It was last August that I wrote about the Kupa X11 tablet. I highlighted the battery capacity as the key feature because it’s not often you see such a high capacity battery in  an X86-based device under 1KG. What I didn’t know then was that Windows 8 would require 1366×768 to run the full range of Metro apps and features so the Kupa is now one of only a handful of tablets you can buy today that are Windows 8 ready. At the top-end you have the Samsung XE700 based on Core i5 technology. Fighting it out in the lower-end are the ExoPC (and variants) and the Kupa X11. There’s the Motion Computing CL900 to consider too. What’s interesting about the Kupa though is that it runs Oaktrail, which is going to give it a a very long runtime, coupled with a fast SSD, 2GB of RAM and 3G, this could be just what some people have been looking for.

Thanks to Kupa I now have the Kupa X11 Pro here for testing. Full Kupa X11 specifications, gallery and links are available on our information page. Here’s a selection of the important specs.

• 10.1 inch 1366×768 hi-resolution screen
• 2GB RAM
• Dual-layer touch (finger / digitizer pen)
• 2GB RAM
• 64GB SSD
• 3G (HSDPA including telephony)
• 52Wh battery (equivalent to a 6-cell netbook battery)
• Fingerprint Reader
• Dual cameras (2.0 / 3.0MP)
• Mini HDMI
• Windows 7 Pro

The Kupa X11 was available in Q4 2011 so there may be some of you out there that own it already but as Windows 8 gets nearer, it’s an imprtant device to be testing. Expect an unboxing and first impressions video very soon.

Full details of the Kupa X11 in our database.

At IFA next week. Kupa will be showing the Kupa X11, a 10″ Oaktrail (1.5Ghz Atom) based tablet that is said to offer 10 hours of battery life.

Always suspicious of battery life claims, I checked out the specs and after seeing the huge 54Wh battery am fairly confident that it could indeed reach 10 hours of light usage. The battery doesn’t bring major weight issues either as the product is coming in under 1kg.

Pressure sensitive digitized and 10-point capacitive multi-touch brings the best of pen and touch input options. There’s a hi-res 1366×768 screen and 2GB Ram driven by Windows 7 Pro.

The basic model with 64GB SSD is going to retail for $699 which isn’t bad given the hi-end screen and battery. Adding 3G, GMS and storage up to 128GB takes the price to $999

We’ll keep an eye out for the Kupa X11 at IFA.

http://www.kupaworld.com/en/product/kupaX11

[ Posted via the Galaxy Tab. Ultra-Mobile at IFA 2011. For more IFA coverage, follow me on Twitter. @Chippy ]

HTCs Flyer is one of the first Android Tablets we’ve seen that could find a place in some new niches; Namely, pen input. From the outset I need to make it clear that the HTC Flyer isn’t a professional handwriting recognition product. There is no on-the-fly character recognition. There’s also a disconnect between the digitiser layer, the HTC pen-enabled apps and the rest of the finger-controllable tablet.

What is interesting though is the way HTC have enabled 4 apps that could be perfect for many people.

• There’s a note-taking application which spans standard test, pen-based text and ‘scribbles’ image and audio that is backed by the excellent Evernote service.
• There’s a PDF application which allows you to highlight and annotate over PDF files and save in the PDF format. This is one of the easiest ways to sign a PDF that I’ve ever seen!
• Thirdly, and this one impressed me more than all the other pen-enabled apps, there’s a book-reading application that allows pen-based selection, highlighting, annotation and note-making. It’s powerful and I can see this helping students to study.
• Finally, you can annotate images in the gallery.

HTC obviously have an API suite for ‘pen’ on Android so I hope to see more pen-enabled apps soon. Enjoy the video.

Tonight, May 18th at 2100 CEST (Berlin) we’re holding a live review at Carrypad.com/live Join us for chat and get your questions answered.

The HTC Flyer I ordered on Friday has literally just arrived at the door and Im looking forward to ripping this open and seeing how it compares to the Galaxy Tab which is currently the most popular 7″ tablet on the market and has been a very good companion to me for over 6 months now.

In terms of features, there are definitely a few to talk about and some that are unique to the Flyer ensuring at least some sales. The #1 feature is the digitizer input layer and active pen that integrates with a special input mode on the Flyer. Annotations and notes.made though this layer can be captured into the Evernote cloud storage, OCR and search application. It’s a well known and well trusted application and the integration will carry a lot of value. I hope a full Evernote license is included for offline notes.

There’s also the 1.5Ghz CPU to consider. It should provide a noticeable jump in performance over the Galaxy Tab.

There are two major issues to consider and either of these could be show-stoppers. Firstly, assuming you want to use a 7″ tablet for pen input (something I’ve never been a big fan of over the years that I’ve been reporting about tablets) you’ve got to remember to take the pen with you. There’s no integrated.storage which is really quite an issue. I’ll have to test that all-important palm rejection too.

Then there’s the price. As i write this, the Flyer 16Gb WiFi version is €499. The Galaxy Tab WiFi is available for €269. This issue will reduce over time as margins reduce but it may never catch up with the price of the Tab due to the screen technology used. You’ve got to be a pen-input fan that remembers to take the pen or someone that really really needs the extra CPU power.

Or are the other features worth considering? It’s true that not many tablets offer video content for download and streaming so HTC Watch will be an important service to check out. If the content and price is good, it’s a great feature. OnLive-CloudGaming is also a feature to check out. Dual-location on-frame buttons (that enable and disable depending on rotation) Skype video and HTC Sense are also unique features.I’ll also be interested in the ‘HD’ video recording  support and other hidden features that are sure to crop up.

On the downside, it looks like there’s no voice stack (I assume that includes SMS, MMS and Video calling (over UMTS) support. Its something I use a lot on the Galaxy Tab thatnks to Multi-SIM. I get the same number on my Tab and my smartphone.

Is there enough to entice people here? As time goes by and the price comes down into the same range as the Galaxy Tab and Acer Iconia Tab A100, I think there will.

CeBIT is a very traditional, business-like show. Suits dominate and after-show parties are few and far between. Companies like Microsoft often present purely business-focused products and strategies and if you’re expecting another huge pile of consumer tablets, you’re probably going to be disappointed.

For readers of UMPCPortal, our pro-level site (that has, I admit, been pretty dry on news lately) it’s good news because products like the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 get a chance to shine.

We’ve got the full, official specs in the database now and wow, this is not your average tablet PC.

 Full specifications, links etc. Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 TabletPC

A 400-nit screen IPS screen, 2GB RAM, remote security, capacitive/digitiser input, fast-charge, removable battery options, 4 USB ports, Gobi 3G option, SSD, docking port and an array mic are just some of the advanced features you’ll find which indicated a pro-level, industry focused solution. It also gives you clues to the price.

The price isn’t available right now but the Q550 has already launched in Japan with a availability stated as March/April. A CeBIT launch is also planned and we hope to get a pricing indicator next week. A guess around the 1000 Euro mark for entry-level configuration is probably not far off.

All images in the gallery.

Note that there’s a lot of talk about 8 hours battery life but a Fujitsu sales site in Japan makes it clear that this is with the extended battery (38wh) in a JEITA (largely idle) test. Take 30% off that for real world figures. With the standard battery, a 19wh unit, you’re looking at 3.5hrs max. That isn’t going to impress many but at under 900gm for a 10 inch PC, it’s good.

We hope to get some good testing time in with the Q550 and bring you information on graphics, SSD speed and more battery life thoughts.

Hat-Tip: Gottabemobile

We had a good chat with Lenovo U.S. at a CES event last night and it seems they’re quite serious about launching a 10 inch dual-mode tablet (capacitive/digitiser) later this year. Specifications aren’t finalised yet but think about a competitor to the HP Slate 500.

The device will run on Oaktrail (1.5 or 1.6Ghz, the device we saw was running 1.5Ghz) and will run Windows 7 plus some UI layer that Lenovo are working on, possibly with Microsoft. It has a docking port, 2GB of RAM, a minimum 32GB SSD and, importantly for people wanting to preserve the use of the pen-input facilities of Windows 7, a digitiser. Finger input is through the 4-point capacative touchscreen which is 1280×800.

Lenovo are quoting 6hrs with WiFi on which is falling in line with other figures we’re hearing but at 790gm, it also seems very light. It’s 14.5mm thick.

Price has obviously not been finalised but Lenovo are aiming for a $499 entry level price. Quite what they launch at really depends on the other Oaktrail devices that launch.

For the time being, its called the Ideapad Slate.

There are some more images in our gallery.

Windows 7 is a great operating system but never really felt at home on low-end mobile hardware platforms in my opinion. The disk, memory and CPU requirements were just above what a netbook could offer and it wasn’t until the dual-core Atom CPUs became available that I was finally convinced that Windows 7 would run smoothly on a netbook. 2GB of RAM is still an advantage though and to squeeze the best out of a low-end platform, a fast SSD is a must-have.  I’m currently testing the Tegatech Tega V2 which doesn’t quite have the dual-core CPU specs but manages to keep up by having 2GB of RAM and a reasonable SSD. It’s just about working smoothly enough to be called a serious device. Taking a look at the HP Slate 500 that was launched last week leaves me with a similar feeling that they’ve specified the device well enough to be able to offer enough performance, memory and storage along with some good battery life potential. At 1.5lbs this is definitely one to look out for in the Tablet PC department

Updated: Our HP Slate 500 Information page. Includes comparisons. Forum too!

The 1.8Ghz Z-series Atom CPU should be good enough to give a reasonable Win7 experience and to improve the pinch-to-zoom response, a quick and useful real-world usage test with low-end CPUs. It will also provide video acceleration out of the box although the additional Broadcom video accelerator does highlight that the built in video support in the Intel Menlow processing platform isn’t quite man enough for the job of video decoding! 2GB RAM Check! 64GB SSD Check (as long as it’s fast) and at 1.5lbs with an 8.9 inch 1024×600 screen, it seems optimal for some serious mobile productivity work. Throw in a capacitive screen with active digitiser, a 3.0MP ‘camera’  and an HDMI-capable docking station and you’ve got a tasty tablet that I would have estimated at over $1K. The price: $799.

Based on what we’ve seen with other Menlow-based tablets, the 30Wh battery on this should give it a true 5hr battery life. Again, not bad. (Note: I’ve read claims that a 2-cell battery is less capacity than 3 or even 6-cell batteries Ignore them. It’s all about Watt-hours, not cells. 30Wh is about half the capacity of a good quality extended netbook battery.)

The only reservation I have is about 3D and 2D graphics performance. It’s not a strong-point of the ‘Poulsbo’ chipset and my first tip would be to turn the Aero UI elements off to improve the UI experience.

Not included and worth thinking about though are a number of features that are common among mobile computing devices:

• Auto rotation(unconfirmed)
• GPS
• 3G Option
• Optical mouse pointer
• VGA Out
• Ethernet port
• Built-in stand

Having said that, the $799 price seems very good value and we’re looking forward to getting hands on to see if our predictions about performance and battery life are correct. The HP Slate 500 is available for pre-order now and should be with customers in about 3 weeks. (U.S. only)

Extra: Mobile Barbarian, a long-time reader of UMPCPortal has written a blog post on the Slate 500. He’s ordered it and explains why here.