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Does the Asus PadFone/Tablet combo represent the future of personal computing?

All of us know our smartphones are actually powerful personal computers that fit into our pocket. I have been in the PC industry for 35 years and my first PC had an 8088 Intel processor in it and sported a 4.77 MHZ processor speed. The processor in my iPhone 6 Plus runs at 1.4 GHz and has two billion transistors in it.

One of the more interesting comparisons of computer speeds often uses the Apollo Mission computer in 1969 vs the computing power in smartphones today.

The folks at The Daily Grate actually compared how much more powerful your phone is compared to the computers that tracked ALL the Apollo missions and flew men through the narrowest event windows while guiding a tin can in the infinite reaches of space:

Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC)

Dimensions: 24 x 12.5 x 6.5 inches

Weight: 70 pounds

Processor speed: 1 MHz

Memory: 2,048 words (32,768 bits or roughly 4kB)

Display: Seven-segment numeric

Price: $150,000 (est.)

Apple iPhone 5s

Dimensions: 4.87 inches x 2.31 inches

Weight: 3.95 ounces

Processor speed: 1.3GHz, dual-core

Memory: 64GB

Display: 4-inch diagonal Multi-Touch display, 1136 x 640 pixel resolution at 326 ppi

I am not sure if the Apollo crew actually understood how underpowered the computers were that guided them to the moon but thankfully they did not question it and made their historic journeys and came back in one piece.

However, the idea we have this kind of computing power in our pocket is, I believe, a significant fact and one that could make a smartphone the most important computing device we have and eventually be used to power all types of personal computing products.

About 23 years ago, I wrote a research paper on what I called 'a vision for modular computing'. I have had to travel a great deal in my career and, in the early days, I carried around portable computers that looked like Singer sewing machines. Once clamshell based laptops came out, I started carrying them but even they weighed six to nine lbs and had short battery lives. But I envisioned (actually, longed for) a time when I could carry a small modular computing core with me and plug in to a TV in my hotel room or in to a connector on a plane where a keyboard would be on the flip side of a seat tray and the screen was on the backside of the seat in front of me. Or plug in to a connector at my office where it would be connected to a display and keyboard. You get the idea. I wanted the full power of a personal computer in a small device that could connect to all types of stationary devices. Now I know I was describing what smartphones have become today although they have the screen and keyboards built in as part of their design.

In one of the more interesting products I have seen come to market this year, Asus created something that embodies that original vision I had for modular computing. The Asus PadFone X Mini is a unique product that includes a smartphone that slides into a tablet and powers the actual tablet. The idea is all of the intelligence and computer power is based in the smartphone and the tablet becomes kind of a slave that mirrors what is on the smartphone. The tablet has a 7″ screen as well as another battery in it. That means you can power it off of the phone's or the tablet's battery or can charge both at the same time. You can even charge the phone in the docked tablet.

However, if you undock the phone from the tablet it does nothing. All you get is a blank screen since the actual computer power comes from the smartphone when it is docked. Here is a video of how the docking works.

Actually, this is one of the great bargains I have seen for the holidays. The smartphone and tablet together cost $199 without a contract. It works with AT&T's Go prepaid program where you can get unlimited talk and text for $60 a month. The unlimited texting covers 2 GB of data using ultra fast LTE and all other unlimited data uses the slower 2G. They also have a cheaper plan for $45 that has 1 GB of data using LTE and all other unlimited data using 2G. This is one of the best combo deals you can buy.

But the idea the computing power is in the smartphone and can be used to power other things like a tablet is quite interesting and very modular in design. I am hearing another angle on this in the works coming out of the China supply chain that takes a smartphone and lets you pop it into a laptop clamshell design and use the smartphone as the core CPU. It mirrors the OS and the apps on a 12″ laptop screen with a full keyboard.

Motorola had a product like this on the market a few years back called the Atrix Smartphone with LapDock. However, it never took off for a number of reasons, the main one being smartphones in 2011 weren't powerful enough to actually deliver a full laptop experience. Even though Motorola was early with this concept, now that smartphones are getting as powerful as some of the laptops on the market today, this concept of using a smartphone docked to a laptop shell is being tossed around in design shops in Asia. We could see new versions of this idea sometime in 2015.

Since I have been researching this concept for decades, I still think this idea has a lot of potential. What Asus delivers with the PadFone could just be scratching the surface of this design concept. It would not surprise me if, someday, my original modular computing vision finally plays itself out in ways that make the smartphone the center of our computing experience as it becomes docked into tablets, laptops and desktops that power our future computing experiences.

Tim Bajarin

Tim Bajarin is the President of Creative Strategies, Inc. He is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry including IBM, Apple, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Toshiba and numerous others.

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Expensive Athens Homes Lure Asians Who Want European Visa - Greek Reporter

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Portugal's Golden Visa Program Mired In Corruption - NuWire Investor

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Global economic update on the property market - eProp.co.za

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Intel to combine PC unit with struggling mobile chip division

The reorganization comes as the lines dividing consumer electronics devices blur, the chip giant says.

Intel

Intel plans to combine its PC and mobile chip groups into one division as the company struggles to expand its chip sales for mobile devices.

The reorganization, which was announced Monday in an email sent to employees by CEO Brian Krzanich, will be implemented early next year, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said.

'The market continues to evolve rapidly, and we must change even faster to stay ahead,' Krzanich said in the email, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Kirk Skaugen, a senior vice president who now oversees Intel's PC Client Group, will lead the newly formed Client Computing Group, Mulloy said. The new division will also include sales of processors and modem chip used in mobile devices, which were previously part of the Mobile and Communications Group.

The mobile group was created in a 2011 reorganization that combined four existing divisions: mobile communications, Netbook and tablet, mobile wireless, and ultra mobility. Mobile group chief Hermann Eul, who joined Intel as part of the chip giant's acquisition of Infineon in 2011, will supervise the transition, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015, Mulloy said.

Intended to improve internal communications and efficiency, the structural changes come as the lines separating consumer devices blur, Mulloy said.

'We are seeing a blending of the lines between various devices,' Mulloy said in an interview. 'The idea is to accelerate our efforts for tablets and create greater efficiency.'

Intel dominates PCs and server systems but has struggled when it comes to mobile devices. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has spent billions of dollars trying to expand its chip sales for mobile devices amid fierce competition from rivals including Qualcomm.

So far, Intel has managed to get its mobile processors or modems into just a handful of notable products, including the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone in Europe and Asia, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet in the US.

Last month, the company reported a better than expected third-quarter profit as PC and server-system sales made up for dismal results in its mobile unit. The division recorded an operating loss of $1 billion during the quarter, compared with a loss of $810 million a year earlier. Revenue shrank to just $1 million, from $353 million a year earlier, as it appears subsidies Intel pays to manufacturers to win new mobile business drained nearly all the mobile unit's revenue for the quarter.

The company has been working to get into tablet computers by offering subsidies to manufacturers, hurting its profit in the process, but Intel has kept pace with its goal of putting its mobile chips in 40 million tablets by year's end.

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Intel to combine PC unit with struggling mobile chip division

Reorganization comes as the lines dividing consumer electronics devices blur, the chip giant says.

Intel

Intel plans to combine its PC and mobile chip groups into one division as the company struggles to expand its chip sales for mobile devices.

The reorganization, which was announced Monday in an email sent to employees by CEO Brian Krzanich, will be implemented early next year, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said.

'The market continues to evolve rapidly, and we must change even faster to stay ahead,' Krzanich said in the email, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Kirk Skaugen, a senior vice president who now oversees Intel's PC Client Group, will lead the newly formed Client Computing Group, Mulloy said. The new division will also include sales of processors and modem chip used in mobile devices, which were previously part of the Mobile and Communications Group.

The mobile group was created in a 2011 reorganization that combined four existing divisions: mobile communications, Netbook and tablet, mobile wireless, and ultra mobility. Mobile group chief Hermann Eul, who joined Intel as part of the chip giant's acquisition of Infineon in 2011, will supervise the transition, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015, Mulloy said.

Intended to improve internal communications and efficiency, the structural changes come as the lines separating consumer devices blur, Mulloy said.

'We are seeing a blending of the lines between various devices,' Mulloy said in an interview. 'The idea is to accelerate our efforts for tablets and create greater efficiency.'

Intel dominates PCs and server systems but has struggled when it comes to mobile devices. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has spent billions of dollars trying to expand its chip sales for mobile devices amid fierce competition from rivals including Qualcomm.

So far, Intel has managed to get its mobile processors or modems into just a handful of notable products, including the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone in Europe and Asia, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet in the US.

Last month, the company reported a better than expected third-quarter profit as PC and server-system sales made up for dismal results in its mobile unit. The division recorded an operating loss of $1 billion during the quarter, compared with a loss of $810 million a year earlier. Revenue shrank to just $1 million, from $353 million a year earlier, as it appears subsidies Intel pays to manufacturers to win new mobile business drained nearly all the mobile unit's revenue for the quarter.

The company has been working to get into tablet computers by offering subsidies to manufacturers, hurting its profit in the process, but Intel has kept pace with its goal of putting its mobile chips in 40 million tablets by year's end.

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Consumer Reports: Tablet

CONSUMER REPORTS - Tablets have been one of the fastest growing consumer electronics. But sales are starting to level off. And the laptop market has been declining for some time. Now there's an emerging class of computers called detachables that combines a laptop and a tablet.

Detachables work like a laptop with more memory, storage, and power than a tablet. Then they can be converted into a tablet when you need something lightweight and easy to carry along. Consumer Reports has been checking out several detachables, and so far its testers haven't been overly impressed.

The problem is detachables don't do either task particularly well. As a laptop, they're not as fast or as powerful as you would like. As a tablet, they tend to be a little bit heavy.

There are other concerns, too. On the Lenovo model, you can't adjust the viewing angle of the screen like you could on a standard laptop. And on the Asus model, you get only 2GB of memory. Most laptops come with at least 4GB.

The only detachable that Consumer Reports recommends as both a tablet and a laptop is the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It has a great display and great battery life. And at 12 inches, its screen is larger than most other tablets. The Surface Pro 3 comes equipped with a Surface Pen, camera, and memory card reader, and starts at $800. The keyboard is sold separately for $130.

Consumer Reports says that more and more detachables are coming on the market, and it hopes to see lighter, more powerful models soon.

Complete Ratings and recommendations on all kinds of products, including appliances, cars & trucks, and electronic gear, are available on Consumer Reports' website. Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org.

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Walmart to sell $99 Windows 8.1 tablet on Black Friday

Or, if you don't want to wait, you can buy this new model now for $149. Is it worth it?

E Fun

Think all the best tablet deals are for Android tablets? Think again.

E Fun announced today that its new Nextbook 8 Windows tablet will sell for just $99 in Walmart stores on Black Friday (November 28). This was among the deals listed in the store's Black Friday ad circular, which was released yesterday. However, the Nextbook actually goes on sale at 8 p.m. local time Thursday, and is available 'while supplies last,' so it may not make it as far as Friday.

Indeed, though perhaps not as high-profile as the $199 iPad Mini or $29 Android tablet also listed in the ad, this marks the first time that a Windows tablet has sold new for under $100.

The Nextbook 8 features an Intel Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and an 8-inch screen with a 1,280x800 resolution. Other specs include front- and rear-facing camera (both fairly low-resolution), Bluetooth 4.0, and a Micro-HDMI port.

In addition to running full Windows 8.1 (and not ill-fated Windows RT), the tablet comes with a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal, which includes 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage. (In theory, that license should extend to one PC or Mac desktop installation as well, as a regular Personal subscription includes '1 PC/Mac, 1 tablet, and 1 phone.') That's a $70 value all by itself.

The Nextbook 8 is E Fun's second Windows tablet; the first, the Nextbook 10.1, features a detachable keyboard and bigger screen (10.1 inches, natch). It shows a price of $199 on E Fun's product page, but Walmart sells it for $179.

As it happens, you don't have to wait for Black Friday (or Thanksgiving Thursday) if you want the Nextbook 8; it's available from Walmart right now for $149. For sake of comparison, Walmart also sells the 8-inch Toshiba Encore 2 for $169.99. It has similar specs, but twice the storage at 32GB, plus higher resolution cameras.

Your thoughts on this? Would you brave the crowds for a $99 Windows tablet?

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Panasonic Recalls 300000 Batteries over Tablet, PC Fire Risk

TOKYO -- Panasonic (IW 1000/56) is recalling more than 300,000 rechargeable battery packs used for tablets and laptops in Japan and overseas due to concerns they may catch fire, the company said Thursday.

The electronics giant is recalling more than 107,000 rechargeable battery packs for tablet PCs sold to corporate customers overseas, and almost 208,000 packs for its 'Let's Note' laptop computers due to safety concerns.

'The batteries are being recalled due to a rare possibility of overheating or igniting due to a manufacturing condition,' the company said.

Since August, there have been four cases of fire involving Panasonic battery packs that had yet to be recalled, in Japan and London, according to Kyodo News Agency.

One person sustained minor injuries in a case registered in Tokyo, the article said, citing Panasonic.

The company originally issued a domestic recall for around 43,000 battery packs for its 'Let's Note' laptop computers in May but this figure has now surged.

Panasonic has issued a recall for the CF-H2 tablet, sold to overseas customers, because its rechargeable packs use the same battery cells as the 'Let's Note' laptops.

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Should you buy the $99 PC from Walmart?

You will soon be able to get a PC for less than $100.

The Nextbook 8, a PC tablet that runs the latest version of Microsoft Windows, will be available for just $99 on Black Friday at Wal-Mart . It is currently selling for $149.

There are some tradeoffs to buying a $99 Windows PC tablet -- it has no built in mouse or keyboard, the processor isn't great, and it only has 16 GB of memory. But the good news for consumers is that PCs are hitting bargain basement prices across the board.

The average selling price for Windows PCs during the last three weeks of October was $430, according to NPD. That's the lowest pricing for Windows computers in history. Prices were about 10% higher during the same time last year.

Related: Microsoft makes Office free on mobile

Those super-low prices are helping drive moribund PC sales significantly higher.

PC sales were up 16% over last year in the first week of October, all driven by sub-$300 PCs, NPD said.

'Black Friday pricing has clearly come very early to the Windows notebook market,' said Stephen Baker, PC analyst at NPD, in a blog post. 'The real question is what does the Windows PC market look like when we come out of the holiday season?'

Microsoft has been subsidizing some PC prices to make them more competitive against Google's Chromebooks. Google's laptops only connect to the Web, but the increasingly popular devices can be had for as low as $150.

Meanwhile, Apple took its highest share of the U.S. PC market in its history last quarter, after it sold 5.5 million Macintosh computers.

But NPD's Baker notes that Microsoft might be shooting itself in the foot with its extremely aggressive pricing. Sales of Windows laptops that cost more than $300 have fallen 10% in the past three weeks. That means fewer customers are buying the more expensive touchscreen laptops and tablet/laptop hybrids that make Windows products stand out from the competition.

Related: Amazon offers unlimited photo storage for Prime customers

That's why Baker forecasts 'a significantly weaker PC business, less able to support Windows 10, less able to compete with a surging Macbook market, and less able to clearly differentiate what makes a PC a compelling choice against a tablet or a smartphone.'

First Published: November 13, 2014: 3:36 PM ET

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BLACK FRIDAY: Should you buy the $99 PC/tablet from Walmart?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - You will soon be able to get a PC for less than $100.

The Nextbook 8, a PC tablet that runs the latest version of Microsoft Windows, will be available for just $99 on Black Friday at Wal-Mart. It is currently selling for $149.

There are some tradeoffs to buying a $99 Windows PC tablet - it has no built in mouse or keyboard, the processor isn't great, and it only has 16 GB of memory. But the good news for consumers is that PCs are hitting bargain basement prices across the board.

The average selling price for Windows PCs during the last three weeks of October was $430, according to NPD. That's the lowest pricing for Windows computers in history. Prices were about 10% higher during the same time last year.

Those super-low prices are helping drive moribund PC sales significantly higher.

PC sales were up 16% over last year in the first week of October, all driven by sub-$300 PCs, NPD said.

'Black Friday pricing has clearly come very early to the Windows notebook market,' said Stephen Baker, PC analyst at NPD, in a blog post. 'The real question is what does the Windows PC market look like when we come out of the holiday season?'

Microsoft has been subsidizing some PC prices to make them more competitive against Google's Chromebooks. Google's laptops only connect to the Web, but the increasingly popular devices can be had for as low as $150.

Meanwhile, Apple took its highest share of the U.S. PC market in its history last quarter, after it sold 5.5 million Macintosh computers.

But NPD's Baker notes that Microsoft might be shooting itself in the foot with its extremely aggressive pricing. Sales of Windows laptops that cost more than $300 have fallen 10% in the past three weeks. That means fewer customers are buying the more expensive touchscreen laptops and tablet/laptop hybrids that make Windows products stand out from the competition.

That's why Baker forecasts 'a significantly weaker PC business, less able to support Windows 10, less able to compete with a surging Macbook market, and less able to clearly differentiate what makes a PC a compelling choice against a tablet or a smartphone.'

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$114m for school tablet computer content

$114m for school tablet computer content

THE Government has spent $114 million for the provision of electronic content on the tablet computers, under the Tablets in Schools pilot programme.

Content is available for the subject areas of mathematics, English language, and the sciences from the lower primary to the secondary level.

This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell, during a $76 million contract signing ceremony with members of the local and international publishing fraternity for the supply of additional electronic content on the devices.

'The contracts being signed are for the purchase and satisfactory delivery of content for the Tablets in Schools Project and includes publication in e-book form as well as web-based resource material,' the minister said.

He informed that the process used in selecting the five local and four overseas content suppliers has been transparent and every effort has been made to ensure cost-effective delivery.

'The content and general uses of the computer tablets are in tandem with the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education and as far as possible, local books that are available electronically and satisfies the ministry's criteria, have been considered,' he said.

Paulwell said Jamaica's educational landscape is being transformed through the use of this critical aid.

Minister of Education Rev Ronald Thwaites said the ultimate objective is to ensure that the new curriculum, which is being developed, will be available by virtual means.

'This is not a substitute or disrespect for books, but it is to centrally locate the future of education and a very significant element of it is in the realm of virtual learning,' he said.

Distribution of computer tablets to schools forms part of the Government's $1.4 billion Tablets in Schools pilot programme.

The one-year pilot will be carried out in 38 educational institutions and will see the distribution of tablets to benefit 24,000 students and 1,200 teachers in six pre-primary, 13 primary, five all age and junior high, and 12 high schools; one teacher's college; and one special education institution.

The pilot programme, being implemented by E-Learning Jamaica Limited, also involves the distribution of computers and multimedia devices, including interactive white-boards/projectors, scanners and printers to pre-primary and primary schools. This is in addition to the installation of Wi-Fi at all 38 educational institutions.

Following a review of the pilot, the programme will be rolled out across the island, to benefit 600,000 students and teachers.

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