Faster browsing. New features. New channels.
Good news! Tomorrow, July 26th, we are releasing an update to the litl webbook software to give you more speed and more choices. Some of the improvements you’ll notice right away, and some may be harder to spot - we want to give you a quick rundown:
Faster web browsing
The webbook’s browser is now based on the latest version of Google Chrome for faster and smoother web browsing. Want to try something cool? Check out Google’s new voice search. Go to www.google.com, click the microphone icon on the search bar, and say your search aloud.
See more with TV mode
Now when you plug in your webbook to a TV, we adjust the way web pages display to take advantage of the bigger screen size. We also increased the size of the cursor and provide an extra-large overlay of what you’re typing so you don’t have to squint.
Facebook on your Mediawall
Sit back and enjoy all your Facebook photos in Mediawall, litl’s signature photo channel that turns your webbook into the world’s best photo frame. View your photos from Flickr, Picasa, Shutterfly, SmugMug, and now Facebook in a timeline or as a slideshow.
More channels, more web cards
We’ve improved the performance of your webbook so now you can have more web cards and more channels open at the same time.
And speaking of channels, you may even see a few new additions in the Card Catalog. But more on that later.
Watch for the software improvements tomorrow. As always, litl will download and install the updates - automatically, and free of charge. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it should take five to ten minutes. But it’s totally worth it.
Enjoy!
Imported from Boston
The other day, we received a call on our customer support line from a woman who wanted to know more about the litl webbook. As our support rep answered her questions, he also mentioned the fact that we are headquartered in Boston. The woman was local, and that sealed the deal.
But we think of our Boston roots as more than just a parochial appeal to New Englanders. We’re proud to be from here, and we think the city plays an integral role in litl’s DNA.
See, we’re not here to peddle a few laptops; we’re here to reinvent the personal computer, to free it from the shackles of complexity. And that’s no easy task.
Sometimes, it takes colonial buildings to foster revolutionary ideas. And when you’re in a city full of history, you know what belongs in a museum.
It was with that spirit that we set out three years ago to hit the reset button on personal computing. We rejected years of assumptions about personal computers, from user interface design to the layout of keys on the keyboard. In sum, we simplified the act of getting online. The result is the litl webbook, the first Internet computer for the home.
The Bay State is full of firsts. We built America’s first public park, public library, and public school. We invented telephones, x-rays, rocket fuel. The J. Geils Band. The first minicomputer, first transistor computer, first computer with RAM. And now, the litl webbook.
We’re from Boston. Revolution is what we do.
Now how do you like them Apples?
Our software wins some hardware
Did You Know: "litl" auto-corrects to "Kirk" on Android devices.
Last fall, the litl team made it out to the Adobe MAX conference in Los Angeles, where we showed off some of the technology we've been working on. And, in a delightful surprise, we took home one of the top honors at the Adobe MAX Awards. At a conference dominated by talk of multi-screen development, we won the multi-screen award for litl channels - our full-screen Flash applications that optimize Web content for litl's unique platform.
Our own Chuck Freedman and Chris Moody accepted the award from master of ceremonies William Shattner in what appeared to be the highlight of their lives.
Well, the trophies finally arrived in our office last week, and we have them on display atop our finest filing cabinets. We couldn't be prouder of the team who worked on litl channels. Way to (boldly) go!
A perfect 10.1
At litl, we work hard to put the latest and greatest technonology on your devices. For litl webbook users, our regular updates make your computer run faster and smoother without the hassle of installing your own plug-ins and patches.
Earlier this month, we upgraded all litl users to Adobe Flash Player 10.1. Normally we don't like to talk about anything too tech-y, but this new version of Flash is spectacular, and we want to give credit where credit is due.
Flash Player 10.1 will dramatically improve video performance for some of the web’s most popular sites. That means faster and smoother playback on your favorite shows on Hulu, or on CNN's top stories. Your litl channels like Mediawall and BakeSpace will also get zippier.
As always, we at litl will download and install all of these updates for you - automatically, and free of charge. Enjoy!
A “head-turning” design
The litl webbook has been selected as a featured product on Daily Grommet, an "online marketplace where you can discover and buy inventive, new products and learn their true stories."
Daily Grommet stumbled upon litl because of our recognition at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), and the site had high-praise for the litl webbook's "head-turning" design.
Watch Daily Grommet's video above for a walk-through of the webbook's features from litl's own Aaron Tang.
Read the Daily Grommet feature.
And the award goes to…
At this year's International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), litl proudly took home three honors: one gold award for packaging, and two bronze awards for our software and hardware. In doing so, we stood among the ranks of Microsoft, Panasonic, Samsung, Herman Miller, Oxo, and many others recognized for outstanding design. Hurrah!
Gold - “Packaging and Graphics”
“Simple, minimal and imparts a sense of quality and effort about the product within.”
Read article.
Thank you and credit to Aaron Tang and John Chuang of litl and Abbott Miller and Jeremy Hoffman of Pentagram.
See the rest of the awards after the jump here.
Ready, set, surf!
Here at litl, we are constantly working to improve the webbook and your experience with it. In our latest batch of updates, we enhanced the browser for a faster, easier web surfing experience.
Most significantly, we are now using the same browser engine as Google Chrome, so you can load sites quicker and smoother than ever. We have also changed the look when you open new web cards to enable one-click access to sites that you have frequently visited, searched, or recently deleted.
We have also done a bit of grooming. So, watch out for some cool, new animations and designs on your webbook. You may experience some delays as the software upgrades, but as always, we here at litl will download and install all of these updates for you - automatically, and free of charge. So sit back and enjoy!
In a Flash
Chuck Freedman, litl's chief developer evangelist, joined Garth Braithwaite, Leif Wells and Zach Stepek last week on their popular RIA Radio podcast.
Listen in as Chuck, Kevin Suttle, and Michelle Yaiser discuss the litl webbook, our upcoming software development kit (SDK) release, and other exciting announcements that we've planned for this week's Flash and the City conference. Let us know if we'll see you in New York!
Download interview MP3: RIA Radio interview with Chuck Freedman 05-2010
Uploading made easy with litl
The litl webbook is an Internet computer, meaning it gets content from the web instead of from a hard drive. Our Mediawall card, for example, streams photos and videos from photo sharing sites like Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug, or Shutterfly. If you lose your litl webbook, you don't lose your photos. It's great.
Of course, users still need a way to get stuff to the web. So we had to find a way for them to get their photos and videos from their cameras online from their webbooks. And it meant doing it the litl way - without folks having to sort through nested folders or filenames that sound like missile codes (CIMG0187? DSC01342?).
Enter our latest update: easy uploading.
Just plug in your camera to the webbook's USB port, and litl opens up a slideshow of your photos and videos. Litl asks if you want to upload them to the web - if you do, it does; if you don't, you can keep viewing the slideshow. That's it. Watch the video to see just how easy it is.
If you are a litl webbook user, we have already updated your software - as usual - automatically and free of charge. We also added some performance upgrades to make your web experience faster and smoother. Enjoy!
Cupcakes and webbooks
We teamed up this week with our friends at BakeSpace to host a fun Boston-area food blogger meet-up.
BakeSpace's Babette Pepaj welcomed our food-loving guests while our Chuck Freedman demonstrated some of the litl webbook's more unique kitchen capabilities. For nourishment, we enjoyed a generous supply of Boston's best cupcakes from Sweet — delicious!
Thanks to all the bloggers who joined us and a special congratulations to Sliced and Diced's Hilary who left with a shiny new litl webbook under her arm. Let's do it again soon!
More whimsy, less “computery” stuff
When people think of computers, words like “fun” and “joyful” don’t usually come to mind. That’s too bad, we’d argue. We think computers and their software take themselves far too seriously. For the most part, they’re dry and soulless.
When we designed the litl webbook and the experience of using it, we envisioned something very different. We wanted smiles and an occasional chuckle to be part of the litl experience. These unexpected moments — we call them “joy drops” — are small and subtle, but collectively they sum up to a computing experience with more whimsy and less “computery” stuff.
We've already shared David Macaulay’s delightful instructional cards that help the world learn how litl works. Yesterday, our interaction design partner, Cooper, described two more of these playful moments in an insightful blog post. Check out their videos:
litl power off from Cooper Journal on Vimeo.
litl giggle from Cooper Journal on Vimeo.
Please let us know what you think, here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. We’d love to hear your thoughts: Can computers be fun and joyful?
Photo credit: Steve took it
litl’s SDK plans, revisited by Xconomy
Chuck Freedman, litl's developer evangelist, demonstrates the BakeSpace recipes channel on the litl webbook.
We shared our plans last week to release our first-ever software development kit (SDK). It’s pretty exciting news: starting this summer, hundreds of thousands of developers will be able to build custom applications or “channels” for the litl webbook. Better yet, these developers will be using Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, the newest version of the ubiquitous web platform.
Our channels make the web—especially fun content like photos, music, games, video, recipes, and even news headlines—more useful and entertaining. Check out our Facebook Status channel, for example, to see how our users can already keep up with their social circle from across a kitchen or bedroom (or even on a large-screen television). Our BakeSpace recipe and NPR podcasting channels are worth a look, too.
Over time, we expect the new SDK will lead to many new channels for the litl webbook ... and many new ways for our users to enjoy the web. As they say, that’s a good thing!
Wade Roush from Xconomy sat down this week with litl's James Gardner, head of marketing, and Chuck Freedman, chief developer evangelist, to learn more about the SDK and its potential significance. He writes:
“The company announced last week that it’s getting ready to release a software development kit (SDK) that will enable Web and software developers to create their own custom channels for the Webbook. These channels are all built on Flash, the lingua franca of Web animation and the one type of content that doesn’t work on the iPhone or the iPad.
That’s good news for Litl customers, and it could also benefit developers. “By putting another screen, another kind of experience into homes, we’re bringing a unique audience into the market and giving independent and agency developers another audience to build for,” says Chuck Freedman, Litl’s chief developer evangelist.”
Read the rest of Roush’s article here. If you’re a developer and want to learn more, visit our developer resources website here.
Thanks, Wade, for your interest in litl. We appreciate it.
Photo courtesy of Wade Roush and Xconomy. Trademarks and copyrights referenced are the property of their respective owners. No endorsement is implied or intended.
A winning pair
Last month, in the run-up to our BakeSpace recipe channel launch, we held a “Give a litl Love” contest in which we gave away a pair of litl webbooks — one to keep and one to share. Hundreds of cooks and bakers entered through Twitter and BakeSpace, and we had a blast reading through what each of you planned to do with the extra litl. We wish we could put a litl in all of your kitchens, but, alas, we could only pick one of you!
Our lucky winner is Michelle Lashbrook from Murphy, Texas, and we wanted to share her entry with you:
“Oh *WOW* what a fantastic giveaway!! I'd absolutely LOVE to win these!! I'd share one with my beautiful new daughter-in-law so she, too, could enjoy having one on the kitchen counter while cooking up scrumptious new recipes from BakeSpace!! YUMMY!! 
I hope we win!!”
Congratulations, Michelle! We hope you and your daughter-in-law cook many a recipe with the help of your new litls. And thanks again to BakeSpace for its help with the promo.
litl webbook with big news
We announced some really exciting news this morning!
In a few short weeks, litl will be releasing our first-ever software development kit (SDK). The SDK — a set of tools for software developers — will enable developers outside of our team to create their own custom applications for the litl webbook. Better yet, the SDK will fully support Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, the newest and most powerful version of this popular web platform. Developers can learn more at our resources website and then attend the SDK's official launch on May 14.
If you're not a developer, why is this news important to you?
The litl webbook is amazingly versatile. It goes online like a a conventional laptop and helps you visit your favorite websites with its modern browser. However, it can also stand upright like an easel when its screen and keyboard are flipped around its hinge. In this new mode, users can access web content through custom applications or “channels”. Check out litl’s fun Facebook Status channel as an example. With the SDK’s release, users will benefit from a much larger selection of free and paid channels created by independent developers.
Our planned upgrade to Flash Player 10.1 is also important. Adobe's Flash is a software platform that's popular for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. The web isn't much fun without it! The new version will use the litl's processors more efficiently and will ensure your favorite websites run faster than ever — especially the ones with games and videos. When it's released on the litl, we expect to see improved performance everywhere from Club Penguin and Farmville to Hulu and Miniclip.
And, as always, upgrades like this are done automatically and at no cost to litl's webbook owners.
Let us know what you think — here, by email, or on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.
litl: sdk & flash player 10.1 on Vimeo
litl: sdk & flash player 10.1 on YouTube
Celebrating design with Design Museum Boston
Thanks to Design Museum Boston for inviting litl to participate in their launch celebration last night! They’re an exciting new group that’s coming together to “educate the public on the role of design in their lives and the contributions of design within the creative economy.”
We love great design and were happy to both attend and donate a litl webbook for their silent auction. If you also appreciate design, they’d like to hear from you.