Rumor may have it that Inventec have slashed R&D for MIDs, but that doesn’t appear to have prevented development of this clamshell Android device. The Inventec N18 (on the left) is a 250g mini-notebook running Google’s Android OS, with a 528MHz processor (the same as inside the HTC Hero, we’re told), a 4.8-inch WVGA touchscreen and WiFi.
Video demo after the cut
Many have accused Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) as being gadgets in dire search of a purpose, and despite Intel’s push for the segment the talk out of Taipei is that the ultraportable touchscreen handhelds are having a difficult time finding traction among manufacturers. DigiTimes is reporting that several companies originally signed up to Intel’s Mobile Internet Device Innovation Alliance (MIDIA) have axed MID development, while those manufacturers who have actually shipped devices have only done so in numbers described as “very weak”.
Remember Kohjinsha’s nifty dual-display netbook from CEATEC, that sandwiched two 10.1-inch displays together for some extra-wide Windows 7 productivity? Another video of the netbook in action has emerged, courtesy of DigInfo, and if the sight of beautifully engineered sliding LCD panels makes you weak at the knees, well, sit down before you hit the jump.
Video demo after the cut
Intel have rolled out plenty of mockups, conceptual art, non-functional prototypes and fancy slides over the past few months to show us what Moblin running on a Moorsetown-based MID might look like, but we’ve had to wait until IDF this past week to get a decent sighting of the platform in action. MID Moves sat down with an Inventec prototype running Moblin 2.1; you can see their hands-on video after the cut.
Video demo after the cut
The latest DigiTimes rumors are in, and this time they don’t seem all that unlikely. According to industry sources in Taiwan, Acer’s F1 and HTC’s Leo – both using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz chipset – will each drop in Q4 this year, complete with Windows Mobile 6.5. They also finger ASUS and Inventec as developing Snapdragon-based smartphones, though those are unlikely to hit full-scale production until the first half of 2010.
It may not be quite as striking as Mobinnova’s elan, but that doesn’t mean Inventec’s Rainbow smartbook doesn’t have the same NVIDIA magic going on inside. CNET Taiwan caught up with the 10.1 inch, 1024 x 576 ultraportable, which uses NVIDIA’s 600MHz mobile chipset for lengthy battery life as well as copious wireless networking.
Earlier this week word slipped out from Acer and ASUS that N-series netbooks were on hold until the launch of Pine Trail in early 2010, with the two companies focusing on CULV “ultrathins” instead. Now it seems that they’ll have significant competition from HP, who are believed to have commissioned a new 11.6-inch machine that will go into production next month, with production of a 10.1-inch netbook revision beginning in September.
Intel has announced five MIDs (Mobile Internet devices) which will use the upcoming Moorestown platform, including the 5-inch Inventec “MediaPhone” spotted yesterday. Now confirmed as the Inventec X3, the device is the largest of the five new MIDs, which include hardware from CCI, EB, Quanta and Aava Mobile.
Live Quanta M1 MID image and video demo after the cut
Intel have been talking about their upcoming Moorestown platform, and demonstrating it with this Inventec MediaPhone. The device – a voice-enabled MID with touchscreen interface – runs a customized version of Moblin v.2; the bad news is this won’t be appearing on shelves any time soon.
Video overview after the cut (Updated with new video)
They may look like the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, but these slender netbooks are actually the first demo units of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon-based Eee PCs. Based on Qualcomm’s 1GHz super-chip, the ASUS models – actually thinner than the 1008HA – were joined by machines from Wistron and Inventec.
More Qualcomm Smartbooks after the cut
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