More images in the UMPCPortal gallery. So far I like what i’m seeing on the UMID. I had a chat with them and the changes are a direct result of feedback that they have received from the community. The screen now opens further, the memory will be upgraded to 1Gb and the USB ports are now using standard connectors. The device will be available with 1.2 and 1.6Ghz Atom CPUs. Launch is Q4. Note that this is a sample device. The mouse pointer is not finalised. Neither is the […]

I’ve got the Archos 9 in my bag and I’ll get some more content up on it later but for now I can tell you that it’s a solid device, looks great, has an accurate optical mouse (really necessary for a two-handed device) and appears to have more battery life than I expected. On the negative side the HDD appears to be a bottleneck in performance with applications starting up slower than I’m used to on the SSD-based UMPCs and MIDs I’ve tested in the past. It’s also a relatively […]

You’ve probably seen that Chippy jumped across the big puddle to attend IDF. He is got his live feed running and we are already seeing some interesting stuff. Jkk nabbed some screenshots of Chippy showing the UMID M2 just moments ago. Info on the M2: – New housing – Normal USB plug (no proprietary dongle) – VGA out – 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz Atom CPU options – 1GB RAM – Windows 7 Otherwise the same as the M1 (same keyboard, screen, etc). Looks even more like the Netwalker [Portal page] now. […]

UMID M2 UMPC Originally uploaded by umpcportal.com This is the new UMID M2 that UMIDpulled out of their bag at the Mobility Meetup, IDF09. Planned for Q4 2009. 1GB RAM. Windows 7. Improved design. 1.2 or 1.6Ghz CPU. More details and hands-on reports later this week.

I seem to be going through a sort of ‘gadget depression’. I used to see lots of cool MIDs and UMPCs get announced and was really excited for them. Lately though, I usually look at a device and see it as a poorly thought-out, half-baked, swing in the dark. Before I begin this little rant, let me say that I’m not an Apple fan-boy. I’ve never owned an Apple computer. The only Apple products I’ve owned are the iPod Touch, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS. From the perspective of mobile […]

We saw an influx of these sort of devices at this year’s Computex, but it looks like we are now seeing the first honest attempt to bring one to market. You’ve probably picked up by now, but the XPPhone is a mobile computer (running Windows XP) that packs in a bunch of wireless and ceullar radios to make it also function as a phone. It supports most 3G specifications and even has optional WiMAX. In general, the idea of a Windows XP running phone isn’t one that I’d be very […]

Over at Meet:Mobility, Sascha, JKK and I have just posted another podcast. An hour of netbook, MID and UMPC discussion with a focus on IFA and IDF. We hope you enjoy it.

Topics covered…

I fly to San Fransisco for IDF in about 24 hrs and I’ve been trying to work out what computing devices to take. Netbook, check! UMPC, check! Smartphone…not so sure. I have two problems that mean my new and expensive smartphone will stay at home during my trip. 1) The touchscreen and camera will get scratched if I put it in my pocket. I’ve already got a horrendous scratch on it from finger-scrolling. The chances are that if I keep it in my pocket next week it will get trashed. […]