Update: We’ve tested this device now. It’s got some great features. Check out a video and some notes here. Looking good with some potentially unique features for the netbook market and further blurring the lines between UMPC and netbook is th M912 convertible touchscreen netbook. Or should we call it a convertible tabetPC? Gigabyte previously told me that this one wasn’t to be released but it looks like they changed [...]

Yes, its true, we have no lives. If you’re in the same boat, or just a bit curious, join us at any point over the next 3 or 4 hours to ask questions, look at devices or just poke fun at us! We’ll be in the chat session and running live video and audio from about 2100 GMT+2. (About 30 minutes from now.) UMPCPortal Live.

‘Desirable’ is the word and I base that thought purely on the looks on the MSI Wind, just as a large percentage of netbook buyers are going to do. I’m almost trying to convince myself that I need one after watching this video. More momentum to MSI’s marketing efforts as the rocky waters of Computex approach.   Oh the power of a decent Internet video! Click through to the Crave [...]

Two posts in a row that pick out errors in other peoples reports. I’m starting to sound like a CrankyGeek! I will be more positive. I will be more positive. I will…. Fudzilla briefly tested the 1.6Hz Diamondville version of the Atom processor and don’t appear to be too impressed. “… the CPU doesn’t really do well in multi-media applications. It doesn’t even render that well, as Cinebench was incredibly [...]

The MSI Wind seems to be doing the UK rounds at the moment and I’ve just been looking at the VR-Zone review. Its nice to see the internals (really!) and I’m really impressed with the silky black version. However, their power drain testing is somewhat strange. They’ve measured the power drain at the mains outlet and then used that to calculate what the device will draw when on battery. What [...]

It certainly looks like the MSI Wind is taking point in the mininote race right now. Everyone seems to love the design that’s slightly bigger and heavier than the Eee PC 900. The price, style and specifications seem to be spot on. There’s a tough 2 weeks ahead for all mininote product managers but with reports like this one from Crave being published, MSI’s product managers can be happy that [...]

I’m a big fan of using UMPCs as desktops. In my normal daily work there’s nothing that I can’t do on my UMPC and with the future looking good for more powerful devices, even normal desktop users should be able to run their daily work on a UMPC but it doesn’t work if you keep having to plug cables in and out all over the place. A simple, single cable [...]

Latest information and new links are being added to the Aspire ONE product page. Hot on the heals of the Dell Mininote leak are these images which just dropped into our forum. This posts are titled ‘Aspire One.’ It’s got the same Touchpad as seen on the HP 2133 and what appears to be an 8.9″ screen. Images show a, probably linux-based, user interface. Anyone recognize that UI? Thanks ‘Liza’ [...]

This should be music to the ears of many a pro-mobile fan. The Isaiah CPU from VIA, the CPU expected to return 2-4 times performance over the C7 CPU and said to be a pin-for-pin replacement, will launch with a ‘U’ version that will go right down to 1.0Ghz. The TDP at 5W is increased over the 3.5W of the 1.0Ghz C7 but presumably it will make up for that [...]

Firefox is my recommendation for any device running a ‘low-end’ platform due to its speed and reduced memory footprint and I encourage everyone reading this website to make sure they test out the release candidate ASAP and download the final  version when its  available. If the fact that it’s fast isn’t enough for you, how about being a part of a world record attempt? Mozilla wants as many people as [...]

Update. New Pics and a few lines of confirmation in a Dell blog Spotted by Gizmodo at the ‘D’ conference, Mr Dell and his mini notebook. Very little information was given by Michael Dell to Gizmodo when they, apparently, bumped into him at the All Things Digital conference. Apparently it’s for developing countries but it looks a bit too shiny for that. The smart money is on an 8.9″ screen, [...]

Yesterday, I completed the final part of a series of upgrades that have been done to my Q1 Ultra to bring it up to what is close to my ideal all-round UMPC device. In this article I’ll outline what I’ve done and give you some detail about my most recent upgrade, swapping the 60GB hard drive out for an 8GB flash drive. The difference is quite remarkable. Not only do [...]

There’s no proof that this is the same browser as on the iPhone but it’s an interesting one to note. The Samsung L870, an S60-based device, will feature Apples Safari Browser. The phone itself is also quite interesting in a UMPC-partner kind of way. An N82 killer? Does this mean that Apple could release the browser for other mobile operating systems? Windows Mobile? How will it implement zoom on non-multitouch [...]

News just breaking from the Google IO keynote is that Google have completed a very impressive demo of Android on an unknown mobile device. Engadget thinks its the ‘Dream’ but i’m not sure where they got that info from. Check out some great images at Android Community At the moment its looking like an iPhone-class device but remember, Android would easily scale to bigger devices and different CPU architechtures. The [...]

Among the many interesting things expected to surface next week at Computex, the Eee PC 1000 is probably one that will get a huge amount of attention. While the 1000 isn’t a device I personally find that interesting for ultra mobile usage, its clear to see where ASUSTEK are going with the Eee brand. High-value devices for the masses. Its not clear if it will launch with Atom, how much [...]

I don’t see encouraging information coming from the Window 7 chit-chat at All things Digital. I was hoping for hints of a slimmer system, a componentised architecture perhaps, ‘mobile Internet’ and ‘handheld’ keywords but all I can see is the word ‘Multitouch’ everywhere this morning. New hardware requirements, a complex software layer. Gates says: There’s a lot in Windows 7, and our goal is to produce fantastic PCs with our [...]

With a launch obviously timed to coincide with Computex next week and positioned to take advantage of the incredible growth in the low-cost mobile notebook market, the OpenBook Mini-Note, on first look, seems to be a much better product opportunity than the Nanobook was. While the Nanobook and Eee PC launched together one year ago, it was the Eee PC that stole the show based largely on price indicators but [...]