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.

It there is one thing we know about JKK of JKKmobile, it’s his uncanny ability to cover huge amounts of distance at technology shows and exhibitions to produce first-look videos, by the bucket load so when he posts the following about Amtek prepping not 1 or 2 tablets but an incredible 5, we know we are in for a interesting Computex;

Firstly there is the iTablet Speed-Lite (AE03), packing a Nvidia Tegra 2 1Ghz, 1GB RAM, 2MP camera, 10.1 inch multi touch display and WiFi. Then there is the iTablet Ex-Lite II (AE04), wielding a Freescale 800MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 2MP camera, 10.1 inch multi touch display and WiFi also. Both of these come with a choice of either WindowsCE 6.0R3/7.0, Android 2.0 or Linux and have options for bluetooth, 3G connectivity and GPS.

To add to these is the iTablet Lite (TZ10), sporting an Intel® Atom Menlow-XL Z530 1.6GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, 10.1 inch multi touch display, 2MP camera, WiFi, 4200mAh battery, Windows 7 and a choice of either a 1.8 inch IDE HDD or a 64GB SSD.

Then the icing on the tablet cake in the form of T23A CULV tablet PC and the T23x CULV Series. All of which have Core 2 Duo 743 1.30GHz Intel Montevina Platform CPU’s, 2GB of RAM, 1.3MP cameras, 2.5 inch SATA HDD’s from 160GB to 320GB and coming with a choice of either a 12.1 inch XGA digitizer, touch or digitizer and touch screens.

If that doesn’t get your tablet juices going then head over to JKKmobile for the full specifications and pictures.

Brad at Liliputing has put up a first-look video of Meego 1.0 for netbooks. Clearly the UI is based on Meego as is still using clutter instead of Qt and there don’t seem to be many major changes apart from Chrome being used as the browser. Brad does report that it’s fast though

As I write, i’m installing to an MSI Wind and will do some testing. I’ll also test the image out on a Menlow device. I doubt it will work but let’s see!

First look at MeeGo v1.0 netbook operating system.

Bringing a computing device to the market is, quite frankly, a nightmare. 90% of the work is in the last 10% of the detail and timescales will always slip. For the first-timer, the success rate must be pretty low. For a community project, the success rate must be even lower so we’re truly happy to see that the Open Pandora project is just a few steps away from the finishing line. (Actually, a new starting line!)

Production of the cases was due to start in time for Christmas shipping but a hiccup on the case has held things up. Fortunately, some production sample units are out there and the videos keep rolling in.

The Open Pandora product is aimed at hobbyists and hackers who want a relatively high-powered product for gaming-focused software projects. The device is just 140mm wide but contains a relatively powerful TI OMAP 3 board inside. That’s as good as the best ARM-based devices on the market right now!

Information, specifications and previous news on the Open Pandora project available here.

Two items of news related to Linux support on the Menlow platorm  have caught my attention in the last 24 hours. Both news items are related to the Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Menlow is the Intel platform that many MIDs, UMPCs and even netbooks and laptops have been built around in the last 12 months. It’s focused towards very low power consumption, video playback acceleration and 3D support in the smallest possible size.

Up until now, the only official operating systems that have supported the platform have been Moblin 1 (via Intel. Largely a static project now) and Windows XP, Vista and 7. Trying to use any of the latest popular Linux distributions on any of these devices results in problems.

Ubuntu, the Linux distribution run by Canonical, has always had a close relationship with UMPCs and MIDs. They did some work on Moblin 1 with the Ubuntu-MID distribution but that project is now static. Then there was Ubuntu-Mobile which turned into Ubuntu UMPC. Again, this project stopped. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix project also started and this is the one that has been focused on over the last 12 months. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any support for the graphics/video part on Menlow known as ‘Poulsbo’. The same is true of Moblin 2. Intel dropped support for the MID platform.

The good news is that there are people out there working to fix the problem. The latest information is that one  ‘lucazade’ has rolled up everything that is needed into a few scripts and has even set up a repository that can be used to pick up the correct drivers. Full information at the bottom of this post.

The second bit of good news is that Jolicloud, the Ubuntu-based distribution targeted at netbooks, is also checking out support for GMA500. This message went out yesterday:

team is testing internally the poulsbo (gma 500) support in the next jolicloud release, we will look soon for testers.

Naturally we’ve already been in contact with the Jolicloud team about this and plan to bring you some more information shortly.

Despite all this third-party activity and end-user requirement (about 30 Menlow-based devices exist in the market right now) Intel has never really talked about Menlow support. We’ve seen Moblin 2.1 for handhelds running on Menlow and seen the Linux Foundation demonstrating it but I can’t get any statement out of them on the subject.

Based on what we’ve seen and heard I would put money on being able to run the open source beta release of Moblin 2.1 for handhelds on Menlow (purely because there’s no other platform available for developers to test on) and that is supposed to be coming within the next month. I’m also convinced that Moorestown will use the GMA500 so there’s another reason to have drivers available.

Finally, check out some of the emails in the Moblin Developer mailing list. This is an interesting one for example. (from 15th Nov.)

If you know of other Linux distributions that either work with or are planning GMA500 support (I hear rumors that Mandriva supports GMA500?) let everyone know in the comments. Likewise, if you’re running Linux on a Menlow platform, let us know what you think.

Update: 18th Nov 2009. Jolicloud have announced out-of-the-box support for the GMA500.

Considering the SmartDevices Q7 isn’t a true ultra mobile PC and it’s going to be a relatively slow browsing device, it’s getting a lot of coverage on UMPCPortal this week.

Read the full story

Looks like we have an interesting mystery device here. The SmartQ 5 MID has been captured in the wild. The background image of the device immediately reminded me of the background of the Nokia N810 [Portal page]. At first I thought it might be running Maemo, but seeing as this device is not from Nokia, I’d say that is highly unlikely. It appears to be running a simple Linux distro. The hardware itself seems very simple, with a 4.3 inch 800×480 screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, and just four hardware buttons on the top of the device. The source puts the price of the unit at $132 which prompts Chippy to assume that it is Arm 11 based. So far there aren’t many more details other than some images of it running FBreader, a Linux based e-Book reader. Considering the fact that it is Linux based, I’m sure it will be able to plenty of common Linux tasks, but it will all come down to a matter of how quickly, and how well the interface is adapted for touch. After seeing that the stylus is featured in many of the photos, I don’t have my hopes up for a finger usable interface, and the lack of keyboard probably means this device will turn out to be more of a toy than a productive pocket computer. Does that sound a bit pessimistic?

Swing by the source for more images. via [Engadget]

Somehow, somewhere, there seems to be a problem getting quality Linux drivers out for Poulsbo’s GPU. First we hear about the delays with Moblin V2 on MIDs  and now we get this story from an experienced Linux contributor. Adam’s article explains problems with the source code and how difficult it is to get working in a new distribution. Clearly the work on the Poulsbo drivers for Linux is delayed.

Building your own distro is exactly what Moblin is all about. 12 linux distributors have signed up to use Moblin  but if they can’t work with the Poulsbo chipset there’s little hope for any Linux distro on MIDs and Z-series netbooks in the near future. Let’s hope that Intel are working hard behind the scenes and that clean, usable GMA500 drivers will be available soon

AdamW on Linux and more » Intel GMA 500 (Poulsbo) graphics on Linux: a precise and comprehensive summary as to why you’re screwed.