Already in my calendar yesterday was a short-notice conference call from Intel. Apparently they have an announcement to make. This morning I woke to see the keywords Intel and Nokia streaming through twitter and google reader. The rumor is that Nokia will be using Intel inside.

I assume this is a Moorestown product win which means it sits alongside the LG announcement for a 2010 product launch If this is true, it’s a really significant step forward for Intel in the Ultra Mobile and smartphone market.

Questions to be asked:

• Is it going to be voice enabled?
• What operating system (Moblin, Maemo or Symbian)
• Are Nokia simply testing the market and technology (in which case i’d expect it to be in a next-gen Nokia tablet rather than a  phone)
• If it’s a tablet, does it mean that the OMAP3-based tablet is scrapped?

The rumor comes from Bloomberg. The press call is at 1130am EST. Expect news on UMPCPortal as at breaks.

With twice the battery life, half the weight and half the price of UMPCs of 2006, the advances in UMPC technology have been amazing. Here’s a video summary of what’s happened in the last 3 years.

Just imagine what’s possible with Intel’s Morestown platform and ARM-based platforms from Ti, Qualcom and Nvidia. In 2010 we’ll be seeing devices hit 250gm with slimmer designs and true, all-day on battery life.

JKK has edited up the keynote video from IDF Beijing that took place a few days ago. In the video you can see a number of the MIDs that were announced in one of the press release. [PDF]

Click through to JKK’s site for some more images. The BYD clamshell phone (based on Menlow) is particularly interesting. Obviously we’ll try to get more detailed information on these but at the moment it’s looking like an Asia-focused effort. We may have to wait until IDF in Sept for an sort of hands-on.
jkkmobile: Intel shows new MIDs at IDF Beijing 2009.

As planned, the Gigabyte T1028M Touchnote turned up from Mobilx today and the unboxing is already done and dusted. I had done quite a lot of homework before unboxing so I’ve not had any surprises or major let-downs yet although I really do like to see more than 3hrs on the working clock with battery life and so far, the T1028M is steady at about 2.5hrs working time. [Update: I'm seeing a regular 3.25hrs now in normal wifi usage and the Gigabyte 'Normal' battery mode] The SATA disk is fast (61/56 MB/s R/W max) and the touch is working nicely. The pre-installed 3G (a Mobilx option using the built-in SIM card and antenna) is working really nicely.  Noise and heat is definitely improved over the M912 although some fan noise remains. Keyboard is slightly wider than an MSI Wind U100 / Akoya Mini.

Don’t forget the live overview and Q&A session tonight on the LIVE page. JKK and Sascha will be joining for a podcast at 2030 and then we’ll get into a bit of Touchnote testing at about 2130 (CEST, Berlin time) I’ll have a full hands-on first impressions write up on the 9th April (tomorrow as I write this)

The YouTube version of the unboxing is shown below but if the HQ version isn’t available, the original (and MPEG-4, both downloadable) versions are at Blip.tv.

For more information and links for the Gigabyte Touchnote, see the product information page.

The Gigabyte Touchnote has been provided by Mobilx.eu

Intel’s IDF in Beijing is nearly over. Yes, it started while most of us slept and because it’s only a one day event, there’s not many announcements. Media coverage on Intel’s website is low-key but I’ve found the press release and press kits and summarise below.

Overview.

The Intel press release includes some items worth mentioning (my emphsasis added:)

Mobility Keynote
During his keynote, titled “Mobility’s Next Wave of Growth,” Chandrasekher demonstrated the first live demo of Intel’s next-generation Atom-based MID platform, codenamed “Moorestown.” Chandrasekher provided a sneak peek into the low-power innovation of the platform by showcasing a greater than 10x idle power reduction compared to today’s Atom-based platform in a side-by-side demo. This dramatic reduction is made possible through a combination of new power management techniques, a new partition optimized for the MID segments and Intel’s Hi-k 45nm manufacturing process.

Due by 2010, the Moorestown platform is comprised of a System on Chip (codenamed “Lincroft”) that integrates a 45nm Intel® Atom™ processor core, graphics, video and memory controller, and a companion input/output (I/O) hub (codenamed “Langwell”). The platform will be accompanied by a new Moblin software version that is optimized to enable the rich, interactive, PC-like Internet experience along with cellular voice capabilities.

Intel also announced two new Atom processors for MIDs: the Z550 and Z515. The Z550 extends the performance of the MID product line to 2GHz with Intel Hyperthreading technology support, setting a new standard for the highest performance processor in the under-3-watt power envelope. The Z515 incorporates the new Intel® Burst Performance Technology (Intel BPT), which enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when performance is needed in existing small and sleek MID form factors.

These new Atom processors further extend customer choices to enable the best Internet experience in pocketable MIDs. Chandrasekher also announced several new MID designs for the China market.

The 2Ghz Atom processor doesnt surprise me. These step improvements will continue to happen. The Z515 is interesting though. There’s already a 1.1Ghz part and an 800Mhz part, this two-speed 800Mhz/1200Mhz part should allow for some nice ‘turbo’ features but i’m not sure how different this is from speed-stepping on the 1.3Ghz version. More information on the Z515 is available from an Intel fact sheet [PDF].

Intel Atom processor Z515 delivers performance on demand by incorporating the new Intel® Burst Performance Technology (Intel BPT) which enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when higher performance is needed in existing small form factors. Intel Atom Z515, in conjunction with Intel US15W SCH, supports 533MHz DDR2, 2GB max memory addressing, and HT. This processor also supports Intel UL11L SCH. Intel Atom Z515 delivers high performance while consuming 160mW average power and 80mW idle power.

New MIDs.

Obviously i’ll be looking deeper into this part of the fact-sheet. New devices from Aigo, Compal and Fujitsu will be interesting to watch.

Intel Atom Processor-based MIDs Continue Momentum — Chandrasekher announced a number of new designs targeting the China market including Aigo*, BYD*, CZC*, Dragon*, Eking*, ESL*, Gemsta*, NFS*, and Techfaith*. Additionally, Intel indicated that its customers are expressing strong interest in the two new Z Series SKUs. As examples, Aigo*, BYD*, Compal*, CZC* and Fujitsu* have already committed to building products based on these SKUs.

Windows 7 support.

Support for Windows* 7 and Moblin v2.0 on Intel Atom Processor based MIDs and Netbooks — Intel Atom processor-based MIDs and Netbooks will support Windows* 7 Starter and Basic editions in the second half of this year in addition to support for Windows* XP Home and Windows* Vista Basic. For Linux, Chandrasekher mentioned that both MIDs and netbooks will be moving to Moblin v2.0 from Moblin v1 today.

Does this imply that Windows 7 / Atom support will be restricted to Starter (three concurrent programs) and Home Basic (emerging markets) versions initially?

There are some more notes in the ‘factsheet’ here (PDF) and it looks like information is being updated on the ‘Press Kit’ page. I’ll continue to monitor for more information and report back anything interesting.

We hit the ASUS booth today and WOW! About 30% of it was dedicated to the Eee PC brand. From keyboard PCs to Skype phones and every variation of netbook in between. Quite a sight to see.

Here’s a video of the ASUS T91Go the 3G/SSD version of the ASUS T91 [specifications]. The sky-lighting made it impossible to get a good shot of the user interface but you get to see the device from every angle. JKK does a good job of talking through it too.

Here’s a few more clues to how the voice capability on Moorestown ‘midphones’ will be played out. Open-Plug have announced their 2G and 3G capable ‘ELIPS’ Telephony stack for Moblin, the OS being built for current and future MIDs and netbooks.

This Open-Plug stack is likely to be the one on the LG  ‘midphone’ announced for 2010. We’re expecting to hear a bit mroe about that next week at CeBIT.

“Mobile Internet Devices make it easy for people to stay connected wherever they are,” said Pankaj Kedia, director of global ecosystem programs in Intel Corporation’s Ultra Mobility Group. “Intel’s next generation MID platform, codenamed Moorestown, in combination with Open-Plug’s telephony stack integrated with a Moblin based Linux OS, will set a new threshold for making this connected experience a reality by delivering a compelling Internet experience while supporting voice capabilities on the platform.”

Intel appear to be starting to push their marketing towards smartphones now so expect a lot more talk about Moblin 2 ( release due in a few months) and smartphones/MIDs from Intel over the next 18 months. Can’t wait to see them at MWC in Barcelona next year.

Source Finazenachrichten.de

I enjoyed this article at APCMag. There’s a lot you can read between the lines and a lot of straight-up info.

• Intel are now calling smartphones, MIDs
• There’s a definite netbook roadmap
• It will take 3-5 years to seed MIDs on Intel
• Some netbooks may appear on the Moorestown platform

Favorite quote:

“Every smartphone is a mobile Internet device, including the iPhone” says Pankaj Kedia, director of ecosystems for Intel’s Ultra-Mobile Group. “If the device is mobile, if it delivers a rich internet experience and has a targeted usage, it’s a mobile Internet device”.

You’ll also see some talk about power consumption. 10x less idle power takes a Moorestown MID down to about 200mw. I assume that’s with screen off and radios sleeping though. It’s enough to get Intel into the high-end all-day smartphone market but not quite into consumer pockets just yet. That would take another iteration of Atom and a 2011/2012 timeframe in my opinion.

So smartphones are the new MIDs. Or should MIDs be the new smartphones? Have a read of the article and let me know your thoughts.

According to the MyViliv website and some information we received by email, 1000 units of the Viliv S5 were sold in 15 minutes today as the pre-orders started in Korea. Viliv have been selling PMPs and other devices since 2005 and they tell us they’ve achieved the highest website statistics ever through the S5 launch.

That’s impressive considering the financial problems going on in the worlds tomorrow but it’s possibly indicative of people wanting to make a money-saving purchase as the Viliv S5 can serve as multiple devices. Navigation, PMP, Mini PC, it’s all there in one device that appears to be of good quality and returning performance and battery life figures that we would expect.

Lazion, one of the first Korean websites we turn to when a new device is launched over there, have a great 3-part review up that, although difficult to read through automated translation, gives some clear indications as to what we can expect when the S5 Premium (as the export version will be known) starts shipping at end of March. (Viliv planned shipping timeframe.)

First of all, it’s pocketable…in a kind of Sony Vaio marketing way…

Thanks ladies. I’ll be putting it my jacket pocket but please, don’t let us stop you promoting it as bum-pocket portable.

Read the full story

Back in Dec we heard that the local launch price of the Viliv in Korea would be “(US$388 to US$543)” and today we’ve learned via an email from Viliv that the US retail price will be $649. Luckily, the Viliv S5 Premium that is going to be sold in the US (and I assume anywhere else that UMPC retailers can import and sell it) is a high-spec model running XP in 1GB on a 1.3Ghz Z520 CPU with a 60GB hard drive and a 1024×600 screen. I can tell you from my experience with the Wibrain i1 that runs exactly the same specs, it’s a pleasurable experience. The ‘Premium’ also comes with GPS, Haptic feedback and the Viliv UI and on-screen keyboard and that big, 17Wh battery which, again based on my work with the Wibrain i1, should return 6hrs screen-off/wifi off and 3-3.5hrs with wifi on, screen-on. That’s 3.5 hrs of very fast web access; [UPDATE: We're checking on the battery specs. Previously we heard it was 24wh battery.  We might have made a mistake on that 17wh figure.] 24wh 22.9wh battery (confirmed) which again, based on my work with the Wibrain i1 should return 10 hours screen off/wifi off and 4hrs with wifi-on screen on.

The i1 returns an average sub 10 second-per-page web experience (Sub 5-second with the no-script plugin - 4 times faster than the best smartphones!) and in terms of javascript power:weight ratio, was the best that I’ve ever tested. There’s no reason to believe that the S5 will be any different.

More Viliv S5 details including specifications and news links available here.

In addition to the information that came in the email, we’ve managed to coerce some information about the missing 3G out of Viliv. Apparently the HSDPA version is still going through certification and is planned for Europe and for those with WiMax in their area, Viliv also have a model planned that will cover that too. In terms of pricing, the going rate for a 3G option runs at between 100 and 150 so $799 seems likely.

Overall it’s looking like a good price for what it is. The lack of keyboard is going to worry some but as a media consumption device, pmp, pnd and fallback PC, it’s really a huge step forward from what we saw even a year ago.

Update: US shipping expected at end of March.

Finally, there’s a new video available here showing the S5 running itunes and coverflow. Expect more videos and review information soon as sample devices have already gone out to Korean bloggers.

I really want to test out the BenQ S6. There’s no keyboard on it but its by far the cheapest 3G-enabled MID available. 299 Euros for a 3G, Wifi, Firefox MID is great value. Unfortunately it’s only available in Italy which is why I haven’t had hands-on yet.

Ewan Spence at MIDMoves, has unboxed one and is using it for two days as part of his MIDMoves tour. The unboxing video is up already but keep checking for updates on Ewans stream at MIDMoves.

Unboxing the S6.

One advantage of running an Intel-sponsored MID event is that I get some nice kit to play with. In fact, the whole team gets some nice kit to play with on the tour. Between Jenn, Nicole, Ewan and myself we’ve got 4 different MIDs to test out. The Compal MID (not sure which ‘brand’ this will be yet) the Benq S6, the ClarionMiND and the OQO 2+. There’ll be 2 of each to be shared out and I’m getting an OQO 2+ and a Clarion Mind. The devices have been shipped by Intel from the US and we’re expecting them very soon. Jenn is also getting an OQO 2+ and I guess, as she’s in the US, she’ll be getting it first so watch closely over at Pocketables.net

The MIDMoves tour starts next Monday, the 19th and MIDMoves will be the place that we’ll all be reporting about the devices first. If I have time before the tour I’ll fire up the studio (still warm from CES coverage!) and do some live work with you. If I don’t have time during the tour, expect lots of coverage after it.

If you’ve been following MIDMoves, you’ll see that I’ve been getting into final planning. Roaming 3G costs have meant that I’m having to change my tour itinerary but there are some exciting things happening. In my latest post, I’ve been talking about geographically aware applications and services.

What do you do when the Dell Mini 9 [Product page] and Mini 12 just aren’t enough? Well the only logical thing to do is come out with the Mini 10. The Dell Mini 10, shown at CES, has (obviously enough) a 10″ screen. Something that immediately piques my interested is that the Mini 10 apparently won’t run the obligatory 1024×600 resolution, but instead use a properly formatted 16:9 aspect ratio screen with a 720p resolution (1280×720). Some other nice features include:

• Z530 Atom CPU (less typical than most netbooks)
• 802.11N WiFi
• Integrated GPS
• Integrated 3G
• TV-tuner
• A trackpad with what Dell is calling “exclusive gestures”

I have to say that this is shaping up to be a nice 10″ netbook. We’ll see how the pricing turns out, which at this point is not announced by Dell, nor a release date.

[Engadget]

As we mentioned on CES podcast 8 yesterday, the UMID M1 seems to be getting a lot of attention. Mini clamshell laptops always attract the eye as a familiar form factor so its not surprising.

Both jkOnTheRun and Pocketables have had hands on now and the feedback is positive. James called it out as his favorite of all the Intel MIDs. [Note: Intel and others have been calling the Windows based devices UMPCs but I sense that soon, everyone will be calling them MIDs.The marketing is tending in that direction and there's nothing much we can do to stop that.] Jenn had a good hands-on session and has written a more detailed article saying that it works well for thumbing but that it felt a little laggy in a Vista/1Gb kind of way. She was testing the 1.1 ghz version. A 1.3ghz version with hyperthreading is planned.

Read the full story

The Viliv S7 has been in the pipeline for a while now and is way up there on my personal ‘watchlist.’ We heard that the S7 would be on display at CES so thanks to some group digging (hat tip to the great bunch of people in the live chat room as I type) we’ve found the official info. There’s a couple of nice pics there too. Strange perspective but you get the idea….tasty! Far nicer than the ‘raw’ version I saw, but still enjoyed, at the Intel Developer Forum last year.

Read the full story

Based on the existing X70, the X70 Atom (which is just a working name i’m told) is built around a 7″ screen and it looks like they’ve incorporated a keyboard by attaching it on some flexible plastic. I guess it clips on somehow. This image is from Pocketables who have been checking out the Yukyung booth.

Looks like a solid design and will probably appeal as a PMP/Internet Media workstation. We’re in touch with Viliv and keeping a close track on this one, the S5 and the S7.

Viliv X70 slate with keyboard attachment

also at Pocketables:

Viliv S5 at CES 2009

OK, it’s the Compal design again but the important thing here is that Velocity Micro are a U.S. company and they’re talking about a sub $500 price, 3G, and availability through major retail channels in the U.S. making it only the second MID to become locally available in the U.S. (The ClarionMiND was the first.)

The press release is here. I assume it’s going to be similar in specs to one of the other Compal JAX-10 devices so check out the details on specs here.

Via MobilitySite. Source Geek.com