The Intel-based ultra mobile PC era is coming to an end.  The next generation of Intel SoCs for Windows and Android phones and tablets has been cancelled, signalling a departure from the 5-10 inch mobile PC space.  Core M could fill-in but it looks very much like Intel are stepping away from this market. We’ve covered this for over 10 years at UMPCPortal so it’s a hard-hitting story for this website and all its fans. What’s the future for ultra mobile PCs?

There wasn’t a huge amount of ultramobile PC content for us at the Intel Developer Forum this week. IoT, robots and wearables were taking the limelight along with gaming, big data and, for the first time, cyber security. A breakthrough in storage technology could reach ultrabooks in 2016/2017 but before that happens there’s Skylake, the 6th-generation Core processor that will end up inside Ultrabooks and high-end 2-in-1 PCs, probably including Surface Pro 4. Intel didn’t reveal many details on stage but they’ve published a set of PDFs that we’ve already dissected. Skylake is the latest brand name to hit the ultramobile PC space but where does it fit into the big mix of ultramobile processors that Intel has? In one of the IDF sessions Intel presented a very detailed comparison of all the mobile CPUs, and that’s exactly what we’re going to take a look at in this article. Sit back and enjoy a tour through the complete range of processor, graphics, media, storage and memory technology capabilities that are on offer to ultramobile PC manufacturers.

This report may be updated with more Skylake information as information is released.

Going into this review I had a very clear idea of what it was that I wanted out of the Yoga. I wanted something with great battery life, lightweight, moderate computing power and good “lapability”. I hate that word but it does cover that attribute quite well. Those of you who have read my first impressions will know that I was pretty chuffed with the device from the get go. Now a week later have things changed or am I am still in the honeymoon period? Read on to find out more.

Specifications and other information can always be found in the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 specifications page.

Intel is ready to take the lid off of Clover Trail, the newest member of the company’s Atom low-power processors. Along with Clover Trail info comes official announcements from seven Intel partners showing off hybrid Windows 8 devices that will soon be available. Intel is promising three weeks of ‘connected standby’ and up to 10 hours of HD video playback possible from Clover Trail devices.

Read the full story

I really liked the look of the HP Env X2 I tested at IDF 2012. The size and weight proportions are more conducive to mobile operations than some of the Core-based solutions and in addition, there’s a battery life advantage to be had over Core but it’s not quite up to replacing a desktop for most people so there’s a big trade-off. The ASUS Vivo Tab is the same, but looks even better!

I got hands-on at IDF and you can see that in the video below. I walked away very impressed and definitely interested in testing it further, especially as I’m a huge fan of ultra-mobile solutions.

I hadn’t intended to write about Atom-based devices while at IDF this week but the HP Envy X2 caught my eye in a very good way and after a hands-on I came away thinking how far Atom has come and how this device represents something for those wanting the full flexibility of a modular PC and a focus on battery life.

Read the full story

Very quickly before we go to the next meeting I want to relay some reliable information I’ve had this morning about Intel’s next generation phone and tablet platform.

Clover Trail (and CloverTrail +) is likely to be launched today.

The platform is Dual Core (that’s likely to be 2×1.6Ghz for Win 8 and Android Tablets) and there will be a version for smartphones.

Z2580 is the name of the platform.

More later today.

Linpus, a company that has been working on Linux distributions for netbooks for a number of years under their ‘Linpus Lite’ brand have been invited to MWC to demonstrate their current offering in the MeeGo and Qt booths. The solution is targeted at manufacturers of netbooks and tablets based on MeeGo. Like MeeGo, the Linpus solution will be a ‘base’ on which to build on through contractual work by Linpus. We’ve seen a tablet UI before but this is more than that.

Our predictions for Intel and MeeGo activities at MWC are detailed here.

We saw a glimpse of the Linpus product in our travels through the MeeGo Summit last November but I was lucky enough to be given a preview version of Linpus Lite Multi-Touch Edition for testing and feedback here in the Carrypad studio this week.

Unfortunately, the target device, a Lenovo S10-3T is out of the studio right now so I couldn’t get everything up and working well enough for a full video demo but I did boot it on the Tegatech Tega V2 tablet where I was able to test the UI and apps, a key part of the Linpus solution.

Click through for gallery.

Note that this is a presentation suite rather than a full, polished OS but it gives you an idea of the sort of work the OS distributors (aka Operating Systems Vendors, OSVs) are prepared to put in with MeeGo. You’ll see an on-screen keyboard, an active desktop and a glimpse of the applications that Linpus have developed for the solution. It’s far from customer-ready but it’s worlds apart from what you’ve seen on MeeGo builds so far.

The video below is also available in 480p resolution.

More on MeeGo here.

More on  Linpus Lite Multi-Touch Edition here.