A lot of the 10 inch PC-based tablets we’ve seen recently have been built around the ‘old’ Diamondville CPU and 2-piece chipset which, although good, it’s as good as the Pinetrail platform that is now rolled out for new netbooks. Smaller mainboards, lower power and a light boost in performance is exactly what’s needed to improve the Windows 7 experience in a tablet form factor and that’s exactly what BYD have in their T10BPT. The tablet is a an OED device looking for someone to pick it up and run with it but based on the specs and JKK’s video here I wouldn’t be surprised if someone does just that.

BYD T10BPT Specifications.

• Intel Atom N450
• NM10 Express Chipset.
• 1GB DDR 2
• 10.1 1024×600 Multi-touch (capacitive)
• Battery 47Wh
• HDD 2.5 inch SATA (Various sizes)
• 3G Option
• 2 x web cam
• SD card (multi) reader
• Stereo speakers
• Built-in Mic
• Audio-out
• Mic in
• 3 x USB2.0
• RJ45 LAN
• VGA Out
• Accelerometer

Sizing, weight and price-point are still unknown.

Via JKKMobile

Amy Barton from Intel explains the Million Dollar Fund intended to kick-start developers and get applications into the Intel Atom Developer Program which will then appear in the AppUp Center and other netbook (and possibly smartphone, mid, tv) app stores in the future on both Windows and Meego-based devices.

The press announcement was yesterday.

Full model details and pricing range is unknown at the moment but we’re now one step closer to launch of the Viliv S10 multitouch convertible. Dynamism have put up their pre order page.

Pricing starts with a 60GB HDD and XP at $699 which appears high for a device that isn’t much more than a 10hour version of the Gigabyte Touchnote that I’m using to write this. SSD versions start with a 32GB Windows 7 version and go right up to the 64GB version with the 2.0Ghz CPU and built-in HSDPA. Clearly pricing is going to be much much higher for that version so we’re probably looking at the $700 – $1200 range here folks. Lets hope it’s a little less at the high end!

As I said, full details aren’t known and availability is stated as ‘soon’ but we have been promised one of the first samples so you can expect an extensive live review session when it turns up here at UMPCPortal.

For a reminder on the specs, a gallery, some videos and related links from around the internet, check out our product information page for the Viliv S10.

Bloggers have been getting excited about those ‘tablets’ again.

The X2 (available in 10 and 12″ formats) is nothing more than a 1.6Ghz Atom device running a desktop OS without a keyboard. In effect, a large format UMPC.

We like the idea that tablets are coming out of the woodwork but we’re trying to remain balanced. Devices like these aren’t for the mass market. The UI, size and battery life just isn’t in the right ballpark for the average consumer.

From Pocket-Lint:
Specs include 1.6GHz Intel processors, up to 250GB hard drives, built-in stereo speakers, three USB ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optional HDMI output, 1.3-megapixel webcam and 3G.

X2 iTablet – iTablet from X2 of the UK.

If you’ve got a product ready to tell the world about, you obviously haven’t just started work on it so these two very similar 8.9 inch tablets aren’t a results of any iPad hype and the fact that they are based on the netbook platform and offering Windows 7 means that they are targeted at a different, more productivity-focused user; just the sort of user that comes to UMPCPortal!

First-up is the ExoPC. Offered by a French company (with no English website. Clearly not interested in being the global #1,) it’s based on a 2009 netbook platform but offers a multi-touch screen, a 4 hours battery and, based on the SIM-card slot, a 3G option. A weight of 795gm 32GB SSD and 2GB RAM give it specs that raise it slightly above the average netbook and fit well with the requirements of a productive Windows 7 environment.

ExoPC have helpfully provided a comparison page which includes the Archos 9 and iPad but omits the other competitors, the Nav 9 and the EviGroup Pad. Pricing is $599 and is said to be available in March.

On to the Nav 9 then, this is the one that appeared last month as the Netbook Navigator 891A-NN. Again, we’re looking at a sub-1KG (2lb) 8.9 inch tablet but entry-level pricing gives you a slightly more basic model. Low capacity (2hrs) battery, 1GB RAM and 16GB of SSD are all lower than the ExoPC but there are options to upgrade all of them. A base unit (no OS, single touch, no cam) is going to cost you $500 and expanding everything possible will take you way up to a scary $1500 although at that price you’re getting 3G, 128GB SSD and the multi-touch screen.

It’s obvious that these two are from the same OEM (Sinchun) so it will be very interesting to see how these two companies position their competing products because as we all know here in UMPC-land, devices without keyboards are a tough-sell.

For those of you with netbooks running Windows in the U.S. or Canada, you might be interested in testing out the Intel AppUp applications store. If you haven’t heard the news, it’s a full app store with a purchase system and an account that tracks your apps and allows you to re-download them if necessary. There isn’t much in the store right now (approx 100 apps) but I don’t think it will take long for developers to start modifying and submitting the applications they have already written for the Windows platform.

So far, I’m seeing a very interesting platform that when extended across smartphones, mids, netbooks and TV’s has huge potential in market segments that could total hundreds of millions of potential end-users. Already there are tens of millions of netbooks out there so if you’re a developer you need to be taking a close look at this.

Detailed blog article from Intel

AppUp store homepage

I’m looking at this and wondering if Microsoft and HP simply jumping on the wave of tablet hype and trying to break through with some viral marketing. There’s no real information available being given on this tablet so I can only assume it was a marketing move.

It looks like a 10 inch tablet with multitouch capacitive screen running Windows 7 and not dissimilar to a device I had hands-on with tonight.  It’s not a bad thing at all and I’m happy to see it but I wish this crazy tablet marketing race would end now.

Don’t expect too many details to surface on this one very soon but we’ll do our best to try and find out what’s going on here. Maybe it will appear in the Intel keynote at CES tomorrow.

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.