I wish I had had the chance to spend a few more hours with all the Moblin 2 distributors that were at IDF09 this year but I simply ran out of time and got kicked out of the showcase exhibition as it closed. Sigh!

One company I had the chance to spend quality time with was Linpus. They’ve got at least three versions of a Moblin 2.0-based distribution in progress and they look so much better than the Linux-based netbooks from just a year ago. Linpus have put out a press release (below) but it might be more interesting to watch the video. Linpus Moblin Enhanced is shown at the beginning of the video but there’s a slick looking version at the end too. Both of these should be available for download within two weeks.

Linpus website.

Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced Version Now Available

Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced based on New Version of Moblin™ Technology Offers Robust Netbook Experiences

San Francisco, California, September 23, 2009 – Today, Linpus Technologies, Inc. released Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced, their 2^nd consumer Linux product based on Moblin version 2 technology, an optimized open source Linux operating system project for rich Internet and media experiences on Intel® Atom™ processor based devices.

In the Linpus version the Moblin UI has been enhanced to improve the delivery of key online information. The right side of M-Zone is designed to send live new tweets, messages and photos from your favorite social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr, Myspace and Last.FM. In Moblin, all this information flows through one tab. Linpus has redesigned this so that each social networking site has its own tab.  Linpus has also added a module that that delivers the latest emails from different webmail accounts.

Linpus has also made a number of other improvements:

1. A robust, commercial LiveUpdate function that can deliver device and manufacturer specific updates.
2. To the network manager we have added support for numerous 3G modems, WLAN, VPN, and LAN connectivity.
3. Third party software such as OpenOffice
4. Support for nettop resolutions.
5. Dual booting enhancements.

Additionally, Linpus Linux Lite has a number of applications to encourage adoption. If users want to dual boot with Windows, the PIM Sync and Folder Sync applications were created to help the sharing of key information between the two systems. In the case of PIM Sync, it copies a user’s email and calendar information from Outlook, and, in the case of Folder Sync users are able to copy important files, music and videos to Linpus Linux Lite.

“We are really excited by the rich technology provided by Moblin™ technology, specifically, fast-boot and Clutter,” said Rita Jing, vice-president of sales, Linpus Technologies, Inc. “With Moblin technology, we have been able to take the browsing, multimedia and social networking experience to a new level – As well as improving general overall usability.”

Moblin v2 technology, which is currently available for netbooks, is the latest from Moblin.org, an open source community that supports the creation and distribution of Linux-based operating system products for Intel Atom-based platforms, including netbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), nettops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and embedded systems. Intel launched Moblin in June 2007 and incubated the project until April 2009 when the Linux Foundation became the host of the community. Intel continues to contribute key technologies and work with the developer community to advance the effort.

“The release of Linpus Moblin™ V2 Enhanced is a success for the entire Moblin™ community and for users of Intel® Atom™ processor based netbooks,” said Doug Fisher, vice president of Intel’s Software and Services Group and general manager of the System Software Division. “The Moblin™ community’s efforts enabled Linpus to build a superb consumer Linux product that fully utilizes the latest features of the Intel Atom processor and incorporates the robust Internet and media capabilities that are inherent to Moblin v2 technology.”

Linpus is working with a number of OEMs and ODMs to deliver Linpus Linux Lite to a range of customers in multiple industry segments.

Something a lot of people seem to have missed is that the Linux Foundation’s Moblin 2.0 Beta release is targeted more at Linux distributors rather than end-users. You wouldn’t think so from some of the promotional activities that have been going on but it’s probably the reason that a lot of people are expressing disappointment after testing it out. As we look forward, it’s likely that the Linux Foundation will continue to target distributors rather than end users. We’ll double-check next week at the Moblin keynote in Computex [June 3, 2009, 12:00-13:30] but the fact that Linpus have announced a full release of Linpus Lite based on Moblin 2.0 appears to back this up.

At Computex Linpus, the most popular operating system in the netbook space, will be showing a number of cutting edge new open source consumer products, including: its updated instant-on product, and the first look at its Moblin V2 Linpus Linux Lite with Linpus UI and Intel UI versions.
The Moblin V2 final source code, and, in particular, the user interface was only recently released – because of this the Linpus version is one of the first available on the market.
The new version of Linpus Linux Lite boots in less than 15 seconds and takes the user experience to the next level: our live desktop gives live and instant access to recent and favorite websites, communication tools, applications and multimedia; it adds cutting edge clutter technology allowing more vivid graphics and simulation of real world movement and physicality: actions, instructions, and places are easier to remember and more fun; and it has integrated all the key features and benefits of Moblin V2 including the Intel UI. [Source: Press Release]

Linpus mention a ‘first-look’ in their press release which indicates that the product may not be 100% ready for launch yet but you’ll find some more info and a placeholder on the Linpus website. The download isn’t active yet but it based on this, it looks like more than just a beta. Linpus have worked with Acer and Benq netbooks in the past so if you’re an Acer or Benq netbook owner, the chances are that this distribution will be a good solution for you. Unfortunately, there may not be touchscreen support and there won’t be support for Z-Series and Poulsbo.

Update: We’ve got some screenshots now. Click to enlarge. 

More images in the gallery. 

We’ll be at Computex next week to check this out. 

As we discussed on last nights Computex round-up podcast, Linpus have also announced that they will be using the Intel Moblin core as their base for the Linpus Linux Lite OS. Linpus might not be a Linux distribution you’re familiar with but if Acer get their way, it could be on millions of netbooks by the end of next year as it will be shipped in the Linux version of the Aspire ONE.

Taipei, Taiwan – June 3rd, 2008 – Linpus, a leader in the field of Linux solutions for low cost notebook and ultra mobile devices, announced today plans to deliver Linpus Linux Lite to support netbooks, a new category of simple, affordable devices for the Internet. Linpus Linux Lite with its ultra intuitive icon, tab-based interface and high performance on low cost hardware is well suited for this category of devices. Linpus will join the moblin.org project and will develop their products by adopting the Moblin Linux stack, optimized for the Intel® Atom™ Processor to unlock longer battery life, fast boot performance, better internet and media experiences on these devices.

With Xandros and Canonical also announcing support and Wind River and Asianux already on board, the Moblin core and toolkits could provide an interesting opportunity for application developers.