Where there’s girls, there’s chat right? This is just a part of the long and very interesting conversation we all had at IDF about MIDs, Smartphones, UMPCs and Netbooks (the four common expressions that seem to be sticking now.) We really need more sessions like this.

Again, the multi-device strategy comes up. If the devices are cheap enough, why not!

IDF, the Intel Developer Forum was held a few weeks ago and through the generosity of readers I was able to attend, listen, contribute and learn from the experience. Here’s the report that went out to my sponsors last week. Slightly abridged but containing all the important info.

If I was asked to summarise IDF from the ultra mobile angle I would probably say just one thing – software. Intel’s ultra mobility group have been working hard to bring in a number of important ISVs and IDF was the place they wanted to show it all off. Gypsii (A GPS-enabled social networking and POI network), Fring (Single client IM and social networking interface) Adobe (Flash 10 beta I assume they are working to get hardware video decoding in there) and Move networks (intelligent multi-protocol video streaming solution with H.264 hardware decoding support) were at the fore and Intel say that now have 60 ISV’s working with them. The software ecosystem was highlighted in both ultra mobility keynotes and appeared to take precedence over hardware announcements.
The other feeling I got was that things are taking off in Asia. This shouldn’t be a surprise to us considering past success of small mobile computing devices. Intel may be taking advantage of this by responding to Asian demands and I heard a number of people say that big hardware announcements would be made at IDF in Asia next spring. [Report continues below]

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An OQO playing world of warcraft, flash 10 on an MID, an image manipulation application, a floating GUI and a very cheesy intro video! Higher quality version here. (WMV) Full Ultra Mobility keynote video and slides available at the Intel IDF site.

With a slick design, 8+hrs battery life and a swivel touchscreen, this isn’t your average UMPC! It’s not exactly a netbook either. Viliv have taken the U5 design they demonstrated at CES, slightly modified the screen, dropped an Intel Atom inside (up to 1.8Ghz) and made what I think is a very stylish piece.

Key features there are the 3G/4G module capability, 9 hours movie playback capability, GPS and the capability to take up to a 1.8Ghz CPU. (Silverthorne) The S7 is in final design stages (what you see is the final casing design) and is planned for launch in Q1 2009. There are no details about price or per-country availability at the moment.  More details and video after the specs….

This is the S5 MID from Viliv. (Specifications page)

The S5 is very much a PMP-style device but provides for fast Internet browsing and good media playback capabilities. There’s a 3G option possible (depending on territory) and a 24wh battery that is said to provide 5-6 hours of video playback. Given that the Gigabyte M528 can do 3 hours on a 10Wh battery, there’s no reason to doubt that. I’ll get the details into the database as soon as I can but for now, check out the presentation video I made. I like this one a lot. No keyboard but totally pocketable.

Keep an eye out later for a video of a new device, the S7. Its  bigger, has a full keyboard, swivel touchscreen, has huge battery life and is very very slick!!

Update: I’ve just uploaded some new pics into the gallery

I was invited to do a presentation video with Jeff Moriarty of Intel yesterday. Here’s the result. I don’t expect to be getting any daily TV show offers as a result but it was a lot of fun.

If you click through to the large version of that image you’ll see a big list of all the MIDs that are here at IDF. I haven’t seen all of them yet but in the center of the entrance hall, most of them are displayed. I had a bit of hands on but there’s so much going on here right now it’s difficult to get into any detail.

The U2010 is lighter than expected but oh so sweet. Running Vista unfortunately. The Pink WiBrain is a shocker, the Benq really does have a lovely UI (the best i’ve seen yet on a MID) and the Compal/Gigabyte/Aigo is for me, still the most usable form factor.

The others should arrive later today so I’ll be keeping a look out for them and will probably see them in the event that starts at 1800 here.

Check out the full gallery here.

Later today there should be a video up that I made with Intel about an hour ago where go through some of the MID devices. It’s being edited right now but i’ll send a link over Friendfeed as soon as I have it.

With a little hands on in the W hotel with a few Intel reps. The Lennovo U8 is here and looking beautiful. Shame about the UI which disappoints compared to that other UI-focused mobile Internet device but the style is slick, the browser fast and everyone loves it. I`ll be testing the video performance soon.

IDF starts for real tomorrow morning and the buzz is high. I`ve seen Wibrain and they have the i1 ultra mobile PC with them. Im really interested in seeing that.

More details tommorrow.