HSDPA – It gives you Wings!

According to a press release today, Fujitsu Japan and NTT have entered into a deal to offer the HSDPA version of the U50/U1010/U810/8240 through an online sales partner. As you can see, they’ve modded it slightly to include the antenna. The bundle includes a new ‘capped’ data plan (10,500 Yen max) which I assume you have to sign up for with the device. Which brings to question the reason why this model costs nearly 20% MORE than the non-hsdpa version. In Europe, if you sign up for a 24 month data contract you expect to save money.

Orders will be taken in October for a November delivery. Cost, 175,000 JPY ($1500) which seems expensive to me. Especially for what appears to be a SIM locked model.

Fujitsu PR (Google translation.)

Thanks to Rob for the news.

‘I’m in the UK and want to buy an Everun.’ ‘Can you tell me where to buy a T770 in the U.S?’

These are two examples of questions I received recently and are typical of the type I get on a regular basis. It shouldn’t be happening. People should be able to get that information easily from UMPCPortal and other websites. It’s the information that every reseller should have out there but its not easily available. I feel confident enough now, after 18 months of building the site, to say that UMPCPortal is #1 when it comes to UMPC product information and yet I still can’t connect buyers to sellers smoothly. If resellers aren’t getting the products into the shops then its going to take a bit more than a few Google ads here and there! I love, with a passion, researching and writing news and reports and providing potential customers with the right information but if people are coming to me and saying ‘hey, I want to buy a UMPC but can’t find anywhere.’ then there’s a big hole that resellers and I still need to fill. It’s also very important for the well-being of the site. The site’s support comes from connecting buyers to sellers and if I don’t do that I’ll soon be back to squeezing in a news item or two in my tea-break in a new job at the local telco. That would be bad for everyone who’s enjoying this site, including me.

So today I’m starting a new project to collect more UMPC information for potential customers. I want to expand the product pages to include territory-specific models and specifications. I want to get the latest prices for these models and I want to be able to list all the resellers for a particular territory. Basically this is a project to connect UMPC more closely with resellers and the latest specifications, availability and pricing.

If you’re a reseller, I’ve created a list of options that i’d like you to read. It’s available here. Some of the options will provide free publicity, others are pay-for but all should ease the process of connecting potential customers with purchases and reduce the number or ‘where can I buy’ emails I get! I’ve already started to create a database of resellers and as it develops to include more information, I will be able to match products up with resellers and territories so its easier for everyone to see the latest prices and to evaluate the range of resellers in their country. Its a big task and there are probably more experienced people out there than ‘Chippy’ who could do this better but at the end of the day I don’t see anyone doing it so I’ll give it my best shot.

Resellers, make yourselves known to the thousands that come to UMPCPortal every day. Email me or contact me and say hello. Send me some info and I’ll take it from there. Give me your details and i’ll put your details in the database. Then, think about some more targeted options.

Guests, members, you can help too. The reseller list is available for comments and voting and if you see new websites, new products, errors in the product pages or other issues, contact me. Its my job to make sure you get reliable and high quality information.

We always enjoy a good argument discussion on UMPCPortal about what is and isn’t a UMPC. The last big round of talks resulted in me splitting the ‘sub-umpcs’ away into a new database. But now, they’re back! Let the discussion re-commence.

To be honest, I was missing them. I like comparing the N800 with other UMPCs and I think others do to so now you can compare to your hearts content.

While we were designing the category chooser we also decided on the ability to view notebook, slider and tablet style devices as different categories. As before, the instant type-and-filter box is still there so now you’ve got even more flexibility about what you see. Check it out in the product pages.

Oh, and one other thing, I added the iPod Touch to the Alt category. Or should it be a web-pad? We’ll discuss that below!

Thanks to John Tokash for his hard work on this.

Update: I’ve taken this feature away. It wasn’t working well becuase every time someone navigated to a new page, the connection was lost.! UMPCPortal Live seems to be working better though. Much more fun!

Bjorn of UltraMobileLife blogged about this the other day and although I’ve tried Meebo in the past, that interactive ‘gadget’ finally got me to try it out again. I’m looking to drop another dedicate application – Trillian – from my software line-up.

The other cool feature is the MyMeebo embedded chat module. I like the idea and I’m going to try it out in the forums on UMPCPortal. If you’re logged in (members only at the moment,) browsing the forums and a question comes up, just drop me a quick message! You’ll find it in the right-hand column.

We’ll see how it goes over the next few weeks.

This is the fist detailed set of images I’ve seen of the extended battery for the Kohjinsha/VyePC devices.

Images via Lazion.com

Its shown here on both the KOhjinsha SH6/8 (Intel McCaslin) and the SH1 (AMD Geode) which will bring the battery life up to around 4 hours (SH6/8) and 8 hours for the SH1. (based on my experience with both of these devices.)

But…its big! Adding the 20mm or so on the back makes it look huge don’t you think?

The GPRS-based web browser, Pocketsurfer, is, according to Widget.com, just days away from being available and Aving managed to get their happy snappers out at IFA this week to get some images of it in all its backlit glory. Unfortunately they didn’t quite get the specs right and, as far as I know, its does not have Wireless LAN capability. Only GPRS capability.

The network architecture used is pretty sound. One of the most popular mini-browsers, Opera Mini, uses a similar architecture where it sends all traffic through it’s own servers and if…if this device can support advanced web sites (Gmail, Meebo etc) then it might be worth looking into but if it doesn’t support Web2.0-style pages then where’s the value? Writing emails should be fairly efficient. Playing online poker. Forums and RSS reading should be fairly pleasant but its going to be missing all forms of inline media, flash (I suspect – not confirmed), and any capability to use the screen for offline work. Notes, document reading, e-books, videos.

At 180 quid, including 1 years data (40 pounds per year thereafter) maybe it does have a market. Its certainly a cheap way of trying out mobile Internet and could well appeal to a lot of social website and online poker fans. It could make a nice Christmas present too. I’m no expert, but I recon some girlies would go for this. I wonder what Jenn over at Pocketables thinks. Any female readers out there care to comment?

Specs include a 5-hour battery life and a transflective display. More information available at the pocketsurfer microsite.

Via jkkmobile.

…with 4.68 million UMPCs shipping in 2012.

Unlike previous reports, ABIresearch have split the ultra mobile device category up into two segments (makes sense to me.) and have what appears to be, from the contents list anyway, a huge ‘upcoming report.’

Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) will strike a responsive chord with consumers, and by 2012, 90 million MIDs will ship. MID customers will include ‘Lifestyle Boomers’, ‘Gen Y Social Networkers’, ‘Young Gamers’, ‘Frugal Generalists’, and ‘Multimedia Enthusiasts.’

Ooh. I hope I don’t fall into the Frugal Generalist category. Sounds terrible! Section 2.3.5 sounds good, “The iPhone as a MID Stalking Horse” and there’s even going to be a section on the gphone. Considering that the fastest way for me to check and read my email is via the Gmail app on my phone, I’m not surprised.

The UMPC’s technology challenges include the need for low power consumption CPUs that still can run Vista applications, lower-priced displays, batteries with longer life, lower-priced flash drives, and more user-friendly input devices. The Mobile Internet Device faces serious competitive challenges from single-purpose devices, evolving smartphones, and some UMPCs. Wireless connectivity will be a key part of MIDs. Mobile WiMAX and WCDMA connectivity will be integral components.

More information and, if you register, a price, can be found on this ABIresearch web page.

A classic! Thanks to ecsk2 for sending this image in.