I haven’t got a Vista machine to try this out on at the moment but it looks like Vispa contains many of the tweaks that I highlighted in my list of 13 optimization tips for Vista on UMPCs.  I was going to put together a more  detailed how-to for those  tips but I think this just about covers it. As Kevin said, make  sure you back up your registry  before using this and make sure you scan the executable before running it. There aren’t any reports of malware but you never know!

Via JKOnTheRun. Source: DownloadSquad.

I finally got round to cutting the 20 minute Solar UMPC How-To video up into 2 YouTube-sized pieces. The  solar power solution is very much a first attempt for me and I’ll be working on improving this solution over the coming months. I’m going to the InterSolar expo on Thursday to see if I can steal some knowledge from the pro’s and I also had a good chat with someone that designs solar solutions for satellites (thanks Nigel Smith of Texas Instruments) and its clear to me that there are better solutions out there. The challenge is trying to find one that is cost-effective and available for the average ultra mobile user. Keep an eye on Solar-UMPC.com for any info I find.

A blog with more information on the solution is available over at Solar-UMPC.

As I was setting up my latest UMPC ‘office’ (see last image) I realized that there must have been quite a few places that I’ve used the UMPC. Looking back on my photo folders I found a great set of scenarios. Some a bit impractical, some very important. It would have been 11 but I don’t have a picture of me sitting on the porcelain! View the gallery after the jump…

You can see it in his eyes can’t you. Look at his left eyebrow. Raised just enough to know he’s about to have some fun with the Q1 Ultra. Sure enough, after just one day Hugos got her stripped down and under the camera for close-up GB on GB action.

There’s a device running at 800Mhz with an operating system that takes 8-10GB and over 1GB of RAM. Every time I see figures like this I just feel something is wrong. If you’ve ever used Puppy or Damn Small Linux you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Forgetting the specs and stats for a minute though, I love the Q1 design and screen and I still want one, despite the fact that Germany is still at least 4 weeks away from seeing one in the distribution channels.

Looking forward to a head-to-head with the OQO if possible Hugo but don’t forget to make sure they’re both running with the same optimizations. Details at GottaBeMobile.

I’ve just got time to relay this info from Micke, a recent member at UMPCPortal, who points me to an article on the Eee PC 701 that reveals the CPU and chipset.

I had thought maybe Celeron 600 or 900Mhz with a 915 chipset but it turns out that its a Pentium-M running at 900Mhz with a 910 chipset. I wasn’t far off. More importantly though, this is a UMPC for 200 dollars. How the hell are vendors going to justify using the same architecture and charging 5 times as much? What’s a touchscreen worth?

Question: Wasn’t the 910 chipset end-of-lifed? Did ASUS buy up the last million CPU’s and chipsets in bulk?

Source: HotHardware. Thanks Micke.

Redorbit reports that Seamless have delivered the first batch of S-XGen devices to a distributor in Europe. Remtech, based in the UK, already have the product on their web page but at this stage, the price is hidden for member resellers only. Shame. I would be interested to see if this was still priced at $1400. When you consider the water that’s gone under the bridge since this price was aired (Jan 2007) then it seems rather expensive compared to some of the new uber-smartphones. Remtech didn’t reply to an email asking for more info but if anything comes up I’ll be sure to forward the info. In the meantime, check out the new promo video that’s just popped up on YouTube.

Source: Redorbit. Video: Agetipp YouTube channel

…and they’re planning to shift 700,000 of them.

Even at 200 UK pounds, nearly double the $200 price point target for the U.S. market, and with an unknown processor, a Linux operating system (Xandros I believe,) and only 4GB of flash drive, this Eee PC 701 is looking like a bargain. Even more importantly, its looking real! PCW UK is reporting that it will launch within a few weeks at 200 pounds. Its got the SD card slot, wifi and USB ports and a 3-hour battery life. For 200 quid I’ll even forgive the fact that it hasn’t got Bluetooth and carry my phones USB cable with me!

Full story at PCW. via MobilitySite.

I’ve just about given up chasing the status of the Medion UMPC. It has disappeared again from  the Medion Germany website although its still showing in Amazon for 899 Euro and a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. In the UK and US its still ‘sold out’ although I don’t think they ever had any stock to sell in the first place. And meanwhile the clock is ticking. Packard Bell have announced they will launch the Easynote. The Raon Digital Everun is rumored to be coming and the Amtek T770 is already available.

My advise to them would be to launch with the docking station at 950 euro and offer a bundle with the navigation kit (s/w, mount, GPS stick) for 1050. It will differentiate it from every other UMPC in its price bracket and set a standard for a grab-and-go desk-to-car PC.