Intel is betting on Moblin and the MID

I just had an interesting briefing on the Mobile Internet Device (MID) outlook that is driving Intel's strategy for their Ultra Mobility Group.  Intel is certainly enjoying the explosion in sales of the Atom processor that have come with the current netbook craze.  They are expecting netbooks to continue to be the hot sellers next year.

Intel is the one firm that has promoted the concept of the MID long before we began seeing any of these little computers.  They took great pains to explain that MIDs are still a big focal point of their strategy and that they fully expect them to take off soon.  They envision a selection of consumer focused MIDs that target particular usage scenarios.  They foresee MIDs that specialize in narrow uses such as entertainment, navigation and gaming.  They believe you'll be able to go into a big box retailer one day and buy a gaming MID.  They predict we should see a lot of new MIDs at the CES in January.

There is constant confusion about terminology where netbooks, MIDs and UMPCs are concerned and Intel shared their internal definitions for these categories.  They see netbooks as clamshell notebooks with a 7 - 10.2-inch screen that is "purpose built for Internet use".  MIDs are pocketable devices with a 4 to 7-inch screen that take a clamshell, slider or tablet form and are custom built for "Internet-based targeted usages".  These usages they define as productivity, entertainment, information or communications.  They stated repeatedly that they believe MIDs will focus on one of these usage scenarios in a given device and be sold as a consumer product in stores.

The Atom processor will be the processor that Intel will continue to produce for both netbooks and MIDs.  In 2009/ 2010 the next generation Atom, the Moorestown, will offer a 10x reduction in idle power consumption and add specific communications capabilities to aid in MID online performance.  Intel plans to continue working with a lot of third party OEMs and ISVs to help bring MIDs to the mainstream where they think it will go.  They have a strong backing for the Moblin Linux distribution and expect to see that become a major player in the MID arena.

Trigem UMPC breaks the $500 barrier

There's a lot of confusion about terminology when it comes to portable computers.  We've got MIDs, UMPCs, handhelds, netbooks, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!  Seriously, we tend to define  MID (mobile internet device) as a handheld that is designed to just work on the internet.  These usually have some form of Linux and a pretty UI to make that easier.  UMPCs on the other hand are defined as full computers that run Windows and while handheld they can do anything a Windows computer can do.  On a little screen that is.

One of the original criteria that Microsoft put on UMPCs when they first starting talking about them several years ago was that they'd cost less than $500.  We believe that the main reason UMPCs have never gone anywhere is because most of them that have made it to market have been far above that price point.  Now comes word out of Korea that Trigem (TG) is going to release a real UMPC for less than that magic $500 price point.

The LLUON Mobbit is Atom-powered and stuffed with a 4.8-inch touchscreen, 1 GB of RAM, 30 GB HDD (or 16 GB SSD), digital TV tuner, 2 MP camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and either WIMAX or WiBro.  It features Windows XP and as the promotional photos prove will easily fit in the hand.  The Mobbit will appear in 2009 and the pricing being discussed puts it coming under the $500 mark.  The UMPC may not be dead after all.

Import an Asus R50A UMPC for under $1,400

Earlier in the week we saw the Asus R50A on sale for 1,475 Euros and that time, the U.S. price roughly equated to nearly $1,900. Way too much these days for a UMPC. I still don't see Asus selling too many of these, but if your heart was broken by the massive price, how does $1,399 grab you? Still too much for my blood given other less-expensive alternatives on the market. Some might be more apt to place an order at that price though, so hop over to Dynamism, which is where I saw this deal.

The 7.8 x 3.9 x 1.1 incher weighs 1.1 pounds and includes a DVD Rewriter, stylus, headphones, VGA cable, and a wireless keyboard, making the price package a little easier to swallow. The R50A is powered by a 1.33GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD drive for Windows Vista Business. It also sports a 1024x600 5.6-inch touchscreen, 802.11g, Bluetooth and integrated HSDPA radio for 3G connectivity. The big downer in my book is the 2600 mAh battery, but this isn't a device you're going to run Vista on all day in room without electrical outlets, is it? You'll need to chill out until just before Christmas for this deal: Dynamism doesn't expect to ship these until December 22nd, unless Santa can get the Elves to crank 'em out faster.

Asus R50A UMPC is shipping- if you can afford it

Kevin and I first got to see the R50A UMPC at the Asus press event at the CES last January and we were pretty impressed.  The R50A is the successor to the first UMPC from Asus, the R2H and what we saw was a genuine improvement in every area.  We have been looking for the R50A to appear in the real world all year but that didn't happen until now.

Informatic Center, a retailer based in Madrid, is now offering the R50A to customers and even have a video unboxing to try and open customer's wallets.  It might take more than that as the asking price of this UMPC is a staggering Euros 1475.  That's about $1885 to those of us in the US and that's just, well, staggering.  The R50A is equipped with a 1.33 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB of memory, a 32 GB SSD and integrated GPS but still, at that price you can get a lot more computer these days.  I'm afraid it's too little, too late for too much for Asus.

(jkkmobile via pocketables)

Another tiny notebook from UMID

A tiny clamshell UMPC has appeared from UMID that reminds me of the uber-small Fujitsu U810.  The Korean device has a 4.8-inch screen and a bunch of connectivity options including WiBro, WiMAX, HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth for starters.  Couple all of that with a 1.33 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM and up to 32 GB of SSD storage and this is a true little beast.  It's a bit too small for me but to each his own and I'm sure it will appeal to many due to it's cuteness. 

(jkkmobile via engadget)

Intel Atom powered Fujitsu UMPC arrives

I was thinking we'd soon have to retire our UMPC category but Fujitsu just gave it a stay of execution. The follow-up to the U810 UMPC is now available says jkkmobile and for $999 it can be yours. That's the starting price of a Windows Vista Home Premium handheld with a 4,200 RPM, 60GB drive. For another $300, you move up to Vista Business and a 120GB drive. From there, the differences end as both U820 models offer:

• 5.6-inch WXGA touchscreen display
• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
• 1GB of RAM
• Integrated webcam, fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth, WiFi (a,b,g & draft-n), and GPS radio
• Full, but small, QWERTY keyboard

Each also comes with a 4-cell, 5800 mAh battery and it's worth noting that the lower priced model reflects a $50 rebate. Personally, I'd like to see these devices come with a Windows XP license as well: some folks would prefer it over Vista for a mobile device with this CPU.

Acer Aspire One becomes DIY slate UMPC

Even non-fans of netbooks have to agree: these little notebooks are becoming more hackalicious by the day. Take the above homebrew UMPC for example. The creator cobbled this together with an Acer Aspire One and a touchscreen kit for a small but usuable slatebook. It looks like the touch display is grafted right into the AAO's cover so you can access it from the outside. A version of Ubuntu completes the device, which might actually be the first Intel Atom-based slate UMPC I've ever seen.

I don't see a mass market for a device in this form factor as demand seems to be non-existent declining these days, but hey: if there isn't a product that you like out there and you've got the know-how, make it yourself! For more visuals of the FrankenUMPC bits, be sure to check out todoumpc.

Ubuntu Mobile Edition: first look on a UMPC

Steve at UMPC Portal jumped on the Ubuntu Mobile image that was released earlier this week and first impressions show that it's a fine mobile computing environment. The actual image was developed specifically for the Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC, so you'll see that all of the device hardware is well supported: WiFi, the touchscreen, screen brightness, etc...

Canonical has been working on Ubuntu for Mobile Internet Devices for some time and they're now splitting their efforts: one team will focus on devices with displays in the 4- to 7-inch range, while another team will work on Ubuntu Mobile for 7- to 10-inch devices. Probably a wise move as the smaller devices will rely heavily on touch and therefore need to be optimized with finger-friendly icons and menus. I'm hoping to take a deeper look at Ubuntu mobile on my Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC in the near future as I'm curious how the working environment and interface compares with that of Windows XP and Vista. Is it better suited to a slate-style unit than its Windows counterparts? With just a short first look from Steve, it's difficult to say, so stay tuned as I'm sure he'll be sharing many more thoughts on the topic.

Folks that want to give this a go: you can run the Ubuntu Mobile image right from a USB or flash drive, so there's no need to wipe your current environment to try this. Just hop over to the project page to grab your image and get help.

OQO CEO resigns- founder stepping in

I noticed with interest a couple of days ago that GottaBeMobile reported that the CEO of OQO, Dennis Moore, resigned this week.  Moore is starting a new company but hasn't given a lot of information other than tendering his resignation.  GBM reports that founder and chairman Andy Popell is stepping into the CEO role vacated by Moore.  I have been thinking about OQO a lot lately as it's been a while since the release of the model 02 and there has been relatively little information about what OQO might be planning for the future.  This resignation news certainly leaves the company open to speculation about what is going on regarding the next generation handheld.  Let's hope they have something positive to report soon.  It is a bit odd that OQO has not issued an official statement about Moore's resignation, at least not that I could find on their web site.

Everun Note reviewed: portable powerhouse

UMPC Portal provides a thorough and detailed review of the latest UMPC offering from Raon Digital, the Everun Note. The device has a 7-inch touchscreen display, full keyboard and plenty of power under the hood with the 1.2 GHz AMD Turion X2, so how well does it work? Pretty darn good based on the review; the only performance issue that Steve seemed to find was Google Earth unable to run. As far as heavy-duty video and light gaming, the Everun Note passed with flying colors.

Aside from the smallish keyboard, the expected pain point is the battery life. That should be expected anytime you pair up a relatively powerful processor with a 20 W/hr battery. Steve figures that if you're using WiFi on the device, you're looking at up to 2.5 hours. There's an extended battery solution in the works, so between the extended and standard battery, six to seven hours of connected computing isn't out of the realm of possibilities. Looks like a nice little device if you're looking for something smaller than and more powerful than a netbook.