It looks like the folks at Nokia are still working hard as ever to improve the user experience on the Nokia Internet Tablets, specifically the N8x0 models. While the new update isn’t OS2009, it offers some significant improvements to OS2008 that were frustrating to users. I can tell you personally how annoying it was to have to reflash my N810 if there was an update to the system. No back [...]

The guys over at Gottabemobile.com have found a video showcasing some of the intended applications of the new Panasonic CF-U1. The video is surprisingly high quality when it comes to scene and prop setups, but the acting is, dare I say, pathetic. Still, the video gives a pretty good idea of how the U1 is designed to be used; shown in the video is a wide range of industry applications. [...]

A few days ago I highlighted July 3rd as an important one on the netbook calendar. Aldi Süd, an important supermarket chain will have the Alkoya Mini in stock as part of one of their Thursday offers. MSI-Wind.de now reports that not only Aldi Süd will be carrying the product. Aldi Nord has 2000 shops and will also be offering the device. If that wasn’t enough, Aldi’s Austrian chain, Hofer, [...]

Gottabemobile.com tells us of a new platform that AMD is introducing. XGP (eXternal Graphics Platform) as AMD calls it, is a sort of external graphics card platform that will hook into laptops (and potentially other computer hardware; *cough* netbooks *cough*) and enable them to make use of desktop quality graphics cards. Of course this will enable a lower powered computer to handle more graphically intensive applications while hooked up to [...]

Jkk has spotted the much anticipated MSI Wind netbook exposed over at the FCC. Click through for plenty of up close and personal photos including some nice internal shots. Also the user manual can be found online in PDF format (MSI manual follows the Bluetooth Module manual in that PDF). Speaking of the MSI Wind, don’t forget that Jenn over at Pocketables.net is giving one away on July 1st, you [...]

James says we should jump on this and Matt highly recommends we should download it. If you’ve got a compatible device that is! Opera Mobile 9.5 will be available as a public beta for Windows Mobile on the 15th July. Its based on the same browser engine as the desktop 9.5 version which has quite a fast rendering engine. (I had some issues when I tested 9.5 Desktop with javascript-heavy [...]

I dropped a quick line about the upcoming Panasonic Toughbook UMPC the other day, and now that more details are available it looks as though the device is actually shaping up to be a very well rounded piece of hardware. Before I start listing specs, lets keep in mind that this is a rugged UMPC that Panasonic says surpasses military specifications for hardware of this class, meaning that it can [...]

Kohjinsha will launch the S130WG, a slightly modified SC3 (DMB receiver instead of 1-Seg) in Korea. Local price for the GPS version will be just under $1000. For more information check out our Kohjinsha SC3 coverage and the SC3 datasheet. We should have one of these a few days after they are launched in Asia (expected 2nd week July) so check back for hands-on news. Aving.net

It looks like there are definately a few options for getting Windows XP after June 2008. All OEMs can take the ‘system builder’ route to provide XP until Jan 2009 as we mentioned on Podcast #15. JKK has the summary of options and highlights that OEMs should be shipping XP restore CDs with editions of Vista that include downgrade rights.

There’s a wonderful institution called the ‘Aldi promotion’ here in Germany. Somehow this cheap, almost storage-room style supermarket with very few known-brands on the pallets has reached out to people from every walk of life. Aldi exists in other countries too but in the UK, you certainly wont find the chattering classes in there. I heard that it got the seal-of-approval from some A-class German celebs a few years back [...]

I’ve been using the RC3 version of Ubuntu Mobile (now called Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device Edition) on the Q1 Ultra for a few weeks and had been wondering why the ‘RC’ was dropped from the install package in the last few days. Now I know. I’ll bring you a mini-review in the next few days. It works well but it’s definately a ‘developers’ edition. It reminds me of the first [...]

ECS, the people that made one of the first Origami UMPCs, the Tablet Kiosk i7209, will be bringing their netbook to the European market via a different route to many of the other big netbook brands. An article in PC World today describes how the ECS G10L will include a 3G module and that deals with carriers in Europe have already been made. The high-end ‘G-series’ model includes a 6-cell [...]

Despite my little moan about JEITA battery life tests yesterday, the SC3 is looking very interesting as a UMPC. We’ve been in touch with Direct From Japan (DJF-Store.com) a company that operates out of the Akihabara district in Japan and they tell us that they will be able to ship the SC3 and from the 3rd of July. The SX3 should be shipping from Japan at the end of July. [...]

It looks like Panasonic will be releasing that rugged Atom-based UMPC in the near future. Engadget is reporting that the unit will have a 5.6″ touch-screen, QWERTY thumb keyboard split with a numerical number pad, and unfortunately will be running Vista. I hope they managed to reinforce the touch  screen, otherwise it will easily be the most vulnerable part of the UMPC. The device, which was previewed at CeBIT and [...]

Aiming for features rather than price are the new Kohjinsha SX and SC convertible mini-notebooks that build on the Inventec/KJS convertible designs that came before with an upgraded screen, new CPU and chipset and a badly needed re-style. Rather than use Intel’s low-cost platform as seen in netbooks, they will use the low-power Atom Silverthorne CPU at 1.33Ghz and ISH (Poulsbo) chipset to provide long battery life rather than low [...]

There are two choices open to you when you are confronted with a Slate style UMPC. You can scratch your head and say, "there don’t be no keyboard here." Or you can ask yourself, "how well can I use this despite the absence of a keyboard?" I asked myself the latter question when first confronted with the R2. This wasn’t the review unit, the R2E, I had for two weeks [...]

Someone should start a website that databases all the mobile Internet tariff’s because it’s getting very hard, even as a knowledgeable customer, to see what the latest deals are. There are three types of deal in Europe that are common. Add-on packages to voice contracts. Pay as you go options SIM-only data contracts Add-on packages tend to be the cheapest if all you need is mobile Internet on your handset. [...]