What is the OQO Model 2+ lacking? [UMPC]

OQO model 2+ brought a heap of advancements when compared to it’s predecessor OQO model 2. But, many people were expecting a lot more from the the Model 2+.There is an ongoing talk going at oqotalk.com, where the people are discussing what ‘more’ that they expected from the OQO model 2+. Here is the mini-list:

  • Micro-SD slot: The microSD slot provides the users to easily move data from one device to another. People really yearned for this feature in the Model 2+
  • Front facing camera: Front facing camera is required to do Skype video calls and for other video conversations. People expected it to be a standard feature in the third generation OQO
  • Screen Resolution: The screen resolution has not gone any change since the first generation of the OQO. The WVGA resolution (800×480) is not enough for providing enjoyable web surfing experience. The resolution is simply not even enough to edit the office documents on the go. They should have upped the resolution to the 1024 x 600 to provide decent web experience to the people.

Although the inclusion of web camera would be a debatable issue as in some organizations, the camera-equipped devices are not allowed. But, the OQO should give that as an option rather than not offering it at all.

It looks like the OQO Model 3 will satisy those people.

Great news for Netbook manufactures – Windows XP to live to 2010+

Vista could not make a big splash in netbook arena due to it’s bulkiness. This paved the way for the Windows XP to live for even more years than Microsoft expected. Talking about Microsoft’s expectations, it expected the Vista to fully replace the Windows XP in each field, which actually did not happen.

Windows 7 may get available later this year or in the begining of next year and we have heard great things about the Windows 7 already. Netbooks like MSI Wind U100 are running Windows 7 Beta pretty nicely already. But, the Windows 7 takes nearly 9GB of storage space, which makes it immpossible to use on the MIDs and Netbooks, which come with small SSDs. That is the sweet spot for Windows XP, which has much less space requirements. Also, the drivers of components used with Windows XP are more widely available. That also reduces the overall price of the device.

[fudzilla]

Photos of 10-inch Acer Aspire One AKA Aspire One 103 – some analysis [netbook]

Well, that did not take long. Ever since we came to know about 10-inch version of the Acer Aspire One, we were very excited to hear more about it. Blogeee.net has posted few photos of the 10-inch Aspire One, which is now being called Aspire One 103. We did some analysis of the pictures and here is what we have to say: Acer did closely listened to the requests of people and almost all of them have been fulfilled in the Aspire One 103.

The new Aspire One 103 has left and right mouse buttons beneath the trackpad now although, the size of the trackpad still looks much smaller than the ASUS’ 10-inch netbooks like the 1000H. The keyboard has not gone much change as compared to the 8.9″ Aspire One, which already had a great keyboard.

The Aspire One 103 also makes the upgrading a lot easier than before. Now, you won’t have to take everything apart just to get access to the HDD or RAM. On the top-left, you can see the access door to the HDD. On the bottom-left, you can get access to the wireless card and on the bottom-right, you can find the RAM slot. We really appreciate that the Acer has made it easier for the users to change the HDDs. This will let the normal users to easily change the HDDs without sending them to the ACER service center.

The new Acer Aspire One will be powered by 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. Nice, that they did not go for the Atom Silverthorne 1.33GHz which seems to be adopted by many companies. Another noticeable change is that the second SD slot is now gone on the Aspire one 103. The 8.9″ Aspire one used to have two SD card slots.  This also indicates that there would not be an SSD version. Also, the RAM remains same at 1GB. The HDD capacity seems to be 160GB.

Stay tuned for more information on Acer Aspire 103!

[blogeee.net]

Viliv X70 – another Atom Powered MID [MID]

Atom powered MIDs seem to be on the rage now! Viliv has unveiled another MID based on Atom platform. It appears that most of the companies are now jumping from Arm-based architecture to Atom-based architecture.

It comes with Intel Atom Silverthorne (Z520) processor clocked at 1.33GHz and a 7-inch WSVGA display (1024 x 600). Although, it sounds a little odd, when engadget is calling this MID a handheld.

Here are it’s specifications:

  • Atom Silverthorne 1.33GHz processor
  • choice of SSD: 8GB/16GB or HDD: 30GB/60GB
  • Windows XP or Linux
  • 1GB RAM
  • optional WiMax module (mobile broadband)
  • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and WiFi b/g (no ‘n’)
  • Weight: 660g
  • built-in GPS (Sirf Star 3)
  • SDHC slot
  • dimension: 210(w) x 117(h) x 22.5(d) mm

It is nice to see that Viliv is giving Windows XP as an option unlike the Gigabyte M528, which has been giving a headache to it’s users in getting the XP working. Also, folks at Viliv claim that X70 would give upto 6 hours of battery life. That would be quite difficult to achive considering the fact that it is running on Atom processor and not on a ARM based platform, which is much more power-frugal. The inclusion of SDHC slot and Sirf Star GPS are nice additions.

[myviliv]

Installing Windows 7 on Fujitsu U810 or U1010 [UMPC]

Fujitsu U810 has been around for almost 1.5 years. Windows Vista on it’s 800MHz processor was not amazingly fast. This forced many people to switch to Windows XP or XP Tablet. Andre from katastrophos has posted the steps to install the Windows 7.

First of all, you need to download the Windows 7 BETA from Microsoft. Then, burn the ISO to a DVD and use an external DVD drive to install it via USB.

The Setup.exe on the driver CD will complain that the operating system is unsupported. To circumvent this problem, just start the setup in Vista compatibility mode:
Right-click on “Setup.exe”, “Properties” -> “Compatibility” -> “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” “Windows Vista”.

Install the drivers and utilities in following sequence:

Drivers
04. Button Driver
05. Camera Driver
07. Fingerprint sensor (driver)
08. FUJ02B1 Device Driver
09. FUJ02E3 Device Driver
11. Pen Driver
12. Pointer device driver

Utilities
03. Button Utilities
07. Fujitsu System Extension Utilities

The Auto-Rotation is not working at the moment. You have to do that manually. After installing Windows 7, you will get a Experience Index of 1.5. That is due to the processor. Score of rest of the components are ok for UMPC.

T-Mobile Germany to offer HTC TOUCH VIVA as T-Mobile MDA Basic [Windows Mobile]

T-Mobile Germany has released the HTC TOUCH VIVA as MDA Basic. As usual with the other T-Mobile MDAs, while the specifications do not change, but the outer body shells do change quite a bit. Here are the specifications of T-Mobile MDA:

  • Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
  • TI OMAP 850 201MHz processor
  • 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM
  • quad-band GSM/EDGE
  • Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
  • 2.0 megapixel camera
  • 2.8″ QVGA (240 x 320) touch screen
  • microSD slot

Although 3G has not been included in MDA Basic (unlike TOUCH VIVA), it is still a great buy at €4.95/month for a 2 year contract.

[T-Mobile shop link (german)] [google translation]

CTL 2go Convertible Classmate PC review [Netbook]

The 2GO Convertible Classmate PC was announced just a few days back. Although it is named as a the classmate PC, it has the specifications of the latest netbooks. It goes one step ahead and incorporates a touchscreen too! Folks at laptopmag have got one for review and they are quite impressed with the Classmate PC.

The CTL 2go Convertible Classmate PC is one of the first netbooks to employ touchscreen technology successfully. Its sleek skin over Windows XP simplifies program launching, and preloaded applications allow kids to take full advantage of the tablet’s functionality. While its $499 price is slightly higher than most 8.9-inch systems (a similarly configured Acer Aspire one costs $379), its smooth tablet implementation and durable chassis make the 2go Convertible a great educational tool

Pros

* Hassle-free tablet experience
* Attractive touch interface
* Built-in accelerometer
* Durable design
* Good battery life

Cons
* Keyboard not big enough for adults
* Sluggish hard drive
* Underside gets very warm

Here are it’s specs:

1.6GHz Intel Atom 270 processor
1GB RAM
shock-mounted 60GB HD
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
6-cell battery
8.9 LCD screen (1024×600) with accelerometer
supports stylus for touchscreen navigation
resistive touchscreen technology.

Time to play some (freeware) Games! [Windows Mobile]

All work and no play makes Mr Jack a dull boy. True, the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro are both great business tools, but they have got great gaming capabilities too. aruppenthal over xda-devs have compiled many freeware games meant to be run on HTC TOUCH DIAMOND and HTC TOUCH PRO (Fuze included) all into a single cab file! The fize size is of 15MB and can be installed on a storage card.

Click here to download all the games at once

Games included:
Navtetris by Baldo DONATE
Net Hack PPC by M Stephenson
All Mobile Mines by BinaryFish
Battleship by Steve Belczyk
Chess by Valentin Iliescu
Clickball by INFO
Connecting Jigsaw INFO
Crosswords by Eric House
Cubicle Chaos from Microsoft INFO
Dope Wars by Jenifer Glover INFO
Hearts
ICBM by Geoff Macdonald
G-Invaders by ageye DONATE
Rubik
Tangled Bugs by XflibINFO
TripYzee by Tim C.
Caver by Ageye DONATE
Diamond Beer v2 by cgeboers
Sensory Overload by Koush
Pocket Uno by OrangaProgramaro INFO
Pipes by Xflib INFO
Sudoku by Xflib INFO

If you like some game(s), you may consider donating directly to the developer of that game. The donation link are given adjacent to the name of the game.

[xda-devs related thread] [via wmpoweruser]

Samsung NC20 details and specifications leaked (along with it’s user manual!) [Netbook]

Samsung is going to roll out a new bigger-than-netbook device, NC20. Samsung seems to be following the path of Dell by coming up with a netbook with 12.1-inch display. Well, you may wonder if it is so big, then why are we still considering it as a netbook. The reason is the specifications. Samsung UK has already put up a page for downloading the NC20’s manual.  Here are the quick specifications of NC20:

Samsung NC20 details and specifications leaked

1.3 GHz VIA Nano U225 processor
12.1-inch display
160 GB Hard Drive
1GB RAM
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
3-in-1 card reader
1.3 megapixel camera

Update: not only the user manual, I can also see a BIOS update too!

Related Samsung NC20 webpage [engadget]