Showing: All entries for June, 2007




Intel to show concept — “Donley”

This time its the “Donley”, we’ve seen something very similar to this in the past . So the biggest question is “when is Intel moving to production?” We’ve seen many designs from Intel on the UMPC Portal and till date there has not been one that has moved on to production or has any confirmation of the launch date.

donley.jpg

The concept has a 5″ display, seems to be running vista with all communications built in and an improved design for mobility.

Intel to introduce 5-inch portable concept PC ‘Donley’ [AVING]

Forget $600 UMPC lets talk $200

The first generation of UMPCs were more like tablets with no keyboards, then came others with sliding and split QWERTY keyborads. Looks like the crowd feels the regular layout of the laptop in more usable than any other form, starting from Kohjinsha, then came the Fujitsu FMV-U8240, and now the Asus Eee PC! — weird name, but Asus says…

This is a new line of PCs that focuses on providing users with the most comprehensive Internet application based on three Es: Easy to learn, work, play; Excellent Internet experience and Excellent mobile computing experience, and hence the product name of Eee PC.

eee_pc.jpg

The most interesting part of the story is the price on the device. Remember those OLPC ($100 laptops) these devices boast a lot more features and better configuration for just the double the price. Now there is not any official announcement on the pricing and availability, but it’s hard to believe the price to be just $199. Johnny Shih, Chairman of Asustek, noted that it would cost only $199 [Inquirer]

The specifications of the device are

  • 7″ Display
  • Intel mobile CPU & chipset
  • Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
  • 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
  • WiFi 802.11b/g
  • Intel UMA
  • 512MB, DDR2-400
  • 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
  • 300K pixel video camera
  • Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
  • 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P) of Battery life.
  • 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg

Asus Press Release [Via Gizmodo] | Teaser mini site [Asus]




$600 UMPCs — Finally!

It’s been a while since Via made any big announcements on their UMPC platform and CX-7 chipsets. Now comes the iDOT UMPC CE260 & CE261 in all its glory. Imagine paying just about $600 (all long dream for the UMPC market) for a full fledged UMPC that’s less that 2 lbs named the “Nanobook”

idot_ce260.jpg
[The clock thing looks like the 80's though]

Here are the specs:

  • Windows XP or Vista
  • less than 850g (1.87 pounds)
  • 1.2GHz VIA C7-M processor
  • Up to 1GB of RAM
  • 30GB hard drive
  • 7-inch WVGA display
  • 802.11g WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • DVI-out and slots for GPS, VoIP, or WWAN module
  • Up to five hours of battery life

The specs are decent and for $600 I think its a great deal. Packard Bell will also use the reference design for the EasyNote XS.

VIA intros NanoBook Ultra Mobile Device - $600 ultraportable laptop [engadget]

Amtek’s second generation of UMPCs

If you look the UMPC market, it has been Amtek what has been doing the OEM for many brands. They are showcasing the U560 UMPC at Computex, the second generation of UMPC (which surfaced as a concept at the IDC)

amtek_u560.jpg

The design initially was incorporated by Sony UX series and followed by the Concept that we saw from Averatec AHI (which seems to be delayed for quite some time now). This features a slide-up screen with full QWERTY keyboard, with a 4.8″ Screen supporting 1024 X 600 native resolution. The device is powered by Intel A110/A100 600MHz/800MHz processor(s) and polymer battery for a good 3600mAh pack with 2 cells. It also packs a 1.3 MP camera.

New U560 UMPC from Amtek [GottaBeMobile] | More pictures at AVING.net

Fujitsu FMV-U8240 gets the first review.

The wait is over, Akihabara News has published the first review of the Fujitsu FMV-U8240. Well looks like they like a lot of features but not really excited when compared to the Sony Vaio UX series from the looks and finish point of view, but really impressed with the performance and lot more aspects of the Fujitsu FMV-U8240(thanks Docteurkiki)

fujitsu_umpc4.jpg

They have nice High definition videos of the device, make sure you watch them all. If you are not aware of the spec, here is a peek. Now so what is the conclusion from their side? These perspective will change from every other reviews and this is what Akihabara says…
The Verdict:
  • Pros: CPU - PERFORMANCE, WEIGHT, KEYBOARD, LED lit Keyboard, ERGONOMICS
    Cons: TOUCH SCREEN, Screen Rotation, MATERIALS

Akihabara has the english version up. Check it out here





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