Sony Ericsson today released the second revision of the XPERIA X1 White Paper (PDF) detailing many technical aspects of the upcoming XPERIA X1 (hands-on preview here). The document covers the X1i and X1a models. Here is a partial list of changes from the first version of the paper according to inxperia.com —
Quad-band EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Tri-band HSPA:
X1a: (850/1900/2100 MHz)
X1i: (900/1900/2100 MHz)
X1a model supports MPEG4, H.263 24fps encoding at QVGA only and not H.264
Size: 110.5 x 52.6 x 17 mm (formerly 110 x 53 x 16.7 mm)
Weight: 158g
Swing by inxperia.com for the rest of the list, and feel free to download the paper yourself with the link above.
The pricing game in the cheap notebook category getting rather silly. I’m seeing a lot of ‘tricks’ being used that will make it very difficult for consumers to sort the wheat from the chaff. The low-end Alpha 400 from Bestlink, a RISC-based Eee-a-like is another example. I’m not going to spend any time reporting details of the device (see LinuxDevices for that) or discuss whether it’s a good choice or not but I will report exactly what came into my mind when I read the news about it. Devices like these are nothing much more than smartphones running Linux and placed in notebook casings. I sound very negative when saying that but it shouldn’t be taken that way because while current solutions don’t provide enough oomph to give most users a serious alternative to a full notebook PC, they do show that we are moving to a point where the smartphone could be the only processing device you need. The idea of a smartphone running inside a notebook form factor really is a trick that needs to be observed. [Analysis after the break.]
It looks like Arne Hess over at theunwired.net got his hands on a pre-release HTC Advantage X7510. He has posted an unboxing video for anyone interested in checking out this new version of the X7500. The X7510 doubles in SSD storage capacity from the X7500’s 8GB up to 16GB. Other notable changes — the unit is now running WinMo 6.1, the d-pad on the front left of the device has been removed, and the keyboard has been redesigned with a completely flat touch based input keyboard. The keyboard helps alert the user to key presses using haptic feedback in the form of a small vibration when a key is pressed as well as an audible noise. I’m not sure how well the new keyboard will work, haptic feedback definitely helps, but initial tactile sensation (ie: physically raised keys) is probably the greatest benefactor to a good typing experience. I’m not sure exactly what kind of technology is being used to detect keyboard presses, but if it is capacitive they could capitalize on it greatly by featuring an intelligent correction system like that of the iPhone’s. Unfortunately for some, recent news has told us that the X7510 will not end up for sale in the US. Click the image to head over to the video unboxing page.
Another Snapdragon-related report from Stacey at GigaOM who quotes Qualcomm as saying they have 15 device manufacturers lined up for Snapdragon-based devices that should be available in 2008.
That’s a lot. But not if Qualcomms or Stacey’s definition of a ultra mobile PC is different from mine. If we re-name the devices, mobile Internet smartphones and consider the prototypes shown at CES then I can believe it because in the smartphone world, every manufacturer has to play the Internet game in the top quartile of their product ranges. Anything less than a Cortex-based device is risking being under-powered for the heavyweight world of ‘real’ Internet.
I’m excited that the ARM-based devices are moving into the mobile Internet market. It means competition and learning. Take the best of everything in 2008/9 and 2010 is going to bring some absolute gems based on Cortex 9, Mobile-ITX and Moorestown.
In a week where we’ve been bombarded by news (or Pyrotechnics as Richard Brown of VIA, calls it) from the Intel IDF, it’s important to remember the other side of the fence. Over in smartphone, pmp and pocketPC land, things are happening just as quickly. The PR machine isn’t as big but the products could be just as capable.
GigaOm interviewed Qualcomm’s Dr. Sanjay Jha , COO and president of its CDMA technologies division last week and put a few interesting Ultra Mobile related questions his way.
Stacey Higginbbotham asked the following:
When will these [snapdragon-based] devices come out, and how does this compete with Intel’s Atom processors for ultra-mobile PCs?
Sanjay replies: Devices using Snapdragon will come out in the second half of this year, before or after Christmas. And I wouldn’t say we’re competing with Intel because we want to focus on a pocket-sized device that you can carry with you. Intel’s specifications for Atom are focused on a device with a 7-inch to 9-inch display.
I think Sanjay needs to do a little bit more research. 20 manufacturers are licensed (as ARM might say!) to produce MIDs and all should produce devices before Christmas. Nearly all of the devices will fall smack-bang into the pocket-sized market so Qualcomm, you DO have competition.
ARM-based MIDS will come and i’m sure we’ll see them with longer battery life and smaller designs than with Atom but will they be powerful enough to handle the a full browser and all the media that a user can throw at them?
Qualcomm are showing off a couple of mobile platforms at CES. They aren’t UMPCs or even x86 devices but they’re certainly Mobile Internet targeted. On the lower image, the platform known as ‘Ancorage’ (Also shown above next to an iPhone) is running Windows Mobile.
Both this demonstrator and the ‘Fairbanks’ variant are running the ‘snapdragon’ platform which I wrote about recently. Its a Ghz-capable platform utilising the scorpion, Cortex A8 ARM architechture. HTC and Samsung have already shown interest in this and I personally think its going to be going head-to-head with Intel’s Menlow. Take a look at some MIDs that have been shown at CES. The target markets are exactly the same.
Gigabyte MID on Menlow platform.
Qualcomm are just showing these off as demonstrators of their mobile platform and it looks like they’re made by Inventec but the focus is clear – Mobile Internet!
This open gaming handheld reminds me of the WiBrain B1 UMPC. Its got some great specs but the physical implementation looks a mess! It’s the latest incarnation of a design targeted at gamer/developers wanting to run gaming emulators. Based, spiritually on the GP2X, there’s very little focus on Internet connectivity an even less on mobile Internet connectivity (no Bluetooth, 3G) but the interesting thing is that the core hardware could form the basis of an interesting mobile Internet platform. Its being called ‘Pandora.’ [Wiki] Here’s an early prototype rendering.
The hardware is designed around a Cortex A8 CPU which is a RISC design and, according to what I read, will enable raw processing power equivalent to the new mobility focused X86 CPU’s like Intel’s Silverthorn CPU.
As the first product in TI’s OMAPâ„¢ 3 family of applications processors with the ARM Cortex-A8 superscalar microprocessor core, the OMAP3430 delivers up to 3X gain in performance over ARM11-based processors. The new processor leverages industry-leading technologies to provide mobile phone battery life together with the performance needed for laptop-comparable productivity software and an audio-video experience equivalent to that of consumer electronics devices. [TI PDF]
With an 800×480 screen, keyboard, Wifi and expansion ports it will be interesting to see what sort of performance it reaches running Firefox and what sort of battery life it returns.
I’m doing a lot of reading on Cortex at the moment so if anyone has any pointers to other Cortex-based projects or reading material, please let me know and i’ll add them to my watchlist.
I really do hate using question marks at the end of titles. Its a sign of doubt and that’s not what a blogger should be presenting to the readers. However….this one really is a question mark and worth discussing.
Dell and Quanta are rumored to be cooking up a smart phone together, the first real production from Ron Garriques and company. It would likely include video, an MP3 player and Internet access and be unleashed on the world early next year. Officially, there’s no comment on this product.
Internet, video, audio. All sounds good. But then there’s the ‘smart phone’ part.
When you say ‘smart phone’, ‘video’, ‘mp3’ and ‘Internet’ you’re usually saying ‘3 inch screen with style and pocketability’ and not only is that a tough market to succeed in now but if you want to talk about real Internet and advanced video for 2008 customers, you have to do some seriously advanced hardware and software engineering. The only way to get the right screen and thumboard size is to drop the keyboard behind the screen via a slider (N810 – I love that design!) or clamshell (Psion 5 – I love that design!), or have it as a touchscreen element as Apple have done. Then, you have to tackle the problem of the processor requirement by putting in a fast processor and/or developing extremely efficient code. Add an HSDPA modem, some storage, wifi, BT and the now obligatory GPS (my Wife is seriously getting into her HTC Trinity’s GPS) you have a big battery life, size and heat issue that really, no-one has solved yet. The N810 and iPhone are very close but they lack the final 3G component, some more software and that little bit of extra speed that is needed to make them ready for a 2008 customer.
Either Dell are looking at a new platform (Snapdragon, Menlow, Mobile-ITX?) some very specialist code (Android?) or they’ve basically thrown a few buzzwords together to get suckers like me to spread the word. I fear the later!
Another Snapdragon-related report from 
