This is probably not as popular now (or ever, in some parts of the world), but people used to buy pocket electronic dictionaries. I haven’t spotted one being used myself but bookstores still carry a few of these things around, just in case.

With the roll out of UMPCs, gadgets of that size were quickly replaced by smarter, more powerful models. The reason I brought that up is because Sharp has a new device up, about the same size of the pocket dictionaries they make. The Sharp IS01 is an Android device that’s actually marketed as a phone though it packs enough hardware to be a decent UMPC.

Sharp IS01

• 5″ 960×480 multitouch-enabled screen
• 1GHz Snapdragon
• 4GB storage
• Android 1.6
• 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 1Seg mobile TV tuner, IrDA, 3G CDMA module
• microSD slot, 5.27MP camera + 0.43MP front-facing webcam, 5-row QWERTY
• Weight: 227g

That’s a lot of stuff to pack in a phone! The TV tuner is a nice touch, though it’s likely unusable in most places except in Japan where it’s almost a standard in all their phones. It’ll start shipping in the latter part of this year so don’t wait up for it.

source Engadget

Sharp IS01, a worthy upgrade to your electronic dictionary is a post from: Eee PC

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A sleek new Android-powered MID will be officially launched during this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and it comes from a little-known Korean company called Inbrics. It’s called the M1 Android MID, and it packs the power of a MID in the form factor of a proper smartphone. You could throw it in a box full of Nokia N97s and Motorola DROIDs and will be hard-pressed to tell the difference in device classification.

The Inbrics Android MID features a 3.7″ AMOLED touchscreen display, 800MHz ARM Cortex A8-based Samsung processor, sliding QWERTY keypad, 3MP camera, front-facing VGA webcam, 16GB internal storage, microSD support, GPS, WiFi, and 3G or WiMAX connectivity. What version of Android it will run at retail is still not determined, for its official release date hasn’t been pinpointed yet. But expect it to become available either late this year or early next year.

Via Pocketables

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Before I can even sit down and just revel at how open portable computing devices are nowadays, out comes this white little tablet computer with Google’s Android operating system and an empty cup of tea. Dubbed the Chinese iPad, this device features a 7-inch WVGA display, 600MHz ARM 9 processor, some buttons lined along the sides for input and a front-facing webcam — a luxury that even Apple’s famed iPad couldn’t afford. Speaking of which, it’s still not known how much this thing is going to sell for. But expect it to become available right around Chinese New Year.

Via GadgetMix

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Viliv, a manufacturer of MIDs, has an upcoming smartbook in the works. Details are sparse but from what jkkmobile has posted it has a 4.8″ 1024 x 600 touchscreen, Intel Atom (not yet confirmed if it’s Pine Trail), the usual WiFi, 3G and GPS as well as a keyboard on its clamshell design. That one is something new since all of the previous creations of Viliv are just touchscreen MIDs without keyboard. We’ll know more when they do the big reveal at CES.

Also teased out is a swivel display MID called S10 Blade with a more generous 10″ screen capable of HD.

via jkkmobile

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Sascha Pallenberg over at the Netbook World Summit discusses some of his predictions on the state of netbooks for the next year. Here are some of the highlights for netbooks:

• Netbooks at 250 euros or $300 with the new Intel Pine Trail processor.
• Linux start to get into more netbooks with the entry of Moblin and Jolicloud, as well as Google’s Chrome OS. This will really be tough for Windows 7 to go against for the netbook market.
• Tablets are going to be big, especially if the Apple Tablet pushes through.
• Netvertibles or tablet netbooks will also have their place if they are priced right and deliver performance similar to the more expensive tablet notebooks.
• Smartbooks will be very aggressive due to the low price they have.

I’m sure Sascha’s prediction will be on spot though currently we still need to see how those smartbooks and netvertibles will pan out. I’ve seen a few tablet netbooks and they still have to be at a better price point or else people will just pick regular netbooks. Also, those tablets better show up since I’m really itching to grab one.

via netbooknews

Netbook Predictions For 2010 is a post from: Eee PC

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Like netbooks, there seems to be plenty of UMPCs and MIDs to go around these days. And big-name PC manufacturers aren’t the only ones who contribute. Take this new 5.6-inch UMPC called the Shenzen HT560. Judging by its short list of specs, one can’t be faulted for thinking of it as ancient.

It’s got a 1GHz Via C7 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, two USB 2.0 ports, an on-board 1.3MP camera, and its screen has a resolution of 800×480. It comes with a slew of wireless connectivity options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS which will make it come off as modern, but it uses an ancient OS by comparison–Windows XP.

This will probably be quite wallet-friendly considering what you’re going to get, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be easy to get one outside of China. To make matters worse, a minimum order of 10 is required for every purchase. Oh well.

Via GadgetMix

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Here we have the uSmart M1C MID with it’s 4.8-inch WVGA display. But what’s interesting about this portable device is the fact that it is loaded with Intel Atom Z530 CPU. Something which not everyone are expecting. But anyway, the uSmart M1C MID is indeed a fully functioning handheld device complete with a GMA500 graphics, HDMI output.

The uSmart M1C MIC was displayed during the Hong Kong Electronics fair and was wieghed in at 0.5kg and comes with Linux, Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 options for OS.

It would have been great if the machine has a 3G module and Android OS as well but that may be asking too much from uSmart, especially since the M1C MID seems to be a working model  right now. No official statements are available yet about this MID.

via Slashgear

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While most people still haven’t even tried running Windows 7 on their precious little netbooks yet, Viliv will boldly showcase their S5 MID during Computex running Microsoft’s up-and-coming next-gen OS. Yes, a full-blown desktop OS on a teensy-weensy mobile Internet device. It’s going to be a sight for sore eyes, I’m sure. Or at least, I hope so. It sounds like a pretty daunting task, if you ask me. And quite an uncomfortable one, at that (running a desktop OS on a MID, that is). That said, I’m aware of the saying, “to each his own.” And I’ll be looking forward to seeing evidence of the Viliv S5 MID’s prowess (or lack thereof) with Windows 7 when it goes on display.

Via MyViliv

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While Archos jumped late onto the netbook bandwagon by releasing the 10-inch Archos 10 netbook a couple of months ago, the company looks like it wants to be the first one to come out with a full working Android Internet media tablet. At least that’s what one can gleam from Archos’s latest press invite for an event that is scheduled for June 11th in Paris. The fact that Archos is working on Android should be no surprise, given the popularity the platform has these days from open source software advocates, but it’s interesting how Archos has chosen to work on an Internet media tablet instead of netbooks like many other existing netbook makers. Perhaps they see more success in tablets, or less competition, or bigger profits. There are no clear info on specs right now, except what were announced last February by TI in a press release. We’ll have to wait for an official Archos announcement to get the full list of features.

Pocketables via Slashgear

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Back in March, it became public knowledge that a US 3G compatible version of the UMID M1 wasn’t ready for production yet. Fast forward to today, and full working models of the said mobile Internet device are already on their way to stores. Australia-based Justek will be among those who will sell the UMID mbook M1 first in stores, and a non-HSDPA version of the said machine was recently given to Pocketables for review by them. While we’re waiting for their full review, it would be a good idea to check out the outer appearance in full, as it is exposed nicely in a lot of unboxing photos. The packaging looks pretty neat and it contains just about every accessory/plug a UMID mbook M1 user would need. A crystal case is not included, though. To see the whole set of photos, navigate to the Pocketables unboxing post with the link below.

Via Pocketables

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