You’ve probably seen plenty of previews of Windows 8 over the last 12 hours or so given that its just gone publicly available as a preview. The operating system offers multiple usage scenarios for touch, mobile and productivity. Devices like the Fujitsu TH40 will benefit highly from Windows 8 as they too offer multiple usage scenarios.
I was really quite impressed with the device after my hands on at the Intel Atom Showcase here at IDF. Of all the Oaktrail devices I’ve tried, this has been the best experience yet. I was left wondering why this is only available in Japan.
Look out for the optical mouse pointer. Given my experience with other Oaktrail devices I would put the working battery life, screen on, at about 4-5hrs. Two points I would have to think carefully about are the longevity of the slider mechanism and the processing power which, on Oaktrail, is never really going to impress anyone.
We’ve just put the Samsung TX100 specs in the database along with an expected launch price of $699. It’s been confirmed today though that the Pc7 series / TX100 is going to come in, with a 1.5Ghz Oaktrail / GMA 600 processing engine, 32Gb ssd, 2Gb of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium for $649.
Those of you thinking about $299 netbooks might be a little shocked at the price but remember the TX100 is aimed at flexibility and portability with a good battery life. Windows 7 may not excite you either but its productive, plus, there are two more operating systems on the horizon that should sit well with the Oaktrail platform. Meego is still in progress and should be well optimized in terms of power efficiency but more exciting to the masses is the possibility of an official Intel Honeycomb build. It is being worked on for Oaktrail, Moorestown and Medfield although neither Intel or Samsung have mentioned anything about it. They should because I’m sure there are people put there interested in the advantages of a 2-way virtualised OS build.
The CPU could be a little weak compared to dual-core Atom Netbooks but if it has a fast SSD, it should help along with the 2x boost in GPU power over previous Menlow devices.
The TX100 is an important device for Intel. Samsung have done great work with mobile Intel devices in the past, lets hope they also do a good job with this one.
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When the UMPC world had a little more momentum than it does today, Sony had a few high-end offerings that stood head and shoulders above most other models in that they had some amazing engineering and used some relatively high-end CPUs. The Sony UX range had a huge fan-base and still stands on its own against competitors today. Looking at the Freestyle PC that was revealed in a Sony presentation a few days ago, I see another unique product. Is this a sub 10” slider?
‘Freestyle’ indicates multiple usage scenarios with a consumer slant. The ‘Hybrid’ part of the name indiates the same but does it go further than that? While I don’t expect a dual-CPU, I do expect the Oaktrail platform to be used to provide the Windows OS with an overlay layer. It might also include a dual-boot or fast-boot mode. It would be nice to see an Intel Android build on this to give a true hybrid usage model.
As for size, check this out. It’s the Hybrid put side-by-side with the Samsung TX100 which is a 10.1” device.
The Sony Hybrid doesn’t look like a 10”-er to me. There’s no trackpad and the ratio of thicknesses (look at the USB port on the side) and frame width compared to the screen size says 7” or 8” to me. This could be a replacement for the Vaio P11. By looking at the P11 you get a better feel for the real-world size of the Hybrid.
And here’s the 7” HTC Shift. Again, look at the port sizes.
There are no specifications available for the Sony Hybrid yet so none of my speculation can be confirmed. I look forward to it though.
The rumour had been going around but it’s now confirmed that Samsung have a 10” convertible tablet/netbook on Oaktrail ready to go in March.
We missed the press event at CES this morning to write up some other articles so we’re picking this up from other sources but according to Engadget, it’s an Oaktrail-based device (1.66GHz Z670) with 32 or 64GB SSD, 2GB of RAM and a high-brightness 1366×768 capacitive screen. There’s no mention of a digitiser in the press release. As for battery life…
The six-cell lithium-polymer battery and innovative Eco Light Sensor, which conserves energy and adjusts screen brightness based on available ambient light, allows the 7 Series to last for up to 9 hours.
Use the usual 2/3rd rule on the marketing figures there and you still get a reasonable 6hrs battery life. At 1KG this looks like an interesting take on the netbook. Price? $699 with options for WiMax too.
I like the design but I’m also seeing a 1KG Windows tablet which is just a little too heavy and not running the right OS for some of the consumer tablet scenarios that are taking off. Without the digitiser it’s not going to attract hard-core TabletPC users either. An expensive netbook? Style exercise or perfect for the living room? What do you think?
The XPPhone story has been quite a long one and many of us wondered whether the device would reach the market but it has, and we took a look at it at Computex. The mechanics were very solid, the operation very easy and the keyboard quite good. The phone functions work and even the battery life appears to be acceptable. This is definitely a specialist device but if you’re prepared to carry it around with you it’s going to reward you with a relatively fast, and totally complete Internet experience, access to many of your desktop apps and a good quality input system. It’s not as powerful as the OQO but has longer battery life. This is an alternative for those that have been looking at the EKing S515 / PSiXPDA.
Spot the difference. On the top, the Eking S515 available in China and through Mobilx in Europe. On the bottom, the Psixpda (that’s Sye-Ex P-D-A) which has just been launched by Psixpda in England.
Yup, they’re the same device which is excellent news. Why? It means activity, availability and competition which is great for everyone. Lord knows we need some movement in this market.
Psixpda has been set-up to bring mobile computing to high end users according to Ewan Spence, a partner in the company. We did some work with Ewan on MIDMoves last year where he tested out a number of mobile devices in his ‘elements’ tour. He’s also involved with writing content for All About Symbian and a number of other websites. One could say that he’s a blogger that has brought a mobile device to the market where others have failed!
I spoke to Ewan earlier about the project and asked him about target markets, numbers, prices and the future and he was very clear to point out that this device isn’t intended to be a huge mass market product. “10’s of thousands” is the target here which, across a market of over 1 billion people, shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not going to be the only PsiXPDA product either. There’s room for more although Ewan wouldn’t comment on anything particular. We guess that they’ll be spending quite a lot of time going round CES and, hopefully, keeping track of UMPCPortal.
The PsiXPDA will be available from next week in Europe with the same specs as we’ve got for the Eking S515. The operating system will be Windows XP (sensible move in our opinion) and there will be an unlocked 3G modem pre-installed. Pricing is set at the 500 UK pounds mark which includes UK taxes. For a device with 3G included, that’s not bad at all. US pricing is not yet set although if you drop the 15% tax off the UK price and convert to dollars, you probably won’t be far off. PsiXPDA are also looking at Linux options.
On the question of categorization, Ewan held back from using the UMPC term preferring to call the device a ‘Pocket computer.’
One other snippet of information we managed to get out of Ewan was that there’s a docking station coming. We were wondering what that port was for on the bottom! They are expecting it soon and apparently it’s a fairly simple affair with 2xUSB and a VGA output. That’s all that’s needed so if it’s well priced it’s a must-have.
Mobilx have been working hard. Not only have they picked up the UMID and Viliv devices but they’ve just sealed the deal on the E-King S515 tilt/slider UMPC.
It’s the mini tilt/slider form factor that many of us wanted to see when the HTC Shift was around and it’s beaten the similar KAX-15 to the market.
With a similar weight to the UMID M1, one of the lightest UMPCs around, the Eking S515 is one that I really would like to check out further. I’ve had some fingers-on at IDF where it was labeled up as the Digicube Z8. [Hands-on Pics of the Digicube Z8 here] I wasn’t overly thrilled by the build quality and sizing but you’re looking at something that’s powerful and flexible. The 1.2Ghz Atom Z515 CPU will blast through javascript-heavy web-apps like you’ve never seen on your smartphone!
Mobilx are listing the base (non-3G) version with a 16GB SSD for 478 Euros and with an additional 3G module for 536 Euros. These prices are without operating system. From previous dealings with this device we think it has 512MB RAM which means that you’re limited to XP Home or a special Linux build. It’s such a shame that Moblin 2.1 for handhelds isn’t ready yet as a tailored build of that with support for the touchscreen would have been really interesting. I wonder if someone can slip us a copy of the version we saw running on the Aigo at IDF?
Specifications are a bit sketchy at the moment as we’re seeing sizings of 4.3” and 5.0” and resolutions of WVGA and SWVGA but those specifications will be ironed out in just a few days when Mobilx receive their first sample device. Lucky for us, that sample device will be heading to UMPCPortal where the obligatory live session will be held! Expected early next week.
It is just me or does it seem like Android is the hot thing right now? Motorola and Verizon have been teasing the internet for the last few days about their upcoming Droid phone which is powered by Android (of course). Well the joke is on them as the Droid page seemed to have accidentally popped up ahead of schedule and the folks over at the Boy Genius snagged screenshots of the pages before they had a chance to take it down. Check the Droid’s specs:
Slider with physical keyboard
Runs Android
3.7”, 16:9, 480 x 854 touchscreen
5MP camera with 4x zoom, autofocus, and dual LED flash
550MHz CPU
Included 16GB Micro-SD card
GPS
Bluetooth and WiFi
There aren’t too many other details at this point, but with a faster CPU than most Android phones to date, and a 16:9 screen, the Droid is shaping up to be a nice MIDPhone. Engadget also has a video from the site showing the Droid in a 360 view, head over to check it out.
