Are you one of the many Americans waiting for the official arrival of UMID’s M1 MID in local stores? Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, the M1 definitely is coming to the U.S. in the future. The bad news is, it’s not going to happen right away. This is according to information gathered by Pocketables, who say UMID’s plans for a U.S. release for the M1 MID are still underway, however, a version of the said device that’s compatible with U.S. 3G networks still isn’t ready yet. It could come in the next few months, or it could come next year. Bottom line is, you’re gonna have to wait awhile if you’re in the U.S. and want to get yourself a UMID M1. And that’s the truth.

Via Pocketables

While this netbook will definitely not be able to pull out any magical gadgets out of its breast pocket, it does look cuter, if not cooler than most other netbooks. It’s a Doraemon-styled mini-notebook PC (OK, a netbook, if you don’t want me trying too hard) from a company called KuroKids, which should be able to bring joy to any child’s face, provided he doesn’t break the thing within five minutes of him getting it in the first place. Only 800 units of this cute netbook will be made available, with each costing roughly $487 USD each. Yes, now that you know the price, it isn’t as cute as it was five seconds ago, no? No word on a release date outside of Taiwan, but it’s likely that this will be sold exclusively in that part of Asia.

KuroKids via X-Gadget via Portable Monkey

If Russian site Mobile-Review’s editor Eldar is to be believed, we won’t just see ARM’s multi-core Sparrow processor on netbooks by 2011, but also on Nokia’s very first Linux-based MID. Pictured above is a mockup the guys at Unwired View did of the device, which is said to be a multi-slide keyboard and display equipped computer and cellphone hybrid. Its keys are small, diamond shaped and elevated, and they change with every application running on the device’s display. All this is based on info Eldar spewed after he got the chance to play with a prototype in one of Nokia’s closed booths at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona. He also revealed a bit of the juicy stuff, but there’s surely more to know that he just won’t say. It would be interesting to see how Nokia’s final, finished product turns out. We’ll be giving updates on this as we get them, but for now, check out the sites linked below for more info.

Via Electronic Pulp and Unwired View

The UMID M1 is a MID that looked quite formidable on paper. We already told you about its pricing info, but now Slashgear has some hands-on photos of the device and has also dropped a few first impressions. From photos, the UMID M1 looks much like a cheapened Sony Vaio P, and as it is made of plastic the look and feel also reflect that. Unfortunately, its $500 price doesn’t seem to jive with that, so the UMID M1 may find it hard to land on potential customers’s hands. For a better understanding of how the UMID M1 works and how it performs, head on over to Slashgear for their full story on the MID.

Via Slashgear

The Sony Vaio P was built to run Windows Vista right out of the box, so installing and running Windows 7 on it is a no-brainer. But what about Ubuntu? I’m sure a lot of users out there will want to see Ubuntu in action on the Vaio P, and find out what does or doesn’t work, so if you’re one of them, pay attention here and continue reading.

Overall, it is said that Ubuntu version 8.10 is snappier and faster, with startup time clocked in at 1:45 seconds and shutdown time pegged in at 15 seconds.
Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a new netbook (or sub-laptop as it’s labelled) in town if you live in the UK, in the form of the PicoBook Pro from Apricot computers, a British company with a long history in computing.

This new Apricot netbook is basically a variant of the Cloudbook and features a VIA processor (a fast, ultra-low voltage 1.2GHz version), an 8.9 inch screen, either Linux or Windows XP as an operating system, 1GB RAM, support for WiMAX, bluetooth and a 60GB hard drive for storage.

The PicoBook will cost £279 for the Linux Version and £328 for the version running Windows XP. It will be available on the 1st of November although, you can preorder it now ready for shipping on the release date.

via

Deja vu? Well, perhaps but, several sites have reported that the Dell Inspiron Mini will be launched at the beginning of September. Gizmodo, Blogeee and EeePCNews.de have all reported that the Inspiron Mini will be released on the 5th September, the 7th in France and the 9th in Germany respectively.

Hopefully, the information is true. There are other reports that there will be a Dell announcement sooner than any of those dates but, that isn’t confirmed either, we are still lacking the definitive release information from Dell unfortunately. All the indications are that the Inspiron Mini will be with us sooner rather than later though.

Everex Japan have announced the company’s latest two UMPCS, the CloudBook CE1220J and the CloudBook CE1221J. The difference between the two machines appears to be that the CE1221J will come with an extra battery.

These two CloudBooks will be about the same size as the previous 7 inch CloudBooks but will come with a 8.9 inch display with a resolution of 1024×600. They will also feature a VIA 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of Ram, an express card slot and a 60GB hard drive running Windows XP.

Here’s a summary of the specifications:

* Graphics: VIA(R) VX800
* Display: WSVGA 8.9-inch TFT color LCD touch screen (1024 × 600 pixels)
* Card Reader: 4-in-1 card reader (SD / MS / MMC / Ms Pro)
* Audio Ports: 1 x headphone / line out jack, 1 x microphone in jack
* Dimension: 230(W) x 172(D) x 33-41(H)mm
* Audio Ports: 1 x headphone / line out jack, 1 x microphone in jack
* Dimensions: 230(W) x 171(D) x 29.4(H)mm, under 0.97 Kg w/ 4 cells Li-Ion battery / 14.4V 2200 mAh DKP
* Accessory: Modular Webcam (VoIP Handset optional)
* Webcam: 1.3 megapixel

Via: CloudBook UMPC

Over on the MSI Wind.net forums new photos have been posted of the FTEC eBook. For those who haven’t read our previous story, the FTEC eBook is a rebranded ECS G10IL with a difference – the ‘flame’ design that FTEC have added to the case.

The below photos show off the smooth design of the FTEC ebook.

On release, the FTEC eBook is expected to be priced in the region of $625. There is also a possibility that a 3G wireless modem will be included in the price. Via: Liliputing

Asus has now ventured into Cloud Computing for its Eee users. Cloud Computing has been a matter of increasing doubt these days, but is supposed to be what Google is trying to do. Cloud Computing just being like an application server tends to provide outsourcing of applications and files on external servers and services. For Netbooks, UMPCs, but also MIDs smart-phones this is of immense sense to be in place. Google has been doing the same kind in its Docs, where many users can instantaneously work on the same file.

Asus also now want to be a part of this concept of Cloud Computing and proclaims it as the “Future Technology” as per the The Eee PC News. Asus will be providing 20GB of online storage space for its Eee users, and a simple drag and drop interface for your files to download. Proving a fast wireless or 3G UMTS network for this service is certainly a good opportunity for the users to avail.

But here also comes up a point of information security, which is somewhat well handled in Google Docs, which should be focused on more to make this venture successful. Google reads well known appropriate content from their huge advertising base of their Adsense network. Asus will have to make an way out for this to be suitable for them.

As the Taiwanese DigiTimes reported, ASUS now has Eee storage and Eee Download Service. Eee already provides download files and programs and is going to support playing music and other content as soon as possible. In near future they are going to improve that service through the concept of Cloud Computing and making it more familiar to its users. But you know where the hook is? Eee download is now only for the Chinese market.