This morning finds me back at the car repair shop that I visited a couple of days ago. It’s not that I find it a comfortable place to work — no, that’s not why I’m here. They had to order parts to finish the repairs to my old Volvo, and this morning the work is being done.

I’m sitting here in the waiting room, in typical waiting room chairs that are in no way conducive to working comfortably. I’m using three pieces of mobile tech, however, and that makes the work experience a productive one.

The Lenovo ThinkPad x200 is sitting in my lap currently, and I’m using it in laptop configuration. Typing is the task at hand, so laptop it is. I’m connected to the web via the Verizon MiFi, which is throwing its 3G goodness out for me to tap into my personal hotspot. These two gadgets are more than enough to get the job done, but I’m using a third simply because it makes it easy.

The Droid is out, too, and I’m using it for a certain task that experimentation shows me makes the most sense: to keep up with the hundreds of RSS feeds I track. I can easily do this on the laptop, but I found that I can spin through the huge number of feed items that constantly roll in faster using the Droid. I use the Google Reader page optimized for the iPhone, and that works perfectly on the Droid. I spin through the article titles, tap the yellow star to flag something to return to later, and basically fly through the feeds as fast as I can swoop down the page with my finger.

Once I’ve caught up with the feeds, I jump over to the ThinkPad and access the items I’ve flagged on the Droid. I can honestly say that I’ve covered as much ground, perhaps even more, than I do using just a browser on the PC. Maybe tasks like this explain the high Droid web usage being reported.

I had a flashback moment while sitting here working away. The repair shop has a TV in the waiting room, tuned to the local Fox News. I don’t normally watch Fox, but a glance up at the screen took me back. It seems one of the anchors is the Fox reporter who visited Mobile Tech Manor three years ago to interview me about the unboxing video phenomenon. It was a pleasant and unexpected flashback.

It’s far too early to condemn a product market when shipping products don’t exist, but frankly, I’m worried. Yesterday saw what’s likely the first smartbook, although the device could be a design prototype. It’s made by Lenovo, powered by Qualcomm and will be sold by AT&T. I’m fine with those three pieces of the puzzle, but not so much with the device itself. From the picture and the expectations being set on future devices in this class, I see a huge problem — it’s an underpowered netbook with no gain in portability. The device reminds me of an OLPC running a fresher version of Linux.

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Courtesy Clicky

What happens when a phone like the Droid, that is focused on web integration, launches on the U.S. network widely recognized as the best 3G network (Verizon)? Statistics released by Clicky, a web analytics firm, show that the Droid has made an impact on usage in the U. S. from the very launch of the phone. The Droid on Verizon has accounted for over two percent of total mobile browsers accessing the 150,000 web sites that Clicky tracks, starting on Nov. 11, the launch date for the Droid.

This is significant, not only for demonstrating the immediate impact the Droid has exhibited on the mobile web, but for the fact that it is accounting for almost a third of usage of all Android phones in the U.S. There are other Android phones that are in the wild, and some have been for quite some time, yet the Droid is already climbing the usage charts tracking them all, after just a few days. Of course, reliability of statistics depend on a lot of factors, but this big chunk of browsing share is attention grabbing.

(via Geek.com)

It’s Friday morning and that means it’s the end of another week at Mobile Tech Manor. It’s been a week of bittersweet happenings here in the Kendrick household, and I’ll share that with you.  I am not writing this column as usual, I am actually dictating it.  My renewed interest in dictation was triggered by a fair bit of time I spent with the Tablet PC. Join me in Mobile Tech Manor and I’ll share my week with you.

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Kevin recently wondered where the netbook was headed, and a few of you made it clear you were betting on the smartbook to become a player in the small notebook scene. The smartbook is the small notebook pushed by Snapdragon chipmaker Qualcomm, designed to be an instant-on, always connected portable computing solution. We have been following smartbook news for some time, wondering when we would see devices start to appear. That appearance is drawing near, as today Qualcomm announced a new smartbook produced through a partnership with notebook giant Lenovo.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs showed off a red smartbook at an analyst meeting in New York, and went on to share that the smartbook would be appearing at the CES in January. The small smartbook is to work with the AT&T network in the U. S., and no pricing information was offered by Jacobs.

When questioned if the new smartbook would offer a full Internet experience, Jacobs said Qualcomm worked with Adobe to put a full implementation of Flash on the new device. He also mentioned that the new smartbook, as yet unnamed, will play high definition video.

Liliputing found a fuzzy pic of the new smartbook as pictured above.

Related research: The Future of Netbooks (subscription required)

Mobile devices get smaller, thinner and lighter over time, but one component seems destined to remain roughly the same– the plug. While plugs are not huge in most places, the UK plug is bulky and doesn’t lend itself well to mobility. Our buddy Simon at WebWorkerDaily found a concept UK plug that folds for easy transport. The ability to fold it also opens the possibility for compact power strips that can handle multiple UK plugs in the same space as one conventional plug. Take a look at the video and you’ll see why Simon is willing to open his wallet for one of these.

It is Thursday and that means it’s time for another Palm Press. Palm Press is our weekly look at the world of Palm. Palm is poised to launch the Pixi and reviews are appearing all over the web with looks at the newest member of the webOS family. The Pixi has a candy-bar form and most reviewers agree it is a good phone with a nice keyboard, although a little slow in the performance department. The screen is a bit smaller than that on the Pre, and with only a $50 with Sprint separating the two phones, you might want to think long and hard about picking up the Pixi.

Palm has done a good job updating webOS, although a company can never do that fast enough to keep owners satisfied. We’ve only been sitting at version 1.2.x for a short while but a sharp-eyed observer noticed something about the Pixi that indicates version 1.3.1 will be out in time for the Nov. 15 launch. A video of the Pixi posted on YouTube shows the status screen and it clearly notes that the version of webOS on the Pixi is 1.3.1. It also indicates the “configuration” is Sprint 2.0, whatever that means. If the Pixi is launching with a new version of webOS, it only makes sense that Pre owners might find an update in the next few days.

We’ve known that Flash 10.1 will be coming to webOS, but we know for sure it will be in the first half of next year. Pre users who click on a flash video link get an official message from Adobe that the “Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is coming to Palm WebOS in the first half of 2010.” Flash 10.1 is the anticipated update that will enable viewing videos in the web browser.

We don’t often cover much non-mobile tech, but I had to make an exception for the new Chumby One. Besides, the device now has a rechargable battery option, so theoretically, you could take it on the run — for an hour. The Chumby folks asked if I’d like to take a loaner unit for a spin, so I said sure. I was surprised to see the device show up this morning though — the new Chumby One doesn’t actually ship for another two weeks or so. You can pre-order one now at the new lower price of $99.

Like the original Chumby, the new device runs widgets, widgets and more widgets. These range from Twitter and Facebook to CBS Sports, Late Night with David Letterman and more. Using built in Wi-Fi, Chumby One is constantly connected to the web, where it can pull down info to its 3.5″ color touchscreen. There’s a built-in speaker, USB port, headphone jack and power port, plus a control knob and snooze-like control button on the top.

Right now my desktop is cluttered with bits of the Internet, which is why I wanted to see the Chumby One. I’m curious how much data and entertainment I can offload from my main workspace onto a widget-based device like the Chumby. I’ll use the li’l fella for a days and then report back on my findings. For now, here’s a quick look at the Chumby One that arrived today followed by a full list of the specs.

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The Palm Pixi doesn’t officially hit retail shelves until Sunday, but the requisite early reviews are just now hitting the web. The cheaper, smaller cousin to the Pre is getting scrutinized every which way ’til Sunday (literally) and I’ve read all of the reviews. I recommend hitting them all if you’re interested in the Pixi, or if you want a preview of what webOS 1.3.1 will bring to the Pre.

PreCentral doesn’t think that Pre owners have any reason to switch to the Pixi, although that’s not surprising. Pixi has no Wi-Fi, a smaller display and a slower processor. The lagginess of webOS may have something to do with the chosen CPU, in fact. Also not too hot in the review was output from the 2 megapixel camera. On the plus side, the device lasts longer on a charge, has a thin and small form factor and offers a solid keyboard, something that not every Pre owner can say.

Engadget also loved the Pixi’s keyboard, but wasn’t too keen on performance in general. Their video demo shows a lack of response by the phone as it tries to load a web page over EVDO. Engadget also struggles to see who will buy the Pixi when the Pre is now only $50 more expensive. I’m in agreement although I anticipate folks that want a thinner device will overlook or not see the differences between the two devices as a wide gap. Had the Pixi come out three or four months ago, it might have been a different story.

PC Mag’s Sascha Segan sees some of the Pixi’s perceived gaps as a plus — in the hands of the right person.”The Pixi raises the bar the same way the Centro and Pearl did when they first came out, saying that you don’t need to be a “smartphone buyer” to use a little bit of smarts in your phone.” Based on his view, is the Pixi appealing to a current smartphone user? Probably not. But there’s a large number of consumers that are on the fence between featurephone and smartphone. Could Pixi get them to fall on the smartphone side?

Of interesting note in all of the reviews — that Facebook app that’s hitting webOS with the updated firmware? It’s not the Facebook you (or I) was looking for. The application seems focused around the status timeline of your friends and not so much into the other useful features of Facebook. That’s personally disappointing because as an early partner, Facebook has had insights to webOS before the Pre was even announced. This doesn’t bode well for one of the biggest gripes I have with the Pre and it fits in with the reason that my Palm Pre may only have a few months left.

Yesterday found me in a place where none of us like to be, the car repair shop. My old car was in need of some repairs, and I spent a few hours sitting in one of those comfortable car shop waiting room chairs. I knew I would have plenty of time on my hands so I brought two pieces of gear in my kit, the ThinkPad x200 Tablet PC and the Verizon MiFi.

I brought the x200 because of the flexibility it provides for working extended periods. It is thin and light, and the ability to rotate that screen around into a slate form insures it can be used comfortably, no matter the environment. That flexibility was the call of the day, so the x200 went into the bag.

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