Nokia has released the latest version of OS2008, added some features and made it available for the N800 Internet Tablet.. Dan / Thoughtfix at TheTabletBlog has just written up an overview of the OS and its features which is worth reading. In general, he;s very positive about the update to the N800 but he’s not as harsh as I was on some of the not-so-good aspects. For N810 owners the updates are minimal and include bug fixes and some touch enhancements. On the Canola2 Beta front I’m afraid there’s no […]

Here’s a challenging query. Michael sent me this a few days ago and obviously knows what he needs. Here’s the chalenge:

I follow your reviews and commentary with great pleasure and interest.
Thanks for the great work!
Here�s a question. I have very basic needs in the UMPC world. As an academic researcher in the humanities, I spend many days in archives and libraries, where I enter text (sometimes longish text), which I then transfer to my PC. That�s my life � much of the time. I�ve been using Psion products for the last 6 or 7 years, but my Revo is
coming to the end of its performance. A basic word-processor, a good keyboard, a decent screen, and the ability to transfer text to the PC � that�s all I need or want. Anything else � phone, internet, camera, etc. � would be a bonus, but isn�t necessary. Can you point in some direction? Toward a product, a company, or a person, who might recommend a post-Psion machine?

Michael. Thanks for the email (and compliment!) This challenge is something I previously spent some time thinking about when I was doing my Solar-UMPC tour. All I wanted was a writing device with a good keyboard, bright screen, a simple suite of apps and long battery life. I kept coming up with the same answer – a mini Palm Foleo. Lets take a look at the requirements in more detail because its an interesting challenge.

What an awesome bit of timing from WiBrain. Just as I was getting annoyed with the N810, missing the Everun and bringing out the Q1b from the cupboard, Mrs DHL turns up at the door with a device that I was sure would get stuck in customs until 2008!

‘Nuff said. Its here and here’s the unboxing. No first impressions as I haven’t even turned it on yet! YouTube video below. Full, unedited, higher quality version here (768kbps, WMV, 66MB).

More info, specs, links on the WiBrain info page.

I’ll be noting my thoughts as I go in this forum thread.

I’m currently LIVE on UMPCPortal.com/live. Join the live chat and watch the video. (until about midnight here)

Small gallery here. More coming soon.

Many thanks to WiBrain for sending the device over. The B1 web page is available here. A higher specification B2 is also available. In the U.S, Dynamism have WiBrain details and pricing up. The B1E (30GB, 512MB) is $699 and the higher spec B1H (that I have here) is $150 more. I also spoke to Mobilx and they tell me that they are currently assessing the device for Jan availability.

File under: Not sure if its a PMP, Navi, ultra mobile PC or MID! My apologies everyone. I’ve had this info for weeks and it slipped off the bottom of the list. Thanks to everyone who pinged me after HPCFactor brought it to the fore. This 600Mhz Alchemy-based device seems much like the Cowon Q5 but with the addition of a few interesting productivity apps. Npop EMail, CalliGrapher Handriting Recognition and the Softmaker Office 2008 Suite with read and write capability. Its also got Windows Internet Explorer installed but I’m […]

Following the latest Intel press conference, we now have a bit more info about Menlow-based products that we will see showcased at CES. Apparently there are ‘more than 10.’ Most of them we saw at the fall IDF [keynote analysys] (see image above from Fall IDF.) Asus – The R50/R3 will be there. News and specs here.  (see above) Aigo – They were supposed to be releasing the Stealey-based Amtek U560. Have they stepped back from it because of delays? (The U560 is being produced in sample qualities right now. […]

I’ve just written up an article about Intel and MID developments expected to air at CES and it highlights a gaping hole where news about Ultra Mobile PCs should be. Where are the new 7″ ‘pro’ devices?

I really don’t think we’re going to see XP or Vista on anything Menlow-based. As time goes by its clear that Silverthorne processing power will only match or may even be less than Stealey. There’s also talk of small SSD’s too which wouldn’t even have enough space for Vista or even a full install of XP. This is sub GB OS territory. The only silver lining with Silverthorne is that it might scale up to 2Ghz. Quite why you’d use a 2Ghz Silverthorne part instead of a Core 2 part baffles me but it might enable manufacturers to produce two versions of their hardware without changing the board design. One version running a MID-focused OS using SSD and another using a hard drive and offering Vista. Maye that’s what the R3/R50 mystery is all about!

The only other thing on the horizon is the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium (1.3Ghz, Core 2 – based UMPC.) which I really hope signals the start of Core 2 ULV processors in the UMPC market. They will certainly remain high in price but should enable some pretty nice video and productivity applications. We’ve seen how successful the 7″ mini notebook design is and I’d love to see that improved to the point where interactive Video, HD video playback, gaming and low-end video editing are possible.

Fingers crossed for more UMPC news soon. In the meantime, feel free to discuss whether you think the UMPC market will remain niche (or even die!) in the topic started by ‘HighSpeed’ in the forums.

Here’s the latest nugget of MID news that I think many people were expecting. Microsoft will attempt to bring ‘desktop grade’ browsing to WM7. “..they will try to bring IE up to par with the iPhone’s Safari browser, and deliver “desktop grade” browsing with zooming and scaling and all that good stuff. ” [Gizmodo] About flippin time I say! Although I hope its not all zooming and scaling and that there’s some native 800×480 support in there. In addition, they will work on the media apps and UI. This has […]

I think I just got sucked in by this promo video. I like the look of it and can see how it might work with some sort of digg/techmeme-type algorithm driving it. Take a look yourself… Zumobi is a Microsoft spinoff and they’re trying to promote a new way to surf. It looks totally unproductive but a lot of fun. Imagine if you could go into themed tiled areas or favorites areas or popular meme areas. I guess that images could be pulled out of RSS feeds to make tiles […]