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

Now we know why that USB Duet EZ Dock solution only works on the Eo Tuff Tab! OK, so its possible to integrate USB client functionality into the motherboard and this is probably just a demonstrator but that’s not going to happen for a while. And am I missing something here? Can’t you do this already over Remote Desktop? Is it just networking over a USB cable?

Someone fill me in please. I’ve tried contacting the PLX people but didn’t get a response. Is this something that could be integrated into cheap docking stations?

Thanks to UMPCPortal member and frequent twitterer Rodfather, I just found out that the Kohjinsha SA6 is showing up on Dynamism and Conics, the gadget importers. I have been waiting for confirmation on processor type, model numbers and pricing and this gives us the answers.

It looks like there will be two models each in two colors. Black and white. The low-end model (SH6WP04A / SH6KP04A) has the 40GB drive and 512MB ram. The second model (SH6WP10A / SH6KP10A) has a 100GB drive and 1GB RAM. Both appear to come with Vista which is strange as I understood that Vista in 512MB of RAM is a no-go configuration.

Conics are offering the 100/1 version for $1049 I’m not sure what support, delivery or tax is applicable. Annoyingly, the XP Pro version is being offered for an extra $160. I assume that’s because Vista has to be de-installed. I wonder if you get the Vista licence thrown in. Dynamism have both versions available. No XP version unfortunately and the pricing for the SA1 (Geode version, 800×480 no touch) has not gone down either which is suprising as Data Evolution are offering them for $799. I would expect to see some movement there very soon.

The SH6 is way up high on my wish list. The original Kohjinsha SA1 was fantastically useful. I’d recommend an XP version of this for digital photographers and mobile bloggers without hesitating. Not a Vista versions though. Not on a 600Mhz McCaslin.

All the UMPCPortal SH6 information via this link.