Gigabyte M912 screen tech. Latest info.

I know there are quite a few of you out there waiting for the M912 so rather than post this update in the forum, I thought I’d air the info here . If you’re waiting to push the button on an M912 but can’t decide what information is correct about the screens, here’s the latest word from Gigabyte.

For M912V/X which is 1280×768, the LCD back light is using “Inverter technology”.

For M912M which is 1024×600, the LCD back light is using “LED back light technology”

The info comes direct from Gigabyte and is the same as I heard before. The reports of LED-backlighting on the 1280×768 X/V models look to be incorrect so if you want the best battery life and, potentially, a cooler running system, wait for the M model. I havent confirmed if the T model (DVB included) comes with 1024 or 1280 screen yet.

Latest information on the X/V models is here. And on the M model here.

News flash: M version to get BT upgrade at Mobilx.

3G Enabled X110 Netbook breaks into new price bracket.

Before I give you an update on some other netbook news happening this morning, allow me to highlight the LG X110 that has been given an outing in Berlin at the IFA today.

Its all pretty standard HDD/XP Netbook stuff here with the exception of the built-in 3G module and the price.

When the HTC Shift and Q1b came out in 2007, they were two of the cheapest 3G-enabled PCs available at around 1200 Euro. Previous to those two, you’d have to look at the LG C1, P1610 and Flybook V5 for 3G and think about dropping 2K for the privilege. Today, with the X110 it looks like you’ll be getting 3G capability for just 399 Euro which I personally find too cheap to believe.

The information comes from The Register who also report that the X110 has a 10″ screen, 160GB of HDD (nice for media storage) and will be available in October.

However..

Eee PC news also reports that a ‘top model’ will be available for 499 and may have GPS and Engadget report prices between 399 and 499 with 120GB, 6GB SSD, GPS and HSDPA options.

Before you make those 1000H vs MSI Wind decisions people, you need to wait for final specs and price confirmation on this one. Check our X110 product page for details as we update them.

Source: The Register.

33 Menlow MIDs. Not bad for your first year, Intel

…assuming they all reach the market of course!

By my research and calculations I see 33 design wins for the Intel Menlow MID platform. We’ve seen a lot from the likes of Benq, Willcom and Gigabyte in the last 6 months but there are a number of MIDs out there that have been very quiet and aren’t in the database yet. Here’s a list with as much detail as I know at this stage. Information comes from various sources. They are all based on Silverthorne and Poulsbo. (Menlow platform)

• KJS/Inventec - X5 MID. Linux, 4.8″ 800×480, 512Mb, 30/60GB, HSDPA, GPS - (This is possibly the Yukyung/Viliv S5, AKA X5 Atom.)
• KJS/Inventec - S32 - Linux, 4.8″ 1024×600, 1GB, 2GB/4GB flash,  GPS
• abit (USI) MID-100 - Slider - previewed at CeBIT
• abit (USI) MID-150. 8GB Flash, 4.8″ 800×480, GPS [Spec sheet here]
• abit (USI) MID-200 - Slider, 4.8″ [news here]
• Arbor Gladius G0710. Rugged tablet. 7″ screen. [news]
• TriGem Averatec (TriGem is the new parent company) MID - 512MB, 30GB, 4.8″ 1026×600. DMB, Wibro. Looks like its Asia-focused but Averatec are a global brand so maybe we’ll see this outside Asia.
• Nexcom - MTC2100. (Industrial tablet)
• OQO - No real news at this stage. [IDF news]
• Clevo TN70M, TN71M - Notebook style, 7″ 1024×600. [More news]
• LG Xnote B831 slider, 4.8″. [details]
• Samsung [listed at CeBIT]
• Hitachi [listed at CeBIT] Likely to be automotive device. [news]
• Toshiba [news] mini tablet.
• TabletKiosk i7300 [news]
• NEC [from this list]

Note the new KJS/Inventec ones (although they could be variants of these Inventec devices) and the Averatec MID. We’ll keep them on the watchlist and let you know if we hear anything.

In addition to the quiet ones, we have Panasonic CF-U1, EB MIMD, Gigabyte, BenQ S6, Aigo MID, Viliv S5, ASUS R70a, ASUS R50A, Sharp Willcom D4, Lenovo Ideapad U8, Fujistsu U2010, Kohjinsha SX3, Viliv S7, Digifriends MID, Wibrain i1, Kohjinsha SC3, Clarion.

33 design wins is amazing for a CPU that launched only a few months ago and I’m not even including the 10-15 development and industrial boards that are out there based on Menlow!

Sources: UMPCPortal archives, an IDF photo and this anonymous list on iii.

Albatron Tee - yet another Windows CE tablet

The device was apparently first announced at Computex. I don’t recall reading any news on it but it did make me laugh. Just look at the headline:

Albatron’s “Tee PC” is all that you need with not an inch to spare

As the article on HotHardware.com mentions, it comes out of the box with Windows CE 6.0 and everything you need preloaded: WordPad, MediaPlayer and Internet Explorer…right. The device has both WiFi and Bluetooth, weighs 343 grams, has a 400Mhz ARM926 processor, 128 MB of RAM and 128MB of flash memory. On the device itself there is an SD card slot, a camera, and a headphone jack while the included docking station has two USB ports, built in speakers and line in/out. Assuming you can get a good time-telling application, it would make for a decent bedside alarm clock

Quick Update: The dimensions are 18.8×11.3x 1.3 cm, and the screen is 7 inches. 

Source: HotHardware.com

Samsung SSDs aiming for low cost PC market.

Forget the low cost PC market Samsung, there’s a million people out there that could benefit from a bit of SSD love on their daily compute.

"We’ve refined our manufacturing techniques and redesigned our low-density SSDs to get what the @low-priced PC market is looking for in the way of improved cost"

What I suspect is happening here is that Samsung have designed a product that can be made in the millions for direct sale to netbook OEMs. You might find these on Ebay at some point but don’t expect them to be easy to get hold of for the average punter.

"Samsung’s new MLC-based SSD at 32GB capacity will read data (sequentially) at 90MB/s and write it (sequentially) at 70MB/s – performance levels much greater than low-density SSDs on the market today. The 16GB reads at 90MB/s and writes at 45MB/s, while the 8GB reads at 90MB/s and writes at 25MB/s."

VIA GottabeMobile. Source AkihabaraNews.

Gigabyte’s Mobile TV netbook coming soon! M912V/X now shipping.

Now that I have your attention, take note that the M912V and M912X are now shipping. Mobilx have a quantity on 912V’s awaiting customs clearance and the X versions will leave Taiwan in a few days. Go get em!

The pic comes direct from Nvision where The Tech Report got some hands on.  They seem to be impressed but question the battery life. Commenters there also question the price but when you consider the fast disk, hi-res screen, PCI-Express, easy access to card slot, disk and memory and the convertible touch feature, I cant see that there’s really much to moan about. This is a netbook that reaches into the pro-mo (sorry, prosumer-mobile) sector.

In the article you’ll see a reference to a new digital TV-enabled version which is probably why they’re at the Nvision show. We’ve just had news of that too from Mobilx. It will be a M912M with DVB-T module know as the M912T. Availability is planned for Oct but frinal price in unknown. Budget for something like a $70-$100 premium. This will be the first time we’ve seen a UMPC or netbook with integrated DVB module in Europe and with that fast S-ATA drive and the good media capabilities, raw MPEG-2 recording in direct digital from the DVB stream is going to be easy, making a great multimedia recording and playback system. SageTV should work a treat on this so fingers crossed for a built-in IR receiver, TV-out and remote control. Or will they ship with Vista for the media center? I hope not. I was going to get the M912M but if the 912T is running XP, I’m definitely going to wait for it. Stay tuned for more details.

Details and news for the M912 models here.

Fancy pants, Orb announce products for Moblin MIDs

Last week I listed 10 important ISVs that are working with Intel on Moblin-based software. Gypsii, Move Networks, Fring and a bunch of others. Today, you can add two more to the list; FancyPants and Orb.

FancyPants is a GUI development system. Announced in a press release that I missed last week you’ll see that they (that’s FST - Fluffy Spider Technologies) develop an API and software suite for implementing graphics and media-rich GUI solutions. Up until now, OEMS have had to employ the services of software houses to ‘finish’ the existing Moblin, Ubunti and Asianux stacks but this could help them turn around nice designs at lower cost and with a shorter time to market.  They’ve also produced a demonstrator running on the Compal JAX10 (Gigabyte M528, Aigo MID) which you have to take a look at here. Its smooth! I certainly wouldn’t mind having a bit of fun with this on my MID! [Article continues...]

MSI Wind is (Probably) the best Netbook for you.

I think that completes my hands-on with almost every netbook out there (*1) and I’ve decided which one is the best for the average customer. Its the MSI Wind with XP and 80GB drive.

Over the last week I used it (in Medion Akoya form) alongside a Kohjinsha SC3 costing twice as much and its been a superb portable all-rounder. So much so that on the third day of IDF, I left the SC3 in my room. The SC3 works well most of the time but after a number of Bluetooth failures, Vista lock-ups, drive thrashing and a lack of processing power for Skype operations, it became too risky to rely on it. The Wind took over and performed flawlessly.

While I was at IDF I also got the chance to test out the Aspire one, G10L and Eee 901 and neither of them really seemed to offer anything special over the MSI Wind. The Aspire One, a previous favorite of mine, seemed to have a lower build quality and have a lower quality keyboard, the 901 has an even worse keyboard. The G10L isn’t available! Don’t get me wrong, none of these devices are bad and I doubt that any of them would actually disappoint. For all-round table-top use though, I can’t find any faults with the MSI Wind.

Many of you will cry ‘battery life’ of course and yes, that is a consideration if you’re 2-hours away from a power socket but the reality is that in the table-top usage mode, there’s nearly always a power socket nearby. Be careful to remember I’m not talking about ultra mobile computing here and I’m also talking objectively. The MSI Wind is not the best device for my usage scenarios but it’s likely to be the best for most people. I’ll talk about my own requirements again soon (In short I think I’m going to go for a Gigabyte M912M + Gigabyte M528 until I can test a Raon Everun Note and Viliv S7 that may replace both early in 2009.) but for most of you out there, if you’re thinking about a no-fuss do-it-all netbook, the MSI Wind with XP and HDD is the one that should be at the top of your list.

More information, images, links to reviews and news articles on the MSI Wind.

(*1) I haven’t personally tested the HP 2133 but I know from other peoples testing that its not the best device out there. There are processing limitations that cause problems with some higher-end apps like Skype. The keyboard and design is good but it needs a processor boost before it becomes a flawless device in my opinion.

P1610. Huge price cut in Germany.

Has anyone else in Europe spotted a massive price drop on the Fujitsu P1610? For about two weeks the prices have been at the 800 Euro mark. which is about a 50% discount over previous prices.

The P1610 is a well-respected ultra mobile workhorse. Good build quality, hi-res screen, fingerprint reader, heavy-touch screen for reduced vectoring, PCMCIA slot and extended battery capability. It runs XP TE and Vista Business (dual-boot as I understand it) on a Core Solo processor at 1.2Ghz and weighs 1.2KG which is the same as an MSI Wind or Eee PC 901. At its previous price of over 1600 Euros it was out of reach for most people but at 800 Euros, its a different matter.  [Article continues...]

Lenovo S10 order page up and ready

Have you been anxiously waiting to order the new Lenovo S10 netbook? Now’s your chance: the order page is up on the Lenovo website. Available for $439 in your choice of red, white or black. Order now, ships in October.

Ideapad S Series order page.

Asus N10 - The high-end EEE

This new model is approaching the thin line between netbooks and notebooks. I guess thats why Asus chose not to release it under the EEE brand. Or perhaps they realized people are getting confused having so many EEE models around. Whatever the reason was, this new model sure has some unique features: there is a new glossy black and silver case which looks great, a 10 inch 1024×768 1024×600 screen, Altec Lansing speakers, a fingerprint reader, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and an HDMI out. Thats a pretty impressive list of features for a device that is supposedly only going to cost 400 euro. No mention of processor speed or type, but it will probably be an Atom. Blogeee speculates that it might even be dual-core. At least thats what I understand from my limited French

via Blogeee.net (click link for more pictures)

IDF Ultra Mobility keynote clips

An OQO playing world of warcraft, flash 10 on an MID, an image manipulation application, a floating GUI and a very cheesy intro video! Higher quality version here. (WMV) Full Ultra Mobility keynote video and slides available at the Intel IDF site.

ClarionMiND Mobile Internet Device. Images and Video presentation.

I spent some time with the Clarion guys yesterday and we talked a lot about the ClarionMiND (one word apparently!) which is a mobile Internet, navigation and entertainment device aimed at the dashboard! The unit is Atom-powered, comes with a nice user interface, basic holder (not the docking station you see in the video) and has various options including accessible PCI-Express Mini slot for 3G or WiMax, camera and double-capacity battery. It’s coming to the U.S. market first (next quarter) and we might see it in Europe early next year. Video after the images…

Kohjinsha SX3 unboxing. 8.9" convertible with DVD.

JKK has the Kohjinsha SX3 UMPC. Its an 8.9" convertible touchscreen device running Windows Vista on the Atom Silverthorne processor at 1.3Ghz. As a package it looks good although wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to remove the DVD and put a battery in its place. I also have a few reservations about Vista on 1.3Ghz having used the SC3, a smaller version of this running the same CPU/OS combination. JKK’s unboxing video is below.

Keep any eye on JKKmobile.com as I think he’s going to run a live session later. Unfortunately i’ll be traveling back from the U.S. so I won’t be able to join in.

Click the icon for more info on the SX3 (specs, links, news, gallery)

Archos releases new “Internet Media Tablets”

So yet another name… This time with the wonderful acronym IMT. Anyways, these new Archos devices are running on ARM Cortex CPUs, come with 5 or 7 inch screens, WiFi, and hard drives ranging from 30 to 320 gigabytes. These will also be running Opera with Flash 9 support and have lots of codec support. Most interesting is the 5g model which will include HSDPA. If you are looking for a media player with internet support, this is probably your best choice. Be on the look out for more information.

Via Pocketables.