I like the little Archos 605 Wifi but not because its a portable device with a browser. Mine is serving time under my TV as an Internet TV and PVR unit with the docking station and remote control. The reason I don’t use it as a mobile Internet device is 1) Because it’s WiFi only. 3G is easier and cheaper for me than Wifi when I’m on the go. 2) The processing power and browser software just aren’t up to scratch. It looks like problem number 1 will be solved […]

In short, the ARM Cortex A8-based CPUs are about 2-3 times more powerful than the CPU’s in the most powerful smartphones available today. When you compare it to Menlow in it’s low-end MID-targeted setup, its in the same ball-park.  So what we’re seeing is: Texas Instruments offering a mobile-Internet hardware platform on which a Linux-based core will run. Intel offering a mobile-Internet hardware platform  on which a Linux-based core will run I’m very pleased to see Cortex being promoted for use as an Android platform. It won’t be the only […]

How sweet. Someone got a pink Eee PC for Valentines Day. Apparently it’s the right shade of Pink too. Just imagine if it has clashed with the Nintendo DS.

This way to the ladies room at Pocketables please.

Specs and links here.

You might recognise this hardware but have you seen this operating system running on it before? The Pepper Pad lives!

Hanbit, the original equipment design and manufacturing partner for the Pepper Pad 3 are going to continue to manufacture the hardware after their recent split from troubled Pepper Computer.

Pepper Computer will retain their software following the split which leaves Hanbit free to make some changes. The most obvious of course is that you’ll find XP (Tablet Edition I’m told) on the new device rather than the Pepper Linux-based distribution. Secondly, the touchscreen has been updated to a LED back-lit version which will improve brightness and battery life. Finally, the battery is now easily removable which wasn’t the case on the Pepper Pad 3. The device will continue to run on the AMD LX800 which we know from the Raon and Kohjinsha devices, is perfect for browsing, simple document editing and impressive MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 performance (remember the unit has analogue-video out.) Price is not yet decided so it might be worth putting your thoughts

in the comments here because I know Hanbit are watching! Battery life is said to be around 3.5 hours in-use which tally’s with what I’ve seen on the Kohjinsha SA1.  The rest of the specs are said to be the same as the Pepper Pad 3.

Expect the Hanibt Pad UMPC 3 to be available very soon (The Tablet Store, Germany will have pre-order details up next week Germany) and expect new versions of the device to follow later in the year. A Menlow-based version is in the works and Hanbit are said to be looking at new designs.

The Pepper Pad isn’t exactly going to be your pocketable friend but take it from me, it’s one of the best sofa-surfing designs there is.

Thanks, The Tablet Store.

I’ve just had an invitation to see the R70 and R50 “7 Zoll und 5 Zoll Ultra Mobile PC mit neuem Design und vielen Optionen” – 7 inch and 5 inch ultra mobile PC with new design and many options. I assume it will follow the same lines as the R50A but with the 7″ screen and higher-end processor. Silverthorne at 1.8Ghz perhaps? Core 2 Solo? This could be one for the tablet fans.

The R50 was seen at CES and follows the same design as the R3 prototype above.

Of course I’ve accepted the invitation so expect news from the press conference at 1600 on 4th March and hands-on as soon as I can get to the demo at 1700!

Correction: I’ll get a pre-view on the 3rd March at 1700!

ASUS R50 details and links.

My Pay-as-you-go SIM card from Vodafone arrived yesterday. It cost 20 Euros (with 10 Euros of credit on the contract) and its going to form the last part of my 4-tier mobile Internet connectivity plan for my cloud-based applications and storage, both at home/office and when i’m mobile. Tier 1 is, of course, my home broadband connection. Cable. 6mbps / 600kbps upload. Bundled with Digital TV, digital radio and telephony its a great value package for the home (which is also my office.) Tier 2 is a 200MB per month […]

The BenQ UMPC/MID has finally arrived and there’s a heavy focus in the press release on user interface. Rightly so as style and UI are likely to be big differentiators.

The press release gives no details of pricing or availability but due to the UI focus, i’d say its near completion meaning that we could see a launch in April when Menlow launches at the IDF in China. (Unless Intel pull a fast one and launch Menlow at CeBIT next month.) The OS is based on Midinux  from RedFlag in China. How far out of the Asia region this gets is anyone’s guess.

The MID’s distinctive user interface was meticulously designed to bring an intuitive user experience to consumers. The startup icons on the desktop flip like a vertical window blind as you glide a finger across the device’s 4.8-inch touch screen. Users can simply shake their MIDs to minimize open windows as thumbnails on the desktop for more convenience and control. This reduces common errors that occur when users point to small icons on touch screens and eliminates the repetitive action of minimizing and maximizing the windows.

An article from ComputerWorld mentions that it has voice capability which is something we haven’t seen in many UMPCs or MIDs yet.

All the info we have so far including specs, images, videos and external news links are, as always, in the product information pages.

Via JKKMobile

You might recognise this as the Kohjinsha SR8 but it is in fact the re-badged version from Vye that is heading out to the US. Think S37+DVD and you’ve got the specs because it’s an A110-based platform, 1024×600 screen, SD+CF slots, user-upgradeable memory (max 2GB)  and touchscreen. It comes with a 100GB drive but I suspect, due to the space take by the DVD drive, the drive will be 1,8″ instead of 2.5″ making the 250GB storage option of the S37 impossible. The S41 should be available with XP or Vista and, according to the VyeUSA website, it will be available with U.S. keyboard at the end of March.

VyePC S41 product page.

For an review and information about the sister model, the S37, take a look here.

Thanks to Neal for the tip.