Here’s an unboxing of the ultra mobile PC that might just get an award for ugliest device of the year!
It looks to be more usable than the UMID M1 that we think it is based on which puts it in that category of devices like the WiBrain which sometimes turn out to be very useful devices indeed!
Source: Wow Pow.
It is rather interesting that a number of new slate style tablet devices seem to be warring even before they are officially launched, or even proven exist. The two most frequently rumored are definitely the CrunchPad and the even more elusive Apple Tablet. While the Apple Tablet may or may not even exist, we’ve at least seen offical prototypes of the CrunchPad, and it seemed to be generally near completion until all any new info surrounding its release has halted in the last few months.
The CrunchPad shot up the popularity ladder in the Portal shortly after being added, and held the number one spot for a good period of time. Despite seemingly no one calling the CrunchPad a UMPC, lots of traffic clearly interested in the CrunchPad was landing on the CrunchPad’s Portal page.
The CrunchPad has only recently been supplanted by the likes of the Archos 9 [Portal page] and the Viliv X70 [Portal page]:
The CrunchPad is a project started by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch. In July of 2008, an article titled “We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet For $200. Help Us Build It. inch written by Arrington, went up on TechCrunch. To date that article has produced 1,235 comments in the comment section of the article alone and also countless numbers of articles from other sites in response. Between that time and a month or two ago, the CrunchPad has received quite a bit of attention with various prototypes spotted and a good deal of news and search attention. Note the news reference volume in the graph below which shows how frequently the CrunchPad is searched for (compared to Archos 9 for context):
The most recent news that seemed to decry an imminent release of the CrunchPad was that Michael Arrington had teamed up with a small company in Singapore called Fusion Garage for the design, and there is another entity apparently called CrunchPad Inc. which may or may not be involved in getting the device produced (or could possibly be a renaming of Fusion Garage itself).
But much of this news is from back in July. There were reports (read: rumors) that stated that a CrunchPad event may be held at the end of July, or in August, launching or otherwise officially declaring the final CrunchPad device. That date has since come and gone, and here we are, a few days from November, and it seems like all has been quiet on the CrunchPad front. So where in the world is Carmen Sandiego the CrunchPad?
Perhaps the CrunchPad has been waiting on Pixel Qi’s technology to develop? This is just a guess, but I don’t see anyone else taking a shot at the question.
Pixel Qi is a company (sometimes referred to as the name of the technology itself) that is working on a type of screen technology that promises to bring inexpensive power saving e-ink like screens to mobile computers using existing LCD manufacturing processes. The Pixel Qi site has a small update box that has this to say:
We have passed early reliability testing with flying colors and are still on track to start mass production of our screens in late Q4 2009.
And while it might seem obvious that Pixel Qi would let people know if they have been working on screens for the CrunchPad to generate interest in the technology, and the device, the following was written on the Pixel Qi blog on October 17th under an article titled “Pixel Qi Screens debuting in Tablets inch:
While we are supplying screens for tablets (and ebooks, and netbooks too!) and are starting production shortly, including supplying limited volumes earlier than our official mass production start we can’t say when these products will be announced and sold retail.
Sorry not to be able to reveal more, but our customers: the netbook, ebook and tablet makers really need to announce their products on their schedules.
With a few CrunchPad articles mentioning a November release, I’d say that it is at least possible that the CrunchPad devlopment and the Pixel Qi screens are coinciding, and maybe the CrunchPad hold-up is due in part to Pixel Qi screen technology still working its way out the door.
Alternate theories? Please feel free to share below.
It’s a good day when Woot throws up a ultra mobile PC for sale, and today is one of those days. I think this is a first for Woot they are offering the Fujitsu U810 [Portal page] at sellout.woot.com today for $399. This seems to be a pretty good deal as a quickly glance around the web reveals that you can’t even get a used U810 this cheap, let alone a brand new one. Though the U810 is quite dated, it might make for a good experimental mobile computer if that’s your thing. Brief specs following; see the above linked Portal page for additional details.
Remember, as per Woot’s tradition, this deal will be gone after today, and could potentially sell out even before then.
Sascha Pallenberg from netbooknews and our very own Chippy had a nice little debate about the advantages and disadvantages of the MID vs. the Netbook, and they also touch a bit on the Atom Developer Program which will cross both device groups.
Fennec is Mozilla’s mobile device browser. They have been working on it for some time. Last time I looked at Fennec on the VAIO UX, it was in beta 1. They’ve moved on to beta 3 now and I gave it a quick test on the Viliv S7:
If you’d like to give Fennec a try on your own device, you can download beta 3 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows Mobile, and Maemo (the WM version is still in Alpha 3).
You might have seen me mention a thin blogging kit in a few other posts recently; well this one is here so that I can get my plan in order, and show you what the idea is. Let’s call it the TBK for now! The goal of the TBK is obviously to keep things thin & light! The result will hopefully be a super-light weight, and fully capable blogging platform.
The TBK will include the following:
As you can see, the entire kit is just under 1000 grams [2.202 pounds] (excluding the iPhone because that is always with me regardless). And the thickest that anything in the kit gets is the iGo BT keyboard (when closed) at just 17mm. Check out the relative sizes, and a comparison to an Asus Eee 1000HE [Portal page]:
The pieces of the TBK will allow me to do pretty much anything I need to. The Archos 9 as you know is a full x86 computer with touchscreen which will be running Windows 7, meaning that I’ll be able to access my blogging software (Windows Live Writer) and do anything else that works best on a computer running a full OS, like media editing. The Mogo BT mouse and iGo BT keyboard up the ante on input for the Archos 9, providing essentially a full input experience, and everything is wireless.
If you’ve looked at the Mogo BT mouse, you’ll notice that it is actually designed to store and charge in a notebook’s express card slot. The Archos 9, as well as most small computers, don’t have an express card slot, but luckily Mogo also makes a USB express card adapter to charge the Mogo mouse if your computer happens to lack said slot, so I’ll be able to charge anywhere that USB is available. And while the Mogo mouse won’t be able to stow away in the Archos 9, I think it is plenty thin to fit the case with the iGo BT keyboard.
In addition to having high quality input through the mouse and keyboard, the iPhone will be able to provide important functions, such as video, geo-tagged content, and data tethering when WiFi is not available.
Have any suggestions for must-have thin accessories that might be great for the TBK? Let me know in the comments, but keep it thin!
Edit: Response to comments – Hey guys, good points about the netbook. Trust me, I didn’t overlook the whole category, in fact, I have an HP Mini 1000 already!
The TBK is just an Archos 9/slate experiment, I guess I should have made that clear. I haven’t used a pure slate, especially down at this size (I have a convertible tablet), so I’m not exactly sure how useful the Archos 9 will be. While a netbook is definitely a good solution, I must say, notebooks are boring!
I really just want to see how thin I can keep the entire kit. This doesn’t have any special practicality, but I’m wondering how compact I’ll be able to carry this setup. There is also increased flexibility. This doesn’t apply as much as this screen size, but on smaller devices, it is generally useful to be able to put the keyboard away and be able to have just the screen out for particular scenarios, like viewing media. With this TBK I’ll be able to selectively use one or more parts as I need them. So If I’m on the bus and I want to watch a show, I can essentially have just the ‘screen’. Again, this is just an experiment to see how a slate can be used, as we’re seeing many pop up in recent months.
One of the guys from the Viliv Boys’ Blog has put Windows 7 on a recently aquired OQO 02, and claims to be thoroughly enjoying it. The interface definitely looks cramped on the OQO 02’s 800×480 screen, and despite some initial issues it sounds like everything is functional. Just goes to show that a great ultra mobile PC will never die, even if the company behind it shuts its doors.
My mobile tech interest feels reinvigorated, thanks in part to the recent efforts of Archos. You may recall my recent article about Apple causing me to lose my faith in other tech companies. But after seeing all of the recent fun that Chippy seems to be having with the Android based Archos 5 [Portal page], I must say that thinks are looking up in my mind.
Simply put, the Archos 5 looks like a substantial contribution to the MID field, rather than another stab in the dark from a clueless tech company that seems to churn out experiments rather than real, usable products. It will be devices like the Archos 5 (once it comes down a bit in price) that introduces less tech-savvy consumers to the MID a device which acts as a mobile companion rather than just a phone, or just a media player.
Beyond the Archos 5, I’m also looking toward the Archos 9 [Portal page] with much anticipation (and it looks like I’m not the only one, the Archos 9 is currently topping the Portal charts). While a keyboard-less device without even a capacitive OSK would normally worry me, I’m happy to see that the Archos 9 is reportedly coming to market for a reasonable $499, and I’m hoping to augment the device with one of my favorite Bluetooth accessories, the iGo foldable BT keyboard. We’ll see how that goes once the Archos 9 actually rolls out.
Thanks Archos, you’ve helped me get over a mobile tech depression, and given me something exciting to look forward to!
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
| |||
 |
|