We’re getting a clearer picture of the operating system strategy from Google today as PCMag reports on Eric Schmidt’s closing keynote at IFA in Berlin. Apart from talking about the future of search, location search, fast search, personal search and the growth in mobile web and smartphones, he confirmed in a Q&A that Chrome OS is targeted at netbooks. The next question is ‘what is a netbook’ but at least the strategy for Chrome OS aligns with what Google said on day one. If we consider Chrome OS to be […]

At IFA this week we had a chance to talk to Dell Europe about the Streak. [Specifications and other information available here.] The main points of note were: Streak is part of a portfolio of tablets. We should expect to hear about the next product before CES (Jan 2011) The upgrade to Android 2.1 is planned for October The upgrade to 2.2 (Froyo) is planned for November The Wifi-only version is no longer planned While 2.1 will be a nice jump it’s 2.2 that will bring the real changes. Not […]

Update: Viewsonic Viewpad 100 is now in the database Update (It’s called the Viewpad 10 now) Following up from my post on the Viewpad 100 the other day, here’s a hands-on video. You’ll see Android is fast alright but again, without the always-on hardware platform and no way to switch quickly between the two operating systems, you’ll probably find your self sticking to Windows 7. As a Win 7 TabletPC this is worth considering. 4.5hrs and good performance for 549 Euros isn’t bad. Viewsonic Viewpad 100 gallery also available.

Meet:Mobility Podcast 55 is now available. JKK, Sascha and Chippy live from IFA with a round-up of the mobile tech news. Tablet and Netbooks feature heavility in this episode. Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic, Samsung N350 and more… Full show notes and listen/download/subscribe links over at MeetMobility.

Meet:Mobility Podcast 55 is now available. JKK, Sascha and Chippy live from IFA with a round-up of the mobile tech news. Tablet and Netbooks feature heavility in this episode. Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic, Samsung N350 and more… Full show notes and listen/download/subscribe links over at MeetMobility. On the Podcast: JKK JKKMobile.com Chippy Carrypad.com Joanna Stern Engadget.com Show Notes: (Not show order) Netbooks Over to New York for a $99 netbook. Acer D255 Why No News! Windows tablets, UMPCs. Eking M5 Slide/tilt. 1,2Ghz Rumor that UMID have closed down. WeTab nearly ready […]

No. I’m not talking about carrier ‘discounts’ I’m talking about retail discounts. Real, no-strings attached, cash on the (internet) counter deals. My favorite pricing search engine is coming up with some interesting prices across the EU. Galaxy Tab Information page here. In Germany we’re obviously starting at 799 Euros. Amazon set the bar and everyone else has followed suit so far. (Geizhals link)  My guess is that no-one has actually negotiated a price with Samsung Germany yet (Samsung won’t fix a price until after meeting all of their potential customers […]

Update: 4th Nov. The latest I have is that Froyo will be available in Germany on within the next 2 weeks. (3rd week of Nov) Yes, it slipped We had a great chat with the product manager for Toshiba’s AC100 in Germany at IFA yesterday and we covered a lot of ground about the target markets and future for these smart-books. Toshiba seem quite committed to the ‘smart’ sector and already have a team of 25 working on their Android builds. The next two milestones for the team are the […]

It’s so good to be able to finally bring you some mobile computing news over here at UMPCPortal. The lions share went to our consumer-focused site, Carrypad [see all our consumer tablet news from IFA here] and to be honest, I didn’t see a single UMPC-style product at IFA. It’s telling. There are a lot of positive points to pull out of IFA though. 1 Android products are getting better and all the major manufacturers are committed to getting some tablet and smart book products out there. Some will reach […]