Over the last 4 years, Samsung have consistently produced good quality UMPCs and Netbooks. The NC10 is still a good netbook choice and the Q1 Ultra (image right) was a cracking UMPC. When Samsung announced that they would build an MID or UMPC back in 2008, we were interested to see what would happen. Unfortunately, not much happened. Samsung were a no-show at IDF08 and all we saw in the end was the Mondi WiMax device on ARM and the rather unexciting Q1 EX on the VIA platform.

You’ll excuse us then if we take the report of a new Samsung slate with a pinch of salt then!

A senior Samsung executive in Australia has revealed that they will be producing a ‘slate’ in the second half of the year. The word ‘Atom’ is mentioned alongside keywords like ‘pc-grade’ , ‘consumer’ and ‘connectivity.’

If you ask me, the timing and positioning sounds right for a MeeGo tablet-style device running the Intel Moorestown platform. Samsung have worked closely with Intel on mobile devices in the past and it would be the perfect partner to go alongside LG for a big Moorestown launch at Computex 2010 or even a separate Nokia/Intel/Meego launch event alongside a new Nokia smartphone. (Sidenote: I doubt we’ll see MeeGo+Nokia at Intel’s IDF or MeeGo+Intel at Nokia World. What do you think? Joint marketing could be quite the challenge with MeeGo.)

We know already that the Moorestown platform runs at 600Mhz with ‘turbo’ features enabling it to run for short periods at 1.2Ghz (video) which would make it far more powerful than the iPad (mentioned in the article.) With ‘power-gating’ bringing it smartphone-like always-on features, HD (720p) video encoding and HD video decoding along with the unique feature of being very USB-host-capable (think docking stations) you can see that Moorestown fits in very well with the keywords mentioned above and offers quite the flexible solution.

Personally I hope that Samsung doesn’t go the Windows 7 route. We’ve learned over the last year that Windows 7 + Atom is not the best solution if you want to enable consumer features like Windows Media Center and multitouch. With the mobile-focused hardware/software partnership of Moorestown and MeeGo, we could see some far more usable and consumer-friendly systems.

Source. APCMag

Hugo Ortega, who runs the ever interesting blog Uber Tablet, is preparing to launch a device with his company, Tegatech. The aptly named Tega tablet looks to be a rather clean slate with some fairly regular sounding specifications. It has a 10.2” resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 1024×600, uses a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, and has built-in 3G. The asking price seems a bit steep considering the slate competition out there — $995 for a version with no OS, or $1,145 for one with Windows 7 Starter (there is also a Win 7 Home Premium version available). Full specs below:

I just finished an overview post on the ever-interesting Notion Ink Adam slate over at Carrypad.com. As I researched the slate, I came away rather impressed with it. While we have yet to see production models, what Notion Ink claims to be bringing to the table with the Adam could very well surpass the iPad [Product page] in terms of power/battery life/features – is this a result of a small company’s ability to take risks that a large company couldn’t afford?

Most of us are all too familiar with Apple’s practices. Step one for Apple usually involves boiling a product concept down and identifying key uses. Next, they design the product around those key uses and make sure that it works very well for them. Finally they produce a well polished product that generally brings existing hardware together with streamlined software in a way that outshines most products in the category, but because the device is designed around specific uses, they often force their users to do things their way.

Then along comes a relatively small company like Notion Ink. I’ve got to imagine that being small allows them to respond quickly to changes in the market as they are developing their product, which affords them the ability them to incorporate some bleeding-edge hardware (like a dual-core Cortex A-9 CPU, Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform, and Pixel Qi display.) Additionally, being open about the development of their device leaves the door open for feedback and constructive criticism which will all end up improving the final product.

It’s unlikely that Notion Ink will sell even half as many Adam slates as Apple sells iPads, but I feel that they have a shot at stealing relatively large chunk of would-be iPad users by being bold enough to include things like a swiveling camera and a rear trackpad. Of course much of this potential will be lost if the price isn’t right — as well as how long it takes them to get it to market (neither of which have been announced officially.)

And let’s not forget that both of these devices could fail pretty easily if their OSKs don’t function adequately.

I think this is a big opportunity for Notion Ink, and I really hope they are able to delivery everything that they have been claiming with this product. What do you think, dear reader? Would you take the Adam over the iPad if you could pick either for the same price? Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments below.

If the ‘iPad’ is launched tomorrow there’s one thing that’s certain to happen. As senior editors prepare their copy and aim to boost SEO value by focusing on the current keyword trends, the many tablets that already exist in the market will be completely overlooked. Some tech journalists will remember that something tablet-like existed back in 2006 and mark it as a failed category but of course, we know different.

The number of tablet devices in the market has grown considerably in the last 12 months and we’re now at the point where we have 46 of them fully-specified in the database with screen sizes of 4.8 to 10 inches.

Prices range from $200 to over $1000 with processors based on RISC and X86, operating systems based on Windows and Linux and battery life ranging from 2-10 hours. Our favorite so far – The Viliv X70. What’s yours?

Click for a full interactive list (updated daily) and please, don’t forget the tablets!

The Archos 9 has had the #1 spot in the Portal for some time now, it’s pretty clear that people are excited for it, despite the fact that it may be a slate.

Unfortunately for everyone out there looking forward to the Archos 9, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. We had been expecting the Archos 9 to be released on October 22nd as we had heard at IDF 09, but we’ve watched that date come and go and been scratching our heads since.

I’ve recently contacted Archos about availability of the Archos 9, and was told that pre-orders made through www.archos.com should be shipping in “early December”. Retail store availability (Amazon, Walmart, etc.) is expected in Q1. That’s all we’ve got to go on for now; sorry for the folks that have been holding out, but hopefully you’ll get your hand on this device before something else comes along and catches your eye!

When will the madness end? New slate devices currently seem to be announced as frequently as a new Eee PC model was a year or so ago. Why are all these slates popping up, and is anyone even buying them? This all seems awfully familiar too… didn’t we already hate these devices once before?

What’s with all of these damn slates lately?

Over the last few months we’ve seen slate devices spread at a ridiculous pace. For a simple demonstration of this, take a look at the visual version of the Portal — 6 of the top 10 devices are slates!

Archos 9 – Evigroup Pad – Wits A81- Viliv X70 – Viliv S5 – CrunchPad

And while not yet in the Portal, the IDC Vega was also just recently announced, and there are plenty of other pending slates that I haven’t listed.

Where did they come from?

I blame one device, one example of vaporware, and one rumor. That would be the iPhone, the CrunchPad, and the Apple tablet rumor respectively. Hat tip to Jenn of Pocketables.net who got me started thinking about article by saying that Apple “messed up” what people think of as the ideal form-factor in a device. Apple showed that a slate form factor at the iPhone size can be a a productive and downright useful tool, but only when all of the pieces fit together perfectly — meaning not just hardware, but software as well.

Then we got started with the Apple tablet rumors which could have an entire article dedicated to them alone — but I’ll spare you the agony. Long story short, Apple tablet rumors seemed to start forming from a combination of wishful thinking and a few touch oriented patents that Apple filed. Now weekly we see at least one rumor. But what effect has this had on these slate devices? Well I’d argue that without this Apple tablet rumor insanity, the majority of these devices wouldn’t even exist. Apple tablet rumors have been ongoing since at least 2000, but we don’t see them start to pop up in the form that we know today until shortly after the release of the iPhone in 2007.

Even the CrunchPad (one of the first of these slate devices) which doesn’t appear to have been conceived as a response to the tablet rumors, was compared from all angles to this rumored device, that doesn’t even exist, from the get-go. With some headlines heralding it as an “Apple tablet killer” despite the fact that it is often hard, nay impossible, to kill something that has no physical presence in this thing that we call reality.

Is it just me, or does it seem like most of the above devices are attempts to beat Apple to a market that they might not even enter, using the power of the Applet tablet madness to drive interest? Honestly, most of these devices aren’t even released yet and they are still commanding top positions here in the Portal. Clearly there is interest, but that doesn’t mean that these devices are going to be any good. In fact if we think back just a few years ago, we might find ourselves with a feeling of promnesia.

(continue reading on page 2)

A company called Innovative Convergent Devices has put info up on their website about a new device called the Vega, which purportedly will be an Android 2.0 powered slate device which will come in your choice of size: 7”, 11” or up to a whooping 15.6”.

Check the specs (likely subject to change):

• Android OS
• 7/11/15.6” resistive touchscreen at 1366×768
• Nvidia Tegra (probably the Tegra 600 or 650, which are both Arm 11)
• 4 hour battery life
• 512MB of RAM
• 512MB of memory (expandable through MicroSD)
• Bluetooth and WiFi b/g
• Options for 2G or 3G data module
• headphone jack and webcam
• dual microphones
• accelerometer

And one other thing listed on the spec sheet that is rather odd: 262,000 colors (6-bit) which seems sort of low for a device that claims to be usable for HD content.

The press release on IDC’s site says that the device will be released through “Tier 1” carriers in the US, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, which should mean that the device will be subsidized. They are also set to show off a demo unit at this year’s CES (Jan 7-10) and hope to launch in the first half of 2010.

There is a lot of talk about the Vega being a “no compromise” product that consumers really want, however, I don’t know about you… but I’d call a slate device with no physical keyboard and a resistive touchscreen just that: a compromise. Your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

[GottaBeMobile]

Jkk has spotted that the Archos 9 has been dissected over at the FCC. Unfortunately you won’t find unicorns or magic inside, but just your everyday Atom guts and computer components. Swapping out the 1.8” HDD which (jkk identified to be PATA with a ZIF connector) shouldn’t be hard if you don’t mind cracking the case on your Archos 9 [Portal page] – as jkk said, it’s fun to see what they look like inside. And in case anyone was unsure, SIM slot has been verified via these images so 3G is a-go for the US version.

A word on availability: Archos seemed fairly adamant about the quoted October 22nd launch, but we haven’t seen the Archos 9 appear in stores yet. However, all indicators are pointing to soon – hopefully before we leave the month of November.

It is rather interesting that a number of new slate style tablet devices seem to be warring even before they are officially launched, or even proven exist. The two most frequently rumored are definitely the CrunchPad and the even more elusive Apple Tablet. While the Apple Tablet may or may not even exist, we’ve at least seen offical prototypes of the CrunchPad, and it seemed to be generally near completion until all any new info surrounding its release has halted in the last few months.

The CrunchPad shot up the popularity ladder in the Portal shortly after being added, and held the number one spot for a good period of time. Despite seemingly no one calling the CrunchPad a UMPC, lots of traffic clearly interested in the CrunchPad was landing on the CrunchPad’s Portal page.

The CrunchPad has only recently been supplanted by the likes of the Archos 9 [Portal page] and the Viliv X70 [Portal page]:The CrunchPad is a project started by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch. In July of 2008, an article titled “We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet For $200. Help Us Build It.” written by Arrington, went up on TechCrunch. To date that article has produced 1,235 comments in the comment section of the article alone and also countless numbers of articles from other sites in response. Between that time and a month or two ago, the CrunchPad has received quite a bit of attention with various prototypes spotted and a good deal of news and search attention. Note the news reference volume in the graph below which shows how frequently the CrunchPad is searched for (compared to Archos 9 for context):The most recent news that seemed to decry an imminent release of the CrunchPad was that Michael Arrington had teamed up with a small company in Singapore called Fusion Garage for the design, and there is another entity apparently called CrunchPad Inc. which may or may not be involved in getting the device produced (or could possibly be a renaming of Fusion Garage itself).

But much of this news is from back in July. There were reports (read: rumors) that stated that a CrunchPad event may be held at the end of July, or in August, launching or otherwise officially declaring the final CrunchPad device. That date has since come and gone, and here we are, a few days from November, and it seems like all has been quiet on the CrunchPad front. So where in the world is Carmen Sandiego the CrunchPad?

Perhaps the CrunchPad has been waiting on Pixel Qi’s technology to develop? This is just a guess, but I don’t see anyone else taking a shot at the question.Pixel Qi is a company (sometimes referred to as the name of the technology itself) that is working on a type of screen technology that promises to bring inexpensive power saving e-ink like screens to mobile computers using existing LCD manufacturing processes. The Pixel Qi site has a small update box that has this to say:

We have passed early reliability testing with flying colors and are still on track to start mass production of our screens in late Q4 2009.

And while it might seem obvious that Pixel Qi would let people know if they have been working on screens for the CrunchPad to generate interest in the technology, and the device, the following was written on the Pixel Qi blog on October 17th under an article titled “Pixel Qi Screens debuting in Tablets”:

While we are supplying screens for tablets (and ebooks, and netbooks too!) and are starting production shortly, including supplying limited volumes earlier than our official mass production start – we can’t say when these products will be announced and sold retail.

Sorry not to be able to reveal more, but our customers: the netbook, ebook and tablet makers really need to announce their products on their schedules.

With a few CrunchPad articles mentioning a November release, I’d say that it is at least possible that the CrunchPad devlopment and the Pixel Qi screens are coinciding, and maybe the CrunchPad hold-up is due in part to Pixel Qi screen technology still working its way out the door.

Alternate theories? Please feel free to share below.

It looks like Windows 7 and some invisible tabletPC marketing force is spurring people to make web pads left right and center. The Ebook reports that the Lbook T9 will be coming to the market next year for an interesting retail price of $350-$375. If they really can achieve that than we’re in for some interesting times.

• CPU: Intel Atom Z530 1.6G
• RAM: DDR2 2GB
• HDD: 120GB
• Screen: TFT LCD, 8.9″ wide,1024×600
• Wireless: Bluetooth, WiFi, (3G option)
• Expected battery life: 4 hours.
• Weight: 670g
• Expected retail price: $350-375
• Planned date: March 2010

Super slim 12.7mm body under the control of Windows 7. The highlight of the device would be touch-screen technology “multitouch” to enter information. [Via translation]

The specifications look challenging but not impossible. An SSD might be more interesting for performance and ruggedness though.

Thanks Mike.

Update: Hands-on video and full specifications.

The title says most of what you need to know. Archos has announced the official launch for the Archos 9, which will be on October 22nd in two colors (white and black), and the unit will run $499! Here are the specs:

• Atom Z510 1.1GHz CPU
• 1024×600 9” resistive touchscreen
• 1GB of RAM
• 60GB HDD
• Windows 7 Starter
• 4 hours of battery life
• 800 grams

I have to say that I’m really impressed with that price. I couldn’t see the Archos 9 going anywhere if it were $600+, and $499 is a great surprise.

Check out Chippy’s recent hands-on with the 16mm thin device.

Chippy’s spent a lot of time bringing us some quality IDF 2009 coverage. In addition to a video-overview of each of these devices, he’s been able to sneak away and snap some nice pictures of each. Full Archos 9 set on MIDMoves

Full UMID M2 set on MIDMoves

One of the more intriguing devices that we’ve been waiting to find out more about is the Archos 9 slate UMPC [Portal page]. Have a look at Chippy’s hands on, straight from IDF 2009:

Looks pretty darn slick if you ask me. I’m really happy to see the optical mouse; it will definitely improve usability over having just the touchscreen for input. Don’t forget – this thing is running Windows 7. I’m pretty disappointed to see a lack of physical keyboard on the Archos 9. No keyboard physical means some seriously reduced usability for normal computing applications, but the nice inline stand could make this a nice table-top media device. If you carried this puppy around with a foldable BT keyboard, you’d have a very slick piece of kit for mobile computing.

I think I’d personally rather see this device running a custom OS with polished touch based software and a reasonable price. The price hasn’t been announced yet, but Chippy puts the unit around 600 Euros, available pretty soon. More info as we get it.

An interesting hybrid device has cropped up at Computex. Combining a netbook with a slate UMPC and running both XP and Android at the same time might sound complicated, but it looks like there is a semi-functional unit on display already.

At the M-Taiwan both there is an HP Mini 1000 [Portal page] which has been fitted to use a VIA C7-M processor, and then fitted with a display which actually has its own 533MHz ARM CPU and runs Android. Essentially the Android slate device functions as the display for the Mini 1000 (running Windows XP) while it is attached, but then can be removed an will function on its own, running Android, as a slate UMPC.

A pretty cool concept definitely, but without any information sharing between the Mini 1000 base and the ARM based slate, I don’t know how productive one could be with this. What might be interesting is if it would be possible to remote control the Mini 1000 base from the ARM based slate. That way you could take some standing notes with the display, then plug it in to the base and switch over to directly controlling XP.

[How to be Mobile]

We might still be waiting to hear more news of the Side Arm 2 rugged UMPC, but in the mean time it seems like we have a different rugged UMPC to take a look at. Have a look at the Yuma rugged UMPC from Trimble.

• 7″ sunlight-readable 1024×600 touchscreen display
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• Windows Vista
• 32GB SSD
• 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0
• GPS
• dual-cameras
• USB 2.0 port x 2
• SDIO slot
• ExpressCard slot

It seems to be a pretty large slate-UMPC (read: no keyboard) and weighs 2.6 pounds with the battery. Clearly this device is not for consumer wielding in the local coffee shop, but instead it is designed to stand up to some serious punishment and provide a mobile platform for commercial work. Here are some of the things that Trimble mentioned the device might be useful for while on-the-go:

•  
  • Collect and exchange data – lots of data
  • Transfer data in real time
  • Run reports
  • Receive dispatch orders on the road
  • Take geo-tagged photographs
  • Initiate VOIP communications
  • Add secure memory for sensitive files
  • Send email
  • Write a report
  • Find your way out of the forest

[Rugged PC Reviews] via [GottaBeMobile]

Dynamism very kindly lent us this Asus R50A for review.

Note: The unit is said to be pre-production. As you will read in the review below, the hardware seems final except the speakers aren’t functioning. The software build is where the flaws seem to be. UMPC Portal reader Arthur, who owns an R50A, says that he doesn’t have some of the software issues (such as multiple radio connection apps) that I experienced with my unit. He also sent over his Vista Index score which I have posted below (my unit’s Vista Index didn’t seem to be calculating correctly).

Overview

Have a look at the R50A [Portal page] slate UMPC from Asus. A pretty nice piece of hardware that unfortunately lends itself to some poor software integration. I’ve been testing the UMPC for a few weeks now and regret to say that I am not impressed with it as a consumer device. Lets have a run-down of the specs first, shall we?

• 5.6″ 1024×600 gloss touchscreen
• 1.33GHz Atom Z520 CPU
• 1GB of RAM
• 32GB SSD
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• 3G HSDPA
• Bluetooh/WLAN
• GPS

If you are interested, have a look at my R50A unboxing. Here is a quick excerpt of my unboxing impressions:

The Asus R50A manages to be true to at least half of its “Rock Solid – Heart Touching” slogan. The R50A feels solid in the hands and it is fairly well made. The 32GB SSD helps reaffirm that this unit is designed to be mobile in and in the user’s hands. The joystick mouse doesn’t move like that of an video game controller, instead it moves like the stick on a PSP, it moves left and right while staying on the same plane, as opposed to actually tilting from one side to another. Even after much practice with the thumb stick on my VAIO UX180, this thing will take some getting used to. This is the first slate UMPC that I have used, so it is a new experience for me; having to do my regular computing tasks without a keyboard. Going through Vista’s handwriting recognition training makes the recognition pretty darn accurate. The screen isn’t too smooth to write on unfortunately, and the stylus is small… too small for a UMPC that doesn’t have a keyboard.

Right out of the box, Vista is causing some serious issues. Right now I’m running the unit with the lowest possible graphical settings from Vista, and performance is still pretty bad. Vista is really obviously going to be a major bane to this otherwise good piece of hardware.

Hardware Tour

Front (left to right): Left and right mouse buttons, quick launch touchscreen menu button, Windows Media Center launch, user log off page button, sleep button, camera, mouse stick, biometric fingerprint scanner, arrow key d-pad + center enter button.

Left side: Micro SD slot, power slider, proprietary USB accessory connector, wrist-strap anchor.

Bottom: Microphone hole, air vents (intake).

Right side: Wrist-strap anchor, proprietary VGA connector (behind door), battery ejection switch, USB 2.0.

Top: Camera button, air vents (output), A/C adapter, mini-USB port, hold switch, air vents (intake), antenna connector, stylus silo.

Under the battery: SIM card slot for 3G, camera.

Battery: Camera lens hole.

A few size comparison pictures to the VAIO UX:

Dynamism kindly provided us with an Asus R50A [Portal page] to take a look at. It is a slate UMPC with a 32GB SSD, 5.6″ screen, 1GB of RAM, 3G connectivity, and the less power hungry 1.3GHz Z520 Atom CPU. Will the R50A cut it as a quality UMPC? You’ll have to wait for the full review to find out. For now have a look at the unboxing below and read some initial impressions.

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