HP's new 10.1-inch Mini 110 mini-notebook comes in three colors with options for storage (solid state or 2.5" HDD), OS (Win XP or HP's Mobile Internet), resolution and battery.

SHOWCASE: The HWM Malaysia and Singapore team were flown to Beijing last week to cover HP’s Touching the Future product unveiling by the Personal Systems Group (PSG) from HP Asia Pacific and Japan.

According to HP, consumer habits and usage of the Web have changed so much, that products today need to integrate these activities into their functionality to satisfy the need of the current Web generation.

Anticipating this shift, HP unveiled mini-notebooks, laptops, all-in-one PCs to regular desktops at the event. The star of the show was naturally the new HP Mini 110, which comes in three color options, two storage options and two resolution options on a standard 10.1-inch screen.

What’s impressive this time though is the option of two battery packs - the standard 3-cell Lithium-ion battery keeps the weight at 1.06kg but the 6-cell battery option lets the user use it two times longer than usual.

The HP Mini 110 is expected to cost US$299 and up and will be available from 28 May 2009 (Black Swirl version). The Pink Chic and White Swirl versions will be due 30 June 2009. (more…)

The main Bing homepage will be the quintessential starting point into a world of wiser decision-making.

SHOWCASE: Microsoft is set to unveil Bing.com fully on June 3 - its latest incarnation of what the next landscape of search should be. While the company prefers to classify the Bing service as a ‘decision engine’, the intention is to position it as ‘not just another search engine’. See here for a quick video ad on what Bing is about.

Microsoft intends for Bing to build on the benefits of today’s search engines but move beyond this with a new approach to user experience with intuitive tools that allow for better decision-making. The site will initially focus on four key verticals: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition and finding a local business.

Here’s a quick video explaining the philosophy behind Microsoft’s Bing. This video requires Silverlight which you can download here.

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Will there ever come a time when one smartphone rules over the rest? Knowledge at Wharton finds out.

Knowledge at Wharton lets users download an audio file commentary of their news. We’ve included the link here. It’s a playable MP3 audio file.

T&A: Knowledge at Wharton online business journal released a report asking the question if there will soon be one smartphone company emerging to become the overall market winner.

Basically, this seems to be a trend now, considering that computer operating systems were jostling for the same position in the late 1970s and early 1980s until Bill and company hit jackpot thanks to the IBM-compatible PC.

Today however, the smartphone market is far more fragmented than it ever was. Smartphones today allow users to web surf, email, manage calendars beyond making phone calls and watching the latest bloopers. Players like BlackBerry, Apple, Palm, the Symbian guys (Nokia especially), Google Android and Microsoft are all vying for that sweet spot. What’s complex however is the dominance the telecom providers (like AT&T in the US, Sprint for the Palm Pre, etc.) have over these device manufacturers.

According to Wharton, if this isn’t a game-changing tipping point, nobody would know what is. Will there be a consolidation of just one or two dominant operating systems or will the fragmentation hamper the growth of the industry? The attraction however lies in the locking in of users once their minds are fixed on a particular smartphone. This is because the entire ecosystem has a ‘locking in’ effect and it would be extremely difficult to switch platforms without busting both familiarity and contract. (Editor opinions: 1) (more…)

Among the seven APAC stores, Skype users in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines can now buy the FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset and have it delivered for free to their homes.

CORP TALK: Looks like today’s a day for VoIP news. Following on the iTalkBB post, Skype has announced a team-up with In Store Solutions (a global e-commerce provider) to make the Skype Online Shop available to users in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

The Skype Online Shop allows users in the region to browse and buy a range of Skype Certified accessories and hardware from In Store Solutions with the convenience of having the items shipped to them for free.

“We are excited to extend the Skype shop in Asia Pacific and make available to our users Skype Certified accessories which can enhance their user experience by broadening how and where they use Skype,” said Dan Neary, Asia Pacific General Manager and Vice President for Skype. “This further illustrates our commitment to our users, providing them with a richer Skype experience and allowing them to continue their Skype conversations wherever they are.”

Hot on the list is the best-selling FREETALK Wireless headset and Buddy web camera. A check shows that the headset costs S$159.10 in Singapore, RM385.38 in Malaysia, Php 5,167.97 in Philippines and 1,119,300 rupiah in Indonesia. For a full list of what’s in store, check out the main store site here.

CORP TALK: iTalk Global Communications, Inc. (iTalkBB) launched its Singapore arm - iTalkBB Singapore Pte. Ltd. - with the aim to extend initial presence in the South-east Asian region. Based out of Virginia, USA, iTalk has been known to be one of the pioneers of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) revolution.

With iTalkBB Singapore, users can now make local and global unlimited calling plans at a fixed nominal monthly fee. There are 2 general plans offered, each with a 2-year contract and contract-free: iTop Singapore 11 and 16 Plans for Singapore calls only (S$11.99 and S$16.99 per month) and iTop Global 33 and 39 Plans for calls to and from Singapore and 28 other countries (S$33.99 to S$39.99 per month). Both the 11 and 33 Plans come with a 2-year contract. 

All four plans come with unlimited talk time but the Global Plans allow subscribers to enjoy free unlimited local and international calls to 29 countries (China, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.). Value-added features including call waiting, three-way conferencing, caller ID, voicemail and call forwarding come with the plans at no extra charge.