Where would netbooks be without Windows XP? Probably nowhere, so why have Dell decided to combine the low-power Atom Z-series with Windows Vista on their new 12" laptop? There’s two reasons.

1 - To save a few watts/degrees/mm

2 - To enable a high-end video experience

APCMag and LaptopMag have both done some reviewing and its hard to see any reasoning behind Dells move because neither of the reviews shine. 3hrs battery life and sluggish performance are nothing to write home about, even if the device uses a smaller battery.

The one thing that hasn’t been tested yet is video. The Poulsbo chipset offers hardware decoding for a number of video encoding formats and maybe Dell want to use this as the main feature but from what I can see, there’s no HDMI or composite output so they are obviously not aiming the device at media fans, especially with that relatively slow and small 60GB, 1.8" 4200 RPM drive they’ve put inside. No, it looks like they wanted to go for the smallest, quietest and lowest power build and Menlow/Vista was probably the only choice. Many people are aware that XP drivers just don’t seem to be materialising for the Menlow platform so it looks like Dell made the choice to push out a Vista version rather than wait.

The problem they have now is that the first reviews will stick in the Internet search results and poison any future release of the same model. They also poison the Menlow platform. To me, the Dell Mini 12 is a big mistake. They really should have waited until Windows 7 was available.

…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.

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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The important element of this little report is that, for the first time, I’ve been able to play with a Menlow-based UMPC (Atom 1.33Ghz Z520, Poulsbo) running Windows XP although I have to say, the Panasonic CF-U1 is an awesome device that needs to be talked about first. Lets get my excitement about the CF-U1 out of the way…

• Dual, hot-swappable 20Wh batteries. Now that’s a feature I want, with an external charger.
• Dual high-brightness LEDs around the camera. For that night-time report or just to scare young boys!
• Fingerprint reader for security and speed benefits.
• Modules all over the place! This one had a laser barcode scanner and RFID reader.
• Hand strap options.
• Amazing Wifi and Bluetooth reception. I didn’t get a chance to test it out but apparently a lot of time was spent getting it right. The person showing me the U1 [Hi Jason. Thanks for breakfast!] had done some tests to confirm this.
• Peace-of-mind ruggedness.
• High efficiency build.

More after the images below…

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As you might have read, I have been very disappointed with the battery life figures on the Kohjinsha SC3. I was expecting a lot lot more from an Ultra Mobile PC built on Intel’s latest battery-optimised Menlow platform but it turns out that under normal use, this device is just as bad as many devices based on the previous platform. Over the last 24 hours I’ve spent a lot of time trying to analyse why and have finally come up with the reason. Invetec, the OED for this device, have cut corners. While the background drain (on the motherboard and power board) is better than on previous Kohjinsha’s, it’s no better than the HTC Shift, Q1 Ultra. All these devices can match the SC3 for background efficiency. About 4W minimum or 5-hours, is what you can expect with everything turned off but the processor.

OK, 4W is good but once the screen is on, boom! Up goes the battery drain by between 80 and 150%. This is exceptionally high drain for what appears to be a LED-backlit screen. Thank goodness that using the screen in a bright room requires only 3/8th brightness but it’s still about 3W of drain which is much higher than it should be.

The second shock comes when you turn the VIA, yes VIA!,  USB Wifi module on. Connecting to a hotspot will push the drain up by over 3W. It will settle back to 2W after connection but this is, quite frankly, pathetic. A wifi module that takes more power than the processor is a joke. There are far more efficient Wifi modules out there. Did Inventec think they were designing a cheap netbook?

So from a background drain of 5W, if you want to surf the net in a bright room over Wifi, the battery life drops to a depressing 2hrs. This is an average drain of 10W which is no better than the devices mentioned above.

Breakdown, tips and summary follow…

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It arrived a few hours ago after a swift pass through customs over the weekend and it’s still sitting behind me, boxed and sealed. I’m very, very excited!

The Kohjinsha SC3 will be the first retail device based on the new Intel Menlow platform that I’ve been able to test, and test it I will. Battery life, video performance, Vista performance, typing, GPS, ExpressCard capabilities and much more. It all starts today and for most of it, I’ll be live in the studio so you can join me for a behind-the-scenes look while I do the unboxing. Later today I’ll be running a presentation so you can join me for a closer look and will have the chance to answer questions. I’ll be at the desk doing the unboxing video from about 1700 CET but doing the presentation from about 2100 CET. That’s 2000 UK, 15:00 New York and at 1200 in San Francisco.

See you on UMPCPortal/Live. I’m just off to put some suitable clothes on!

Energy efficiency is, without a doubt, the most important design factor for any pocketable Ultra Mobile device. On Friday this week, there are two very important launch events taking place that will highlight the advances made in energy efficient computing over the last year. The two devices will also show how us close Intel and ARM partners really are in the race to provide handheld, Internet-focused computers. MIDs.

On one side of the fence, in PC land, Sharp and Willcom will release a pocketable slider-keyboard mobility-focused device. The Sharp Willcom D4 will be running Windows Vista on the Intel Silverthorne/Poulsbo platform also known as Menlow and is likely to be one of the most energy-efficient 3G-enabled PC’s so far.

On the other side of the fence, in smartphone land, Apple will release a smaller, 3G-capable mobility-focused device running a highly optimised desktop operating system. The iPhone 3G will be running ARM-based processors and is likely to be one of the most energy-efficient 3G smartphones so far.

The Willcom D4 is said to have (independent tests) a 3G-active time (Internet activity) of around 1.5 hours and it runs a 7wh battery.

The iPhone 3G is said to have (Apple figures) a 3G-active time (Internet activity) of around 5 hours and it is likely to run (my estimates) a battery of about 5.5wh.

3G-active Internet time is a worst-case measure of device efficiency so, based on these early figures, it looks like the Menlow-based device will use about 4.5W and an iPhone will use about 1W.  More after the pic…

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