Jonathan Greene has published a video that shows a comparison between the three browsers on the N95, N800 and iPhone. He summarizes by saying that he prefers Safari over Opera. (iPhone over N800) which raises a few questions for me, someone that’s always saying ‘browsing starts at 800 pixels wide.’ He puts the devices through a tough test of Google apps (Gmail, Google Reader) and a few basic websites. The summary is that while the N95 browser is good, its just not up to the standard of the N800 and iPhone.

This, of course, is a Wifi test. In a non-hotspo area with 3G coverage, the N95 wins hands down! I wonder what Matt Miller would say about this. He’s just returned his iPhones (yes. More than one!) in favor of his N95 and has even put an order in for a Nokia E90. I’ll be watching for his opinion on the E90 browser.

The N800 and iPhone are consistently proving to be two of the best ARM-based devices out there (E90 needs a good test though!) but I still think there’s a big big difference between Opera/S60 Browser and full x86 browsers. To that end I’ve made a similar video by taking the N800, the Everun and the Samsung Q1P  and running them through some browser speed-tests. I’m writing this before I make the video and I’m expecting the Everun to be much faster than the N800. Its a full X86-based Windows PC (and costs a lot more too!) so should do well. The Q1P should be the fastest though. Lets see how it goes…

Click To Play

Update: ArchosLounge joins the browser demo party and brings along an Archos 605 Wifi!

Here’s a solution based on the Sunlinq 25w panel and a Xantrec 300 Plus combo lead-acid battery/inverter. Its very similar to my own solution apart from the fact that this one weighs nearly 10KG!!! A number of blogs seemed to have picked up on this solution today and are quoting 11-12 hours charging time. This figure is a little misleading. The battery capacity is about 240w/hr and based on a reasonable 5-hour per day full-sun rate its going to take 10 hours. That’s a minimum of 36 hours duration! In middle-Europe, […]

Last week I was introduced to the world of e-books. With the Everun in my hand I finally thought ‘mmm. Here’s a device that’s bloody perfect. Sub-500gm, bright screen, auto rotate, long battery life. Perfect.’ And it was. Really good. Its better in the hand than any other UMPC I’ve tried. I feel like I did when I discovered MP3’s – I’m downloading e-books like I’m about to go on a 5-year holiday!

Naturally I was interested in trying out the new touch-optimised Reader on my touch-screen device and tried installing it. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt! No way. You need to have the Origami TouchPack installed. What?

I’m back to Mobipocket now.

As a company goes through product R&D they are likely to churn out a number of prototype devices. Some don’t get past the wooden model stage but other get through to the final rounds. This one looks like its made it through selection.

The screen appears to be 4:3 format. Maybe 800×600. More importantly though, what’s under the hood? Is it still going to be a sub-umpc on ARM or will they make the jump to x86 with a Menlow or Mobile-ITX platform?

Via Engadget where you can find more images.

Ceegoo, Casomii, Barto and now, Bahir. Q1Ultra Pro 800 Bahir to be exact. ( NP-Q1UA000 )

As expected, the details of the German model Q1 Ultra are trickling into online distribution channels. Detailed specifications haven’t got into the system yet but I’m expecting those within 24 hours. Lowest price is €1199 which is, at current prices, about the same as the Q1B (HSDPA) and €150 more than the Original 60GB/1GB Q1.

Update: Direct from Samsung.

Q1Ultra-Pro 800 Bahir.

• NP-Q1UA000/SEG
• Intel® Prozessor A110 800 MHz 512 KB Cache 400 MHz FSB
• Original Windows® Vista Home Premium
• 7” Wide WSVGA 1024 x 600 Touchscreen
• 1024 MB PC2-4200 (1 x 1024)
• 60 GB 1,8″ 4.200 UPM
• max. 128 MB Intel Graphic Media Accelerator 950
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g 10/100 Ethernet Bluetooth
• 690 Gramm
• AV Station NOW, Schutztasche, Sync-Kabel, SRS WOW HD Sound, Dual Kamera (0.3M + 1.3M Pixel)
• Recommended retail price €1299.

I’m trying to find out about fingerprint scanner and HSDPA No Fingerprint reader on this model according to Samsung. (Direct email) and Availability in about 2 weeks (from date of post.) HSDPA model will follow in October.

In May 2007, Intel told the world that they saw two markets for the UMPC. One, a higher-end market for professionals and productivity users. The other, a low-end market focused mainly on smaller, cheaper, less powerful entertainment and communication devices aimed at the consumer. This consumer market is something that Raon Digital has been focusing on since they launched their first UPMC back in August 2006 with their 4.3″ screen, AMD Geode powered Vega UMPC and a year later, Raon are continuing this focus and still seem to be ahead of the game. The Everun has launched with the same small form factor and long battery life as the Vega but with some additional and unique features along with a great price. UMPCPortal was lucky enough to get a production sample S30H for long term testing and here’s the full review.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been sitting on information about the U560. Sorry everyone. Its nothing to do with an embargo or non-disclosure agreement, its to do with my bad, er, memory which only got jogged when I saw this U560 news filter through from Engadget today. There’s no real news in the Engadget article, just a few more images. Its been known for along time that the Amtek U560 would wear the Aigo badge and dare I say that our U560 images are better than Engadget’s anyway?

Here’s the new information though. [image right] Its the full production specification for the OEM model from Amtek. Click for the full-size version. All the data has been transferred into the product database.

About the device – I think it highlights quite effectively what happens when you add a sliding keyboard to a UMPC. It gets thick. A keyboard needs a frame, a layer of switches and the buttons themselves. This all takes space and I doubt anyone can do it successfully in less than 5mm. If you look at the Everun (full review to be published later today BTW) you’ll see a depth of about 25mm. The Amtek is 36mm deep making it almost impossible to get into a pocket. Battery capacity looks to be big though at 25W/hr. This should last longer than the Fujitsu U1010 which only has a 19W/hr battery. Maximum memory is 1GB. Drive is a 1.8″ 30, 40 or 60GB option. Camera is 1.3MP.

We previously heard that target pricing is around $1200 and release is planned for Dec 2007. Considering that the top-end Everun S66HS is $1100 and the Fujitsu U1010 is around the same price, it looks like there’s three ultra compact models to choose from at that level now. Check out the comparison table here. Which one would you go for? A screen PPI of nearly 250 could be much too tight for most people although it is slightly better than the Sony UX.

Images, hands-on thoughts, short video. 

Longer video showing keyboard.

Amtek U560 specs and news links in the product database.

You might have seen this article already but if not, its worth reading because its highly relevant to UMPCs.

15-ways to extend your battery life. It includes tips like ‘Dim your screen’ and “Hibernate not standby.’ 

My extra tips are:

Browsing is CPU heavy. If you’re just reading text on a website, try using the RSS feed if they have one. It can cut CPU usage considerably by avoiding all the processing power needed for flash, animated GIFs and javascript. Using an offline reader also means you can pick up all the news and then turn off the WiFi, which brings me to the second tip…

Turn of WiFi as much as possible. If you can connect via your mobile phone using Bluetooth or a USB cable, do it! In some UMPCs this can save up to 20% of battery drain. Again, try using offline tools (email client, RSS reader) to save on WiFi usage.

Screen dimming is very important. In an idle UMPC, it can save 20-30% depending in the screen type.

Kill those background tasks. I use Spybot Search and Destroy’s advanced features to keep my XP startup list as slim as possible. If you’re using Vista, optimise it!

Use power-saving modes but don’t slow yourself down too much. Some power-saving modes are extreme. The VIA-C7 locks down to 400Mhz in battery saving mode and it can really slow down the workflow.

Via jkOnTheRun