Acer Launches Eco Friendly Notebook

Taipei, Taiwan-based Acer Inc has launched a new notebook in its Timeline series, which according to the company release is eco-friendly.

Christened Aspire 3811TZ / TZG, the computer is free from environmental pollutants such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFR). This device has also been awarded the coveted Energy Star 5.0 rating for its efficient use of energy.

Other than the power supply cable connecting to the AC socket, there is no PVC or BFR to be found in the machine. These chemicals are known to generate toxins such as dioxins and furans at the end of life of the product, resulting in environment pollution.

The Timeline Aspire machine is based on Intel’s Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor with Intel GS45 express chipset. It has up to 4 Gb of DDR3 1,066 Mhz memory, and comes pre-installed with 320 Gb Hard disk drive. There are three options in display screens, 13.3″ HD, 14″ HD and 15.6″ HD, all with 1,366X768 pixel resolution and sporting CineCrystal LED-backlit TFT LCD. The systems run on Windows Vista Home Premium operating system.

Read more about the latest notebook launched by an eco-conscious company, here.

Microsoft And Funai To Access Each Other’s Patent Portfolio

Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft Corporation and Osaka, Japan-headquartered Funai Electric Company Ltd have signed a patent cross-licensing agreement that allows the two companies to access each other’s patent portfolio.

Funai Electric manufactures LCD TVs that form the brands for the likes of Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania and Emerson. The patent agreement covers consumer audio-video products such as LCD TVs.

To Funai, the agreement implies that it will have access to and the legal right to exploit Microsoft’s Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) patents for its devices. It has been indicated that Funai is compensating Microsoft for this access.

To Microsoft, the agreement implies access to knowledgebase developed by Funai that goes into the manufacture of its audio-video products over the years. Funai has a leadership position in the manufacture of LCD TVs, which Microsoft will now be able to leverage to make its own version of the display screen, even better.

Microsoft has in the past entered into such agreements with several other industry players, such as Samsung, Seiko Epson, Nikon Corp, Olympus Corp, etc.

Read more about how the two companies are dipping into the knowledgebase of each other to further their own cause, here.

AT &T To Provide Communications To Dell Mini 3 Smartphones

Dallas, Texas-headquartered AT&T Inc has entered into an agreement with Dell to carry communication signals for Dell’s Mini 3 Smartphones.

AT&T is the second-largest provider of wireless service in the US, with its current base of nearly 82 million wireless customers. The company has a total customer base of over 150 million.

For Dell, the arrangement with AT&T is the latest in the series of such arrangements that the company has been entering into over the past few months, including China Mobile, Claro (Brazil), Vodafone (Europe, Australia, New Zealand), M1 and Starhub (Singapore) and Maxis (Malaysia).

Mini 3 smartphones are based on Google’s Android Operating System. The company is banking on AT&T’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot network and fastest 3G network to entice customers to buy the device.

Smartphones are fast becoming the flagship product for Dell, as research after market-research shows a forthcoming boom in the market with more and more customers opting for high-tech devices that can enable them to tweet from where they are, and connect with facebook friends while on the go.

Read more about the latest tie-up entered into by Dell to increase the market reach of its fast-becoming-flagship product, the Smartphone, here.

Lotus Notes Traveler On Mobile Devices

Armonk, New York-headquartered IBM Corporation has announced the launch of a new facility in a forthcoming version of Lotus Notes Traveler which will enable two-way, over-the-air synchronization of information between Lotus Domino data and mobile devices. The Lotus Notes Traveler is free software.

IBM is going all out to connect with as many mobile device manufacturers and mobile OS developers as it can. Lotus Notes Traveler, version 8.5.1, is already available for the iPhone, in the form of a plug-in that users can download from the App Store to synchronize their mail, calendar, contacts and Domino mail. The information is encrypted on iPhone to prevent data theft.

IBM already has a suite of software products for Nokia’s machines. These include Lotus Mobile Connect, Lotus Sametime and WebSphere Portal, besides the Lotus Notes Traveler. The Lotus Connections software on Symbian (the OS for Nokia) has the capability to connect users to social networks as well as access shared files.

Windows Mobile devices too have Lotus Notes Traveler facility available to users. In a forthcoming version, the company is integrating Google’s Android operating system also into Lotus Notes Traveler.

Read about the latest software that synchronizes mobile devices with information, here.

Intuit And Microsoft To Collaborate In Cloud

Mountain View, California-headquartered Intuit Inc and Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft Corporation have announced collaboration in the cloud for small business applications, which is Intuit’s forte.

While Intuit has its own proprietary cloud platform called the IPP – short for Intuit Partner Platform -, Microsoft has its corresponding version known as Azure. Intuit has made available the Azure platform module on its own IPP site for its developer community to download and work on. In addition, all of Microsoft’s small business software applications too will be available to customers via the Intuit App Center.

This is supposed to work both ways. For the developers working on Microsoft’s platforms and suites, the collaboration opens up the market of customers who are loyal to Intuit, especially the QuickBooks customers. For Intuit developers on the other hand, this is an opportunity to integrate Microsoft’s products into Intuit apps and offer them as value-adds to the end-user. Because of the vast reach of Microsoft’s technologies, Intuit developers can branch out of the comfort zone of Intuit and move into larger vistas.

Read more about how two companies have come together to give a more enriching experience to their customer base, here.

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