Here’s the weekly rundown of items that we posted to the middle column on UMPCPortal, our ‘Other News’ section. It’s all good UMPC and MID-related stuff that, in most cases, we didn’t write about as a main news item.

	Posted Mistic Audio Case for Archos 5 Android Tablet
	Shared 4 photos.
	Posted Pocketable reviews the PA
	Shared Jolicloud to add support for netbooks with Atom Z5xx processors, GMA 500 graphics
	Posted Archos 5 Mini Dock
	Shared 2 videos.
	Shared 2 photos.
	Shared Opera to the rescue: Opera Mobile 10 now available for Windows Mobile phones
	Shared How Jolicloud is adding support for GMA 500 graphics
	Shared Archos Android tablet running ereader.com software.
	Posted 699 pre-order price for Xperia X10
	Shared Inventec Smartbook almost makes me think Smartbooks have a shot
	Liked 2 videos.

Related posts:

1. ‘In Other News…’ October 18th Here’s the weekly rundown of items that we posted to...
2. Jolicloud OS gets revealed I’ve been eagerly awaiting information on the upcoming Jolicloud...
3. Weekly News Digest for August 17th As we find interesting news items, images, videos and information,...

Information is coming through on Google’s Chromium OS from a number of sources. (See below.) I’ve been following the Techcrunch blog and as a mobile-focused end-user, I’m picking up a number of things that turn me off.

I advise you to check out the two links at the bottom of this article but here are a few pointers.

• Available for end users in a year
• For OEMs to build into devices
• Coming to X86 first then ARM
• Limited device support
• “Android apps currently will not run on Chrome OS.”
• For devices bigger than netbooks
• [Screeching halt!]

Clearly Chromium OS is for high-speed fixed (stationary) connections and not for mobile devices. Device support will be extremely limited so I wouldn’t expect this to work with 3G, touchscreens, multi-touch mousepads, fingerprint readers, external screens, local storage, extended buttons or other special features we see on UMPCs without it being re-built especially for each device.

Personally I’m having trouble working out what Google are doing here. Is it to promote HTML5 development? Am I failing to see the long-term play? Are we really going to be using operating systems on our desks that are dumber than the ones on our phones?

The advantages for netbooks users are limited. The license cost advantage will be just $15-$25, the device support will be poor and there will be a million and one re-distributions causing confusion and splintering for Linux.

High-speed javascript processing won’t be unique to Chrome. Fast boot won’t be unique to Chrome. HTML5 won’t be unique to Chrome. Web apps won’t be unique to Chrome. What’s going to get people to buy a Chromium OS computer? I doubt people will be queuing up for an OS that never needs upgrading.

Google Blog

Techcrunch

Related posts:

1. New Web Browser. Chrome ‘Beta’ from Google. has Webkit and Mozilla roots. Google Window I suspect. Breaking News (Meaning I don’t have much information at this...
2. Chrome OS. Be Dynamic or Forget It. There’s lots of excitement about ‘Chrome OS’ floating around...
3. Google announces Google Chrome OS In the same way that Google Wave is being...

Several days back we looked at the then just released Asus Eee T91MT which featured an resistive multitouch screen. We were also treated to a little T91MT promotional video showing off some of the things that you could do with the T91MT. One of those things appeared to be pressure sensitivity, but after some hands on time with the T91MT, kubel from myt91.info found it to lack pressure sensitivity of any sort which was somewhat of a disappointment.

Fast forward a bit and now kubel as found that the T91MT really does have pressure sensitivity with one caveat, it isn’t enabled by default. Not sure exactly how many levels of pressure the T91MT can detect, but it is nice to see this technology in a resistive touch screen.

He’s even got a video to prove it:

[GottaBeMobile]

Related posts:

1. Asus Eee T91MT barely out the door… already reviewed Kubel of MyT91.info seems to be one of the...
2. Asus Eee T91 and multi-touch T91MT are finally shipping Not too long ago we wondered what happened to...
3. Multi-touch comes to resistive touchscreens Jkkmobile points out an interesting video from Engadget that...

The Viliv boys pointed out that Dynamism will be selling a limited edition* pink UMID M1 [Portal page]. Though the UIMD M2 is due out sometime soon — I guess the more colors, the better!The pink UMID M1 is $50 less ($449) than the black low-end UMID M1 that Dynamism sells. Unfortunately no, they aren’t giving you $50 off just because its pink… the pink one has a slightly slower CPU – the Atom Z515 at 1.2GHz (vs. 1.3GHz for the low-end black model, or 1.33GHz on the high-end black model). Everything else, however, is the same as on the low-end black model: 8GB SSD, 512MB of RAM, and Windows XP. From the images it is a bit tough to tell exactly how glossy or matte the pink version is, but it appears to be more on the matte side of the spectrum, similar to the black one that I looked at.

*Dynamism has the pink M1 down as “limited edition”, but it isn’t exactly clear whether it is the pink M1 itself which is limited, or the deal currently running that includes a free pink pouch and 4GB MicroSD card.

Related posts:

1. Black UMID M1 finds a matching keyboard Some of the earliest pictures of the UMID M1...
2. UMID M1 matte black, production model and case, unboxing It seems like Steve has had his hands all over...
3. Black UMID comes to Dynamism After a long wait and more than a little worry...

The Archos 9 has had the #1 spot in the Portal for some time now, it’s pretty clear that people are excited for it, despite the fact that it may be a slate.

Unfortunately for everyone out there looking forward to the Archos 9, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. We had been expecting the Archos 9 to be released on October 22nd as we had heard at IDF 09, but we’ve watched that date come and go and been scratching our heads since.

I’ve recently contacted Archos about availability of the Archos 9, and was told that pre-orders made through www.archos.com should be shipping in “early December”. Retail store availability (Amazon, Walmart, etc.) is expected in Q1. That’s all we’ve got to go on for now; sorry for the folks that have been holding out, but hopefully you’ll get your hand on this device before something else comes along and catches your eye!

Related posts:

1. Archos 9 dissected Jkk has spotted that the Archos 9 has been...
2. Archos renews my faith in mobile tech companies My mobile tech interest feels reinvigorated, thanks in part...
3. Archos 9 release announced at IDF, October 22nd, $499 Update: Hands-on video and full specifications. The title says most...

There’s lots of excitement about ‘Chrome OS’ floating around at the moment. Apparently, Google will be giving us more details tomorrow and I hope for the sake of them that it’s more than just a browser and a set of HTML5 containers with Google apps inside. I think we all know how most consumers will react when they see something as bare-bones as that!

What’s the one, critical, element of consumer-focused operating systems that makes them successful? Applications.

OK. I’m talking about the western world here. Maybe Google is targeting towards the emerging markets but I doubt it. The ‘cloud’ hardly works well enough in Germany or Finland, let alone in India!

Actually it’s not so much the applications that excites the users, it’s the impression of a dynamic device that can change, adapt and mature as its lifetime progresses. The excitement of a new operating system upgrade or a look into the application store is like getting a new device again except this time, it’s a sub-$10 upgrade instead of a $499 one. It’s happening to all mobile operating systems and to many desktops too. Check out Moblin, the Linux-based browser-focused slim OS. (Yes, a competitor to Chrome OS on PCs) Intel are spending lots and lots and lots of money in order to make it dynamic. It’s going to be exciting. Even in the minor upgrade from 2.0 to 2.1 it was fun to see the new features. It was free too.

Google will need to do this too. They can. Easily.

• Dalvic runtime. (Run Android apps)
• Small-payments and authorisation system for HTML5 applications.
• A new app store.

If Google can announce a dynamic Chrome OS operating system on Thursday that works on PCs then, good; it’s another free option for netbooks and UMPCs. If they announce a dynamic Chrome OS for ARM-based platforms then it’s game-on. At last there be an exciting option for tablets, smartbooks and other ultra mobile computing devices. It will only be one piece of the complex puzzle that makes up a truly complete product but it’s an important one.

If they don’t announce anything Dynamic then forget it. There are a number of better options out there already.

Further reading available at: JKOntheRun, more from us, gigaom and an interesting one from TGDaily

Related posts:

1. Google announces Google Chrome OS In the same way that Google Wave is being...
2. New Web Browser. Chrome ‘Beta’ from Google. has Webkit and Mozilla roots. Google Window I suspect. Breaking News (Meaning I don’t have much information at this...
3. Google Chrome OS. Round-Up, Podcasts, Thoughts. On the 7th July, Google announced that they are developing...

What a hectic few hours!  I’ve had DHL at the door with the Archos 5 Mini Dock, a tweet from Pocketables alerting me that the new firmware is available and the whole lot has been captured in a video. I’ll say no more than this:

• Mini-dock = Bargain!
• YouTube HD on TV = Fantastic!
• IR RF keyboard and mouse = Total TV laziness.
• Mini keyboard and mouse = Mini ‘Web’ PC under 500gm and 300 Euro!

It looks like some hard drives with no external power won’t work but I tested a few USB SD-card adaptors and it worked fine. Questions remain over 3G sticks.

As for the firmware, there are a lot of improvements. Check the updates page for details.

More images in the gallery.

More information about the Archos 5 Internet Tablet here.

Update: TV interference is purely due to trying to record a CRT. For a better look at TV-out put using an HDMI dock, Check out Charbax’s video here.

Help your UMPCPortal! Buy the Archos 5 Mini-Dock through our affiliates.

• ARCHOS Mini Dock für ARCHOS 5 / 5g und ARCHOS 7
• Archos Germany ordering page for 8GB (not in stock – see selection boxes on page.)
• ARCHOS Mini Dock for ARCHOS 5 & ARCHOS 7
• Mini Dock at Amazon US (Not available at present)

Related posts:

1. Archos 5 Internet Tablet info. 229 for 8GB SSD. Available tomorrow? As the Archos press conference starts in Paris, it seems...
2. Archos 5 Android Internet Tablet First Impressions. (Long!) The Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet is a 4.8” 800x480...
3. Archos renews my faith in mobile tech companies My mobile tech interest feels reinvigorated, thanks in part...

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.

Related posts:

1. Who’s next on the Moblin distribution list? Thoughtfix brings us the news (from The Register) that Moblin...
2. GMA500 support on Linux not quite there yet. Somehow, somewhere, there seems to be a problem getting quality...
3. Xandros bought Linspire. Remember Lindows? A controversially named company that worked to bring...

Here’s a post I’ve just found in my drafts folder. I wrote it in March and forgot to post it. It’s still relevant now so here it is.

March 2009

I realise that many of you couldn’t give a damn about Twitter and the like. It certainly can be a distraction and I do agree, I don’t really want to know what people are eating for dinner when I’m waking up in the morning but despite that I’ve become a fan and have discovered and connected with many many interesting people in the last months.

As I flew back from SXSW last week though, I couldn’t stop thinking about how consumer MIDs and Microblogging go hand in hand. I’m convinced that the social networks are where the interest will seed for the consumer-focused devices and OEMs need to be careful to consider this opportunity. UMPCs are slightly different in that they focus more on productivity and desktop processes but MIDs, sitting in that gadget space with high-end smartphones, pmp, pnd and e-book readers, have a chance to shine due to their fantastic ability to deliver the best pocketable web experience. Behind most microblogs I see is a link to a full web page so working in 140 characters doesn’t mean that the web requirements are anything less that what we’ve come to expect on our laptops.

As I sat on the flight home with my Fujitsu Loox, I made a few notes about how my ultimate ‘Tweet-Pad’ might look. I’ve looked at existing hardware before but this time I allowed myself to dream a little. It follows much of what my Carrypad idea was and with the experience I’ve gained from the 3 years I’ve had working with ultra mobile devices since then, it was easy to imagine the specs. I’ll list my specs below but I’m more interested to hear yours. If you use microblogging services like Twitter, how would you want to take them mobile?

• 18 hours battery life (connected, idle, screen off)
• 4 hours active battery life (connected, screen on, cpu in-use)
• 3g, WiFi, BT
• Pocketable, under 250gm
• Lightweight, multitasking os
• Tailored client for many protocols. (Flickr, Twitter, Jauku, Blogger)
• CPU power to support 4-8 concurrent apps (low-end Atom, high-end ARM)
• Very simple apps store
• Sliding keyboard
• 5mp cam, auto focus, flash
• sd card slot fro transferring images, extra storage
• 8GB fast SSD storage
• Sub 10’s turn-on and connect time.
• SDK for easy app dev
• fast, full (Ajax, flash) browser with sub-15 second average page load time.
  $299 without contract. Free with $25 per month data-only contract. (5GB limit)\
• Stylish, branded design. (Brand brings developers, end user confidence)

For me, the device with the most chance of success is going to be stylish, carry a known brand, utilise a simple application development architecture (possibly levering off existing mobile operating systems) and somehow, seed some viral interest within the microblogging community.

I’m interested to hear you views.

Update: Since I wrote this post in March we’ve seen the first Twitter Pad. I wasn’t impressed. I’ve been using a 299 Euro media playing, web browsing, twitter-capable p5” pad that stays connected all day so I know this can be done better and combining  media, navigation, web and short, live messaging with a 3G connection, even a low-speed one, still seems the way to got to me.

Related posts:

1. The ‘Ring of FIE’ and the Perfect Mobile Microblogging Device. I’ve been thinking about this subject for a while...
2. First post from Ubuntu Mobile Can I claim bragging rights for having the first ever...
3. MIDs and Moblin. Where do we go now? Yesterday's news that Moblin V2 for MIDs is now delayed...

For of all, thanks to Jeff Hill of Misticaudio for sending over this case for review. They’ve stepped in at just the right time with a leather case for the Archos 5IT that fits well, doesn’t impact on the usability of the device and looks great at a very acceptable cost. $28 is a good price although you’ll need to consider taxes and customs costs if you’re importing it.

More images in the gallery.

As you can see from the images, the case is a wallet design with an access window, cut-outs for ports, buttons and the speaker and an integrated stand. There are also two slots for credit cards and, in the fold, a slot for a stylus. Stitching is neat and the clips seem good enough. The stand is relatively solid and there’s some padding and strengthening in the screen flap. A few corners of the device are left exposed so there’s still a chance of a nasty knock if you’re very unlucky and the chance for dust and dust to get into the connectors but to be fair, this is a case that is designed to allow you to use the device and its connectors. I haven’t tested a docking station yet but that should arrive soon and I’ll update this post when I’ve tested it out.

The Archos 5 IT doesn’t ship with any sort of case or cover and although the plastics and screen seem strong, I’d still recommend buying a case for it if you’re planning to use it while mobile. The Misticaudio case is tidy, stylish option.

The Misticaudio case for the Archos 5 Internet Tablet is currently available at Sensory Candy

Related posts:

1. Take-away PC. The UMPC! Someone has sent me this great animated gif which sums...
2. What good is a smartphone without cellular data? I fly to San Fransisco for IDF in about 24...
3. Hugo Ortega. i7210 videos. Hugo of Ubertablet has just released two videos showing the...

I should have been in bed but I got hooked into an excellent Gillmor Gang videocast (below) this evening. Robert Scoble, Mike Arrington, P Rangaswami, Kevin Marks, and Saul Hansell talk a lot about the iPhone and Driod war, discuss the differences and then, all of a sudden, at about 39 minutes in, the conversation switches to the Crunchpad.

As I watched, I sent three important tweets out:

• “crunchpad is steamrolling” , “costs keep coming down”. “big news on that shortly” says @arrington
• Crunchpad is going to sell “for something between three and four hundred dollars” , web-only says @arrington
• “soft revenue”, “sponsorships” on Crunchpad. Sounds like ad-supported “without impacting the user experience”

There’s more in the video below.

$300-$400 dollars PLUS advertising (sponsorship) is what everyone will be talking about. For mass-market couch-surfing, that’s too expensive. The Archos Android tablet and iPod Touch have already set the pricing bar (and possibly the sizing) for home-based sofa-surfing devices.

To be fair, I don’t think Mike Arrington expects the Crunchpad to be selling millions and he understands that the home ‘pad’ market is just taking off so this, like many other 1st attempt projects, could be more of a learning and branding exercise than anything else. If you think about how Nokia are playing with their Maemo devices it’s much the same. They are nurturing awareness and developer support for a time when the market is ripe. That could be 2010, 2011 or beyond but you have to be ready to strike when the conditions are ready.

Clearly the Crunchpad is alive, it’s going to cost between 300 and 400 dollars, it’s Atom-based, it’s going to be sponsorship-supported, web-only and we should expect ‘big news’ shortly.

Related recent article from Ben: Slates, slates, they’re everywhere, they’re in the water, they’re in the air

Via: Techcrunch

Related posts:

1. CrunchPad event possibly at the end of this month, unit for less than $300 You’ve probably heard of the upcoming CrunchPad by now....
2. Crunchpad Specification Update. When we guessed the specs of the Crunchpad back in...
3. Where is the CrunchPad? Could Pixel Qi be behind the holdup? It is rather interesting that a number of new...

Here’s the weekly rundown of items that we posted to the middle column on UMPCPortal, our ‘Other News’ section. It’s all good UMPC and MID-related stuff that, in most cases, we didn’t write about as a main news item.

	Shared 2 photos.
	Liked Netbook Application: Fences – Organize Your Desktop
	Shared HSPA About to Overtake Wi-Fi 802.11g
	Shared HSPA About to Overtake Wi-Fi 802.11g
	Posted Xperia X2 Preview by Phone Arena
	Shared Windows 7 going on the viliv x70
	Shared Netwalker + Umid = unimpressed wife!
	Liked Dell Mini 9 Touchscreen w/ motion detection (accelerometer)
	Shared Flowers by Omnia Pro
	Shared NVIDIA CEO shows off mystery tablet, makes zero statements about mystery tablet
	Shared Firefox for Maemo Beta 5 Released But Slower and Less Accurate than Default Browser
	Posted Pocketables unboxes the Kohjinsha PA
	Shared Netbook News takes a Trip to the Guanghua Computer Market
	Shared Amazon Kindle Software on X70 UMPC
	Shared 2 videos.
	Shared Kohjinsha PA series size comparisons
	Shared Windows 7 running like a dream on the X70 with full tablet features
	Posted Archos 5 IT Owner Review
	Shared First impressions: CLEAR WiMAX
	Shared What a Day, a Year, a Future
	Shared Stick with XP? Windows 7 Battery Life Worse on Netbooks
	Shared Qualcomm proffers first smartbook platform (The Register)
	Shared Video review and photos: Crazy thin Sony Vaio X notebook, 1.6 lbs. half inch thin
	Shared HSDPA: 7 Years Ahead Today
	Shared Archos 9 tablet dissected
	Shared VIA working on MID phone that runs Windows XP and Android

Related posts:

1. ‘In Other News…’ October 3rd Here’s the weekly rundown of items that we posted to...
2. ‘In Other News…’ November 1st Here’s the weekly rundown of items that we posted to...
3. Laptopmag: Archos 5 Internet Tablet Review. 8/10 (to Laptopmag) Laptopmag have beaten me to a full review of the...

When will the madness end? New slate devices currently seem to be announced as frequently as a new Eee PC model was a year or so ago. Why are all these slates popping up, and is anyone even buying them? This all seems awfully familiar too… didn’t we already hate these devices once before?

What’s with all of these damn slates lately?

Over the last few months we’ve seen slate devices spread at a ridiculous pace. For a simple demonstration of this, take a look at the visual version of the Portal — 6 of the top 10 devices are slates!

Archos 9 – Evigroup Pad – Wits A81- Viliv X70 – Viliv S5 – CrunchPad

And while not yet in the Portal, the IDC Vega was also just recently announced, and there are plenty of other pending slates that I haven’t listed.

Where did they come from?

I blame one device, one example of vaporware, and one rumor. That would be the iPhone, the CrunchPad, and the Apple tablet rumor respectively. Hat tip to Jenn of Pocketables.net who got me started thinking about article by saying that Apple “messed up” what people think of as the ideal form-factor in a device. Apple showed that a slate form factor at the iPhone size can be a a productive and downright useful tool, but only when all of the pieces fit together perfectly — meaning not just hardware, but software as well.

Then we got started with the Apple tablet rumors which could have an entire article dedicated to them alone — but I’ll spare you the agony. Long story short, Apple tablet rumors seemed to start forming from a combination of wishful thinking and a few touch oriented patents that Apple filed. Now weekly we see at least one rumor. But what effect has this had on these slate devices? Well I’d argue that without this Apple tablet rumor insanity, the majority of these devices wouldn’t even exist. Apple tablet rumors have been ongoing since at least 2000, but we don’t see them start to pop up in the form that we know today until shortly after the release of the iPhone in 2007.

Even the CrunchPad (one of the first of these slate devices) which doesn’t appear to have been conceived as a response to the tablet rumors, was compared from all angles to this rumored device, that doesn’t even exist, from the get-go. With some headlines heralding it as an “Apple tablet killer” despite the fact that it is often hard, nay impossible, to kill something that has no physical presence in this thing that we call reality.

Is it just me, or does it seem like most of the above devices are attempts to beat Apple to a market that they might not even enter, using the power of the Applet tablet madness to drive interest? Honestly, most of these devices aren’t even released yet and they are still commanding top positions here in the Portal. Clearly there is interest, but that doesn’t mean that these devices are going to be any good. In fact if we think back just a few years ago, we might find ourselves with a feeling of promnesia.

(continue reading on page 2)

Related posts:

1. Asus R50A UMPC unboxing and first impressions We've got the ASUS R50 for testing. Ben's done the...
2. Multi-touch comes to resistive touchscreens Jkkmobile points out an interesting video from Engadget that...
3. The most anticipated device, as chosen by the readers [poll results] Several days ago I put up a post asking which...

A company called Innovative Convergent Devices has put info up on their website about a new device called the Vega, which purportedly will be an Android 2.0 powered slate device which will come in your choice of size: 7”, 11” or up to a whooping 15.6”.

Check the specs (likely subject to change):

• Android OS
• 7/11/15.6” resistive touchscreen at 1366×768
• Nvidia Tegra (probably the Tegra 600 or 650, which are both Arm 11)
• 4 hour battery life
• 512MB of RAM
• 512MB of memory (expandable through MicroSD)
• Bluetooth and WiFi b/g
• Options for 2G or 3G data module
• headphone jack and webcam
• dual microphones
• accelerometer

And one other thing listed on the spec sheet that is rather odd: 262,000 colors (6-bit) which seems sort of low for a device that claims to be usable for HD content.

The press release on IDC’s site says that the device will be released through “Tier 1” carriers in the US, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, which should mean that the device will be subsidized. They are also set to show off a demo unit at this year’s CES (Jan 7-10) and hope to launch in the first half of 2010.

There is a lot of talk about the Vega being a “no compromise” product that consumers really want, however, I don’t know about you… but I’d call a slate device with no physical keyboard and a resistive touchscreen just that: a compromise. Your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

[GottaBeMobile]

Related posts:

1. The GiiNii Movit Mini Wifi Tablet Could this be considered a MID? Engadget has gotten...
2. Nvidia on Smartbook Operating Systems: WinCE best for now. This is a subject we discussed at length on...
3. UMPC or netbook? Can’t it be both? [video] An interesting hybrid device has cropped up at Computex....

Jenn over at Pocketables.net is getting ready to take a break from the site to become a new mother, but she isn’t leaving the internet empty handed as she goes. She recently got the Kohjinsha PA [Portal page] series convertible which might just be a device so ugly that only a mother could love it — yet still she managed to dish out a mini review of the PA series as her last post until she returns sometime next year. Jump over and have a look at the smallest convertible in town.

Don’t forget to check out the M1 size comparisons as well. I certainly didn’t realize that the PA series was nearly the same size as the UMID M1 [Portal page] until I did so myself!

Related posts:

1. New Kohjinsha PA series convertible MID/UMPC In interesting device popped up at JKKMobile yesterday. A new...
2. Sony VAIO P review roadmap I’ll be doing a review for the VAIO P...
3. UMID and Netwalker MIDs. Where ARM and Intel meet. The UMID Mbook (#11 in the charts today) represents one...