After you’ve checked out our new video presentation, take a look at our hands-on report and at other peoples opinions by checking out the river of links for the Aigo MID. Pocketables and JKKMobile both have reviews and videos in the can. The reason I say this is that the Aigo MID device may not be for you. It’s not a bad device at all, I’m loving it more every day, but I just wanted to warn you that this device is something that will appeal mostly to the hardcore mobile Internet fans, mobile Linux developers and gadget-lovers out there. If you want a device, a platform and a software stack that offers you the best Internet experience and an exciting Linux-based playing field, the Aigo is a superb choice and arguably, the only freely-available choice today.

OFFER CODE: 14I6-U7AR-Y6HK-CARRYPAD

Mobilx have very kindly set-up a 5% discount code for us that you can use by clicking through the image above and ordering in Euros or Dollars using the code shown. The device is in stock right now and Mobilx can ship one out, globally, via DHL Express.

Coming tomorrow: Aigo MID video performance demonstration. (My notes are here if you can’t wait.)

Thanks to Mobilx.eu I’ve had the Aigo MID for a few weeks now. I put a fairly lengthy post up a few weeks ago explaining where this device fits in but now it’s time to give you an overview of it in action.

Here’s the video, made with very little preparation so you get to see a few problems with the device too.

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Just in time for the holidays: you could win yourself an impressive gadget package from Pocketables.net. The holiday prize package features one of the first MIDs to have real consumer availability, the Aigo P8860 [Portal page]. Take a look at Jenn’s review of the unit, and don’t miss UMPC Portal’s own coverage of the device.

The Aigo P8860 is certainly the centerpiece of the prize package, but there are some other great accessories as well. The winner of the prize package will receive the following:

• Aigo P8860 MID (white)
• iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth keyboard
• Original Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset (black)
• Sennheiser CX500 in-ear headphones (black)
• 8GB SanDisk microSD card
• Book-style leather case (black)

The iGo bluetooth keyboard is arguably the best portable bluetooth keyboard out there and I have heard good things about the Jawbone bluetooth headsets. When all is said and done, the package you could win is worth over $1000. Want to win? Head over to Pocketables to read the official rules. Be sure to hurry, the entry period is already half way over!

Lets not beat around the bush here. The Aigo P8860 MID is a slightly unpolished, slightly locked-down, slightly thin-app, early-adopters Mobile Internet Device. Almost everything in the application suite is underwhelming and after the initial unboxing high, the experience takes a sharp dive. Thank goodness then, that the only real problems are software-related, fixable and have nothing to do with the excellent form factor and superb Intel Atom platform which make this device truly breakthrough. I can’t put it down!

We’ve all seen small devices before. High-end smartphones and low-end UMPCs have been around for a while but none of them have managed to combine true pocketability with acceptable battery life and a top-notch Internet experience. The Aigo does though. 4.8″ 800×480 screen, check! 3hrs online battery life, check! Useable keyboard, check! Powerful processor, check! In ‘Internet’ power-to-weight ratio terms, this is a winner. Read on…

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Jkk has been playing with the first MID that has world-wide availability, the Aigo P8860 [Portal page]. Being the amazing modder that he is, he has already managed to put 3G in it, and has a video demo of the MID browsing with 3G which later goes into details of the mod itself. The video which you can see below, shows various sites including YouTube playback which works great, and I am happy to see that scrolling looks to be very smooth and easy to use in the web browser. The MID manages to load Engadget quite quickly and all of this has my hopes high for MIDs to deliver the full internet experience in your pocket when they finally start ending up in consumer’s hands.

You might not have seen the announcement that Ubuntu-mobile had a last minute name change to Ubuntu-UMPC based on the fact it was targeting mobile computers rather than the lower-spec Intel-based MIDs. Oliver Grawert, one of the lead guys on the Ubuntu-UMPC project, explains on his blog. It was just in time for the release of version 8.10 (AKA Intrepid Ibex) which was went live today.

Before I give you the links to the 8.10 versions (that I’ll be trying out ASAP) though, let me quickly give you an overview of the two distributions…

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Christmas came early this week. I’ve had three new devices in 24 hours! Yesterday it was the Everun Notes, today i’ve got the Aigo MID. It turns out I might have a new software build too (V030 5005) as there is a software updater installed that others have not got on their Aigos. Naturally i’m going through a software update as I write and myself and JKK will be putting the old and new side-by-side in the session later to see what the improvements are. I’m impressed that a new software stack has been released so quickly and it bodes well for the future.

Personally I’m very excited about the device. I’ve already declared my love for the Compal-designed form factor a number of times but had a few reservation about the software (see the M528 hands-on weekend report.) Midinux on the Aigo seems to be working well though. Coolfox is working (although FF3 would be better,) media player and IM, basic PIM facilities, BT DUN and file transfer over my N82 all with a nicely finished (although not iPhone-standard) UI but the most exciting thing are the possibilities that lie ahead. It’s really stirring ideas about how and where I can use this device and most importantly, what the growing Aigo owners community is going to do with this device. With the SFR Mi PC and the Gigabyte M528 due to launch soon and the Benq MID already out there with a similar Midinux software stack, I can see a big community of people jumping on board. Eee owners, Nokia Tablet Owners and people looking forward to the Open Pandora devices will know exactly what I mean!

Aigo MID. Live session 2200 GMT+1 (post time + 3hrs) at UMPCPortal.com/live

Ustream live recording is available if you’re thinking about buying the Aigo MID.

Thanks to Mobilx.eu for sending this evaluation device over.

Update: Mobilx now have a pre-order page up.

Three problems with the, otherwise very interesting, Aigo MID.  1) Its not available without import (although it seems DFJ are doing a good job exporting it around the world.) 2) It hasn’t got 3G built-in. 3) The software is a little bit….mmm…beta?

Problem 3 can be solved by hacking the existing OS (see this huge ‘Hacking the Aigo’ thread in the forum) or by installing XP. I’m hearing from a number of sources that XP drivers are starting to filter through and that a release could be available as early as next week. This video was posted on YouTube yesterday.

I had a quick chat with JKK before posting this and found out that he’s working on this too. Keep a look out on his site for a video His video is up now. My Aigo has been held up in customs but is due to arrive on Tuesday next week.

Thanks for the video tip, Brook.

I’m in the middle of writing an article about the T-Mobile / ASUS 901Go (the free 3G-enabled netbook) and am looking at an unboxing video wondering who would buy the Aigo MID, the Mobile Internet Device that doesn’t include mobile Internet due to lack of a 3G module. I’m also asking myself, ‘Where’s the damn Gigabyte M528 that does have the 3G!’

After I’ve finished the 901 article and posted some more customer challenge responses, I’ll watch the 12-minute video and join JKK for a live session tonight. Hopefully we can work out how Midinux performs and see if the Coolfox browser and video playback work. Is it better than an Archos 5 for Internet browsing?

If I remember rightly, the Aigo MID is going to available in some Asian shops tomorrow. UMPCFever, however, have already had it for a few days and although it’s not coming to Europe or America, the Gigabyte version will so we can get some good ideas about performance of hardware, browser and multimedia functions from this.

UMPCFever have made some notes in English mentioning that the software build is much better than in previous versions they’ve seen. (Phew!) The UI appears to be very good (see video below)  and I’m pleased to see Bluesoleil in there. I hope it makes it through to the Gigabyte version.

In the notes, the browser and multimedia features are said to be "well organized and pretty good performance" although there’s no detail yet. We’ll have to wait and see as UMPCfever will be putting out more details test notes in the days to come. Lets hope those video drivers and codecs are all present! I’ve been testing H.264 on the SCH (chipset) today and it’s impressive when you get it working with the right software. More about that later. Video below.

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Finally, a MID in it’s final form! UMPCFever got hold of a retail version of the Aigo MID.

There’s no news about performance or battery life at this stage but we’re in contact with them to try and get the details for you. I believe this goes on sale at the end of this week.

Aigo MID specifications.

UMPCFever photo report.. (translated)

The Aigo MID is based on the same design as the one that Gigabyte are using for their M528 which which I tested recently and will be on sale in the western world sometime very soon.

It looks like MIDs are starting to move. There are already two Menlow based devices in the market in Japan, the Willcom D4 and the Kohjinsha SC3 (that I’m testing at the moment - more about that later.) and last night I read at UMPCFever in Hong Kong that the Aigo MID is launching on 08.08.08. That’s the first day of the Olympics. My guess is that the Lenovo device will launch then too as it appears to be part of an Olympic sponsorship agreement.

Local price is going to be $670 which tallies with the Taiwanese price for the Gigabyte M528 - $750 with WWAN. It looks like UMPCFever will get one for testing very soon after the launch so keep an eye on their website.

Update: That price doesn’t include WWAN.

As for US and EU launch dates for the Gigabyte M528 version of this device - No news. Sorry.

UMPCFever continue their hands-on with the Aigo MID and have been playing with the device running under Windows. While they were there they did a CrystalMark test which gives us the first ever look at how various parts of a Silverthorne-based MID might perform. However, I would take these results with a large pinch of salt as they appear to be on the low side. The memory speed and disk speed figures look especially low so there could be some driver issues. Certainly the graphics figures should be ignored at this stage.

I’d advise to wait for real-life browsing and video figures from the system while running the Atom-optimised Moblin build rather than a vanilla XP build that has never heard of Poulsbo or Silverthorne!

On the image at the top right, from the top are the total score, the ALU test score, the FPU test score the MEM, HDD, GDI, D2D and OGL scores from the Crystalmark test. For a list of UMPC crystalmark scores, see Ctitanics table of results from various sources.

UMPCFever Aigo MID CrystalMark test video.

Update: A more detailed discussion is continuing on Atom performance details in the forum here.

Two more items to tick off the list on the 800Mhz Atom MID’s:

- YouTube appears to play flawlessly.

- The CoolImage application does indeed look cool.

Both videos (linked above) are from UMPCFever in HongKong. Keep an eye out for more!

I want to see WMV and H264 at HD though. In theory, it works! Also on my list:

• Browsing Speed and plugin support for the Firefox 3 based browser.
• Standby Power drain
• Application startup times
• Resume times
• 3G reception quality

And much more!

The lucky lucky lucky guys over at UMPCFever got an Aigo MID [specifications] test device and have started to publish their hands-on reviews and video. This is the first time anyone has ever really had extended private time with a Silverthorne/Menlow-based device so pay attention as the guys have already got Windows XP up and running on the device although judging by their feedback on the Midlinux2.0 OS build, it’s looking like things are already pretty sweet out-of-the-box. [Commentary after the pic...]

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