IDF, the Intel Developer Forum was held a few weeks ago and through the generosity of readers I was able to attend, listen, contribute and learn from the experience. Here’s the report that went out to my sponsors last week. Slightly abridged but containing all the important info.
If I was asked to summarise IDF from the ultra mobile angle I would probably say just one thing – software. Intel’s ultra mobility group have been working hard to bring in a number of important ISVs and IDF was the place they wanted to show it all off. Gypsii (A GPS-enabled social networking and POI network), Fring (Single client IM and social networking interface) Adobe (Flash 10 beta I assume they are working to get hardware video decoding in there) and Move networks (intelligent multi-protocol video streaming solution with H.264 hardware decoding support) were at the fore and Intel say that now have 60 ISV’s working with them. The software ecosystem was highlighted in both ultra mobility keynotes and appeared to take precedence over hardware announcements. The other feeling I got was that things are taking off in Asia. This shouldn’t be a surprise to us considering past success of small mobile computing devices. Intel may be taking advantage of this by responding to Asian demands and I heard a number of people say that big hardware announcements would be made at IDF in Asia next spring. [Report continues below]
As I was writing up an IDF summary report for you all today (which will be posted tomorrow) I realised that I hadn’t published the Digifriends presentation video I made. Here it is!
The device is planned for Q4 2008 and is targeted at a $700 price. Full and final details aren’t available on the device yet (they are still presenting the information that you can find on their website) but I managed to squeeze some more details from the helpful Digifriends people on the stand at IDF as you’ll hear in the video.
Full specifications and links available in the product page.
Before I give you an update on some other netbook news happening this morning, allow me to highlight the LG X110 that has been given an outing in Berlin at the IFA today.
Its all pretty standard HDD/XP Netbook stuff here with the exception of the built-in 3G module and the price.
When the HTC Shift and Q1b came out in 2007, they were two of the cheapest 3G-enabled PCs available at around 1200 Euro. Previous to those two, you’d have to look at the LG C1, P1610 and Flybook V5 for 3G and think about dropping 2K for the privilege. Today, with the X110 it looks like you’ll be getting 3G capability for just 399 Euro which I personally find too cheap to believe.
The information comes from The Register who also report that the X110 has a 10″ screen, 160GB of HDD (nice for media storage) and will be available in October.
However..
Eee PC news also reports that a ‘top model’ will be available for 499 and may have GPS and Engadget report prices between 399 and 499 with 120GB, 6GB SSD, GPS and HSDPA options.
Before you make those 1000H vs MSI Wind decisions people, you need to wait for final specs and price confirmation on this one. Check our X110 product page for details as we update them.
I think that completes my hands-on with almost every netbook out there (*1) and I’ve decided which one is the best for the average customer. Its the MSI Wind with XP and 80GB drive.
Over the last week I used it (in Medion Akoya form) alongside a Kohjinsha SC3 costing twice as much and its been a superb portable all-rounder. So much so that on the third day of IDF, I left the SC3 in my room. The SC3 works well most of the time but after a number of Bluetooth failures, Vista lock-ups, drive thrashing and a lack of processing power for Skype operations, it became too risky to rely on it. The Wind took over and performed flawlessly.
While I was at IDF I also got the chance to test out the Aspire one, G10L and Eee 901 and neither of them really seemed to offer anything special over the MSI Wind. The Aspire One, a previous favorite of mine, seemed to have a lower build quality and have a lower quality keyboard, the 901 has an even worse keyboard. The G10L isn’t available! Don’t get me wrong, none of these devices are bad and I doubt that any of them would actually disappoint. For all-round table-top use though, I can’t find any faults with the MSI Wind.
Many of you will cry ‘battery life’ of course and yes, that is a consideration if you’re 2-hours away from a power socket but the reality is that in the table-top usage mode, there’s nearly always a power socket nearby. Be careful to remember I’m not talking about ultra mobile computing here and I’m also talking objectively. The MSI Wind is not the best device for my usage scenariosbut it’s likely to be the best for most people. I’ll talk about my own requirements again soon (In short I think I’m going to go for a Gigabyte M912M + Gigabyte M528 until I can test a Raon Everun Note and Viliv S7 that may replace both early in 2009.) but for most of you out there, if you’re thinking about a no-fuss do-it-all netbook, the MSI Wind with XP and HDD is the one that should be at the top of your list.
(*1) I haven’t personally tested the HP 2133 but I know from other peoples testing that its not the best device out there. There are processing limitations that cause problems with some higher-end apps like Skype. The keyboard and design is good but it needs a processor boost before it becomes a flawless device in my opinion.
An OQO playing world of warcraft, flash 10 on an MID, an image manipulation application, a floating GUI and a very cheesy intro video! Higher quality version here. (WMV) Full Ultra Mobility keynote video and slides available at the Intel IDF site.
Update: Product is now available in the U.S. Details in the MinD product page.
I spent some time with the Clarion guys yesterday and we talked a lot about the ClarionMiND (one word apparently!) which is a mobile Internet, navigation and entertainment device aimed at the dashboard! The unit is Atom-powered, comes with a nice user interface, basic holder (not the docking station you see in the video) and has various options including accessible PCI-Express Mini slot for 3G or WiMax, camera and double-capacity battery. It’s coming to the U.S. market first (next quarter) and we might see it in Europe early next year. Video after the images…
JKK has the Kohjinsha SX3 UMPC. Its an 8.9" convertible touchscreen device running Windows Vista on the Atom Silverthorne processor at 1.3Ghz. As a package it looks good although wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to remove the DVD and put a battery in its place. I also have a few reservations about Vista on 1.3Ghz having used the SC3, a smaller version of this running the same CPU/OS combination. JKK’s unboxing video is below.
Keep any eye on JKKmobile.com as I think he’s going to run a live session later. Unfortunately i’ll be traveling back from the U.S. so I won’t be able to join in.
Click the icon for more info on the SX3 (specs, links, news, gallery)
Here’s the video overview of the well-executed Benq S6. Nice user interface, good styling and a few unique features like shake-to-overview and auto-rotation. Its going to launch through a European telecoms carrier very soon so it’s difficult to get an idea of price because you’ll be paying for it with an included data contract. In the video below I take a closer look at the device and demo some of the UI. The lighting was terrible but later on in the video, we moved to a lighter area.
IDF, the Intel Developer Forum was held a few weeks ago and through the generosity of readers I was able to attend, listen, contribute and learn from the experience. Here’s the report that went out to my sponsors last week. Slightly abridged but containing all the important info.
network), Fring (Single client IM and social networking interface) Adobe (Flash 10 beta I assume they are working to get hardware video decoding in there) and Move networks (intelligent multi-protocol video streaming solution with H.264 hardware decoding support) were at the fore and Intel say that now have 60 ISV’s working with them. The software ecosystem was highlighted in both ultra mobility keynotes and appeared to take precedence over hardware announcements. 
