You’ve probably seen that Chippy jumped across the big puddle to attend IDF. He is got his live feed running and we are already seeing some interesting stuff.

Jkk nabbed some screenshots of Chippy showing the UMID M2 just moments ago. Info on the M2:

– New housing
– Normal USB plug (no proprietary dongle)
– VGA out
– 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz Atom CPU options
– 1GB RAM
– Windows 7

Otherwise the same as the M1 (same keyboard, screen, etc). Looks even more like the Netwalker [Portal page] now.

Jump over to jkkmobile to see the screengrabs, and tune in to Chippy’s live stream to see what he is currently up to.

Over at Meet:Mobility, Sascha, JKK and I have just posted another podcast. An hour of netbook, MID and ultra mobile PC discussion with a focus on IFA and IDF. We hope you enjoy it.

Topics covered:

• IFA overview.
• Viliv S7.OVerview
• Android Tablet.
• Mobinnova N910.
• $100 smartbooks.
  http://www.itpro.co.uk/615184/new-arm-chip-promises-100-netbooks
  The real story – Dual cortex A9.
• IDF

Meet:Mobility Podcast 33

I fly to San Fransisco for IDF in about 24 hrs and I’ve been trying to work out what computing devices to take. Netbook, check! UMPC, check! Smartphone…not so sure.

I have two problems that mean my new and expensive smartphone will stay at home during my trip.

1) The touchscreen and camera will get scratched if I put it in my pocket. I’ve already got a horrendous scratch on it from finger-scrolling. The chances are that if I keep it in my pocket next week it will get trashed. At the very least the camera lens will be covered in dust just as I go to take an important picture.

2) Roaming data costs mean I will have no mobile internet connection.

Twitter, web browser, active sync, email, RSS and podcast downloads will all stop working leaving me with a voice-enabled PIM and MP3 player. Quite frankly, I don’t need to be carrying over 400 Euro of large smartphone just for that. No, I’m afraid it’s time to choose the right man for the job. The Nokia N82 has no hinge, no touchscreen, a better camera (with real flash and lens cover) and smaller size will be a better choice. My ultra mobile PC will be with me all day so if I want to Web-it-up in a Wifi area, I’ll do it with that. Horses for courses as they say.

Kitlist for IDF:

• Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M with 3G and Runcore SSD, extended battery.
• Fujitsu Loox U/B50N with Runcore SSD, extended battery, docking station, VGA cable.
• Nokia N82
• Mifi (in case there’s a chance to get an AT&T 3G card)
• Canon S2IS for photos and video. (This baby needs an upgrade very soon)

IDF is nearly here and it’s traditionally the most important week of the Mobile Computing calendar so watch closely because we’ll be getting information on some of the most important technologies that go together to build leading-edge mobile computing and mobile internet solutions. Battery technology, radio technology, graphics, CPUs and of course, software.

MIDs, Moblin, Menlow and Moorestown. In the mobile computing arena, these are the 4 keywords you should expect to hear a lot of next week and I’ll be there as an ‘Insider’ to bring you all the important news, to analyze what it means for mobile computing devices of 2010, to interview some of the major players and to seek out new hardware and devices that we could see hitting the market in Q4.

Read the full story

Considering it’s one of the biggest consumer electronics shows in the world and one of the last before the Christmas buying season I found IFA to be very underwhelming this year. At least in the mobile computing segment.

A so, so Windows CE Tablet from Toshiba that certainly won’t provide users with productivity or anything near a complete web experience was the ‘highlight’ for most reporters along with the Japan-only Sharp Netwalker and an Google Android MID. Even in the netbook segment, news seem to be centered around 11.6 inch screen device which moves them even further away from mobile usage. Portable, yes. Mobile, no.

Here are some highlights.

Sharp Netwalker. Video from Netbooknews.com. JKKMobile is trying to get hold of one for testing. The hardware looks great and Ubuntu shuld allow a lot of flexibility. Performance is the question though.

Smit Android Tablet. (Video from Charbax) Personaly i’m not too excited by Chinese Android mods. Trying to get on in the western world with a stable, English language OS is not going to be easy. Support, even less so.

Optima Maemo MID. For China Telecom. Again, another Asian-focused device that will be difficult to get here. Not high on my list. (Video from Charbax.)

Sony X series. It’s a table-top device but weighs less than a lot of UMPCs. Unfortunately it’s way to big to be using while standing up but if you’re desk-hopping, this is one of the lightest laptops you can buy. Video at netbooknews.com

Samsung NC130 NC140 netbooks. 10 inch devices at 1.25KG which look good, have long battery life and follow-on from the very successful NC10. Video at netbooknews.com

All in all it was a very quiet week for MIDs and UMPCs but there are a few things to look forward too.

That silence will probably be broken this afternoon when Apple announce their new iPod Touch line-up. If they include the fast processor and software upgrades that you find on the iPhone 3GS (one of the fastest browsing devices based on an ARM processor) then a lot of people will consider it for social networking, microblogging and sofa-surfing. I just wish that Apple would boost the size/resolution a little. A 5 inch version makes so much sense. Especially if you’ve got a Mifi on your pocket! Gdgt.com are live from the event later today.

On the 15th, Archos will be holding an event. We’re expecting to see the Archos 9 to become available along withthe launch of the Archos 5 Android-based devices.

On the 21st, i’ll be at IDF09 in San Francisco for a week-long Intel Atom-fest. Coverage kicks off on MIDMoves very soon (Ben will be following up on UMPCPortal too) so stay tuned over there for that because I’ve already had information that tells me we’re going to see some new devices.

I’ve just had confirmation that Intel is going to sponsor MIDMoves to cover one of the Mobile Internet highlights of the year. The Intel Developer Forum 2009 in San Franscisco. This is fantastic news.

I attended IDF last year under my own steam with UMPCPortal and it turned out to be one of the most important weeks of the year for getting hands on, speaking to the OEMs and finding out exactly what’s going on in Intel with regard to Mobile Internet Devices. This year is going to be even better.

Menlow refreshed. The Z515 CPU will be appearing in a new MID, the Compal KAX-15 and I feel sure that we’ll see some more devices too. Viliv have the S7 almost ready for launch and I know for sure that they have a few devices up their sleeve for the latter part of the year. Then there’s the stuff we don’t even know about yet!

Moorestown details. Up until now we’ve only been given basic details about the architecture of the Moorestown platform. At IDF, all will be revealed. We’ll find out about the graphics core and get real hands-on with devices. If we’re really lucky there will be time for an in-depth testing session. Just how long will that platform idle? Those 50x idle power reduction promises need to be tested.

Moblin. The Moblin story gets more and more interesting by the day. The Menlow platform is pretty much out of the Moblin picture but for the netbook platform and the Moorestown platform it’s a different story. Computex was a real eye opener in terms of Moblin support and with Wind River now in the picture, things could get very interesting indeed. Expect to see netbooks running the final cut of Moblin with modifications and enhancements.

Pine Trail. The next-gen netbook platform will be revealed and it promises to be leaner, cooler and more efficient. Netbooks have already reached into the ultra mobile PC segment with the existing platform but Pine Trail could widen the scope even further.

The Technology Showcase was a real suprise for me last year.I never expected a big exhibit hall and I never expected to get so much hands-on with the MIDs, netbooks and UMPCs that were there. This year looks to be just as good with a MID community and Moblin community to check out.

The keynotes are always interesting and entertaining and this year I may even have a chance to question the speakers in a private session.

Inter-twined across the whole three-day event are the technical sessions. This is where you can get down to the nitty gritty of the technology and meet the people that work day-in, day-out with the technology. In the MID technology area we have a ‘Meet The Experts’ session, a session about gaming on MIDs and sessions on MID and smartphone security, entertainment and user interfaces. You can see the huge range of sessions listed in the IDF content catalogue.

The extra events in and around IDF will also be interesting. This year I plan to attend the tweet-ups and other social events around the event to talk about MIDs and learn from others in the mobile computing industry. I also plan to hang around after the event and try to arrange some sort of Mobility event. Cycling, camping or just a series of meet-ups and demos. I’m not sure what it will be yet but if you have ideas, please let me know.

Stay tuned for the lead-up to IDF over the next weeks. The event starts on the 21st of September but as always, the leaks start earlier and I’ll be tracking them all here on MIDMoves.com.

You can find out more about IDF at the Intel website.

IDF-related information is also available on Twitter. Follow @idf

JKK has edited up the keynote video from IDF Beijing that took place a few days ago. In the video you can see a number of the MIDs that were announced in one of the press release. [PDF]

Click through to JKK’s site for some more images. The BYD clamshell phone (based on Menlow) is particularly interesting. Obviously we’ll try to get more detailed information on these but at the moment it’s looking like an Asia-focused effort. We may have to wait until IDF in Sept for an sort of hands-on.
jkkmobile: Intel shows new MIDs at IDF Beijing 2009.

Comprising the ‘system on chip’ known as Lincroft and the comms chip known as Langwell, the next-generation MID platform from Intel, known as Moorestown, promises to provide smaller sizes and smaller power consumption. At IDF in Taipei today, Intel demonstrated the first working version.

Chandrasekher said that Moorestown will be a catalyst for exciting and innovative developments that will extend the full Internet experience into the smartphone space with the Communication MID. He indicated that Moorestown platforms will support a range of wireless technologies including 3G, WiMAX, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and mobile TV. Additionally, Chandrasekher announced a collaboration with Ericsson* for HSPA data modules optimized for the Moorestown platform. He also announced that Option* is extending its collaboration for HSPA modules to the Moorestown platform. These 3G modules come in 25x30x2.x mm small size, are optimized for Moorestown power requirements and will help provide MID users with more powerful, always connected Internet-based experiences. [press release]

Don’t expect too much information about Moorestown this week though as Intel have already stated that the next announcements are to come at the Spring IDF in 2009. In fact, if Menlow is anything to go by, the timeframe between first demonstrations and product availability will be about 18 months. We’ll keep an eye out for videos and details about Moorestown though.

Looking at the MID display from the technology showcase, I don’t see anything new there either. Keep any eye on the IDF photo stream at Flickr. Maybe something will turn up.