Price, brand and basic specs. These are the variables that most people use to narrow down their choice of laptop. When it comes to general mobility, the weight plays a factor too.

If you’re thinking of buying a lightweight Sandy Bridge (2nd Generation Intel Core processors) laptop though, the bargain of the moment has to be the Lenovo X121e. At about 500 pounds inclusive operating system and taxes (406 pounds before tax at Ballicom here) it’s half the expected price of an Ultrabook. (*1)

Yes, there will be some subtle differences which make Ultrabooks ‘better’ but will they be enough?

– Core i5 instead of Core i3 bringing Turbo boost
– Intel Wi-Di capable and ‘always updated’ network hardware and software (and possibly bios)
– Simmer, lighter design
– Fast SSD storage

The key feature of the Ultrabook for me is the high dynamic range of compute power. I like that the Sandy Bridge platform works well for average daily computing at 800Mhz and I like the Intel Quick Sync Video processing that can really help 720p video editing and upload in mobile and time-critical situations. Yes, I would like the turbo boost feature and, 1kg weight and the fast SSD will enhance the experience a lot but I can’t justify that 2x spend right now.

Like the Samsung Series 3, the X121e is approaching Ultrabook territory without the price tag.

(*1) Assumption is that $1000 Ultrabooks in the USA will translate to about £1000 when circa 20% sales tax is added in many European countries.

Just as we expected, the Dynamism pricing details for the Viliv N5 that we did our Open Review on last night are now available. Dynamism have sent the details over and as with previous Viliv launches, are including a special offer. If you order between July 6th and July 15th you get a free battery worth $50. That’s worth having because the N5 battery is tiny and yet appears to offer 3-5 hours of usage.

As we already know, there are only two models of the N5 available and both are Atom 1.3Ghz based with a relatively fast SSD. The 3G model also has voice capability.

Event Date:             July 6th 1PM EST through July 15th
Shipping Date:         July 19th and fulfilled based on order date
Promotion:              Free spare battery ($50 value)
32GB SSD                $649
32GB SSD with 3G    $799

Details and pre-order will be up at Dynamism later today.

We would have liked to have seen cheaper pricing of course, especially considering the similar UMID BZ is only $499 but the N5 does look (and perform) slightly better than the UMID BZ. With more RAM and faster SSD it’s more of a multi-tasker and definitely Windows 7 capable. Remember though that there’s no video-out and you only get Windows 7 Home Basic.

JKK and I will continue testing the N5 over the next week or two so keep an eye out for more content from us and if you want to discuss the N5, i’ve opened a new sub-forum. As usual, all the specifications along with links and comparison devices are in the UMPCPortal database.

If you’re in Europe, I’ve got good news for you.  The JooJoo tablet [News, specifications] is now available to pre  order.  No, don’t laugh because there’s an interesting twist here.  The price.

Ignore the  reviews  for a  minute and think about a 12 inch multitouch capacitive screen with BT, Wifi, SSD, Nvidia ion and the Atom1.6 CPU.  Then add (I assume its possible) Ubuntu, Moblin, X86 Android or some other flavor  of Linux  and  you’ve got  yourself  quite  a nice experimental pad  for just 359 Euros. If you like the though of developing or working with a home tablet, that’s not a bad price. With the right software it could make for  a really nice home theater component. Even XP should run on it if  you can squeeze it  into  the 4GB Flash. It’s no  iPad  and you’ll  have to contend with short battery life but it could be more fun than an Archos 9 which costs more, for less.

If  you’re in Germany, there’s even more ‘pad’ news for  you today because the WePad  just  went up for pre-order on Amazon.de [WePad info, specs] 449 Euros buys you the non 3G, 16Gb version and 569 adds another 16GB and the 3G module.

There’s no direct word on shipping dates for either of  the two devices but we had previously heard that the WePad won’t  be shipping until June/July. The JooJoo is in production although this push for European orders  could be to fund the next production run a somewhat risky thought.

Is there something better  round the corner?  We think there might be. Despite good efforts by both companies concerned here we think that the current Intel Atom platform hasn’t got either the right  hardware or software build yet. That might change with  Moorestown and MeeGo but for the time being, we’re more interested in the ARM/Android platforms based on their  ground-up personal, touch and power-efficient architecture.

As promised, odering is now open for the Camangi Webstation. If you’re in the U.S., Japan or Taiwan you can order through PayPal and get free delivery for $399.

As we said before in our analysis article,this appears to be coming in slightly under-specified for a $399 price.
Via Camangi.

It’s always worth checking back on older models for reductions and clear-out prices so I took some time this evening to review the prices of some old favourites. I was disappointed. In general, prices haven’t really moved which is extremely disappointing considering the price at which similarly-specified netbooks are sold. I guess we’re looking at old stock that no-one can shift here. Stalemate. No cash flow. The only two devices I found that showed any signs of movement were the good old Samsung Q1 and M704 which seem to be on offer around Europe. Price checks in the US for all the top UMPCs showed that nothing has moved much at all in the last 6 months. (If you spot any offers though, let us know!)

Samsung Q1 Ultra

One of my personal favourite UMPCs. Good build quality, excellent battery life, fantastic screen.

• UK. 646 pounds (740 Euros) isn’t too bad. (DigiUK)
• Update: Saveonsamsung (UK) have even lower prices. 529 pounds with organiser and 6-cell battery.

Gigabyte M704

Another good all rounder. Not quite as good as the Q1 in terms of build quality but has a better keyboard.

• Europe. 469 pounds (537 Euros) is a good bargain. (Expansys)

Resellers must be having a hard time right now trying to decide whether to clear stocks at a loss or to hang on for the few buyers that know what they want and will pay to get that device. I can tell you that by reviewing the stats coming from the product portal we see an extremely quiet market out there for the traditional XP and Vista UMPCs. With very few devices in the 7″ category, CES round the corner and netbooks taking the limelight, it’s hardly surprising. Lets hope that the MID and ultra mobile PC segment brings us some treats in January though. Mobile Internet usage is growing and, more importantly for the MID manufacturers, people’s reliance on the Internet to perform normal business and personal activities is growing too. There’s more reason than ever to launch internet-connected handheld computers.

Remember the days when we thought 499 Euros was a great price for a mobile PC with 1.2 Ghz, 1024MB RAM, BT, Wifi and a 30GB drive? Three months later and the Packard Bell Easynote XS20 is now going for 349 Euro which is even better value but the amazing thing is that its probably not low enough for consumers. The Acer Aspire One with a better screen, 80GB drive, far better design and the new Atom processor with better video and graphics capability, is the same price!

As a consumer, I’m enjoying these low prices but I can see that the little guys are going to get squeezed out. Innovation, as we’ve seen it with UMPCs over the last two years, will become more and more difficult as people demand lower and lower prices. It’s almost sad.

Price source: Geizhals.