Heard of Ingenic Semiconductor? Us either, but they’ve apparently started shipping a new processor for UMPCs called the Jz4740. They’re appearing in 3K’s new RazorBook 400 series UMPCs and are apparently ultra low-cost and low-power. The $299 RazorBook 400 was discussed yesterday, but we didn’t have the detail we do now. The proc is new and could — in theory —… → Read More
According to UMPCPortal, these may be photos of the Acer Aspire One, a tiny laptop similar to the Eee, except that the first two E’s are replaced with the letters “O” and “N” to change things up a bit. The UI looks non-Windows-y, despite early reports indicating that Acer’s entrant would run XP. The UI shown above could be media center type software, though. → Read More
To quote the lovely and vivacious Susan Powter, “Stop the insanity!” Apparently ASUS is getting set to announce a 10-inch version of the super-popular Eee subnotebook on June 3rd at Computex 2008 in Taiwan. According to an invitation received by UMPC Fever, “ASUS is looking forward to welcoming you during Computex 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan, for the ASUS’ 08 Computex Trilogy of… → Read More
In an interview with UK site TechRadar.com, Samsung R&D engineer Jeongseon Euh said the following about his company’s plans for its third-generation UMPC… “We will refresh our design and upgrade our performance and specification. We will continue to invest in form factors. We will launch the 3rd generation of UMPC probably early Q1 next year.” Design and performance… → Read More
http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x5cxch Japanese news site, Akihabara, got a chance to play around with the Atom-based UMPC from Sharp and Willcom — called the D4 — that we told you about last month. “We have here a 1.33GHz Centrino Atom Z520 CPU (one of the first UMPCs on the market carrying it!) Windows Vista, 40GB HDD, 1GB RAM, a 5″ 1024×600 TFT touchscreen all in a… → Read More
Remember the original promise of the UMPC? We were told they’d be affordable, like in the $500 range. Then Intel’s Atom chipset was announced and we were told that it, too, would be affordable. Well, here comes one from Fujitsu for just shy of $1,300, available in Taiwan this July. It’s called the U2010. You’ll get a 5.6-inch rotating screen (I’d guess it’ll be… → Read More
Wouldn’t it be nice to have all your emulators and homebrew indie games in one place? And how about on a beautiful piece of hardware designed just for that purpose? The idea is similar to the GP2X, but the feature set is a bit more next-generation: 800×480 touchscreen, dual analog sticks and an SNES-style D-pad and buttons, plus a QWERTY keyboard. It’s got nice guts, too: its… → Read More
I can’t wait until more and more of these things come out and all of a sudden you go to a baseball game and see everyone sitting in their seats half-sideways with one leg all the way outstretched so they don’t damage the huge phone in their pockets. Ha! Anyway, that dream is coming to Japan in June thanks to Sharp and mobile carrier Willcom. The Intel Atom-based cell phone/pocket… → Read More
Dell will join the likes of Asus, HP, Acer, and whichever other computer companies jump on the tiny laptop bandwagon between now and June to offer low cost, ultraportable notebooks to the masses. Dell will be teaming up with China’s Compal Electronics “to launch low-cost notebook computers…as early as June,” according to a Compal official. June is going to be an exciting… → Read More
Oh boy, I can’t wait for May and/or June. That’s when we’ll see a whole slew of new tiny notebooks, including two low-cost notebook PCs from Acer — one with an 8.9-inch screen and one with a 12.1-inch screen. The price, according to Digitimes, will top out at $450. Yum. An ultraportable notebook PC with an Intel Atom chipset and a (relatively) big screen for under… → Read More
Got a nice little package yesterday containing the HTC Shift running on the Sprint network. I’ll be putting this thing through its paces next week at CTIA and will have a full review for you in short order. It’s a pretty cool gadget so far. If you have any questions about it, let me know and I’ll try to answer them for you. One weird quirk; it comes attached to a nice fold-over… → Read More
Let’s all think back to our Econ classes to the section on economies of scale, especially as the theory pertains to purchasing production materials in bulk. That’s what Acer’s able to do thanks to its sheer size and that’s the reason that its FOB price (free on board — total cost it takes to get one unit loaded onto a boat somewhere) for its Eee competitor will fall… → Read More
Coming to Korea in July is the MIU HDPC, which stand for Hybrid Dual Portable Computer. The “dual” part comes from the fact that it can run Linux Qplus or Windows XP/Windows CE 5.0 — which I’m going to read as Windows XP Embedded, but don’t quote me on that. She’s a brick-like beast but that just means there’s more to love. → Read More
[photopress:FUTFPCM21341.PNG,full,center] I’m in the minority that thinks UMPCs — or at least ultra-portables in general — are the wave of the future. The Internet needs to be mobile, and current laptops are just still too big. Even the MacBook Air, with its svelt design, is too cumbersome. The problem is, they tend to be pricey. Here, though, is a good deal, at only $850 after… → Read More
The success of the Asus Eee has prompted other notebook and ultraportable manufacturers to play catch-up and Samsung is attempting to do just that with an “education-focused” Q1 Ultra that’ll be available at the end of the month, according to Pocket-lint. The device will be available in the UK for £399 ($809.73), which is still £100 more than Asus new 8.9-inch Eee will cost. → Read More
[photopress:umpcroadmaphg4.jpg,full,center] The future of portable computing is going to involve UMPCs, there’s no way of ignoring that, and Intel is working on a pretty impressive roadmap that will take it there. Intel is set to launch the Menlow processor, which is an ultra-low-power platform with support for hyperthreading up to 1.8GHz, WiFi H.264 and MPEG2 built-in, as well as Bluetooth… → Read More
Here’s the Gigabyte M700 UMPC. It’s got a 7-inch, 1024×600 display and comes with 2GB, standard. It’s powered by a 1.2GHz C7-M CPU from VIA and uses Vista Home Premium as the operating system, so that 2GB of RAM will surely come in handy. It’s pretty compact and weighs only 1.43 pounds and is said to have two webcams, GPS, and a WiMax-capable ExpressCard. There’s… → Read More
Looks like HP may have decided to jump on the UMPC bandwagon. Yippee. Hopefully it doesn’t have a keyboard and costs, like, $1200. Ha! Hold the phone, CNET’s Darius Chang says it’s “likely to be competitively priced, much like the ASUS Eee PC.” I’m listening… Oh man, it gets better! Someone on HP’s staff told Chang, “you won’t even need… → Read More
Ceci n’est pas une Apple UMPC David Sieger is positing that Apple may or may not be working on a ultramobile-like mini-PC running Intel’s Silverthorne processor, a low-power processor that has discrete Mac SDK support. He’s also dug up some information on a device with a 5.2-inch touchscreen and 3G and, presumably, it will have to be launched six or so months before actual ship… → Read More
Micro-Star International sat gnashing its teeth as it watched Asus and Everex beat it to the punch with tiny notebook computers (which I’ll from this day forward refer to as “lapitos”). So what will MSI’s lapito have going for it? According to PC World, “MSI is working on a similar device for the ultra-low cost notebook market, using an extremely low voltage… → Read More
This is going to be an interesting year. A year when a whole bunch of Asus Eee-like 7- to 9-inch notebooks are going to start coming out of the woodwork. An Everex version is coming out in less than a week at Walmart stores and, of course, there’s the actual Eee itself that’s available now. But throughout the year, we’ll see even more options — some most recently reported… → Read More
Remember FlipStart? The brickey, Paul Allen-funded “super compact PC with the form factor that’s proven to work for mobile professionals” that some people thought might never come out before it finally launched last March? The price just got karate-chopped from $1,499 down to $699, making it a relatively affordable option for those of you looking for a really tiny computer. One… → Read More
I caught word from the VIA rep at CES that Everex would be offering a 7-inch Linux-based notebook at Walmart and then Nicholas followed up with the official word. Now we’re hearing that Everex will follow the 7-inch version (shown above) up with a 9-inch version some time in June and will aim to keep it under $500. The 7-inch version will cost $399 so it might be safe to say that the 9-inch… → Read More
Next to Everex’s Eee-killer, they had another product, more a prototype than anything, but with a similar form factor. This one has its baby touchpad in a more traditional spot, which made it look even more lonely and puny. It truly is only about as big as your “tab” key, though it works surprisingly well. → Read More
I found the VIA table last night, tucked way back in a corner and found out that Everex will begin selling an ultraportable Linux-based notebook similar to the one shown here. This one is from Packard Bell and runs XP — currently being sold in Europe — but the one we’ll be getting in the US within the next week or so will be manufactured by Everex and will run Linux. It’ll… → Read More
Here’s a little device set to hit the Korean market in about a month and possibly the rest of the world this summer, pending a distribution deal. It’s manufactured by Kaon Mobile and is about the size of a smaller UMPC, featuring a sliding screen similar to the Sidekick Slide. It’s a slick looking little machine that caught my eye quicker than a booth babe holding a box of… → Read More
SeekingAlpha has pieced together evidence of an upcoming Apple UMPC with that looks like an iPhone with not one by two home buttons on either side of the device. It is rumored to run on gumdrops and puppy whiskers and may cost $5 when it is finally launched at the Kingom of Arglebargle’s MacWorld Expo on the planet Flutterbutter. My strongest piece of evidence came from a trusted tipster… → Read More
Newegg.com has the 2GB Asus Eee PC available in black, blue, or pink for $299. Three-day shipping is available for around $10. This model is pretty similar to the 4GB version that’s been on the market for a couple months except that it’s got half the storage and no built-in webcam. ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf [Newegg.com] → Read More
Holy crap. Here’s an OQO for under $1100 after a $780 instant rebate. Hurry! OQO Model 02 UMPC [TigerDirect.com] via GottaBeMobile.com → Read More
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Disrupt Europe: Berlin Hackathon
Berlin, Germany
