Meet:Mobility Podcast 50 is now available.

In this show, number 50 on the 21st May 2010 we have a lot to talk about from Google IO in San Francisco to Computex in Taipei. Sasha and myself will be giving you feedback from our time with the iPad and we also talk about the netbook summit.

Full show notes, download and listen links at MeetMobility

You can also find the podcast on iTunes (Please rate the show on iTunes.) You can also subscribe via RSS.

Tying-up the rumors of an Intel, Google, Android project today is the announcement that Google will launch Google TV on Intel hardware. While the product is not important for mobile computing fans it does prove that Android on X86 has had a lot of investment and is ready for mainstream. It’s a potentially huge win for Atom.

Google TV is probably using  the Intel CE4100 processor formerly known as Sodaville.

The CE4100 processor can deliver speeds up to 1.2GHz while offering lower power and a small footprint to help decrease system costs. It is backward compatible with the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 and features Intel® Precision View Technology, a display processing engine to support high-definition picture quality and Intel® Media Play Technology for seamless audio and video. It also supports hardware decode of up to two 1080p video streams and advanced 3-D graphics and audio standards. To provide OEMs flexibility in their product offerings, new features were added such as hardware decode for MPEG4 video that is ready for DivX* Home Theater 3.0 certification, an integrated NAND flash controller, support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory and 512K L2 cache. The CE SoC contains a display processor, graphics processor, video display controller, transport processor, a dedicated security processor and general I/O including SATA-300 and USB 2.0. [source, Intel]

We mentioned before that Android puts a new dynamic on Intel’s Moorestown platform, the fact that they are working so closely with Google shows that it’s not just marketing talk. My prediction: Expect an Android Phone based on Moorestown to be launched at Computex in just over a weeks time.

Update: Engadget were told it is indeed the CE4100.

You can find out more on the Google Blog

Thanks to over 500 people that stepped into the live Open Review of the Compaq Airlife 100 yesterday. We spent 2.5 hours going over the device and tested as much as we could. Thanks also to JKKMobile for joining-in via Skype and helping out. During the session we made three live recordings which are now available at Ustream. They’re relatively long but hopefully interesting to people looking towards the ‘smart’ devices sector. There’s a lot to learn from this ‘always-on’ device segment.

I’ve embedded part 1 of the session below and the links to the two extended segments are included below that. Check back on Carrypad tomorrow for a review article.

Full specifications, gallery and articles list is available in our Airlife 100 tracking page.

Part 2 is available here. (More general testing. Q&A.)

Part 3 is available here. (Video, audio testing. Apps testing)

Note that while Ustream provides a fantastic free live streaming service, streaming of recorded videos is sometimes a little hit-and-miss in our experience. Early morning viewing is recommended!

As promised in the last post, I’ve unboxed the Compaq Airlife 100 that turned up today. It’s 20 minutes long but is detailed and shows some of the features of the device including browsing and application installing. Tonight (18th May) at 2200 CEST I’ll be doing a live session with the Airlife so please, drop in and ask questions. More details about the live session in the last post.

The recordings of the Open Review are available in the Meet:Mobility UStream Channel. I’m writing a full review right now. Expected to be posted on Thursday 20th May.

The Compaq Airlife 100 just arrived from Spain

It’s one of the first true smart-books / social netbooks (*1)  and a device I believe will show us exactly how touch, always-on, always connected and social networking will play a role in netbooks of the future. It will be available soon in Spain through Telefonica’s Movistar service provider.

Here’s the plan. The unboxing and overview is done and uploading now to my YouTube channel

Later, I’ll get down to the studio for a LIVE video and chat session. Lets say, 2200 CEST (check the time at your location) at Carrypad.com/live.  See you there for a few hours testing of one of the first ever social netbooks. (*1) Some parts of the session, not all, will be recorded. Tomorrow I’ll write my first impressions here on Carrypad.

[*1 Smartbook is a trademark of  Smartbook A.G. in Germany where my company is based. They sell netbooks and laptops. To avoid legal issues, Carrypad uses the term ‘social netbook’ to describe an always-on, always connected netbook running on a mobile focused OS and hardware platform.]

That Rockchip CPU has been turning up in a lot of devices recently. It’s a Chinese manufactured CPU based on the ARM9 design [We’re checking on that due to varying information] and clearly it’s cheap because all the devices I’ve seen with it recently have been around the $200 mark. The Archos 7 Home Tablet is one and we’re expecting to get the first reports of that soon but in the meantime, here’s a look at a device with a familiar industrial design. Its the Moonse E7001 and its running Android 1.5 (on an 800×480 screen?)

Full specs are available here and you might notice that it matches the Archos 7 Home Tablet almost spec for spec. Will there be any need to buy this from China when it can be had locally for much the same price (U.S. and EU markets, post and import taxes included.)

Stay tuned to Shanzai for their reports as they continue their testing.

Aesthetically its OK but there’s a hint that the UI isn’t that smooth in the video. I’m not surprised and I won’t be surprised if the Archos 7 Home Tablet performs in a very similar way.

More info at Shanzai.com

We highlighted last week that the EviGroup Wallet [specifications] would be going into production very soon. It seems that SMiTs is also getting ready to put their design through production for Enso as the ZenPad.

In a post at Chinable, they offer up a preview video (note the Google Maps, Google marketplace, Gtalk apps) and some notes that indicate this is an Android 1.5 build. A non-3G version is to be launched first. The price of the ZenPad is $155 (120 Euro) so perhaps, just perhaps, the 199 Euro EviGroup Wallet really does include 3G although it’s more likely that taxes and GPS make up the difference. The comments on the post indicate that the ZenPad is heading to production.

So many questions remain open about this device that it’s hard to even try to place it. IF it gets the Android market and runs well in 256MB RAM, it could make an interesting alternative to the Archos 5 which doesn’t have the physical buttons (it uses screen space for virtual buttons) and doesn’t run the Google apps well due to limited memory after hacking. Without a capacitive screen or a high-end CPU, this will never be in the same league as something like the Dell Mini 5 but if if does appear, either in ZenPad or Wallet branding with 3G for 199-Euro, it becomes an interesting low-cost mobility option.

Thanks Mike Cane

Enso website.

Is it fair to be comparing a $250 5 inch tablet with a $500 9 inch one? Yes because a) people have been asking about it b) comparing anything to a device that gets people thinking, talking and experimenting is worthwhile in my book.

Thanks to the German blog, TouchMeMobile I’ve got an iPad this week and although I don’t intend to do a full review, I am taking the chance to learn and compare as much as possible. This video is a detailed look at the differences and the overlap between two home-focused devices. Music, Video, Internet and E-Reading are at the heart of both the iPad and Archos 5 but each one delivers it in a different way. The Archos 5 is the very personal, lightweight 30cm experience with a lot of flexibility. The iPad is a 1-meter experience with a refined user interface but misses out on some connectivity and flexibility. One is easy to hold in one hand; the other needs two. One has an industry-leading application store; the other something rather disappointing. One can ‘play’ the web and 720p video out via HDMI, the other is limited to analogue video.

In the 25-minute (get yourself a cuppa!) video I discuss the form-factors, the weight, the video capabilities, the app store, communications and e-reading. The two devices do ‘internet entertainment’ in very different ways so I hope this video helps you refine your gadget ‘wanted’ list or buying decision. Feel free to feed back on YouTube or below. For the next week I’ll track it closely and try and answer queries ASAP.