On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Calling Google's Project Glass "just a  start," Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps argues "like mobile and tablets today, in three years, wearable computing devices will matter to every product strategist."

Wearables have enormous potential for uses in health and fitness, navigation, social networking, commerce, and media. "Imagine," asks Epps, ".. video games that happen in real space. Or glasses that remind you of your colleague’s name that you really should know. Or paying for a coffee at Starbucks with your watch instead of your phone. Wearables will transform our lives in numerous ways, trivial and substantial, that we are just starting to imagine."

Wearables will "enter the mainstream by exploiting the relative strengths of the big five platforms" (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft) says Epps in her blog post.

Atmel Corporation is in beta with XSense, a flexible touch-panel technology that you can roll it up).

Atmel says XSense touch will not only enable a new generation of smartphones and tablets, but also transform the large screen market as well.

Based on a proprietary roll-to-roll metal mesh technology, XSense touch sensors offer such advantages as “flawless” touch performance, enhanced noise immunity, low sheet resistance and low power consumption.

Product designers can turn touch-based concepts into functional designs at lower total system costs compared to current market alternatives.

Go Atmel XSense

News on Intel's plans for tablets starts emerging from IDF 2012, Beijing-- including an Ultrabook-tablet hybrid design and a specification list for future Windows 8 tablets.

First, the Ultrabook-tablet hybrid. Named "Cove Point" (or Letexo, depending on who you ask) the design is similar to the Asus Transformer and its ilk, using both touchscreen and a keyboard.

However unlike the Transformer (which uses a clamshell design), the Cove Point display slides out of the keyboard, and has a number of folding modes depending on how the user will use the device.

The prototype seen at IDF 2012 runs the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and carries an Ivy Bridge CPU. It has a 12.5" display, x2 USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port.

Specifications are also available for other future Windows 8 Intel tablets-- Atom Z2760 dual-core Clover Trail processor, 9 hours of battery life, 3G or 4G connections and NFC and Wifi Direct capability. Weight should be under 700 grams, while proposed thickness is under 9mm.

Watch IDF 2012 Beijing Day 1 Highlights

Go Intel Shows Off Ultrabook-Tablet Hybrid Running Windows 8 (Wired)

As European and US Blackberry sales plunge, RIM is going for other territories-- specifically MEA, as it prepares to open a flagship BlackBerry store amongst the glitzy malls of Dubai.

The Dubai store will measure up to 140 square metres and will be the first of series of stores across the Middle East, Bloomberg reports. RIM is still doing good business in the M. East, and plans to open stores in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

Customising the M. Eastern BlackBerry stores is mobile phone distributor Axiom.

RIM is also looking at the African market-- Bloomberg says the company plans to open flagship stores in Nairobi, Kenya, Lagos and Nigeria.

According to IDC Q4 2011 BlackBerry shipments in MEA total 2.29 million, doubling from the same period in 2011. This contrast with Europe and the US, where customers are replacing BlackBerries with iPhones or Androids.

Go RIM Plans M. Eastern Retail Push With Dubai Store (Bloomberg)