A couple of reports have come in over the last few days about pre-order and availability for the Gigabyte M704. The M704 is basically a 1.2Ghz version of the slider U60 ultra mobile PC with an LED-backlit 7", 1024×600 screen but it’s also available under other brands. Its actually made by Flextronics (previously Arima) in Taiwan.    Image of from Rover computers (Russian) The Gigabyte M704 info originally leaked through a Gigabyte website error last year but was quickly taken down. Since then it’s appeared in Russia (as the Rover […]

Among the new netbook sector competitors, the Eee PC is expected to retain its lead. Is this news? The Eee PC isn’t just a product now, it’s a brand that has serious value and momentum in the netbook market. You can guarantee that Mums and Dads across the world will be going into their local PC superstore and asking for one of those ‘Eee notebook thingys.’ rather than an ‘HP 2133 please.’ ASUS will, of course, lever that strength to bring new products to the market but they have to […]

What is there to say about the Eee PC 900 that JKK hasn’t already covered yet? It’s mobile, productive and people absolutely love it. The big question is, do you need a small, lightweight, good value mobile computer like the Eee PC 900 or do you want a mini-laptop like the HP2133 and MSI Wind, devices that are trying to balance themselves between ultra mobile and sub-notebooks. There’s not much between all the netbook devices which makes it a difficult choice. Hopefully this 35-minute info-packed video will help you decide! […]

Laptop magazine and jkOnTheRun are reporting back from their initial tests with upgrading (yes, it’s an upgrade in my opinion) from Windows Vista to XP on the HP 2133 MiniNote. Just how much evidence do OEMs need to convince them that installing the shiny Vista option is going to degrade the quality of their low-end computing product? I run XP on the WiBrain B1H which has a lower-spec, 1.2Ghz CPU than many of the HP 2133 devices that are being tested out there and its running fine. Using the VGA […]

UMPCPortal have been fortunate enough to be able to build some good relationships with resellers over the last few years which means there’s a nice two way channel for information that can go to and from potential customers. For example, yesterday I contacted Gigabyte about the rumored 912, 8.9" netbook and I should be getting some official news very soon. In the other direction, came the following information for UK and Australian customers…

I was of the understanding that Leopard  wouldn’t run on VIA but maybe I’m wrong. Either that or this is a nice little remote-desktop scam! The Leopard install is legitimate and works quite well.  However, I am still working on two final issues which are video resolution, presently limited to 800×480, and wwan which I have not yet attempted.  Sound, wifi, power management, and usb are working fine and the system is very responsive. I don’t know what to say at this point. Take a look at the video and […]

My most recent live-tracked ultra mobile PC photoblog went a lot better than the one I tried to do before and the main reason it worked was because I turned off 3G on my mobile phone thus extending battery life by over 100%. Smartphones still have a battery life issue in these online scenarios though and my own battery sill died before I got home but at least it lasted 3hrs and 10minutes which is a lot more than the hour or so that I had when I last used […]

While Europe waits patiently for the HP 2133 Mininote launch, users in other parts of the world are spending a lot of time optimizing and testing.  Joanna Stern of Laptop Mag is testing out the HP 2133 as her only PC but wasn’t too happy with the Vista experience saying "a Vista Experience score of 1.2 (out of a possible 5) tells you right off the bat how poorly the system handles the bulky OS. I rushed to disable the Allow/Cancel prompts (or what Microsoft calls User Account Control) from […]