projected-wall-art in a make believe kids room! I liked the keynote personally and sat in my living room at 2pm, with my wife and son, while I chatted to a who�s-who of the Tablet space online (shout out to Chippy, JTokash, MPropst and JKK), while they sat at home at around 5am! Ouch! This was a Ultra-Geek affair that had been setup via this CES Party. It was lots of fun.

As the show progressed it looked as though the biggest story unfolding was the OQO 02. I liked this video from Engadget that seemed to be first in, but I also like this video from CNETTV. The sweetest thing about the OQO was the Dock!!! Look here. Speaking of docks it was the Toshiba that stole the show with a wireless, yes, wireless, USB 2.0 solution on the new convertible R400. Take a look at it here, and here. It beckons me to ask the �true� connection speed between the dock and the Toshi, as I still can�t get 480Mbps out of my cabled USB 2.0 stuff�LOL.

The last reference I�ll leave you with is this webcam, and it�s not porn! It was setup by the first family of Tablet PC, The Heinys, and aimed at the crowd gathered in the good name of Tablet PC at Cheesburger Las Vegas. Because I wasn�t there, and hopefully I was missed, I will give you an excerpt from an emotive Warner Crocker:

This entire evening would be possible without the work of the First Lady of The First Family of Tablet PCs, Lora Heiny, so everyone owes her a big thank you. And speaking of the First Family, it was great to meet Robert and Joan Heiny, the folks responsbile for all those Heinys, and although Loren wasn�t there, he and his brother Layne, who was in attendance, hooked up a webcam and streamed the event live. (You can check it out here.)

I have enjoyed following the event and receiving emails from attendees there. Thank you everyone involved and everyone posting from the CES show, including my little infamous Long Zheng! I hope I have contributed to those of you that weren�t there by sharing my experience as I saw it unfold. There are obviously many omissions but it is bed time and I will talk with you soon! I�ve missed you guys but I promise to provide with the best year ever of Tablet PC related commentary from Australia!!! Talk to you later�Hugo Ortega.

PS. If you want to hear something really fun out of CES then listen to James Kendrick (Houston), Matt Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia) in the latest edition of their Mobile Tech Roundup: CLICK HERE and listen directly.MoTR 85 is 21:18 minutes long and is a 7.3 MB file in MP3 format. to download the file.

My turn in the Meme Challenge

I first heard of the MEME challenge from JK�s Post here (and yes James, I have been taking a back seat during Christmas, but I�m back now). So when my NZ mate Craig Pringle looped me into the whole thing via this ping (which I admittedly caught via an ego surf) I couldn�t help but oblige.

So here goes; here are 5 things my readers may not know about me!

1. I was actually born in Argentina, and not Australia. I got to Australia with my parents at the ripe old age of 2.
2. I am extremely happily married with two kids. (one boy and one girl)
3. In 1995 I played semi-professional basketball for the Australian C.B.A and in 1994 I even represented Australia (Under 21�s Team) and Toured the United States playing College Teams which included CAL and UCLA Berkley (a total of 24 Games in 21 days).
4. In 1994 I took part in a Music Video clip in which we illegally stopped peak-hour traffic on Sydney�s Harbour Bridge, jumped out of our cars, took off our shirts, had a dance while getting filmed by a helicopter and drove off. The idiocy irony was that when we drove off we all had to stop at the toll booths and pay the toll � this was a simple oversight that cost one of our friends a visit from the police later that afternoon.
5. I've worked for the United Nations (UNDP and UNV) in Post-war Kosovo 1999 � 2001. While there I setup refugee camps, child care centres and restored a Municipal Park in which I employed 100+ people for three months (including 20 Deaf and Mute) all under my guidance.

So there are my five facts, in no particular order, and with several omissions. LOL. Now I haven't followed this closely so if you have already joined into the challenge just point to your answers, otherwise here are the five bloggers I'd like to know more about:

• Dr. Neil Roodyn - drneil.blogspot.com
• Mitch Denny - NotGartner
• Long Zheng - istartedsomething
• Matt Propst - UMPC Toplist
• Gabriel Gonzalez - Chicken's Holy Place

Merry Christmas Everyone

A simple note to thank all the followers of the Ubertablet Blog; Wishing you a Merry Christmas with Family and Friends. May this post find you well and full of high spirit and surrounded by the happiness you all deserve. I thank you for your support this year and for the enthusiasm you have all showed towards Tablet PC worldwide.

Keep up the great work, visit here often, and always post your thoughts and questions...this is your space, and your forum for Tablet related matters.

Cheers, Hugo

Another week, another UMPC and I

Hi Guys and Girls. Knowing that it�s been a while I thought I better catch you up. Not only did I get my ASUS R2H today, and my Samsung Q1 last week, but I also sold my T4210 Fujitsu in the readiness for my new T4215 Fujitsu next week! You should be so luck!

I�ve been hanging out a little with my good pal Dr. Neil; we even recorded two Dr. Neil�s Notes (Show 32, and Show 33). Given that we both carry Samsung Q1s then it isn�t hard to imagine the two shows are filled with UMPC related banter.

I�ve also been visiting friends at Microsoft and planning some January/February stuff, which I can�t disclose. With a bit of luck I will be able to let you all know soon as I have some big things planned for Australia and New Zealand. One of the Microsofties I like best is Mr. Jeff Alexander. He and I recently caught up at his newly renovated home where he showed me through his Windows Media Center enabled Casa. No less than three media Centers and an XBOX 360 as the cherry � stay tuned as Jeff and I will post a video soon.

So how am I doing as a full-time Ultra-Mobile PC-er? Good thanks. Not only have I not got a device to turn to other than the Q1 at this point (i.e. running my main apps) but I have chosen to barebone and go naked all the way. My mobile office now consists of a Samsung Q1 with Organizer Pack, while my Home Office consists of; you guessed it, the same Samsung Q1 with Organiser Pack! So how am I finding it?

I believe that the platform has a lot of merit. I am honestly a convertee and now more passionate than ever. One obvious bottleneck that I found in the technology is the lack of Processing Power, for my liking. Not only did I come off a Dual Core 1.83GHz Tablet to the Q1 but I went from 2GB of Ram to 512. I tried my best to keep it as �real� as possible to I am glad with the transition I have made, but I must admit I am missing the packet crunching power of the Dual Core device.

On a brighter note I am pleased with the screen size (surprisingly) and the portability (not so surprising). I am finding it a really nice platform for in-car computing and mobile-office working. By this I mean, in the car I can type on the keyboard, or fold the device back over the keyboard and ink as a normal slate. By mobile-office I am talking about actually pulling the device out, as opposed to leaving it in the car, and using it during a meeting. I have managed to do this much more often than I did with any laptop I owned, so this must be a good thing. The main reason for this change of practice would mostly come down to one thing, the ergonomics.

I like my UMPC in bed too. I am in bed now about to go to sleep and am planning a lot of videos for these next few weeks over the Christmas period. I will do my best to keep you informed and entertained. By the way, I received my R2H so I will posting a video really soon about all the UMPC, at once. I now have the EO V7110, the EO 7209 and 7210, the Samsung Q1 and Q1B and the ASUS R2H�keep your eyes glued.

First P1610s get delivered Downunder

It seems as though the wait is over and the Fujitsu P1610 LifeBook is on its way to happy homes. Not only will this mean lots of new Tableteers but it may also inspire someone to start blooging in ink too! Come'on Aussies, show the world what we got...anyone???

Here as some pictures of one of the shipments heading to Melbourne from the Tegatech Australia offices.

If you want one, did you read this, or see this?

The Wicked Ink Blot Awards

Chippy from CarryPad pinged me earlier this morning congratulating me on my Ink Blot Award (and reminded me of my almost fatal smash-and-grab)!

Not only did I not know I'd received the award but I didn't even know what it was for. Now the list is long and the Awards all well substantiated; so if you've got a minute head on over to Warner Crocker's "Life on the Wicked Stage" and check out this Years "Second Annual Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards."

By the way, my Award is:

Most Prolific and On the Edge Down Under Tableteer that Microsoft Should Clone and Use for Evangelism: Hugo Ortega

And we even got the front page of Techmeme too!

Ultra-Mobile PC makes it on Television Australia

Cyber Shack s02 e02

This episode of Cybershack is probably the closest we�ve been to mass market exposure for Ultra-Mobile PC, other than the Hannover Fair launch. Obviously you�ve been following the Australian Space if you follow this blog, and you therefore know that we�re pretty passionate and very proactive down here. This time however Free-to-Air Television takes Microsoft�s Origami Project, and little Otto Berkes brainchild, to a whole new level! The Channel is Channel 10 Australia, and the show Cybershack airs on Monday night's at 11:15pm.

What�s my involvement?

Well it turns out that some of the folks at Cybershack were also readers of my blog. They asked me for some devices to which I happily oblidged. All I did was get some people, to talk to their people, and send other people some UMPC. You'll note that the array is small because the episode was probably filmed 8 weeks ago, at which point not even Tegatech had more that 2 UMPC available Downunder.

After watching this for the 5th time I just realised that Cybershack put the UberTablet Blog on Television as a reference for the Australian market to visit�wow�cool! Thanks Channel 10. I wonder how many bloggers can say that their blog has been promoted on Television? Maybe Rove will ask me on his show soon�Rove??? (sorry to hear about Belinda mate)

So without further delay here is the episode:

• View the Cybershack Website here
• Download the .M4V file here
• Download my video in full here
• Subscribe to Cybershack Feed here, or TV Podcast here
• View it on MyYouTube