PHOENIX-- IBM will officially launch the ThinkPad TransNote, a digital ink and notebook PC hybrid device, at the Mobile Insights conference here this week.
Mobile Insights, the annual gathering of mobile industry executives, will also see additional product announcements and technology previews from Advanced Micro Devices, Symbol Technologies, and Synchrologic.
The IBM TransNote will go on sale this week at a starting price of $2999 with an Intel Pentium III 600-MHz processor, a 10.4-inch TFT screen, and a 10GB hard drive.
What makes the TransNote unique is the other half of the system, which is connected to a digital notepad dubbed the ThinkScribe.
The ThinkScribe allows a user to write using an ink-filled digital pen. Any type of paper sits atop an electronic grid array that senses and captures the pen movements and uses a radio frequency transmitter to send the saved file to the notebook. The ThinkScribe captures the pen strokes as a graphics file and has 2MB of flash memory, which can store about 50 pages of handwritten notes. Although in a graphics file, notes can be searched by keyword, date, and subject matter, among other parameters.
The TransNote was developed as a direct result of customer research, according to Leo Suarez, director of worldwide product marketing for IBM Mobile Systems in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Pen to PC
According to Suarez, research indicated that some users were frustrated over the need to constantly switch between pen and paper and a computer.
"Lawyers in a courtroom is one example. Now they can send notes wirelessly directly to their secretary," Suarez says. He also points to the health care and insurance industries, where the ability to switch between pen and paper and computer would be helpful.
With the computer on the left and the notepad on the right (or vice versa for left-handed users), the device folds into what looks like a 12.6-inch-by-11-inch-by-1.3-inch-thick traditional notebook. The entire unit weighs 5.5 pounds, including pen and a paper pad.
Once opened, the screen slides up into a vertical position and locks while the ThinkScribe side remains flat.
"This is like a concept car product that demonstrates leadership and innovation," says Gerry Purdy, president of Mobile Insights in Mountain View, California.
According to Suarez, it was a simple step to combine electronic inking and capture technology from IBM's Watson Research center and notebook technology from its ThinkPad division.
Other New Releases
In other news at Mobile Insights, chip maker AMD in Austin, Texas, unveiled what it called a technology preview of its 950-MHz Athlon mobile processor code named Palamino. The Palamino will use AMDs PowerNow technology, which changes the systems voltage and speed based on CPU utilization.
"Every 15 milliseconds it polls the system to see CPU utilization. If utilization increases it speeds up and increases the voltage," says Laureen Chernow, an AMD spokesperson.
The Palamino version of the PowerNow technology can change its voltage in six steps rather than in four steps as it did on slower chips. Users can expect as much as a 30 percent increase in battery life, Chernow says.
Symbol Technologies, a licensee of the Palm and Win CE operating systems, also unveiled an as-yet unannounced product, the PDT 8100 handheld. The rugged Palm device combines Bluetooth technology with 802.11B and voice over IP for local area networks. It will ship in July.
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