Roundup: Dell’s iPhone-sized gadget, Malcolm Gladwell vs. Chris Anderson, books on smartphones
Dell engineers are working on a pocket Android gadget — It’s roughly the size of an iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reports. In industry-speak, the device is what Intel calls an MID — a “mobile Internet device” somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop. What’s news isn’t that Dell engineers are fooling around with gadgets, but that the PC maker is seriously considering taking this product to market. Sources told the Journal that Dell has explored selling the device through wireless carriers.
Books on smartphones gain momentum – Shortcovers has added the Palm Pre to the supported platforms for its limited set of e-books. Titles include Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, a three-second download for 10 bucks. Wattpad, which distributes public domain and Creative Commons-licensed titles for free, has announced an app for Android gadgets. The e-books are more readable than you might expect. The only roadblock to reading John Grisham on your Pre is that book publishers are still reluctant to release large portions of their catalogs in a widely-readable digital format.
Comcast to roll out WiMAX in Portland, Oregon — For years, WiMAX technology has promised to provide wireless Internet access at up to 70 megabits per second. Engadget reports that Comcast, which bought into WiMAX tech maker Clearwire in 2008, will soon give Portlanders first crack at it.
Malcolm Gladwell reviews Wired editor Chris Anderson’s new book, Free, in the New Yorker – Ten-word version: “He’s forgotten about the plants and the power lines.” Anderson wants businesses to accept and embrace the downward pressure on prices created by digital distribution. Gladwell says that makes sense only to a blogger. Still, the New Yorker has already embraced Anderson’s core concept by letting you read Gladwell’s review for free. Update: Anderson just posted a response: “Dear Malcolm, why so threatened?” Anderson has been defending himself for not marking portions of the book that were republished from Wikipedia.
Windows 7 pre-order is an Amazon top-seller — CNet’s Ina Fried reports that, contrary to conventional wisdom on Windows, consumers are lining up to buy.
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About the Author, Paul Boutin
Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' technology section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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