This is UMPCPortal, the site that’s been covering handheld Windows PCs since 2006 and as you might imagine we’ve been quite excited about the return of the small-form-factor Windows PC. The Acer Iconia W3 piqued our interest earlier in the year but the sector has now been completely re-born through products that combine Intel’s Baytrail platform with Windows 8.1. The Dell Venue 8 Pro is one of five or six devices already on the market and it will be joining us soon but we’ve already bought the Toshiba Encore WT8 and our full review is here. There are additional videos on our YouTube channel and even more detail coming soon.

Some of you are going to receive a Windows 8.1 update tomorrow. If you’ve got a laptop without a touchscreen you might be in the ‘so what’ camp but if you’ve got a touch tablet you’ll have happy fingers. If you’ve got Connected Standby and 3G, there’s a little extra treat in there for you. Microsoft have been highlighting Windows 8.1 features in a blog series recently and today we get to hear about Movie Moments, a new Movie editing app alone with big updates to Fresh Paint, Photo and Camera apps.

For a quick overview of windows 8.1 features, see our previous Win 8.1 preview with the Acer Iconia W510 and the Win 8.1 announcement post that has some details on the keyboard.

The new features are going to fit well with Baytrail-based Windows 8.1 products because they mobile, finger and creativity-focused. Some of the on-chip features are going to accelerate these functions while keeping battery consumption low.

Take the newly announced Movie Moments app which I’ll be testing on the W510 as soon as I can. (Here’ s a previous single-device video take-edit-upload process done with other Windows 8 software.) If Microsoft allow H.264 output at configurable bitrates, configurable templates and support for the Intel Media SDK for hardware acceleration, I’m in! It could be good enough for my YouTube videos.

Microsoft’s blog post talks about new features in the camera app. Take a video and capture an image at the same time (hopefully at full resolution,) use Photosynth technology to create Panoramas and use a photo loop to capture multiple frames over a 2-second time period. The only problem here is that the camera hardware needs to be improved.

Improvements have also gone into the photo editing feature. I tested this in the 8.1 preview and it was good enough for social-sharing uses.

Finally, Fresh Paint gets a big update. Those with a pressure-sensitive digitizer pen will get more out of it than most!

Don’t forget that Windows 8.1 isn’t just about a Start button. It isn’t just about supporting small-screen devices either as there are improvements that have gone into the self-supporting Windows 8 sub-system that is Connected Standby. You can run more apps in the background and, for the first time, you’ll be able to use 3G/4G modules when in Connected Standby / InstantGo. Running Skype in this mode will be interesting.

Here’s a re-cap of the preview work done with the Acer W510 and Windows 8.1

Hat tip: The Digital Lifestyle

Setting a new low-price benchmark for Windows 8 touchscreen laptops is the ASUS X102BA. It was announced a number of weeks ago and although it hinted at low price, an RRP of 289 Euro is lower than expected.

ASUS X102BE

Built around an AMD A4-1200 dual-core CPU at 1.0Ghz and including a 1366×768 10-inch screen it looks like a netbook and in a way, it is as it falls under Microsoft’s Small Screen Touch program. Low license fee is clearly one of the advantages but the user also gets Office Home and Student for free.

2GB of RAM and 320GB of HDD will get you through a carefully managed office session but the touchscreen will open up some nice possibilities in the Modern UI.

More specs: 802.11N WiFi, BT4.0, 720p webcam, SD card, 33Wh battery and a weight of 1.1KG. Ports: Ethernet, 2xUSB 2.0, 1x USB3.0, SD card reader, VGA, HDMI

A 4GB, 500Gb version has been spotted in the UK for 299 pounds.

Performance is unlikely to be much more than previous netbooks or Clovertrail-based solutions so let that be a word of warning for anyone looking for smooth productivity but with the Modern apps, you get a whole new level of experience over that which you had with a netbook. A good port selection and Windows Desktop means you’ll never get caught out if you need flexibility.

Personally I’d like to see something like this built around Baytrail-M for a bit more battery life, some connected standby / InstantGo action and a bit more ooomph. When it comes, and it will, the ASUS X102 may have to look at that 250 Euro price level to compete!

Via: Notebook Italia

Press release

At IDF we heard about three Baytrail-T devices. The ASUS T100 was launched, the Dell Encore was shown but the Acer Iconia was only mentioned in a press event. Finally we get confirmation that it exists along with a first-look by Tomas Hochstenbach of BouweenPC.nl

The Acer Iconia W4 is clearly going to replace the rather poor W3, a small-screen tablet on Clovertrail that didn’t really have the best specifications. With the W4 we have the Intel Atom Z3740 (Baytrail, 1.3Ghz quad-core) and 2GB of RAM.

• Screen: 1280×800, wide viewing angle
• 5MP Rear Cam
• 2MP front cam
• Micro-USB, MicroSD card reader, a Micro-HDMI, Headset port.
• 5-point Multitouch
• GPS
• BT4, Wifi b/g/n
• Windows 8.1 (Office included)

The price is said to be €330 euros for a 32GB version which, considering the Toshiba Encore is €299 and has the same specs, could be too much. Acer often plays at the lower-end of the pricing ranges so perhaps we’ll see immediate discount to €299. Expect a US equivalent (pre-tax) price of around $300.

In the video below you’ll see a surprisingly thick tablet. Did Acer simply upgrade the Iconia W3 internals?

See more images at the source…

Source: BouweenPC.nl

Although it could be a month or more before the Toshiba Encore 8-inch Windows 8 tablet is availble, pre-order is now live at Amazon in Germany. It’s called the Encore WT8 (model number PDW09E) and the price and specs are as expected. Our Toshiba Encore WT8 specification page was nearly correct apart from the omission of the GPS module. We’ve updated it now.

299 Euro gets you the 32GB version. $349 Euro for the 64GB version (which is likely to be more popular.)

Read the full story