I remember getting excited about the original Touchbook when information started coming through in mid 2009. The modular keyboard/tablet concept seemed sound and the ARM Cortex processor offered a chance to see how the new architecture could perform.

I remember too, the disappointment in the first weeks of deliveries as people started reporting issues that ran through hardware and software. A year later, many of these early owners are somewhat unhappy about the new product announcement. We cancelled our order before the credit card was booked, walked away and haven’t looked back until today.

That history makes us somewhat sceptical about the latest version of the open-source design from Always Innovating. The Smart Book [Registered trademark no less!] sticks with the modular approach and adds a MID (Mobile Internet Device.) The MID sits in the back of the device and contains the processing unit, an upgraded Ti DaVinci module with a Cortex A8 1Ghz CPU. The MID runs the core software and what you’ve got is a tablet-style frame, screen and connectivity (upgraded to capacitive touch) and an optional keyboard unit with power and additional connectors. If you don’t want the MID module, you can choose to buy the tablet component with its own motherboard in place of the removable MID. The image and video below shows the concept more clearly.

In addition to the hardware changes Always Innovating are offering a tri-OS system that can switch, instantly, between the classic Angstrom distro, Android Open Source  and Ubuntu. There’s even talk of Google Chrome being available. When the device ships by the end of the year, these OS’ will be updated to the latest versions. (10.10 Ubuntu, 2.2 Android.) With these operating systems being highly customised to work simultaneously, there’s a lot of interdependence so hacking the builds isn’t going to be simple.

Full Specifications:

• ARM Texas Instruments cortex-A8 with video and 3D acceleration
• Numonyx 512MB RAM + 256 MB NAND
• 8GB microSD card
• 1024×600 8.9" capacitive touchscreen
  (see the demo on the Touch Book page)
• Extractable Mini Book
• Detachable Bluetooth / USB keyboard
• Stored-in 2GB USB keychain
• Stored-in Dual Screen
• Wifi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth class 2.1
• Video output HDMI 720p
• 4 available USB 2.0 (2 internal, 2 external)
• 3-dimensional accelerometer
• Speakers, micro and headphone I/O
• Headset included
• 3 batteries:
  • 12000mAh in the Keyboard
  • 6000mAh in the Tablet
  • 1500mAh in the Mini Book
• outstanding battery life
• FCC, CE, UL-certified, 5V, 3.5A power adapter
• Bi-color silver/black case
• Dark-red transparent back cover
• Secured attachment system of tablet into keyboard
• 9.7" x 7" x 1.3" for 3 lbs

Once again I find myself interested but this time I won’t be laying down my credit card and with the total cost at over $550, it’s an even bigger risk this time round. The tablet section can be had for $199.

More detailed information can be found over at Linux for Devices.

Sascha Pallenberg, MeetMobility podcaster and editor-in-chief at Netbooknews attended a recent WePad live demo and has posted his videos. They’re in German but I’ve been through them and pulled out some of the important points here. (Luckily I also speak German.)

The most important take-away is that this is not an Android-based Linux build as first thought. It’s a heavily modified Ubuntu distro with overlay software. The Android aspect is likely to coming from Canonicals Dalvik runtime which will provide some Android application support but don’t expect the Google Marketplace or Google Apps such as Maps, Mail or Sky to be running on this.

Below you can find the notes I made as I went through the video. Some of the notes are my own thoughts and conclusions and not information taken direct from the video.

More information on the WePad is available in our WePad information page.

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Two items of news related to Linux support on the Menlow platorm  have caught my attention in the last 24 hours. Both news items are related to the Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Menlow is the Intel platform that many MIDs, UMPCs and even netbooks and laptops have been built around in the last 12 months. It’s focused towards very low power consumption, video playback acceleration and 3D support in the smallest possible size.

Up until now, the only official operating systems that have supported the platform have been Moblin 1 (via Intel. Largely a static project now) and Windows XP, Vista and 7. Trying to use any of the latest popular Linux distributions on any of these devices results in problems.

Ubuntu, the Linux distribution run by Canonical, has always had a close relationship with UMPCs and MIDs. They did some work on Moblin 1 with the Ubuntu-MID distribution but that project is now static. Then there was Ubuntu-Mobile which turned into Ubuntu UMPC. Again, this project stopped. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix project also started and this is the one that has been focused on over the last 12 months. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any support for the graphics/video part on Menlow known as ‘Poulsbo’. The same is true of Moblin 2. Intel dropped support for the MID platform.

The good news is that there are people out there working to fix the problem. The latest information is that one  ‘lucazade’ has rolled up everything that is needed into a few scripts and has even set up a repository that can be used to pick up the correct drivers. Full information at the bottom of this post.

The second bit of good news is that Jolicloud, the Ubuntu-based distribution targeted at netbooks, is also checking out support for GMA500. This message went out yesterday:

team is testing internally the poulsbo (gma 500) support in the next jolicloud release, we will look soon for testers.

Naturally we’ve already been in contact with the Jolicloud team about this and plan to bring you some more information shortly.

Despite all this third-party activity and end-user requirement (about 30 Menlow-based devices exist in the market right now) Intel has never really talked about Menlow support. We’ve seen Moblin 2.1 for handhelds running on Menlow and seen the Linux Foundation demonstrating it but I can’t get any statement out of them on the subject.

Based on what we’ve seen and heard I would put money on being able to run the open source beta release of Moblin 2.1 for handhelds on Menlow (purely because there’s no other platform available for developers to test on) and that is supposed to be coming within the next month. I’m also convinced that Moorestown will use the GMA500 so there’s another reason to have drivers available.

Finally, check out some of the emails in the Moblin Developer mailing list. This is an interesting one for example. (from 15th Nov.)

If you know of other Linux distributions that either work with or are planning GMA500 support (I hear rumors that Mandriva supports GMA500?) let everyone know in the comments. Likewise, if you’re running Linux on a Menlow platform, let us know what you think.

Update: 18th Nov 2009. Jolicloud have announced out-of-the-box support for the GMA500.

If its not one thing, its the other. The long old story of potential deal-breakers continues.

UMID M1 Screen angle + USB dongles.

HTC Shift Battery life + screen res.

Viliv S7 Colour

and now, wobbly keys on the Sharp Netwalker which, given the importance of keys, is quite the problem. “The keyboard (14mm pitch, 0.8mm stroke) so far is a mixed bag for me… inch says Jenn. “I’m not liking the keyboard at all.. key caps bend to all directions. inch says JKK.

On the positive side, build quality gets a thumbs up along with the optical mouse, battery life and screen angle but performance is again, a bit wobbly. Standby, application start-up times and browsing speeds appear to be varying between acceptable and poor.

For a two-handed thumb-style mobile device, the Netwalker may have missed the mark. The Ubuntu UI is  unrefined, the keyboard caps not ideal for thumbing and the processing power slightly less than is needed for a smooth experience. There isn’t even any Bluetooth.

At well over $500, the Netwalker is going to have problems competing with the UMID M2 that is said to be launching at $499. Even with 512MB of RAM and Windows XP it will fly compared to this device. Battery life will be much less (at around 4hrs) and the looks and build quality may be slightly less than you’ll find on the Netwalker but for me, the UMID M2 (due to launch in Q4) still has the edge.

Sharp Netwalker information page.

JKK is planning a UMID Mbook vs Netwalker head-to-head. We’ll see if we can get a live session up very soon.

Since the X70 arrived and I upgraded my U820 with a Runcore Pro IV SSD, I haven’t really used the Smart Q7 much but every time I check up on JT’s forum and blog I find myself downloading a new image and testing it out because the community there is really producing some good stuff. Here’s an update on the operating systems available for the SmartDevices Q5 and Q7

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Engadget have just posted an article on this rather interesting MID / Carrypad-like device that should challenge the UMID that Ben is currently testing. The Sharp Netwalker PCZ1

Sharp PCZ1 ARM-based smartbook running Ubuntu

This isn’t an Intel-based MID device but with the Cortex-based CPU and desktop OS it should be of interest to the same target audience. I’m analysing the details right now but so far it’s looking good. Check out the gallery and the information at Engadget while I get the details together for the database. Update: It’s in the database now.

800MHz Freescale i.MX515 CPU built around the ARM Cortex-A8 architecture, 512MB of memory, 4GB of on-board flash storage (with microSDHC expansion for another 16GB), 802.11b/g WiFi, 2x USB, and QWERTY keyboard going 68 percent of full-size. Sorry, no 3G data. The PC-Z1 features a 3-second quick launch, non-removable 10-hour battery

Sharp’s 5-inch PC-Z1 NetWalker honors Zaurus legacy with touchscreen Ubuntu.

Update: More images over at Nebooked

I spent a few hours researching and pulling together  information on the SmartQ5 this morning and feel more positive about it now than I did a few weeks ago.

The SmartQ5 looks good and has an amazing price (local price in China approx $132.) It has a good screen size/resolution and with Ubuntu (ARM), an good supply of software. As a media/internet/e-book reader/photo browser/travel device, there’s definitely a lot of pocketable value there. The 667Mhz ARM11 CPU should make it faster than the Nokia tablet devices and the large 7.5wh battery should keep it running for a long long time between charges.

If it was ever available in Europe or US though, you’d be looking at something like $199 which puts it close to the offers that occasionally float around for the N810. (cdw.com have it for $226 as I write) With GPS, keyboard, camera, a healthy user-base and local-country support, the N810 is the better MID option in my eyes but that’s only if you can find an offer.

It’s difficult to comment with any authority when you’ve never even had hands-on so if you’ve been thinking about the Smart Q, keep an eye on the new SmartQ5 product page where we’ll be adding info, images and links as they come along. One of the first to be added was an unboxing photo-set from Kam Leung. There’s also an unboxing from ‘Sky’ over at UMPCFever. [translation link]

If you see any more interesting content about the SmartQ5, please take the time to submit it ifor inclusion in the database.

The crossover is finally happening. The smartphone CPU designer is moving into the PC market while the PC CPU designer is moving into the smartphone market. 

ARM are announcing a partnership with one of the best-known names in desktop Linux and are making a very significant move into the world of low-cost, low-power, connected computing with Canonical who will port the full desktop version of their Ubuntu OS to the ARMv7 architecture ready for release in April 2009. 

Press-release and more, below.

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