Theres a new Sony teaser ad live on the Sony New Zealand website which promises a product that will change the way you look at laptops. It could be the product that went through the FCC a few weeks ago.
Sony teaser site says “revolutionary new VAIO” coming January 9th – Engadget
This week it’s been my great pleasure to be testing another ultra mobile PC based on the Intel Menlow platform. It’s not my first as I’ve had the Gigabyte M528, Aigo MID and Kohjinsha SC3 but there’s a couple of things about this Wibrain i1 UMPC that are worth talking about and one of them is a real first in the mobile computing world and has got me all fired-up about UMPCs again. I’m not talking about the competitive pricing, hi-res touch screen, usable keyboard or built-in 3G. I’m talking about the battery life.
Update: The WiBrain site is back. (Thanks jANjALANi.) Maybe we shook them up a bit because I now have some news about the i1. Coming later…
After delays on the WiBrain i1 and the disappearance of our usual contact-point within WiBrain, I was a bit suspicious that something was going on. Mobilx don’t have the original B1 models on offer any more and now it seems like the whole WiBrain website has been taken away.
Fingers crossed that this is just a short-term problem and that we’ll see the i1 soon. In the meantime, we’ll try and find out what’s happening.
Following Apple’s moves is a complex but fun and stimulating activity so here’s my take on the big, crazy, risky business of predicting where Apple will move. I think they will move up the Ipod chain rather than down the notebook chain and here’s why.
Netbooks are cheap and in my head, I just can’t get past that simple thought. Apple can’t make a netbook as it would seriously risk de-valuing every other product in their portfolio and, due to the required sales numbers and relative complexity of OS X, could screw their global support operations. An $899 10″ mini-note is possible, I agree, but despite sizing similarities, it wouldn’t be a netbook would it. Mind you, you can guarantee that every netbook web site will cover it like there’s no tomorrow! I will end that argument against netbooks there but they do play a part as I get to the details of my prediction below.
There are three other options that I see for Apple. The first is one of incremental change. Small improvements all-round. The problem with that is that the last Apple event felt like just the same and losing momentum right now could be an issue. Then again, major production-line investment for a new product could also be risky but given the fact that Apple have plenty of cash and that there are probably production lines out there just begging for a large production run, maybe that’s not the risk it could be.
The second option is some sort of 7″ notebook or tablet. While I, and many of you, like this style of device, we have to be honest and say that the productive ultra-mobility market is probably too niche for Apple. There’s a chance of a simple, slim 7″ iPod touch and a push into e-books, sofa surfing, sofa-gaming and turn-by-turn navigation on the existing iPod Touch hardware and software engine but while interesting and, to me, quite exciting, I don’t see a 7″ Apple tablet happening as again, it could be too niche.
The third option, and more likely in my opinion is a 5″ iPod Plus
Filling the hole that will eventually be left by dwindling MP3 player sales [Yes, Christmas iPod sales are buzzing along but in general, I see the dedicated MP3 player market dropping away over the next few years] providing some of the features of the above, 7″ device, retaining mobility and building on the money-making app audio and video-store is the key which indicates to me that a slightly larger iPod touch with better storage, video, navigation, ebook, web experience and perhaps data-only 3G would be a more attractive and solid base to build on for the future.
Dynamism kindly provided us with an Asus R50A [Portal page] to take a look at. It is a slate ultra mobile PC 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.
As I was browsing the CES exhibitor list late last night a came across the T10L tablet device. I didn’t have time to post about it so I pinged it across to the guys at GottaBeMobile who have put the details up on a post.
As you can see, it’s based around Intel’s low cost platform. At just over an inch thick and at 2.6lbs, its nicely proportioned too. Could this be another cheap Vesa-mount PC or a Grab and Go dockable desktop? I see quite some potential for devices like these if they can be slimmed down a bit. Under 1KG and 20mm think with 5 hours battery and a $400 price tag (why not – its a netbook with a touch layer added and the keyboard removed!) would make it very attractive portable browser and e-book reader and, given a good range of docks and mounts could ignite a consumer slate market. The netbook platform and 200 nits brightness figure really hints of low-cost to me so i’ll be interested to see who picks this up.
We’ll get this one in the DB later today if we can gather all the info. Amtek specification page is here.
The good folks over at Dynamism have put up some nice Black Friday deals for those interested in a mobile computing. These will be good through Sunday or while supplies last.
If you are looking for a great deal on a netbook that will be able to handle your basic computing tasks, take a look at the Acer Aspire One [Portal page] [review] which can be bought for $249. The Black Friday Aspire One comes with Linpus Lite (Linux), 8GB SSD storage, and 512MB of RAM.
If you want some serious mobile computing power in a tiny package, Dynamism has the Raon Everun Note [Portal page] [review] for $599. The Black Friday Everun Note is configured with an AMD Sempron 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB SSD, and Ubuntu Linux.
Want something hand-held? You can pick up a well equipped OQO 02 [Portal page] [review] for $1599. The Black Friday Special OQO 02 comes with a 1.6GHz VIA C7-M CPU, 1GB of RAM, 120GB HDD, and Windows XP Pro.
And last but not least, there is an Asus Eee PC 900 [Portal page] for $299. The Black Friday configuration of this computer has the Intel Celeron 900MHz CPU, 12GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and Windows XP.
Check out the rest of the Black Friday Specials page for deals on other products as well. Again, these deals will only last until Sunday or possibly sooner if stock runs out, don’t let this one slip by.
You might have heard about the Everun Note. Its currently the most powerful sub-800gm laptop around due to its dual-core 1.2Ghz AMD Turion X2 and an ATI R690 graphics solution. When it’s running at full steam, it’s impressive!
Full review of the D30H available here.
Raon have now released two new versions that sit either side of the original and both include an SSD for improved speed, noise and ruggedness characteristics. We’ve had both of them here for a week or so now so here’s a rundown of the features and some notes that we want to highlight.
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