Ultra Mobile PC News Digest

Tablet Kiosk: New 7200 UMPCs coming

Kelly — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:45:00 +0000

TabletKiosk™, a leader in mobile computing solutions, today announced the launch of eo™ i7209 and eo™ i7210 the newest additions to the company’s family of ultra-mobile computing solutions...

The eo™ i7200 series comes preloaded with Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 with Touch Pack and is certified Microsoft® Windows Vista™ capable.

For ultimate convenience, the eo™ i7200 series features a 7” LCD touch screen with handwriting recognition, an on-screen keyboard, voice recognition, and external control devices, including a full roaming thumb joystick and dedicated left and right mouse buttons...
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Ultranauts: Games Start hitting the UMPC

Kelly — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:31:00 +0000

Have you been praying for Halo to make it’s debut on the UMPC? Do you just watch Microsoft’s UMPC teaser video over and over, dreaming of the day when you’ll get your hands on a portable version of Master Chief and Cortana? We’ll if your’re one of those people, you can keep waiting!
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eWeek:

Kelly — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 15:19:00 +0000

… Despite a less than warm initial reception for the diminutive PC category by analysts—ultramobile PCs are small, keyboard-less handheld computers capable of running Microsoft’s Windows XP—Samsung said its Q1 UMPC has exceeded its expectations, particularly for businesses.

And now it’s raising the bar.

Samsung, which had not sold a Samsung-brand PC in the United States for several years before the May 2006 launch of the Q1, expects to announce soon at least one deal to sell quantities of the $1,100 UMPC to a corporation.

Meanwhile, depending on the success of the device, its future plans include at least one Q1 follow-on and possibly offering Samsung-brand notebooks again in the United States...
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Microsoft: Vista for UMPC

Kelly — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:15:00 +0000

For many of you, the experience of Windows Vista will begin with the purchase of a new PC. For others, however, the experience begins by upgrading your current PC, and it's important to know and understand the upgrade options.

Your upgrade options are dependent on the version of Windows that is currently running on your PC. Below is some information to help you start planning for an upgrade to Windows Vista. As we get closer to the launch of Windows Vista, we will provide even more detailed guidance to help ensure a smooth upgrade experience.
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UMPC Buzz: Rumors

Kelly — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:02:00 +0000

Several months ago I learned how the Founder UMPC would enter the US market. The system will not carry the Founder name. No, I cannot spill the beans and provide you the name of the company who will relabel the Founder, but all UMPC watchers will be pleasantly surprised and happy. The company will back the product with wonderful service.

Rebranding is nothing new but somehow the UMPC models with different labels are getting confused. For example, a recent set of headlines touted about a new model in Korea. It was the Founder with a different label.

Amidst all the confusion, there is a rather large company that has a new UMPC that should reach our market soon. Who? Sorry. I am under an obligation to not tell you any specifics. Yet, I want you to think in good terms about the UMPC future. The future looks bright....
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New UMPC under 700$? No, thanks!

Kelly — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 14:58:00 +0000

There is a rumor and a picture floating on UMPC blogs : A new UMPC under 700$ ,with 256 MB RAM and AMD GeodeTM LX800. I have used XP Pro with almost everything : From a notebook with Celeron 333 Mhz and 64 MB RAM (Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible) to an Athlon 64 with 2 GB RAM, and believe me, you can never have too much RAM and CPU Power with XP. Most of Q1 users are trying to expand their memory from 512 MB to 1 GB, and i believe most of them are ready to pay more to upgrade from Celeron M to Pentium M. And you are trying to sell the computer of future with Geode LX, which will make you beg for Pentium III, and 256 MB RAM?
...
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TGDaily:Microsoft confirms 'Zune' device to compete with Ipod

Kelly — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

While the regular press appears to have lost a round of "Stump the Reporters" with Microsoft, bloggers such as Gaming Steve appear to have won the day, having obtained news yesterday, along with what appears to be a reasonable facsimile of a prototype unit and a trial logo. Several months ago, similar pictures of what were stated to be prototype UMPC devices, along with a logo - both of which Microsoft denied early on - turned out to be legitimate.

Some years back, "Zune" was used as the name for a prototype for a resurrected Amiga operating system, though that project was discontinued.
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Via Intros Chipset for Ultra Mobile PCs

Kelly — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:59:00 +0000

The chipset could be used in future versions of UMPCs. The first crop of UMPCs have begun to appear in retail outlets already, but consumers and analysts alike have given the devices a mostly lukewarm reception.

Samsung's Q1, a $1,099 UMPC that packs a lot of functionality into a small case, has received mixed reviews, which some reviewers claiming that it is too expensive for what it can do and others saying it is too bulky to be truly useful.

But if UMPCs were to get smaller, they might be able to live up to their initial billing as a new format of computer that can bring together the capabilities of a laptop with the portability of a PDA.
--Sci Tech Today

Inquirer: Single UMPC Chipset from Via

Kelly — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 10:03:00 +0000

TAIWANESE chip firm Via said it has released the Via VX700 chipset which is for Ultra Mobile PCs.

According to Via, the VX700 will allow a reduction of UPMC sizes by 40 per cent.

The chipset is coupled with Via's C7-M and gives longer battery life - the chipset itself measures 35mm by 35mm.
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Engadget: Sony Vaio UX180P shipping to US

Kelly — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:36:00 +0000

Although the SonyStyle site still lists it under pre-order, the Vaio UX180P non-UMPC is apparently already en route to ecstatic US customers, as at least two of our readers have received shipping confirmations from Sony via email. The Core Solo-powered machines are scheduled to arrive on the sixth of next month, which jibes with Sony's promise of a July release.
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Ultranauts: Dell UMPC is for Real

Kelly — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 17:28:00 +0000

A Dell UMPC is officially on the drawing board and slated for release within the next 12 months. Not many specifics, but the designers are looking to differentiate from the pack with a design that is “indicative of the one shown in the promotional videos where the screen ‘turns out’ to reveal a keyboard.” Dell is apparently working to create a device that “appears” as small as possible. I don’t know what “appears as small as possible” actually means, but I would imagine it has to do with a small screen bezels and very rounded corners/edges… unless they are going to deviate from the standard 7″ screen size. Which might be possible given those recent Micorsoft comments.
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Engadget: NAND flash memory shortage imminent

Kelly — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 23:39:00 +0000

Gartner analysts just released a study confirming (presumably with their usual 70% probability) what we and the Koreans already knew: NAND flash memory chips are in high demand and short supply. Showing up in everything from MP3 players, USB flash drives, digital cams, cellphones, and more recently, UMPCs, Laptops, and hard drives, it's no wonder Gartner is claiming that by Q4 2006 the market will see a 5.8% shortage of NAND flash chips leveling off to 2.6% at the start of 2007.
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ARNet: Pioneer steals ultra mobile PC march

Kelly — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:15:00 +0000

Local PC builder, Pioneer, is launching what it claims to be Australia's first Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC).

Managing director, Jeff Li, said the DreamBook UMPC 700 - a tablet-style PC with a 7-inch screen - was the latest advance in bringing notebook power to a near PDA-sized device.

It is powered by a 1GHz Via chipset and comes with 512MB of memory, upgradeable to a maximum 1GB. It measures 228 x 146 x 25mm and weighs 850g. It runs on Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
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PCWorld: Keyboards are Key to Success

Kelly — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:49:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, salute our friend the real, physical keyboard. And do it while you still can. Lately I've been running into a spate of boneheaded products that are trying to dispense with the old finger-bender entirely.

Take Microsoft's Ultra Mobile PC design--please! This scheme, as seen in Samsung's Q1 and the TabletKiosk Eo, gives you lots of ways to enter text: three incarnations of on-screen, no-tactile-feedback keyboards--two for a stylus and one for your thumbs--plus two modes of character recognition. Each of those methods, to put it politely, sucks. If you want a real keyboard, you can always hook up a USB model and learn to juggle--but you shouldn't have to.
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eWeek: Microsoft Preps Ultramobile PC for Second Chance

Kelly — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:48:00 +0000

Microsoft and partners—the UMPC has been backed by Intel and VIA Technologies—expect to see more diversity in the UMPC space in the near term.

New manufacturers will bring forth additional usage models and design improvements such as integrated, drop-down keyboards and built-in wireless wide area networking, while also driving down prices.
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