Looks like MacbookAir has a new rival: Asus S101, the newest EeePC variant. This is a high-end Eee PC version. The standard version comes with 32GB SSD and cost you $699, but additional $200 is needed for the 64GB SSD version. Launched in September, its specification includes:

• Intel Atom processor
• 1GB RAM
• 10.2″ LED screen at WSVGA (1,024 x 600) resolution
• 802.11n connectivity
• Ethernet port
• Bluetooth support
• Multitouch trackpad
• 4-in-1 memory card reader
• SSD option
• 20GB of free online storage

via apcmag.com

Researchers at MIT are working on project that will collect real-time traffic and other road conditions from drivers and share it across a network in a bid to potentially reduce commute times.

Called CarTel, it uses a computer in the car about the size of a cellphone that connects via existing WiFi networks to a web server. Across a number of drivers, the system gathers data that can be used to predict traffic routes based on real-time and historical traffic information.

"The idea is to use sensors in cars as a platform to measure things on the road going beyond just traffic to pollution and even potholes," says Samuel Madden, professor at MIT's department of electrical engineering and computer science. "We call it the mobile sensor networking project." Madden and his team have been working on this project for about three years.

MIT could have done better instead calling Dash Navigation, a Sunnyvale, California-based company that has had a similar system running for the last two years.

Earlier this year, after months of running trials, Dash launched a personal navigation device called the Dash Express that features access to real-time traffic information gathered from other Dash devices on the road and transmitted using both WiFi and cellular networks.

"We have had this built from the ground up and running 24 x 7," says Rob Currie, president and chief operating officer of Dash, "and it has about 10 million miles logged on it."

Dash and MIT's answer to what most drivers would love to know before they set out on their morning commute is promising though both technologies have some way to go before users can completely rely on them, says an analyst.

MIT's system deployed on nearly 50 Boston-area cars, most of which are taxis, tracks traffic by monitoring each vehicle's speed at different points during the trip. This week the researchers introduced new low cost hardware, a home brew of GPS antenna and WiFi access point for about $100 a pop. A Dash navigation device costs $300.

The significant innovation here is the ability of the device to quickly transfer data as the car moves at high speeds, says MIT's Madden.

"The car uploads data as it drives by open wireless access points and is very efficient in associating with them," he says. "It can take about 15 seconds to connect using a regular system but we can do it in 360 milliseconds."

That raises the question of security as open WiFi networks pose significant threats. Madden believes a commercial implementation of MIT's system would be done using partner WiFi networks such as free citywide municipal networks or hotspots from service providers. Dash meanwhile uses cellular networks to transfer the data collected.

Important as the issue is of traffic for drivers, both Dash and MIT's approach may be too alike to change how users view real time traffic data, says Bart van der Horst, managing director for research firm Canalys.

Currently collecting real time traffic data involves gathering information from existing users on the road, which means only major roads in big cities are likely to covered.

"That creates a trust issue with users," says van der Horst. "You just don't know on which roads the data will be available and when it will not."

Plus real-time traffic data is just not the focus for most device buyers right now, says van der Horst. "The PND market now is very much focused on low price and simplicity," he says.

Adding connectivity makes the device more complex and increases its price, something that manufacturers in the U.S. don't want.

That's why TomTom, for instance, has real time traffic information in partnership with Vodafone available in Europe, but not in the U.S. Neither does its rival Garmin.

Photo: MIT Device Featuring a square GPS antenna, on board diagnostics connector and WiFi antenna/ MIT

iPhone 3G Top US smartphone

In a move that takes a page straight out of Motorola’s RAZR playbook, Apple has rocketed to the top of the US sales-charts with their iPhone 3G. According to NPD, Apple has seen its iPhone 3G become the No. 2 best-selling handset in the US. Motorola’s RAZR V3 still takes top billing as the overall best-selling mobile phone in the US.

With massive iPhone 3G sales spurred by the iPhone 3G buy-up craze that defined the iconic cellphone’s US launch, the iPhone 3G is currently one of the hottest handset in the US.

What’s more, the iPhone 3G has also managed to clench a solid 17% of the US smartphone market. Thanks to the brisk sales numbers that helped the iPhone 3G become the No. 2 best-selling handset in the US, the iPhone 3G became the top-selling smartphone in the US since its launch. The top-dog smartphone, iPhone 3G, has outpaced the likes of the Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Pearl, and Palm Centro.

“The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. “While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network.”

It’s clear that the iPhone 3G has given AT&T a shot in the arm, boosting the carrier to higher highs.

So much so that 30% of iPhone 3G customers defected from other carriers for a chance to use the iPhone 3G on AT&T’s network. Of those carrier-defections, 47% came from AT&T’s top rival Verizon. A healthly 24% of defectors came from T-Mobile and 19% jumped the Sprint-ship for the good-ship AT&T.

The iPhone 3G is clearly selling well ahead of smartphone launches from Sony Ericsson (XPERIA X1), HTC (Touch HD), T-Mobile (G1), and Nokia (5800 XpressMusic Tube). As the top-dog in the US smartphone market, these new entrants are going to have a bit of a race to overtake the iPhone 3G. But, with more powerful features (like WVGA touchscreens and high megapixel cameras) and new mobile platforms (like Android and the Sony Ericsson Panel UI), the iPhone 3G could have some stiff competition. Apple is going to need to step up their game to keep the newcomers at bay. Could we see a price-drop on the iPhone 3G for this holiday shopping season?

Full press release after the jump.

1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. RIM Blackberry Curve
3. RIM Blackberry Pearl
4. Palm Centro

The NPD Group
Lee Graham, 212-333-4983
leegraham@leegraham.biz

Copyright Business Wire 200

Similar Posts:

• Study: Apple’s iPhone 3G to have “tsunami” effect on consumer smartphone market
• Apple clinches No. 3 spot in global smartphone market, RIM sees crazy growth, Nokia easily No. 1
• Analyst predicts RIM to reign in growth and lose AT&T’s favor
• Report: RIM still leads US smartphone market, Apple takes second place
• iPhone 3G shortages in the US

Even though Sprint is the only major carrier actually bleeding out subscribers , they were source of the fewest iPhone 3G AT&T converts—only 19 percent. Surprisingly—and probably gleefully, for AT&T—nearly half came from its biggest and most bitter rival, Verizon. At a 47 percent attrition rate, more fled from it than T-Mobile (24 percent) and Sprint combined, and almost double T-Mobile.

Granted, that's in part due to the fact that Verizon is simply bigger. But besides showing just how much of a boon the iPhone 3G was for AT&T in terms of bringing in new customers, it throws into relief just how much Verizon needs its own headline-grabbing handset—a role they're obviously hoping will be picked up by the BlackBerry Storm. But whether it'll actually pull in new customers, stop some from bolting or just slow 'em down out the door remains to be seen.

In the meantime, iPhone sales swallowed 17 percent of the smartphone market between January and August of this year—largely thanks to the 3G, which shoved it up from 11 percent—pushing past the Curve, Pearl and Centro. Not too shabby.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. —(Business Wire)— Oct 06, 2008 According to a new report from The NPD Group, the leader in market research for the wireless industry, 30 percent of U.S. consumers who purchased Apple’s new iPhone 3G from June through August 2008 switched from other mobile carriers to join AT&T, the exclusive mobile carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. By way of comparison just 23 percent of consumers, on average, switched carriers between June and August 2008. Nearly half (47 percent) of new AT&T iPhone customers that switched carriers switched from Verizon Wireless, another 24 percent switched from T-Mobile, and 19 percent switched from Sprint.

“The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales,” according to Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. “While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network.”

According to NPD’s “iPhone 3G Report,” before the launch of the iPhone 3G, iPhone sales represented 11 percent of the consumer market for smartphones (January through May 2008); however, after the launch of iPhone 3G, Apple commanded 17 percent of the smartphone market (January through August 2008).

The average price of a smartphone sold between June and August 2008 was $174, down 26 percent from $236 during the same period last year. During June through August 2008, the top four best-selling smartphones based on unit-sales to consumers were as follows:
1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. RIM Blackberry Curve
3. RIM Blackberry Pearl
4. Palm Centro

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically-representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. Note: Sales figures do not include corporate/enterprise mobile phone sales. For more information about NPD’s offerings in this business sector, visit http://wireless.npd.com.

[VPO]

If you have always been hankering after the MacBook Air but do not have the budget for it, here's an alternative - the Asus S101. This amazingly slim notebook won't cause you to dig into your kids' college savings, and measures a mere 0.7" thin with the following specifications :-

• Intel Atom processor
• 1GB RAM
• 10.2" LED screen at WSVGA (1,024 x 600) resolution
• 802.11n connectivity
• Ethernet port
• Bluetooth support
• Multitouch trackpad
• 4-in-1 memory card reader
• SSD option
• 20GB of free online storage

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"This is an indicator of a direction they want to go in, but this phone is just a start," says Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group. "They are not there yet."

Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic, also known as the Nokia Tube, comes with unlimited access to Nokia's music service. And yes, it bears a strong resemblance to the iPhone. But like T-Mobile's Android-based G1, the 5800 is just the first volley in a larger strategy.

The touchscreen phone will be among the first devices from Nokia's stable to support Comes With Music, a Nokia service that offers one year of unlimited access to the company's music store catalog.

With the Comes With Music service Nokia hopes to build an online music service that could potentially rival Apple's iTunes.

From the music perspective, Nokia has the hardware right. The phone has a graphic equalizer, 8-GB memory for up to 6,000 tracks, support for all main digital music formats, a 3.5mm jack and built-in surround sound stereo speakers. It also sports a 3.2-inch screen, a 3.2 megapixel camera and supports Flash-based browsing for the web.

But the music catalog is where it falters. Though users have unlimited access for a year to Nokia's catalog, they will have to make the effort to choose the music they want, say experts.

"There has been a huge push to combine MP3 and the phone market and Nokia has found a way to bridge the gap," says Enderle. "But this is also a lot of work for consumers."

Already, most users are likely to have an MP3 player or an iPhone. Building a new library that reflects their musical tastes could put additional burden on users, says Enderle.

A better way for Nokia to have implemented this would be to have a utility that can scan a user's current music catalog and then make suggestions that do not duplicate the existing tracks.

"For Nokia to make their Comes with Music idea work, it has to be simple," says Enderle.

Nokia wasn't immediately available for comment. 

The phone — minus the music service — is expected to be available worldwide beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008 for an estimated retail price of $385 (or 279 EUR) before taxes and subsidies. But with the device bundled with the Comes With Music service will be priced differently and will available early next year, said Nokia.

Nokia's Gallery of 5800 XpressMusic Photos