Editor-in-chief Mark Spoonauer directs LAPTOP's online and print editorial content and has been covering mobile and wireless technology for over a decade. Each week Mark's SpoonFed column provides his unique insights and analysis of the biggest mobile trends and news.

Sign up for the SpoonFed e-mail newsletter >>

All SpoonFed Columns

The Mobile Broadband Speed Tax: Got $23 for a Hulu Episode?
The next generation of mobile broadband is upon us. And it's fast. So fast, in some cases, that many consumers will consider ditching their home cable or DSL connection. Why not just pay a single bill...

Google's Android Favoritism Punishes Users and Partners
First it was Google Maps Navigation (Beta), which at first brought free spoken turn-by-turn directions to only the Motorola Droid (and later devices running OS 1.6 and up). Then came Google Buzz for m...

Hey Palm, Bring Back the Foleo!
At the moment things aren't looking great for Palm, the company ex-Apple exec Jon Rubinstein seemingly resuscitated when he introduced the groundbreaking webOS at the beginning of 2009. Sales for the ...

RIM: Re-Invent or Die
Did you hear? RIM's co-CEO Mike Lazaridis gave a keynote speech this week at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the biggest international stage for showing off new mobile tech. You could be forgiven for overlooking his address.

Attack of the Tweeners: Handicapping MIDs, Tablets, and Smartbooks
For every company that's excited about creating a device that falls between smart phones and netbooks, there are five others that tell me that they're still trying to figure out what problem these tweeners are trying to solve. .

SpoonFed: The iPad Has An Identity Crisis
If you go to Apple's site, the company defines its latest creation thusly: "Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." That sounds pretty exciting, b...

SpoonFed: 5 Things I Want from the Apple Tablet
The rumors are flying fast and furious on the eve of Apple's introduction to its "latest creation". And I don't care about them. I'd rather opine what I'd like to see from the iTablet/iSlate/iPad/iIns...

SpoonFed: Has Windows Lost the Tablet War?
The January 2003 cover of LAPTOP is a bit of a running joke in our office. Beneath a picture of the HP Compaq TC1000 Tablet PC, it reads, "Does This Change Everything?".

Why the World Needs a Google Phone and Googlebook
Have you heard about the Google Vacuum? Or the Google Juicer? Late last week the Web was buzzing about Google selling its own Android phone, known as the Nexus One. And today TechCrunch reported that ...

SpoonFed: Best & Worst in Mobile Tech 2009
When I look back at the past year in mobility, I see two distinct camps. Those who stepped up to the plate, and those who lost their way. The winners took risks and out-innovated the competition. The ...

Can Intel's Atom App Store Stop ARMDroid?
When I heard this week that Intel would be releasing a software developer kit and an App Store for Atom-based netbooks, I was left scratching my head at first. The term netbook implies that these mach...

5 Challenges for Google's Chrome OS
It's not every day that a company attempts to reinvent computing, and yet that's exactly what Google is trying to accomplish with its Chrome OS, which the search giant says will find a home in netbook...

Nokia and Other Netbook Newbies Have Lots to Learn
I'm not against tech companies entering new markets. But what I am against is brands trying to cash in on hot trends by delivering products that fall well short of the established players, provide zero differentiation, or both..

Number of Apps Won't Decide Smart Phone War
This week Apple passed a milestone that probably makes some competitors feel like throwing up their hands. The company announced that it had surpassed 100,000 apps available in the App Store.

Google's Free Mobile GPS for Android is Great, But is it Fair?
There are a lot of nifty features on the new Motorola Droid, Verizon Wireless' latest attempt to derail the unstoppable iPhone. But the one that stands out most for me is Google Maps Navigation (Beta).

Windows 7 is Simple, Notebook Shopping Still Complicated
Say you asked the average notebook buyer the difference between a Dell Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, or Adamo. Or what separates the HP Pavilion from a Pavilion HDX or Envy.

What Would You Pay to Touch Your Notebook?
About a year ago I brought home a rugged laptop for testing, which just so happened to have a touchscreen. My then four-year-old daughter, who had just started to become accustomed to touchpads (yes, ...

Why Android is the New Windows Mobile
This is the part where I eat crow. Though I dismissed Android earlier this year for being an also-ran mobile operating system, saying that it would be a better fit for netbooks, Gartner now says that ...

Is the Pen Mightier Than Touch?
While it's possible that Apple's hyped-beyond-belief tablet (now believed to be announcing in a January) will sport a stylus, I get the feeling that Steve Jobs & Co. believe that user interfaces h...

This is War: Nvidia Ion vs. Intel ULV
After meeting with several notebook manufacturers over the last few weeks, it seems pretty clear that there are two schools of thought when it comes to the post-netbook era. There are those forging ah...

Why Microsoft Needs a Zune Tablet
When you pick up the new Zune HD, you can't help but be impressed by its brilliant OLED display, multitouch-friendly Web browser, and slick user interface. Not only does its software rival the iPod to...

Why Snow Leopard is the TiVo of Operating Systems
The last few weeks, I've been really mad at my cable remote. For some unknown reason, the DVR controls just stopped working. So, I can't pause live TV (a real help when you have small children). As a ...

3G Netbooks Won't Sell Without Data Plan Overhaul
You've probably seen the latest ad. It's the unflappable Bill Kurtis, riding in a motorcycle sidecar, extolling the virtues of a netbook with integrated AT&T mobile broadband. It's a cute, relativ...

Wal-Mart Puts Best Buy, Netbooks on Notice
Someone forgot to tell Wal-Mart it's not Black Friday. Yesterday we posted a review of a 17-inch Toshiba notebook with a price you usually don't see until the annual tradition of holiday human trampling.

Can the CrunchPad Beat Apple's Tablet? It Doesn't Need To.
The race is on. And the deadline is September, October, or November. Or early next year. Or whenever Apple decides to launch its rumored touchscreen tablet. Windows-notebook manufacturers simply don't...

SpoonFed: For Sony, the Silos Can't Dissolve Soon Enough
When I think about a lot of Sony's 2009 mobile products, my reaction is the following: meh. For instance, the company has a slick looking netbook coming out soon, but it costs $100 more than most comp...

Google Chrome OS: More of a Threat to Apple than Microsoft
When you look at the pain points Google plans to address with its ambitious Chrome OS, it's hard not to get a sense of deja vu. The search giant has said that its upcoming operating system, which will...

SpoonFed - Dear Hulu: Stop Being Jerks
This is getting out of hand. Hulu--the popular online video site, where more than 40 million surfers a month go to watch such popular shows as The Daily Show and Family Guy with the click of a mouse--se...

How Palm and Sprint Should Answer the New iPhone--Now.
It's a one-two punch that, on the surface, looks brutal. Merely two weeks after Palm launched its Hail Mary pass with the Pre, Apple has hit back hard with its 3.0 software update for the $99 iPhone 3...

SpoonFed: Why Verizon is Losing the Smart Phone War
It's the hottest summer in years for smart phones--and it looks like Verizon Wireless will get burned. Sprint's Palm Pre is selling like gangbusters, where you can find it; Verizon says it will have the Pre in January.

SpoonFed: Will Smartbooks Sink or Swim?
They're getting bigger--and they're about to get smaller, too. Apparently there's a fork in the road up ahead for netbooks, and the two paths couldn't diverge more.

SpoonFed: Is Intel an Innovator, a Bully, or Both?
At the moment Intel has two faces. One shows a company stocked with mild-mannered engineering rock stars portrayed in the chip maker's clever new ads.

SpoonFed: Why Students Will Diss the Kindle
Soon after the $489 price of the Kindle DX was announced, Amazon's big-screen follow-up to the Kindle 2, I scoured Twitter for early reactions. The consensus: the device is just too expensive for students.

SpoonFed: Windows 7 Doesn't Need to Wow, It Needs to Work
When one of the most talked about features of your upcoming operating system is its ability to emulate an older one, you have big problems. That was my initial reaction when I heard that the new Re...

Android's Future? It's Not Phones...
What's the biggest buzz these days surrounding Google's hyped open-source platform for smart phones? Acer, MSI, ASUS, and others are looking toward the Android OS for a new class of low-cost netbooks...

Will Netbooks Save or Sink PCs?
During Intel's latest earnings call CEO Paul Otellini predicted that netbook sales would double this year, and he claimed that "the worst is now behind us." But one has to wonder whether PC sales hav...

Why Dumb Phones are the New Netbooks
They're starting to look more like smart phones, and some of them cost next to nothing. Last week AT&T rolled out a bunch of new handsets that it has categorized as quick messaging devices, like the LG Neon and Samsung Magnet.

Why Palm's WebOS Could Shake up the Netbook World
Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Toshiba. Nearly every PC manufacturer is looking to cash in on the growth of smart phones by either bringing out their own devices or by potentially acquiring an established player like Palm or Research in Motion.

Will Anyone Pay $2,000 (or even $1,000) for a Laptop?
Unless you're an A.I.G. executive about to receive a bonus, chances are you don't have two grand to drop on a new notebook. And yet here comes Dell announcing the $1,999 Adamo. At 0.65 inches thick, i...