Archive for the ‘umpc’ Category

One problem with pro-blogging is that can be unhealthy, especially when you do it from home. I rarely get enough sleep. My breakfast is sometimes lunch. I don’t move around as much as I should and I’m surprised that I don’t have back and eyesight problems! I’ve tried a bit of Live Photo-blogging before and that’s been fun. My Wife is doing a good job of getting me out of the house too but I need to do more. My latest mad idea is to combine work, sport and UMPCs in a new activity called Jog and Blog. I’m sure this will be an Olympic sport in London 2012!

Today, over at Chippys UMPC Moblog, I’m running an experiment. Read all about Jog and Blog here!

NeoSolar, manufacture of solar tech, has formed an Alliance with WiBrain. They will now be responsible for the operation, manufacturing and marketing with WiBrain continuing with research. This could be a strategic move for NeoSolar but I doubt it. It sounds like some form of investment to me. I’m hoping it will speed up the development of new products from WiBrain. The new 32GB SSD-based products (aff.) are out of the door now and should be shipping to customers in the next few days but I’d really like to see a new design coming from Wibrain.

More exciting but somewhat against the solar-tech grain, is the announcement that they will co-develop fuel-cell portable digital devices with MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc.  There’s no word on availability of course. It could still be years until we see devices small enough to drop inside UMPCs.

Thanks to everyone who sent tips on this.

Remember Lindows? A controversially named company that worked to bring a simpler Linux experience to the consumer. They ended up renaming as Linspire after Microsoft went after them and went on to create CNR which is a cross-distribution (works for Ubuntu and Novell distro’s apparently) marketplace for easy-install Linux programs. Badly needed!

Last week, Michael Robertson, the man that started Linspire, announced that it’s being sold to Xandros. Xandros, as many of you know, create and manage the Linux distribution that you find on the Eee PC’s. I feel sure that this is the focus of attention right now. The opportunity for Linux is obvious.

My only worry is that as many of the Linux distributions move to the Moblin core model (rpmapt-based, Intel-optimised) that they will push CNR as the software repository for all netbooks. That could shortcut any attempt by Intel to provide a channel that goes down to not only netbooks but also down to MIDs running their Moblin core. On the other hand, I don’t see Intel putting many procedures in place for 3rd party developers yet. Maybe Intel/Moblin would do well to adopt the CNR model for Moblin software distribution and to invest in enhancing it and promoting it as the main distribution channel for all Linux distro’s on all hardware. It would fit well with the user base (it’s designed to be easy) and could be expanded to a pay model where the smaller 3rd-party development companies would be encouraged to contribute.

With Linux netbooks outselling XP netbooks (ASUS) there’s a multi-million end-user market out there for the sort of apps that make day-to-day computing fun and fruitful. Fixing the software distribution issues will help Linux a lot.

Via MichaelRobertson.com

There’s a confusing array of data tariffs available. Speeds, port limits, throttling and the usual array of footnotes. Until you have a true flat tariff there’s always a worry that either something won’t work, the data will get throttled, your images will get recompressed or you end up with a 1600 Euro bill!

T-Mobile have just completed their HSDPA upgrades in Germany which means 7.2mbps down and 1.4mbps up (theoretical) is now the best you can get. At the IFA in Berlin (Aug 29th - Sept 3rd) T-Mobile will introduce a no-limits flat for 39.95 Euro per month. (Previously understood to be with 5GB limit with P2P and IM blocked)

It’s not the cheapest tariff in town but the T-Mobile HSDPA network is second to none in Germany so if it’s anything-goes, flat-rate quality that you need (I would double check VoiP and P2P capability if that’s important to you,) this is the tariff for you. Hopefully it kicks off some more competition too.

VIA Digital Living. (German)

As I  look at the UMPCPortal product pages today I see something I have never seen before. The top 10 most popular devices, based on visitor clicks, are all notebooks. 4 of them are touchscreen convertibles but the rest are plain old low-cost, dare I say boring, netbooks. I knew it would happen at some point. Low-cost = Raised Eyebrows. We’re all suckers for a bargain but these are not the mobile devices I’d prefer to see high up on the list. Where’s the ever-useful Q1 Ultra or the MID-before-its-time Raon Digital Everun? When I think of UMPCs I think about features and smaller sizes and not run-of-the-mill designs and ultra-low costs.

My main job in life is to promote UMPCs. I believe in them and I believe others will benefit from them. Netbooks are definitely a valid choice in the mobile computing space and, just like i’m happy that the iPhone is introducing Mobile Internet to millions, I’m happy that netbooks are introducing more millions to mobile computing. I will continue to report and highlight products in these areas and under no circumstances would I say that smartphones or netbooks are bad choices. But when it comes to mobile computing, there are some features that make certain devices stand out from the crowd. The term UMPC - Ultra Mobile PC - is the term that is most applicable to these mobile-focused computers.

So here’s a little UMPC love. It’s a list of 10 reasons why a mobile PC is better than a netbook. You may not agree but by the end of the list, you should get a feel for what I believe a UMPC is.

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I just cant wait any longer for that Kohjinsha SC3 to arrive. The videos and feedback from early tests have proven to me that this could be one of the best UMPC / mini-notebooks yet. Its tiny, light, well-specified and looks great. The question we are all asking though is…”How good will Vista run.” We’re one step closer to the answer today because I’ve just recieved a set of CrystalMark test results from DFJ. I believe this is the first ever set of test results for a production Menlow (Silverthorne/Pulsbo) device so lets take a quick look and I’ll make some comments below.

Detailed results here.

The tests were done on a stock device (Vista Home Premium. 1GB RAM) and overall, its looking good. The CPU figures are quite impressive. Better, in fact, than any other UMPC platform. Only the Intel notebook-based CPU’s used in the Q1 Ultra Premium and the Sony UX are better. Memory speed is also good. Top marks! Looking at the disk (Spinpoint N, HS06THB, 60G, 4200 RPM, PATA(ZIF), 8MB CACHE) I see a high average which, if you look at the detailed results, translates to a max read speed of 30MB/s and a max write speed of about 27MB/s. For a 1.8″ drive, this is about as good as it gets right now.

Looking at the graphics scores shows some very low-end results. They dont quite tally with the Vista performance score we saw so for anyone looking at gaming on this - dont! For the 3D components in Google Earth and Itunes, we’ll have to see how it performs when we do tests. I suspect it will be OK.

For a big list of comparable CrzstalMark results, see the list that Frank keeps over at Tweaks2K2.

Note that the CrystaMark test doesn’t show us any video performance results. The Poulsbo chipset contains hardware acceleration for many common codecs and we wont see those results until someone does tests with a media player. In theory, results should be good.

So will it run Vista? The jury is still out on that one. Ive seen Vista Home Basic running acceptably on the HTC Shift but it wasnt exactly fast.  With some optimisation, i think Vista is going to be acceptable for most people. For others, upgrading the RAM to 2GB might be the answer and for a few people, it simply wont be good enough. The flip-side of the coin is that we know it would run XP extremely well. I hope, after time, a downgrade to XP will be possible. Ive taken the precation to include Vista Ultimate in mz purchase so at least i’ll have the license when it’s a possibility!

Thanks to Direct From Japan for the test results.

‘Atom performance better than expected’

‘Great battery life’

‘15mm keyboard pitch difficult’

Apart from the keyboard, which I’m prepared to adapt to if this baby performs, its getting better every day. This is definitely a UMPC and not a netbook!

Video from wowpow blog who haven’t announced this video yet so expect a new blog entry soon.

Click the image for more info on the SC3

Before we discuss, let it be known that this is only a performance rating!!!

These figures come from an image that Conics took of the SC3 yesterday. They’ve surprised me somewhat. Are we looking at a device that could be as spritely as a Q1 Ultra Premium?

Remember the SC3 uses a Z520 at 1.33Ghz (with 533 FSB and Hyperthreading) and the test was done with 2GB of memory installed and Vista SP1.

We’ll find out soon enough because our order is due to ship from Japan today.

Q1 U Premium scores from Frank.

Image from Conics

More info on the Kohjinsha SC3.

There it is! The first ever retail Menlow-based device to be unboxed. It’s Atom, but not as the Netbook-fans know it! Silverthorne and Poulsbo enable some serious notebook midgetry. Wow-Pow blog picked one up from Conics.net (which I think are one and the same people) and made a presentation video. It looks great. Smaller than any 7" notebook so far. Check out the video and then hop over to the site where there’s said to be some review action going on soon. How will Vista perform? Whats the battery life? Is it soft or hard-touch screen? Will Poulsbo really be able to support HD video? etc etc etc.

More information on the SC3 here.

The SC3 is launching tomorrow and we’re due to have one shipped straight over from Japan. I can hardly wait!

Via Engadget.

Like most people, I’m a big fan of anything that will save time. I find that there are many shortcuts to assist us in the way we interact with our computers that will help us work more efficiently. Firefox is definitely my most used application and thus I utilize many of its tricks and shortcuts. A while back at MPCT, I shared a trick to help squeeze more bookmarks into your bookmark bar. This is especially helpful for mobile computers running at lower resolutions. Similarly, I hope this trick helps people increase the speed at which they can access sites from small computers, such as those with painful to type on keyboards… (continue reading)

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D.F.J - Direct From Japan, an exporter of mobile solutions direct from the Akihabara district have a Willcom D4, one of the neatest UMPC solutions we’ve seen yet. I’ve been in touch with DJF today and they’ve been kind enough to send over some first-opinions about the device. Before you read through them though, let me highlight one very important figure. Last week it was reported that the D4 was returning just 1.5 hours on the standard battery (7wh) DFJ report that this is under WWAN conditions. Running without WWAN and Wifi is a different story. We’re working on getting some better battery life reports out soon so don’t give up on the D4 just yet. Continued after the pic…

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I’m finally back at my desk after 11 days away and it’s time to clear out all those starred items that built up in my mailbox last week. In no particular order, here’s a text-only run-down of some items I wanted to comment on last week.

I’m waiting for final EU prices and specs on the touchscreen netbook, the Gigabyte M912. A demo device should be with us soon. Some pricing was leaked from Gigabyte (in dollars but its normal for a reseller to buy in dollars. Or at least it used to be!) and Pioneer Computers are also offering the same device under their own brand for an impressive 889 Oz Dollars. That’s about 550 Euros! As for the U.S. I see that GBM asked Gigabyte about U.S. availability and it seems it’s not going to be available. That’s a shame but I’m sure you’ll see the 912 at Dynamism and available through Conics, Direct From Japan just like the Kohjinsha SC3.  The 912 could make an interesting tablet PC alternative but there are a few issues about battery life (untested but should be 3hrs), weight (1.2kg) and size (slightly larger than an Eee 900) that might not make it the ideal UMPC. If the price is good though, it could shake-up the touchscreen market a bit and provide people with an interesting alternative to the run-of-the-mill netbooks.

News continues…

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So it seems as though the Atom based Gigabyte M912 8.9″ mini-tablet/netbook is supposedly going to be released some time in late July with a $699 price tag. We actually got this info a few days ago (thanks Johan), however I hesitated to post as the two key points of information that formed the news had been removed from the source. Apparently Gigabyte put up information on the news page of their website giving a price ($699) and rough release date (sometime in July) a few days ago, but suddenly pulled those two nuggets of info from the page while leaving the rest of it intact without any explanation. I wanted to wait a while to see if they would put the info back up, but it seems that won’t be happening any time soon. So for now we have what seems to be the price and release date, however it could have just as likely been a mistake. The M912 is officially listed on Gigabyte’s product page as “Coming Soon”… whatever that means.

Two of the hottest upcoming netbooks have been taken apart and had their insides revealed. If you are the kind of person who likes to mod your computers, be sure to check these out so you know what you have to work with.

The MSI Wind (portal page), which was taken apart over at bit-tech.net, has no external access slot to upgrade RAM. In order to upgrade your RAM, you’ll need to open the Wind up, while normally this would void your warranty, it appears as though MSI understands that users want to upgrade their RAM and request the following:

“If a customer wants to upgrade the memory in their Wind that they register it with the MSI Notebook support team and MSI will send them a special warranty sticker to place back on their Wind”

It is good to know that MSI is paying attention to the details; I’m sure this will please some future Wind owners. Bit-tech says that contrary to the Eee PCs, there is very little room for modding due to an intricately designed interior.

The Aspire One (portal page) had its dis-assembly shown over at itechnews.net. The site didn’t really provide any commentary on the cracked open unit so garner what you will from the images.

[via Engadget]

So I’ve been reviewing the Vye S41 for the last few days, but I have run into a problem. Though the S41 comes with built in GPS, as far as I can tell, there is no included GPS software. Does anyone know of any free software that will take advantage of the S41’s GPS? I was hoping to use Google Earth with it but the GPS features are only enabled in the Pro version. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions.