When we talk about ‘Mobile Internet’ the first thing we often think about is mobile Web. We’ve heard about ‘Full Internet Experience’ and ‘Internet in your Pocket’ and seen diagram after diagram showing how a full-fat 800×480 browser is the key but the truth is that it is just a small element of what’s picking up steam in the mobile Internet device market.  In fact, the mobile Web is just one of the things enabled by mobile Internet. Its a strong focal point but it would be a complete mistake to think that that is the only thing a MID is going to be.

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I try to stear clear of the many unconfirmed or uncited reports that come through Digitimes but this is one that you might want to keep an eye on. Apparently, Intel will be introducing updates to the Z-series (Silverthorne) CPUs in 2009. The CPUs will have higher clocks and there will be a new chipset say Digitimes. One assumes that the manufacturing process on the CPUs is getting better and higher quality (overclockable) parts are now coming off the production line. Digitimes mentions two chipsets in its brief report. The UP15W and the UL11L. The UP15W variant is new and the UL11L is the low power variant with the video decoding hardware removed (apparently found in the Aigo MID but I haven’t confirmed this yet.)

Current SCH (Poulsbo) chipset variants. (From this Intel PDF document.)

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.

Intel has just published a list of the currently and nearly-available MIDs along with regions and store names to help you track one down. It would be nice to see more regions and more products but this is a great start and I hope they keep up the process of publishing info like this. Customers are crying out for it!

You’ll find the Aigo (China), Benq S6 (Italy), Clarion (Q4 in the U.S.A.) Fujitsu U2010 (not in Europe) Kohjinsha SC3 (Japan, APAC), Lenovo U8 (China-only), Panasonic CFU1 (projects only) and Willcom D4 (Japan.)

Conspicuous by its absence is the Gigabyte M528.

The full list and details can be found on the Intel Software Network blogs.

Lincroft is the ’system on chip’  that powers Moorestown, Intel’s next-gen Mobile Internet Device platform. CPU, GPU, video decode hardware, video encode hardware [Note: Try finding that on the average laptop. Justin.tv needs to watch closely!] and 2D video hardware. Langwell is the comms silicon that connects Moorestown to all the peripherals that are required in a Mobile Internet Device. Its the USB bus, the audio bus, serial, video, etc etc. Think of Moorestown as the bare motherboard which comes pre-loaded with Lincroft, the combined CPU, Northbridge and video card, and Langwell as the Southbridge which provides all the comms interfaces. On to Morestown, OEMs will add memory, power circuitry, comms chips, audio chips, BIOS, storage, cams, mics, speakers and everything else that’s required to make a MID. Hopefuly it all gets wrapped up in an exciting bit of industrial design and loaded with top quality software!

You can see Moorestown demo’d, kind of, on the video that Engadget got hold of today.

And what about that ‘10x lower idle power’ figure that keeps being mentioned? Well, it means that the platform, that’s Moorestown, will idle nicely. Like a smartphone. All-day. The software will need to be developed such that it powers down all those peripherals that aren’t needed though and as for total system power drain (i.e. How long will a device last on a 10wh battery) I’m afraid its an unknown right now. Moorestown will account for a significant power saving but if an OEM goes and slaps a 2W WiFi module on it…

Intel have the same problems as all smartphone manufacturers now. It’s about guiding the OEMs and software developers and giving them the right components from the MID ecosystem.

I didn’t ever expected to be covering voice-capable devices on UMPCPortal but it looks like that’s the way it’s going!

No prizes for guessing what company said that! ZDnet highlights it with "Intel slams ’slow’ iPhone ARM CPU."  Gizmodo follows up. Engadget too (along with a lot of comments) and now it’s reached the front page of Techmeme. Oops!

I’m all behind Intel for their work in squashing the X86 architecture down to smartphone-sized levels with Moorestown and there’s an element of truth in the fact the the iPhone is underpowered for Internet apps but the way I see it is that it’s not really about CPUs anymore and as such, it comes across rather uncool to focus on it, especially when your partners are behind schedule on getting mobile Internet devices out of the door and you still have work to do to reach smartphone levels of power efficiency.

Both ARM and Intel have reached similar (consumer acceptable) territory in terms of watt/performance [*1] with their respective core architectures and yes, Intel’s solutions are probably more powerful and will definitely be attractive to the power-user but that’s a tiny part of the equation that goes together to make a thrilling consumer device. Intel’s main task now is about the integration of the CPU, GPU, controllers and radios into the smallest space possible with the highest platform efficiency. Both ARM and Intel’s ecosystem is highly capable of achieving that but there’s even more to consider. Industrial design,marketing and most importantly, software.

Intel are betting on one of the most fragmented software environments out there - Linux. They want to create a new, mobile-focused stack with it and surround it with quality ISVs. ARM’s partners want to use Linux too but they already have well-supported stacks with the same ISVs and big dev communities around them to. To drive a new Linux stack you need control, lead (in-house, paid, full-time) developers, Linux distribution partners and, if you want to take advantage of the existing application base, the skills of the people that wrote them. That means you need to be Linux-geek-cool and you need to show the dev community that you are a caring, sharing type. You also need to have an easy channel for them. An app, store. It’s critical now, not only for the developers, but to enable an important revenue stream in e-commerce for Intel and the partners. Moblin doesn’t have either of those two elements. Highlighting your advantages is one thing but making statements that attack the other side (where some of your community sits) won’t win you any hearts in the open-source world.

To be fair, I wasn’t there and haven’t been able to hear the comments in context and having interviewed Pankaj Kedia a few times, I know that he knows what he’s talking about. Add Steve Jobs’ recent comments into the mix and the stones that came from the ARM camp a few months ago and you can understand why these comments happen. Intel’s ultra mobile products are good and getting better and there may even be an Apple product in the works that gives Intel this confidence but when I hear comments like this, it just sounds cheap.

*1 The latest ARM-based devices have almost closed the 9-second penalty I demonstrated a year ago. See this article about the Archos 5.

Update. Intel has corrected its comments in a statemnet here.

Comprising the ’system on chip’ known as Lincroft and the comms chip known as Langwell, the next-generation MID platform from Intel, known as Moorestown, promises to provide smaller sizes and smaller power consumption. At IDF in Taipei today, Intel demonstrated the first working version.

Chandrasekher said that Moorestown will be a catalyst for exciting and innovative developments that will extend the full Internet experience into the smartphone space with the Communication MID. He indicated that Moorestown platforms will support a range of wireless technologies including 3G, WiMAX, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and mobile TV. Additionally, Chandrasekher announced a collaboration with Ericsson* for HSPA data modules optimized for the Moorestown platform. He also announced that Option* is extending its collaboration for HSPA modules to the Moorestown platform. These 3G modules come in 25×30x2.x mm small size, are optimized for Moorestown power requirements and will help provide MID users with more powerful, always connected Internet-based experiences. [press release]

Don’t expect too much information about Moorestown this week though as Intel have already stated that the next announcements are to come at the Spring IDF in 2009. In fact, if Menlow is anything to go by, the timeframe between first demonstrations and product availability will be about 18 months. We’ll keep an eye out for videos and details about Moorestown though.

Looking at the MID display from the technology showcase, I don’t see anything new there either. Keep any eye on the IDF photo stream at Flickr. Maybe something will turn up.

Following up on the previous story I did about the 12" Dell Mini, it looks like it really is going to happen.

The size and form factor is of no interest to most readers but what’s going on underneath is very interesting.

Up until now, the performance of Z-series-based PCs running XP or Vista has been less than exciting. Video playback and 3D performance is almost non-existent in devices like the Kohjinsha SC3 and way below what people are seeing on the cheap Atom-based netbooks. In theory, it should be a lot better. Many people have been waiting for fresh drivers for the system controller hub (SCH, Aka Poulsbo) chipset under Vista and for XP-lovers, there’s absolutely nothing out there except rumours. Intel have no choice now but to ship good quality drivers otherwise they will have a big customer problem.

So why are Dell using the Z-series Atom processors? Battery life. Atom Silverthorne and the SCH offer much higher power efficiency so it gives Dell’s engineers the best possible chance to produce an 8hr device. The SCH also has the video decoding hardware built-in so we could be looking at a great long-haul video playback device here.

For those looking for Silverthorne/Poulsbo drivers, keep an eye on the Dell 1210 driver download page.

Source: CSM Report.

Aving has just posted a report from the Asus World 2008 conference about the Asus N10 netbook/laptop we covered earlier. The N10 looks simply wonderful and there is no mistaking that this is a high-end piece of equipment. What is probably the best thing about this device is that it has an Nvidia GeForce 9300GS graphics card. Try finding that on another netbook! Other previously unknown specifications include a 320GB harddrive, 2GB of RAM, LED backlit 10″ screen and an Intel N270 (Atom) processor. Add this to the previously known features (HDMI, Altec Lansing speakers, fingerprint reader) and you have one powerful machine. And it looks great too..my new favorite netbook. Let’s just hope the battery life is good. More pictures over at Aving.net.

Chippy writes: Techticker reports that it will be officially announced on the 13th (Sat?) and will have a price of $1140 and a 6-cell battery good enough for 6+hours.  This is Atom breaking out of its cage and Intel and notebook manufacturers definitely won’t be happy to see it but its definately going to happen. Users are realising that they prefer good-value, small form-factor and long battery life more than anything. It really wont suprise me to see the average size on notebooks come right down with users being happy with 10-12″ models with long battery life as a result of the netbook craze. If Atom is good enough for that then Intel and traditional laptop sales will suffer.

Here’s another one of those ‘we can beat Atom’ tests where the fine detail of the result is irrelevant. The important thing here is that, like the VIA Nano comparison test, significant, market-changing progress has been made.

I’ve been talking about ARM’s Cortex A8 for a while now and keeping an eye on it in terms of its suitability for Mobile Internet Devices. Its a powerful computing core and people like Ti are using it to build very small, power-efficient media and Internet-capable platforms. Apart from Pandora, we’ve seen it being promoted for use in OHA Android phones and even for netbooks.

But how fast is the Cortex A8? How fast would Firefox 3 run on a Cortex-based Android smartphone? And how accurate would it be? Intel keep pusing the ‘real internet’ and about how many errors you’ll find with smartphone browsers but when you’re running Firefox 3 on both platforms, the difference disappears. Intel also talking about speeds but when the processing power is the same on both hardware, that difference disappears too. ARM’s partners have already fought back against the Intel Atom machine a few times in the past (Nvidia here and here) but this video strikes right at the heart of Atom/Moblin. It shows Firefox 3 running at impressive speeds. Forget the normalised comparison at the end of the video, any browser that can average under 10 seconds per page as shown in this demo is going to be good enough for almost everyone. Its twice as fast as previous ARM-based devices and completely removes the 9-second disadvantage that I’ve talked about before. [see video below]

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IDF, the Intel Developer Forum was held a few weeks ago and through the generosity of readers I was able to attend, listen, contribute and learn from the experience. Here’s the report that went out to my sponsors last week. Slightly abridged but containing all the important info.

If I was asked to summarise IDF from the ultra mobile angle I would probably say just one thing - software. Intel’s ultra mobility group have been working hard to bring in a number of important ISVs and IDF was the place they wanted to show it all off. Gypsii (A GPS-enabled social networking and POI network), Fring (Single client IM and social networking interface) Adobe (Flash 10 beta I assume they are working to get hardware video decoding in there) and Move networks (intelligent multi-protocol video streaming solution with H.264 hardware decoding support) were at the fore and Intel say that now have 60 ISV’s working with them. The software ecosystem was highlighted in both ultra mobility keynotes and appeared to take precedence over hardware announcements.
The other feeling I got was that things are taking off in Asia. This shouldn’t be a surprise to us considering past success of small mobile computing devices. Intel may be taking advantage of this by responding to Asian demands and I heard a number of people say that big hardware announcements would be made at IDF in Asia next spring. [Report continues below]

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…assuming they all reach the market of course!

By my research and calculations I see 33 design wins for the Intel Menlow MID platform. We’ve seen a lot from the likes of Benq, Willcom and Gigabyte in the last 6 months but there are a number of MIDs out there that have been very quiet and aren’t in the database yet. Here’s a list with as much detail as I know at this stage. Information comes from various sources. They are all based on Silverthorne and Poulsbo. (Menlow platform)

• KJS/Inventec - X5 MID. Linux, 4.8″ 800×480, 512Mb, 30/60GB, HSDPA, GPS - (This is possibly the Yukyung/Viliv S5, AKA X5 Atom.)
• KJS/Inventec - S32 - Linux, 4.8″ 1024×600, 1GB, 2GB/4GB flash,  GPS
• abit (USI) MID-100 - Slider - previewed at CeBIT
• abit (USI) MID-150. 8GB Flash, 4.8″ 800×480, GPS [Spec sheet here]
• abit (USI) MID-200 - Slider, 4.8″ [news here]
• Arbor Gladius G0710. Rugged tablet. 7″ screen. [news]
• TriGem Averatec (TriGem is the new parent company) MID - 512MB, 30GB, 4.8″ 1026×600. DMB, Wibro. Looks like its Asia-focused but Averatec are a global brand so maybe we’ll see this outside Asia.
• Nexcom - MTC2100. (Industrial tablet)
• OQO - No real news at this stage. [IDF news]
• Clevo TN70M, TN71M - Notebook style, 7″ 1024×600. [More news]
• LG Xnote B831 slider, 4.8″. [details]
• Samsung [listed at CeBIT]
• Hitachi [listed at CeBIT] Likely to be automotive device. [news]
• Toshiba [news] mini tablet.
• TabletKiosk i7300 [news]
• NEC [from this list]

Note the new KJS/Inventec ones (although they could be variants of these Inventec devices) and the Averatec MID. We’ll keep them on the watchlist and let you know if we hear anything.

In addition to the quiet ones, we have Panasonic CF-U1, EB MIMD, Gigabyte, BenQ S6, Aigo MID, Viliv S5, ASUS R70a, ASUS R50A, Sharp Willcom D4, Lenovo Ideapad U8, Fujistsu U2010, Kohjinsha SX3, Viliv S7, Digifriends MID, Wibrain i1, Kohjinsha SC3, Clarion.

33 design wins is amazing for a CPU that launched only a few months ago and I’m not even including the 10-15 development and industrial boards that are out there based on Menlow!

Sources: UMPCPortal archives, an IDF photo and this anonymous list on iii.

An OQO playing world of warcraft, flash 10 on an MID, an image manipulation application, a floating GUI and a very cheesy intro video! Higher quality version here. (WMV) Full Ultra Mobility keynote video and slides available at the Intel IDF site.

With a slick design, 8+hrs battery life and a swivel touchscreen, this isn’t your average UMPC! It’s not exactly a netbook either. Viliv have taken the U5 design they demonstrated at CES, slightly modified the screen, dropped an Intel Atom inside (up to 1.8Ghz) and made what I think is a very stylish piece.

Key features there are the 3G/4G module capability, 9 hours movie playback capability, GPS and the capability to take up to a 1.8Ghz CPU. (Silverthorne) The S7 is in final design stages (what you see is the final casing design) and is planned for launch in Q1 2009. There are no details about price or per-country availability at the moment.  More details and video after the specs….

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This is the S5 MID from Viliv.

The S5 is very much a PMP-style device but provides for fast Internet browsing and good media playback capabilities. There’s a 3G option possible (depending on territory) and a 24wh battery that is said to provide 5-6 hours of video playback. Given that the Gigabyte M528 can do 3 hours on a 10Wh battery, there’s no reason to doubt that. I’ll get the details into the database as soon as I can but for now, check out the presentation video I made. I like this one a lot. No keyboard but totally pocketable. 

Keep an eye out later for a video of a new device, the S7. Its  bigger, has a full keyboard, swivel touchscreen, has huge battery life and is very very slick!!

Update: I’ve just uploaded some new pics into the gallery