The ‘River of Links’ has been running on UMPCPortal for just under 2 years now. In that time we’ve highlighted nearly 800 quality, UMPC product-related articles. Over 200 different websites are referenced in the database but the Top 20 websites (*) that appear most in the database (apart from UMPCPortal of course!) and deserve a place in your bookmarks or feed list are:

jkontherun.com

www.gottabemobile.com

www.pocketables.net

www.engadget.com

jkkmobile.blogspot.com

ultramobilepc-tips.blogspot.com

www.mobiletechreview.com

reviews.cnet.com

www.pcmag.com

laptopmag.com

blogs.zdnet.com, gizmodo.com, www.trustedreviews.com, www.tabletpcreview.com, www.internettablettalk.com, blog.icube.us, www.brighthand.com, mykohjinsha.blogspot.com, www.viaarena.com, ubertablet.blogspot.com

‘Well done’ to the JKOnTheRun team and all the websites that are producing quality UMPC-related content.

The River of Links continues to be updated regularly and is available here and via RSS.

* Single-product, original articles only. No resellers. Does not include generic UMPC articles.Can I get any more disclaimers in here?

Although I was a little hesitant to drop this one into the database based on the fact that no-one knows how big it is, an official weight of around 1KG puts it in the correct ballpark.

MSI made an announcement on their web page a few days ago and I’ve now transferred the details into the product portal where i’ll track and update info when available. If you spot errors or new info, just let us know!

MSI Wind product page.

Source: Engadget

We talked at length about this last night on Podcast 14 but following a rather misleading 2nd paragraph in this article on PCWorld today, I want to highlight some very important differences between the Intel Diamondville-based netbook platform and the Silverthorne-based MID platform to reduce the confusion that’s building.

The diagram on the left (click to enlarge) shows the two ‘Atom’ platforms as we understand them today. On the left you’ll see a CPU (aka Silverthorne) and GPU/controller chip optimised for size, connectivity, Internet, video playback and long battery life. On the right you’ll see a CPU (aka Diamondville) and chipset combination optimised for cost. This cost-optimised platform is the one that you are likely to find in netbooks like the planned G10, Wind and Atom-based Eee PC.

The new diamondville-based platform will be slightly better and might even turn in some interesting performance benchmarks but it’s not revolutionary and it’s got very little to do with the MID platform. The platform Processing power won’t increase significantly over the existing platform, even at 1.6Ghz. Graphics power won’t increase significantly over the existing platform. Power efficiency won’t increase significantly over the existing platform.

This is the first-step towards free mininote computers with contracts because Airis and Telefonica (Spain) have got together to subsidise the normal 299 Euro cost of the VIA-based Kira down to 99 Euro when you sign up for ‘Duo 3Mb’ which appears to an ADSL contract at 40 Euro per month.

I find it strange that it’s combined with an ADSL contract because this type of mobile mininote would make a perfect PC for promoting 3.5G Internet contracts. The Phone Shop might start offering it with 3G soon though. According to an article in Business Mobile (France), the mobile phone reseller will start selling it on the 24th April. Expect free 3G USB sticks or heavy discounting.

The Airis Kira is currently in the database as the Pioneer Dreambook Light and is available in Spain and France. It is also known as the Nortec Gecko.

Via Eeextra. Source Linux Wizard

Sascha Pallenberg of EeePCnews.de, the website that published one of the first Atom performance figures last week, joins JKK and myself in a technical chat about Intel’s Atom processor. We cover the basics of Atom and how the ‘basic mobile platform’ differs from the MID platform and we also talk about the HP2133 and Eee PC 900. How much better will it be with the Atom processor? Also on the subject of the Eee PC 900, we advise customers not to buy one just yet due to a strange situation with the battery. Wait for a few days. Listen to the Ultra MObile podcast 14 to hear the details.

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Links:

Little Falls testing at VR-Zone.

EeePCNews.de Atom Benchmark results.

JKK’s new device is on it’s way!

First-off, thanks to everyone that entered the competition. I spent a good hour reading the excellent responses on the forum and counting up the votes. The favorite ‘object d’lust’ was, the OQO Model E2. Most went for the HSDPA and sunlight display model and in total, it took 30% of the votes. Second in-line was the WiBrain B1 with 19% of the vote followed by the HTC Shift with 7% and the Fujitsu U810 with 5%.

And the winner of the competition is……

Yabeweb

Congratulations Yabeweb. Expect an email in the next few days after we’ve finalised the procedure with Mobilx.

Thanks everyone again for joining in the competition.

Ubuntu ported to ARM

Not only has the Linux kernel advanced to natively supporting ARM architechture but Ubuntu is being ported too. This is a significant advance for ARM-based devices. Will Ubuntu Mobile be ported soon?

These figures put the Atom ahead of previous estimates which put the Atom @1.6Ghz at the same performance level as an A110 at 800Mhz. A Samsung Q1 Ultra with the A110 returns 2700 and 3000. Remember that the Atom processor can do hyperthreading. I have no idea what affect it has on the test compared to real-life scenarios.

One tip-off I had mentioned the following:

Intel Atom 1.6ghz with HyperT = about 950mhz Core Solo or 550mhz Core2Duo or 1.2ghz Athlon 64

Note that it’s not clear if this is a Z-series or N270 Atom processor that has been tested so there are still unknowns here. Again, only hands-on reviews are going to show the real story. It was a Z series Atom processor that was tested.

More news on Atom details: Launch details and SKU’s,  MID progress overview, Atom detailed overview, Video performance details , Basic Computing platform details.

Source: EeePCNews.de