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Samsung Series 7, TX100 Oaktrail slider up for pre-order in US


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We’ve just put the Samsung TX100 specs in the database along with an expected launch price of $699. It’s been confirmed today though that the Pc7 series / TX100 is going to come in, with a 1.5Ghz Oaktrail / GMA 600 processing engine, 32Gb ssd, 2Gb of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium for $649.

http://www.netbooknews.com/24590/samsung-series-7-hybrid-tablet-up-for-pre-order-at-amazon/

Those of you thinking about $299 netbooks might be a little shocked at the price but remember the TX100 is aimed at flexibility and portability with a good battery life. Windows 7 may not excite you either but its productive, plus, there are two more operating systems on the horizon that should sit well with the Oaktrail platform. Meego is still in progress and should be well optimized in terms of power efficiency but more exciting to the masses is the possibility of an official Intel Honeycomb build. It is being worked on for Oaktrail, Moorestown and Medfield although neither Intel or Samsung have mentioned anything about it. They should because I’m sure there are people put there interested in the advantages of a 2-way virtualised OS build.

The CPU could be a little weak compared to dual-core Atom Netbooks but if it has a fast SSD, it should help along with the 2x boost in GPU power over previous Menlow devices.

The TX100 is an important device for Intel. Samsung have done great work with mobile Intel devices in the past, lets hope they also do a good job with this one.

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Sony Freestyle Hybrid PC Looks Ultra-Mobile, Shift-Like


When the ultra mobile PC world had a little more momentum than it does today, Sony had a few high-end offerings that stood head and shoulders above most other models in that they had some amazing engineering and used some relatively high-end CPUs. The Sony UX range had a huge fan-base and still stands on its own against competitors today. Looking at the Freestyle PC that was revealed in  a Sony presentation a few days ago, I see another unique product. Is this a sub 10 inch slider?

‘Freestyle’ indicates multiple usage scenarios with a consumer slant. The ‘Hybrid’ part of the name indiates the same but does it go further than that? While I don’t expect a dual-CPU, I do expect the Oaktrail platform to be used to provide the Windows OS with an overlay layer. It might also include a dual-boot or fast-boot mode. It would be nice to see an Intel Android build on this to give a true hybrid usage model.

As for size, check this out. It’s the Hybrid put side-by-side with the Samsung TX100 which is a 10.1 inch device.

hybrid, pc7

The Sony Hybrid doesn’t look like a 10 inch-er to me. There’s no trackpad and the ratio of thicknesses (look at the USB port on the side) and frame width compared to the screen size says 7 inch or 8 inch to me. This could be a replacement for the Vaio P11. By looking at the P11 you get a better feel for the real-world size of the Hybrid.

vaioP111SE1

And here’s the 7 inch HTC Shift. Again, look at the port sizes.

HTC Shift RHS open

There are no specifications available for the Sony Hybrid yet so none of my speculation can be confirmed. I look forward to it though.

Freestyle Hybrid news found via Slashgear.

Samsung launches 10″ Windows Tablet/Slider PC 7


The rumour had been going around but it’s now confirmed that Samsung have a 10 inch convertible tablet/netbook on Oaktrail ready to go in March.

samsung slider

We missed the press event at CES this morning to write up some other articles so we’re picking this up from other sources but according to Engadget, it’s an Oaktrail-based device (1.66GHz Z670) with 32 or 64GB SSD, 2GB of RAM and a high-brightness 1366×768 capacitive screen. There’s no mention of a digitiser in the press release. As for battery life…

The six-cell lithium-polymer battery and innovative Eco Light Sensor, which conserves energy and adjusts screen brightness based on available ambient light, allows the 7 Series to last for up to 9 hours.

Use the usual 2/3rd rule on the marketing figures there and you still get a reasonable 6hrs battery life. At 1KG this looks like an interesting take on the netbook. Price? $699 with options for WiMax too.

I like the design but I’m also seeing a 1KG Windows tablet which is just a little too heavy and not running the right OS for some of the consumer tablet scenarios that are taking off. Without the digitiser it’s not going to attract hard-core TabletPC users either. An expensive netbook? Style exercise or perfect for the living room? What do you think?

Via Engadget

Samsung Press release is available in full in this Slashgear post

Samsung Epic 4G – Specifications and Reviews Round-Up


Samsung Epic 4G The pace of progress in the Smartphone world is stunning. Only last week we were excited to see the Droid 2 (Our unboxing video here) with its improved slider keyboard but this week, Samsung take it up a notch with the Epic 4G which has seen a raft of reviews in the last few days. It’s a 4 inch slider Android 2.1 device running on a 1Ghz Samsung Hummingbird CPU. The Epic isn’t quite available yet (31st August is planned) and even then it’s only available to Sprint subscribers in the U.S. but even if you’re not in that catchment group, it’s one to watch as it’s likely to filter out to other networks and countries. It’s based on the Samsung Galaxy S and given the high-end specs and screen size, this one is something to consider as more than just a phone. Kindle reader, free navigation, 5MP cam, fast ARM-core processor and a promised upgrade to Android version 2.2 in September. Lets not forget that keyboard too which is getting some great reports. 5-row goodness! I’m certainly thinking about selling my X10i for this if it comes to Europe!

Samsung Epic 4G product page.

We’re tracking news on this one in the product database now so click through to find the latest reviews, full specifications list, gallery and a list of comparable smartphones.

XPPhone. Final Version at Computex – Video overview.


9 The XPPhone story has been quite a long one and many of us wondered whether the device would reach the market but it has, and we took a look at it at Computex. The mechanics were very solid, the operation very easy and the keyboard quite good. The phone functions work and even the battery life appears to be acceptable. This is definitely a specialist device but if you’re prepared to carry it around with you it’s going to reward you with a relatively fast, and totally complete Internet experience, access to many of your desktop apps and a good quality input system. It’s not as powerful as the OQO but has longer battery life. This is an alternative for those that have been looking at the EKing S515 / PSiXPDA.

XPPhone _1_.jpg XPPhone _2_.jpg XPPhone.jpg

Update on the Inbrics M1 MID


Netbooknews had a meeting with Inbrics last week and has just published an update. Inbrics are the company responsible for the M1 MID that we checked out at CES. It’s a stylish device and we’re keen to hear more.

m1-1

Apparently Inbrics and their partners will be making announcements at CTIA this week but while we wait for that, take a look at the information provided by Nicole over at NetbookNews including exciting news about the upgraded CPU and not-so-exciting news that it might only be a Wifi/BT device. We’re still wondering if Inbrics has succeeded in getting the all-important Google applications suite on the device. An official Google Marketplace would be a first on a non-3G device.

We’re secretly hoping that Inbrics has a 3G, 4.8" slider version up its sleeve. This one is just slightly too small to be the ultimate MID.

Update! Specifications, links, videos of the Inbrics M1 now in our databank.

High-End Android Slider for $200! Inbrics M1


If Inbrics really can bring the M1 to market for $200 then we’re looking at a very good value MID/Phone but somehow I get the feeling that the mention of $200 was really a ‘CES Press Special’  i.e. whatever you say in Vegas, stays in Vegas!  The market could bear $300 for something like this so there’s no reason it would launch at such a low price.

inbricsm1mid

A capacitive 800×480 screen on Cortex with a full implementation of Android along with a nice design and that productivity-helping slider keyboard makes this a ‘must watch’ device. We would have like to have seen a larger screen for real high-end usage and we wonder how long this device will look ‘high-end’ considering the pace that new high-end smartphones are entering the market but it’s interesting all the same.

Here’s a video of the device at CES a few weeks ago.

Thanks to Netbooknews for ‘helping hands’ on this video.

PsiXPDA UMPC Launches in UK, US, Europe.


Spot the difference. On the top, the Eking S515 available in China and through Mobilx in Europe. On the bottom, the PsiXpda (that’s Sye-Ex P-D-A) which has just been launched by PsiXPDA in England.

51J-5SHYarL._AA500_

psixpda_black

Yup, they’re the same device which is excellent news. Why? It means activity, availability and competition which is great for everyone. Lord knows we need some movement in this market.

PsiXPDA has been set-up to bring mobile computing to high end users according to Ewan Spence, a partner in the company. We did some work with Ewan on MIDMoves last year where he tested out a number of mobile devices in his ‘elements’ tour. He’s also involved with writing content for All About Symbian and a number of other websites.  One could say that he’s a blogger that has brought a mobile device to the market where others have failed!

I spoke to Ewan earlier about the project and asked him about target markets, numbers, prices and the future and he was very clear to point out that this device isn’t intended to be a huge mass market product. “10’s of thousands inch is the target here which, across a market of over 1 billion people, shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not going to be the only PsiXPDA product either. There’s room for more although Ewan wouldn’t comment on anything particular. We guess that they’ll be spending quite a lot of time going round CES and, hopefully, keeping track of UMPCPortal.

The PsiXPDA will be available from next week in Europe with the same specs as we’ve got for the Eking S515. The operating system will be Windows XP (sensible move in our opinion) and there will be an unlocked 3G modem pre-installed. Pricing is set at the 500 UK pounds mark which includes UK taxes. For a device with 3G included, that’s not bad at all. US pricing is not yet set although if you drop the 15% tax off the UK price and convert to dollars, you probably won’t be far off. PsiXPDA are also looking at Linux options.

On the question of categorization, Ewan held back from using the ultra mobile PC term preferring to call the device a ‘Pocket computer.’

One other snippet of information we managed to get out of Ewan was that there’s a docking station coming. We were wondering what that port was for on the bottom! They are expecting it soon and apparently it’s a fairly simple affair with 2xUSB and a VGA output. That’s all that’s needed so if it’s well priced it’s a must-have.

Our unboxing of the EKing branded version of the device is here. Full specifications and information on the PsiXPDA website as is the contact point for orders.

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