04Jun2006
When Gates announced the prices of UMPCs to be atound $500, we were having high hopes. When the actual first product (UMPC) from Samsung arrived it way too much at $1100. Then there was the TabletKiosk with the Via Chips that was less than a Grand starting at $900. Now comes the interesting part how about UMPCs that are around $700 or less - sounds great right… TMC Net reports that
After seeing the unsatisfactory debut of the world’s first Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) this spring, Samsung Electronics is planning to sell the next version of the mini PC at a bargain price, starting this fall.
The upcoming UMPC will hit the market around September at a price under 700,000 won, down from over 1.2 million for the initial Q1 model, a company insider said Friday.
To lower the price, Samsung will use CPUs made by AMD instead of expensive Intel chips, the Samsung official said on condition of anonymity. Also, subsidies from KT for its WiBro wireless Internet service contract may help drop the price further, he said [...]
Read the Full article at [TMC Net]
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02Jun2006
Remember the post that we had yesterday about the new Sony approval on the FCC, looks like it might be just the temp name for the Vaio UX180 that will be sold and listed on Sony’s Website.
Reggie of MicroPC Talk, prompted us (thanks reggie) that it’s the UX and nothing else and interestingly that sony might have been working on such a product even before microsoft announced the UMPC.
While the FCC shows that they have approved a Sony handheld device with model number PCG-1J1L, we believe that this is the Sony Vaio UX180P. PCG-1J1L is obviously a temporary model number since nowhere in all the
FCC documents mentioned �Vaio� when the image found in one of the documents clearly has a Vaio brand at the back (�aio� visible) .
It is also interesting to note that Sony requested confidentiality of the device from the FCC on March 24, 2006, only a few days after the official announcement of the UMPC. This might mean that Sony was already hard at work designing their Micro PC probably way before the UMPC concept
was even thought of.
Check out the image which compares the FCC pic with the Vaio UX. Micro PC Talk has added arrows to show how the the PCG-1J1L is exactly as that of the Vaio UX 180P (VGN-UX180P)
Read the full article at [MicroTalk PC]
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01Jun2006
Oh No, All we have today is the Samsung Q1 and the Tablet Kiosk and out of which only samsung was officially announced at the CeBIT and we’ve been eagerly waiting for the Asus R2H and the Founder Mini-Note and looks like the Asus is delayed until August.
Personally i was waiting for the Asus, thinking it would be the one that has a metal casing and sleek. Digital Lifestlye reports that it would be delayed until august.
According to Alvin Chou, ASUS’s Product Manager, “The performance and reliability of the machines, particularly in boosting the gaming experience and battery life, are being maximized to offer users a much better overall experience.” Also, ASUS is reportedly trying to up the machine’s specifications before the launch, giving users more bang for their buck and making the R2H a much more attractive option to consumers [...]
Read the full news at [Digital Lifestyle]
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01Jun2006
Game Industry reports that Bill Gates in a conference yesterday made it clear that microsoft will be setting its focus more on teh mobile devices. So can we expect the UMPC to double as the Xbox Portable or is that going to be something different ?
Speaking at a conference organised by the Wall Street Journal in California yesterday, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has made comments implying that the firm may be preparing new initiatives in the portable device space.
“We are looking at various ways to bring more to that space,” he commented in response to questioning about a possible portable media device, according to a report published by ZDNet. “There is a lot yet that hasn’t been done.”
However, his direct response to the question - which focused on the portable system that J Allard is allegedly working on with the Xbox team, according to journalist and author Dean Takahashi - was simply that “I have no announcement to make today.” [...]
Read the full article at [ Game Industry ]
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27May2006
John has posted that TabletKiosk has recalled its battery due the various issues that we have been hearing so far and he has also posted the actual email from Martin, TabletKiosk
Hello John,
We will be sending out a notification later today to all recipients of the initial unit. The repair is hardware based and will require the unit being sent back to our offices for update (we have identified a set of defective cords / capacitors on the initial production run causing the high power drain). This repair will also effect the delivery of on-order systems slightly – we have some units that will ship next week that have the new suppliers components installed, and we are working diligently with our supplier to meet current demand, however some orders may be delayed a week or two while we transition to this new source for these components.
On a side note for your information we will also offer a 25% discount off any eo accessory to these first users to try and help compensate for the frustration this issue has caused.
-Martin
Though microsoft released a fix for the issue looks like the hardware had its role to play in it.
Via [ John Tokash's Blog ]
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