I wanted to take a moment to let you know about a new web site I’ve just launched, called mobiputing. As you can probably guess from the name, mobiputing is and will continue to be a sister site to Liliputing. But while Liliputing is focused on netbooks and mobile computing hardware and software generally, my aim with mobiputing is to cover the world of smartphone apps.

Right now there’s a pretty heavy focus on iPhone and Android applications on the site, because that’s where most of the development has been recently (and because I happen to have a Google Nexus One Android phone and an iPod Touch to test out new apps). But I’m hoping to touch on most of the major platforms, and I’ve already started lining up writers to help out with app reviews and recommendations for other platforms including WebOS.

While the netbook market was just getting started when I launched Liliputing, smartphones have clearly been around for a little while. But it’s an exciting time in the smartphone space, with Android phones like the Nexus One giving the iPhone some serious competition in terms of specs and available applications. And Microsoft is set to launch the most significant revision to its mobile operating system in a decade later this year.

Of course, I’ll also continue covering software development that’s relevant to the mobile computing space at Liliputing. So you can still expect to see the occasional post about Ubuntu, MeeGo, Jolicloud, Android, and Chrome OS. But if you’re at all interested in news about smartphone apps and operating systems, I hope you’ll check out mobiputing.

Adobe has finally gotten around to announcing one of the worst-kept secrets in the mobile computing space: The next version of Adobe Flash will take advantage of GPU acceleration features to enable HD video playback on low power computers with NVIDIA ION graphics. This means if you’ve got a machine like the Acer AspireRevo desktop or HP Mini 311 laptop with an Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, you should be able to stream 1080p Flash video smoothly. Right now even some high bitrate standard definition video looks choppy and slideshowesque on these devices. Unfortunately, it looks like netbooks with Intel’s integrated graphics will be left out in the dust for now.

Flash Player 10.1 will support GPU acceleration for NVIDIA ION, GeForce, and Tegra devices, so the benefits won’t be limited to ION-powered netbooks. You should also notice lower CPU load on higher end computers with NVIDIA GeForce graphics. And while we haven’t really seen many devices based on NVIDIA’s ARM-based Tegra platform hit the streets yet, these upcoming Smartbooks should also be supported… and possibly even the Zune HD which has a Tegra chipset.

Adobe is also announcing the end of Flash Lite, which was a separate version of Flash designed to run on mobile phones. Instead, Flash Player 10.1 will be able to run on phones including those using the following operating systems: Google Android, Palm WebOS, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry. The iPhone isn’t supported yet because Adobe and Apple haven’t gotten down to adding support for Flash 10.1 to Safari, but that could still happen before Flash 10.1 is released… because it’s not expected to be widely available until the first half of 2010.

Update: You can find a video demonstrating HD Flash video playback on an HP Mini 311 laptop with NVIDIA ION graphics after the break, courtesy of Notebooks.com.
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The other day Engadget editor Joshua Topolsky wrote an interesting commentary about trying to get real work done on his iPhone 3GS. The verdict? He couldn’t. The on-screen keyboard certainly didn’t help matters, but the biggest problem was the lack of multi-tasking support. How often do you find yourself trying to do work on a computer that requires a single window only?

Not everyone sees things the same way though. BlackRimGlasses’ Ethan Kaplan says he barely uses his Dell Inspiron Mini 9 anymore, because he finds the iPhone 3GS to be just as easy to use, if not easier in most situations. He says he can type just as fast using the on-screen keyboard, which is more of a dig against the Mini 9 keyboard than a word of praise for the iPhone’s. There are also a number of applications that have been optimized for the iPhone, and while it actually has a slower processor than the Mini 9, Kaplan says it feels faster.

Of course, he makes no mention of the lack of multitasking support. Presumably he can get buy without it, while Topolsky can’t. And to be fair, plenty of other smartphones running Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry OS, PalmOS or WebOS can run more than one application at a time. But in addition to multitasking support, a good netbook also gives you a nearly full-sized touch-typable keyboard, a higher resolution and larger screen, and the ability to plug in peripherals like a mouse if you’re not happy with the built-in touchpad. On the downside, they’re bigger and heavier than smartphones, and you can’t typically carry them in your pocket.

Personally, I’ve found I have little use for smartphones and a whole lot of use for netbooks. Almost everything I do online requires a higher resolution display, touch-typable keyboard, and the ability to toggle between programs. But where do you fall? If smartphones were a bit faster, ran Firefox (which they will soon), and met most of your software needs, would you still want a netbook with its larger screen and keyboard?

Mobile technology has taken two interesting turns in the last few years. Cellphones, PDAs, and computers have started to merge so that today’s smartphones allow you to surf the web, send email, and oh yeah, make phone calls and send text messages. Over the last year cheap computers called netbooks (or mini-laptops, or something) with full sized keyboards and reasonably large screens have also appeared which provide a more full fledged internet experience on the go.

If you ask me, smartphones and netbooks serve two different purposes. A smartphone fits in your pocket and provides a stripped down internet experience. A netbook may be too big for your pocket, but since most netbooks weigh less than 3 pounds you can easily throw one in your bag and carry it with you for those times when you need to do some work on a nearly full-sized QWERTY keyboard on the go, or when you want to view web pages, videos, or other content on a roomier 7, 9, or 10 inch display. Heck, you can even make VoIP phone calls  using Skype if you really want to, but I wouldn’t really expect a netbook to replace a good cellphone.

RIM founder Mike Lazaridis, on the other hand, seems to think that a smartphone can be a replacement for a netbook. In an interview with CNET Asia, Lazaridis said he’s not worried about competition from netbooks because the new BlackBerry Storm is a netbook. Umm… OK.

I can understand why he might say that. The Storm does provide a mobile internet experience, and no CEO wants to say “yes, I’m afraid of the competition from other devices that offer more features.” But a better answer might have been “no, because netbooks don’t fit in your pocket and don’t feature always-on technology like a phone. They serve a different market than smartphones like the Storm.” But maybe that’s just me.