Archive for May, 2006

From the “we should have reported this earlier and didn’t” department comes news from [url=http://www.emsnow.com/npps/story.cfm?ID=19360]emsnow.com[/url] that the Asus R2H has been delayed from release until July or August.

Asus’s product manager Alvin Chou said, “The performance and reliability of the machines, particularly in boosting the gaming experience and battery life, are being maximized to offer users a much better overall experience.” The company is also working on getting better specs in time for the release in the system.

According to Asus they will also be using their Power4 Gear + technology on their battery and say it will give them 30 minutes more over the Samsung Q1.

As for price they also revealed that the system will be under $1,000 and are trying to hit under $900. The system will include a version with and without GPS built in so there will be cheaper models available.

[update- Chippy] I’ve spotted on [url=http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l=&s=1582&a=179311&po=10,00.asp] PCMag.com[/url] that the Asus was spotted at WinHEC “listing it’s UMPC with an Intel Core Duo processor.”
[update2 02.06.06 21:31 CET] ASUS Germany have told us that the CORE DUO STORY is not true. “Die Aussage mit dem Intel Duo Core Prozessor stimmt nicht.” (The story about the core duo processor is not true.) Shame. The excitement was good while it lasted!
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The 500- Euro laptop has arrived in Europe. (Yes, you may laugh now if you’re a North American consumer)

Through golem.de we have just learned that the laptop/notebook price wars in Europe are continuing and the price has just broken through the 500 Euro ($650) barrier.

This means trouble for the consumer UMPC market in Europe as the price differential between like-for-like spec laptops and UMPC’s gets wider. In fact, the premium now stands at over 100%. Double the price!

The notebook in question is based on a Celeron-M at 1.3Ghz and the rest of the specs match or better those of the two Origami-based UMPC’s available. For Samsung especially, this is bad news as their marketing strategy seems much more consumer oriented. The Paceblade Easybook and Tablet Kiosk eo, the other UMPC’s on the market, are being sold through specialists to a narrower, more mobile-focused customer base and won’t be affected so much.

The strategy for Samsung could go any of the following ways.

1. Introduce extra value to the Q1 by including accesories, software and content.
2. Increase marketing and sales training activities
3. Lower prices for the current Q1.
4. Introduce a low-end base-model UMPC.
5. Do nothing and pray for rich, mobile-aware customers.

Point 4 is particularly interesting because of the VIA-based $700 Samsung Q1 rumor.

If I was running Samsung Q1 marketing, i’d be thinking about adding a free docking-station and keyboard to the Q1 and then bringing in a low-end stripped down Q1 UMPC (no ethernet and vga-out ports) with a built in a digital TV module (as they do already in Korea) and inculude a digital TV contract. Sell for 400,- Euro plus 15,- Euro per month. Dare I suggest that they use a VIA chipset to enable hardware (low-power) MPEG2/4 decoding and tv-out port?

Steve / Chippy.

This is more of a test post really, but i’m publishing here a short video sequence I made of the Paceblade Easybook P7. No commentary included!

Actually the video is pretty, no, make that ‘very’ boring but if you’re thinking about buying the Paceblade, you might want to see the Paceblade on-screen keyboard, a video running and an old version of Need for Speed (was still fun!). The more entertaining bit of the video starts at 4:18.

I’m quite impressed with YouTube. Seems like a good way to share videos and save server bandwidth! Anyone heard any bad stories?

Steve / Chippy.

The summer of Ultra-Mobile PC’s is hotting up despite the rain continuing to fall here in Cologne, Germany. Just what we need for the World Cup starting in just over a week! Having put the new portal live, its time to re-visit some of the rumours and teasers in the UMPC world and get my RSS filters set up! Here’s the watch-list and some highly accurate guesswork (!) on the details.

New Nokia Internet Tablet.
This is the device that really could stir things up in the UMPC market. Nokia have actually spoken in public about this too so its highly likely to make it to market. I’m not sure how close it will be in specification to their communicator products but one assumes that if they dont put any 2G, GPRS or UMTS capability into it, it won’t cut across the current communicator sales and they can get creative with keybaords, a bigger screen and a keyboard. Probability: 90%
Our guess on specs: Late summer release. $550. Slightly bigger screen. Better processor. Linux based. Keyboard.

Samsung Q1 with VIA processor.
This one is strictly a rumor (that no-one has formally denied yet!) I really cant imagine Intel (or Microsoft) letting Samsung simply drop a VIA onto the same UMPC motherboard and letting them compete head to head. No-one, even Samsung, is going to benefit from that. Its possible Samsung could remove some of the interfaces (VGA, Ethernet) and make a stripped down 20GB version I guess. We’ll have to wait and see.
Probability 25%
Our guess on specs: Late summer release. $750. Via processor. Reduced Q1 specs.

Averatek AHI.
We havent heard any more about this since I4U carried the (now removed) news. Its an interesting product but I hope the design matures a bit from the ‘UMPC-R-US’ looks that it has in the preview images. Status: Rumor. Probability: 60%. Known specs are in the product portal.

Founder Mininote.
This one is acttually available in China now according to a forum post. It’s rumored not to be a Microsoft UMPC but who cares, if its a an Ultra-Mobile PC, its a UMPC. Right?
Probability (outside China) 80%. Specs are already in the product portal.

Pepperpad plus.
The word is that there will be a Pepperpad plus and we hear on the grapevine that there may be an announcement due soon. The report seems to be reliable and if so, it will be the first AMD UMPC device on the market. Probability: 100%
Our guess on release date: Early Autumn. Journal entry. Product specs.

Flybook V33i.
This has already been confirmed. Availability is imminent. The V33 is a Fujitsu P1510-like convertable device with Pentium-M and GPRS-EDGE connectivity. The price looks like it’s over 2000 Euro.
Probability:100%

DualCor cPC
Ho hum. I really don’t know if i’m excited about this device or not. It seems to be trying to achieve too much. It looks like it will make it to market though. Another 3 months is the rumour.
Probability: 90%

Asus R2H
Another Origami-based UMPC looks likely with the Asus R2H. Its been held back for tweaking we understand but looks like it will be with us in the 3rd quarter. (Jul-Sept) Probability: 100%

Price wars.
Everyone can look forward to the results of more competition and market maturity as people start to learn and understand more about UMPC mobility. Better products and prices!

Finally, keep an eye on Carrypad. The journal RSS feed is available here.

Steve / Chippy.

Steve Paine over at [url=http://www.carrypad.com]CarryPad.com[/url] has just posted a nice [url=http://www.carrypad.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=9]in depth review of the PaceBlade EasyBook P7[/url].

Now that these devices are available in Europe and look like a viable buy for UMPC purchasers his review is a welcome review for people thinking about picking one up. (more…)

I’m very pleased to be able to report that we’ve just launched a new portal and gallery for UMPC devices.

On the new portal you’ll find easy access to all our previously published reports along with RSS and search facilites. (I’m still migrating some from the blogger journal into the new portal) Also available is the first of our UMPC reviews - The Paceblade Easybook P7 review.
Through the new front-end, you’ll also be able to access the other areas of the site:




The journal will continue as a more informal and quick-hit channel. The gallery is a new feature that we hope to extend as time goes on, and the links and product portal continue as before.

Take a look at the new UMPC review, the site and the gallery and let us know what you think. I’m totally web-design-blind from the last months work so the feedback will be useful!

Regards
Steve / Chippy.

Tags:
UMPC,Paceblade,Review

[url=http://www.winfuture.de]Winfuture.de[/url] sent me a link to some [url=http://www.winfuture.de/news,25602.html]new images[/url] they got from WinHec this past week.

Microsoft had a lot of stuff to say about the new UMPC devices and how they feel the form factors will be changing in the next couple years. (As well as a bunch of Vista info.)

One of the more interesting pictures they showed was the Xbox controller looking device that supposedly is a gaming style UMPC. Though Microsoft pointed out that they would not be creating this device they were hoping the manufacturers would design UMPCs like that.

They also showed a media UMPC:
[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/winhec2006/umpc_media_small.jpg[/img]

I started looking online for some other pictures and I found this picture on flickr.com from a user named [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratsinis/152226794/]ratsini[/url] that showed what looks to be an AMD UMPC.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/winhec2006/amd_umpc.jpg[/img]

For more pictures including a GPS enabled UMPC check out the [url=http://www.winfuture.de/index.php?page=wfv4/BSv2/scg-ia.php&id=1809&seite=2]winfuture.de image gallery[/url]

Also Microsoft has WinHec keynotes speeches and info [url=http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/default.mspx]on their website[/url]

[b]Update May 31st:[.b] Jeff from [url=http://www.apexwin.com/]Apex Software[/url] pointed out that the “AMD UMPC” is actually a tablet from
[url=http://www.xybernaut.com]Xybernaut[/url].

Thanks Jeff (more…)

There’s no point hiding information. Google will find it sooner or later.

With that in mind, i’ve decided to cut out the middle man and share my UMPC-related OPML file. For those that don’t know what an OPML file is, its basically a list of RSS/Atom feeds in a file that you can import into RSS news aggregators. Its the list of feeds I watch to keep myself updated with news from the UMPC sector.

I’ve posted the file and linked it on the Carrypad Links page. For other related feeds, go over to share.opml.org where there are some great lists.

Coming up in the next week we’ve got the Paceblade Easybook P7 full review, a Sharp Zaurus CL3200 full review and new additions to the portal including the Carrypad UMPC photography portal, a new reports portal (which will contain all our reports in an easy-to-access format) and the new logo! Thrill of thrills!

Regards
Steve / Chippy.

[url=http://blog.tokash.org/]John Tokash[/url] received an email from Martin at [url=http://www.tabletkiosk.com/]TabletKiosk[/url] with an update on the battery life issues the eo has been having. A fix has been found, and it will require eo owners to send their UMPC into TabletKiosk’s offices for the update to take place. Apparently, there were some issues with defective cords and capacitors with the initial production run.

For more info, and the full email from Martin, check out [url=http://blog.tokash.org/2006/05/26/tabletkiosk-eo-battery-fix/]Tokash’s Blog[/url].
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As I suspected after the collaborative testing effort with the Tablet Kiosk eo, one of the two battery life problems was related to hardware. John Tokash has reported that TK have found a problem:

we have identified a set of defective cords / capacitors on the initial production run causing the high power drain

Tracing faulty components is an extremely difficult task and as a reseller, TK will have had to work hard with the original design manufactuer to get this sorted out. Although it will require a hardware recall, TK say they will offer accessory discounts as compensation to affected customers.

I guess it will have a knock-on effect for all resellers of the Amtek 700 as the production schedule in China is re-organised to accomodate the recall. Paceblade must be thanking their lucky stars that the Easybook P7 was released without the problem in Europe.

So that leaves just the C3 sleep-state issue to fix now and then we’ll be seeing something more realistic for battery life with this VIA-based UMPC. Having just read Ultramobilepc-tips latest post, I suspect that the ‘other updates’ mentioned are the sleep-state fixes that will help not only Tablet Kiosk but all the other resellers.

Regards
Steve / Chippy.

[url="www.origamiportal.com/link.php?linkid=Sony"][img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/sony%20umpc/sony_umpc_ux_small.jpg[/img][/url]

DigitalWorldTokyo.com just did [url=http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/2006/05/review_sony_vaio_vgnux50_handh.php]a review of the Sony UX50[/url] and they posted some mixed reactions to it.

The reviewer liked the port replicator that doubles as a cradle and sports three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, a 15-pin D-sub for connecting a monitor and an Ethernet port.

Also there is a video of the startup from standby which seemed pretty fast.

However the reviewer did say that the keyboard needed better tacticle feedback and needed to be less cramped to be useful.

The author also seems concerned at the small screen size saying that it is hard to look at for extended periods of time.

On a different note, [url="www.origamiportal.com/link.php?linkid=Sony"]Sony[/url] has the [url=http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_UX_Series&Dept=computers]UX listed[/url] on its site for $1,799.99 and the full product specs sheet can be found on their site [url=http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/VGNUX180Pspec.pdf]here[/url] (more…)

Anton_nym [url=http://www.computeractive.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2157050/via-hold-buying-origami-pc]posted a link[/url] in our [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=422]forums[/url] to a story on Computeractive.co.uk that is claiming VIA is saying that consumers should hold off on getting a UMPC becasue the systems were rushed to market.

Colin Brix, the chipset platform group international marketing specialist was quoted as saying, ‘Some of the first models we are seeing are not at their optimum,’ he said.’The technology is there, but for early devices they are really rushed.’

He also claimed that the manufactuers are the ones driving up the cost on the PaceBlade and the TabletKiosk eo, ‘We sell the chips cheaper [than Intel]. Whether [manufacturers] want to save that cost and pass it on to customers – that’s their choice.’

This is a strange comment from the chip manufacturer of the devices, since it seems that it could stop people from buying the VIA based devices. Though I suppose trying to save face when a system makes your chip look bad may also be a good way to play it. (If you don’t want them to use your chip any longer)

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Forum member Dmcll just let us know that Best Buy is currently listing the Samsung Q1 as sold out again.

So for those that missed the second batch of Q1s available from the site more will be available soon.

However, all is not lost,
[url=http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?edc=972816]CDW still has them in stock[/url] so you can order it from there instead of waiting for Bestbuy to get them replenished. (more…)

Tnnm just [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=416&forum=1&post_id=2173]posted a link on our forums[/url] about a Samsung Q1 review on [url=http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?page=6843&head=0]TrustedReviews.com[/url] that had the following quote:

“The UMPC is being marketed as an alternative to a full size notebook, but when it comes to text entry it’s a far from convenient tool. In fact you’ve probably already read reviews criticising the Q1 for this very point, but I’m not going to do that. You see after meeting with Samsung last week, I walked away in the knowledge that the USB keyboard travel pack will now be bundled with the Q1 at no extra cost.”

That is great if it is real. The added functionality of being able to have a keyboard if you want it without spending the $99 that it is currently being sold for is a welcome improvement. I am hoping the keyboard travel pack includes the carrying case. With both items it would be perfect.

The reviewer also gave the device a nice 7 out of 10 so people definitely are liking this device. (more…)

Here’s a great tip for UMPC owners. If you need an alternative case for your baby, try this:

Its a double-height CD case with the CD sleeves taken out. As you can see, it works very well with the Amtek 700 derivatives and even provides space for your phone or, dare we say it, a power supply!

Thanks to Carrypad and ‘JKK’ and our mystery man from Finland for the tip and if anyone out there has photo’s of cases or ‘protective solutions’, let us know and we’ll add them to our image gallery.

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