Many of you will have read about Microsofts rumored Ipod-like device. Personaly i’m not really interested in another Ipod as I believe its days are numbered. Mp3 players belong on smart mobile phones or UMPC’s where you can connect to the internet and download/stream new music. However, when I read a little footnote comment/rumour on an Engadget posting about Microsoft wanting to launch a virtual mobile operator business using HTC phones, my ears pricked up.

HTC are almost the same company as VIA (family businesses) and we already know that VIA/HTC want to launch the ‘OnDemand‘ media service and that VIA started calling UMPC’s ‘PC-Phones.’ at the Via Technical forum in Taipei last month. We’ve also had an anonymous comment stating that HTC is indeed trying to get into the ultra mobile PC market. Is it possible that Microsoft are thinking about using the OnDemand platform for media distribution?

If Microsoft want to use the ‘OnDemand’ service then they will need to use VIA’s chips (hardware encryption/decryption seems to be a core part of the OnDemand service) and that means building something like the DualCor ultra mobile PC device which VIA has been promoting heavly in its press releases this week.

Could all these businesses be getting together to start offering subsidised media devices/UMPC’s on a virtual mobile operator network? I tipped this before and it still makes sense to me. The 300,-Euro ultra mobile PC on 24 month data contract with unlimited 1Mbps internet access and media download service for 30,-Euro per month is something I think I could find useful!

Steve / Chippy.

Tablet Kiosk resellers PocketPC-solutions in the UK have emailed us to let us know that they have another image of the extended battery for the eo on their eo 7110 web page.

Pictures are good, so here it is!

Click to enlarge.

Steve/Chippy

[url=http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2006/07/excellent_head_.html]jkOnTheRun[/url] posted a link today to [url=http://meansquare.info/UXReview/vsOQO2.html]a great OQO versus Sony UX Article[/url].

The article is very thorough and goes through everything from size to outputs all the way to which fits in your pants better. (the pants part even includes a picture to demonstrate which looks better in your pocket)

If you are trying to decide between each of these systems or just want to get an idea about each one, this is the best article you could possibly ever find on the subject. Read the full story

A few readers emailed in to ask what the availability of the UX50/90/180 devices in Europe is. We double-checked again with Sony UK and there are still no plans to release it in the UK or anywhere alse in Europe.

Its probable that the UK is too small of a market and most of the rest of Europe requires different keyboards, manuals and software. It’s just not going to bring returns for Sony which is a real shame. Yesterday we read a really great review of the Sony UX and a head-to-head comparison of the UX and the OQO. We’re convinced that you get what you pay for with it. Its a high quality device.

However, there is a solution if you’re happy with a U.S. keyboard.
Dynamism.com are able to sell the U.S. model in the UK (shipping starts today!) and it appears from their website that the UX50 and UX90 models are also available. They are still working on getting the flash-disk version of the UX90.

We’ve contacted Dynamism for confirmation of availability and to find out if they’re able to deliver into mainland Europe but they haven’t got back to us yet. In the meantime, you can check out their UK website info and our product portal for more info and links.

[update: Dynamism kindly answered our queries. They have stock and are able to ship worldwide. The UX90 with flash drive is expected late July.]

Regards
Steve / Chippy.

Alot of the complaints with the ultra mobile PC devices have been the low battery life the system come standard with. Some have reported battery time under 2 hours.

Well, Ervetzin posted a picture [url=https://www.umpcportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=508]in our forums [/url] of The Q1 extended Battery that supposedly netted him 5 1/2 hours of useage.

[img]https://www.umpcportal.com/umpc/images/q1_extended_battery.jpg[/img]
As you can see it is running my favorite site origamiportal.com

And Steve at [url=https://www.umpcportal.com]CarryPad.com[/url] posted a [url=https://www.umpcportal.com/journal/2006/07/amtek-eoeasybook-5-hour-battery.html]picture yesterday of the eo/Amtek/PaceBlade extended battery[/url]. which is said to get 4-5 hours of use out of the UMPC.

[img]https://www.umpcportal.com/umpc/images/eo_extended_battery.jpg[/img]

Slowly battery life is becoming less of an issue with these devices which could help with better market adoption. Read the full story

In the Origamiportal.com forums, ervetzin has posted a pic and made a few comments about the extended battery for the Samsung Q1 UMPC. [click image to enlarge]

ervetzin paid a rather heafty $164.21 for the part (#BA96-03130A) from samsungparts.com

The battery is about twice the size of the original. It extends about 3/4″ below the bottom of the unit. For me this is actually a welcome added space for resting my hand while inking. The added area is black, but not polished like the rest of the front. The Q1 will still fit in the sleeve that came with it, but it is a tight fit. I have to use the “hold” switch to keep it from turning itself back on when I slide it in.

So, how long does it last?

In my initial test (low brightness, moderate browsing via wifi & listening to mp3s) I got approximately 5 1/2 hours out of it.

In my opinion, for 5.5 hours (plus the use of the original as a 2.5hr spare) its worth the money.

Steve/Chippy

Dailytech.com have an article up about the R2H and FCC aproval which means its moving towards release in the U.S. We were told that there would be a July launch for the R2H and it looks like it’s on target.

The R2H has some unique features among UMPCs including the fingerprint reader and camera and we’re also expecting a a GPS option, single-sign-on software and competitive price,

All the details we have on the R2H are in our product database here.

Steve / Chippy.

[img]https://www.umpcportal.com/umpc/images/asusR2H.jpg[/img]

[url=http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3156]Dailytech.com[/url] just released an article today linking to the [url=http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=876648&fcc_id=%27MSQR2H%27]Asus R2H FCC Documents[/url].

Like always, the FCC documents included the user manual([url=http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=676597&native_or_pdf=pdf]1[/url],[url=http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=676598&native_or_pdf=pdf]2[/url]) and some pictures of the device on tables and taken apart.

Like we have heard before the device includes a built in GPS, wireless LAN and Bluetooth, SD Memory Slot, an expansion port for an add on port bar and other devices, fingerprint scanner(which doubles as a vertical scroll wheel), built in 1.3 M camera, thumbstick cursor control, direction buttons, right and left thumbstick mouse buttons, and last but not least the InstantFun+ Key (Which launches a multimedia player).

The manual also references a few add on components including a fold up keyboard.

[img]https://www.umpcportal.com/umpc/images/asuskeyboard1.gif[/img]

[img]https://www.umpcportal.com/umpc/images/asuskeyboard2.gif[/img]

The FCC docs also had pics of the built in GPS and the pictures of the R2H open, which can be seen below…
Read the full story