UMID promised a new MID for IDF 2009, and they’ve delivered on that promise. The UMID mbook M2 – seen here in pre-finalised prototype stage – gets a choice of faster 1.2GHz or 1.6GHz Intel Atom processors, together with 1GB of RAM (the M1 had just 512MB) and standardized ports.
Video demo after the cut
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It comes as no surprise that UMID are delivering the first look at their second-generation mbook MID at next week's IDF - after all, they revealed those plans back in August - but the big news is that they're promising a US launch for the new device by the end of the year. That could mean the UMID M2 discussed back in February.
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It's been some time coming, but mintpass have finally seen their mintpad 2.86-inch touchscreen PMP and WiFi internet tablet arrive for general release. The palm-sized mediaplayer boasts 4GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot, together with a 1.3-megapixel camera, audio, video and picture playback, and an ebook reader.
Having taunted us with one of the most alluring Android MIDs we’ve seen to date, only to reveal it was a mere husk intended to show off their 720p-capable HD chipset, Rockchip may slowly be working their way back into our good books. RAmos Digital are teasing an upcoming Android device for an event to be held on September 25th, and from the promo shot it looks to be exactly the same as the Rockchip concept.
Full specifications of the RAmos Android MID are unknown, though it’s unsurprisingly expected to be ARM based rather than using x86 architecture. It’s also tipped to support 1080p MKV (H.264/VC-1), AVI (Xvid/DivX) and various other formats, with bitrates ranging from 30 to 40Mbps.
MIDs are, despite the extra attention Viliv’s range has drawn to the segment, still very much a niche within a niche, but most of us can at least admire the hard work that goes into squeezing a full PC into a tiny little chassis. It’s with that in mind that we’ve been enjoying PC Watch’s comparison photoset of the Kohjinsha PM MID (aka the UMID mbook M1) versus Sharp’s PC-Z1 NetWalker.
ITG have launched a preorder page for their distinctive xpPhone, promising support for “the global three major 3G standards” from its integrated 3G chip. Still unpriced, the xpPhone has a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, AMD processor, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth, together with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Unlike most smartphones, though, the xpPhone runs Windows XP.
While Archos’ event this week was predominantly about their Archos 5 Android-based Internet Tablet, they couldn’t help but tease with another upcoming device building on Google’s open-source platform. The Archos Phone Tablet is, as the name suggests, a 3.5G-enabled version of the Archos 5, adding HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity to the PMP’s existing WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth.
It’s not quite the same as having a Viliv S7 here in our sweaty, bitten-to-the-quick hands, but we’ll certainly settle for an unboxing video for that vicarious, new-gadget thrill. As we commented the other day, several S7 units have been winging their way to reviewers worldwide, with jkkmobile and jkOnTheRun both receiving theirs this week. From the former we have an unboxing, while the latter has a live gallery and video demo.
Video unboxing after the cut
Importers Dynamism have released pricing and specification details for the Viliv S7, the latest ultraportable touchscreen device from the Korean company. Coming after the surprisingly popular S5 and well-received X70, the S7 adds a QWERTY keyboard and uses a more traditional netbook-style form-factor; according to Dynamism, when it drops in the US it’ll be priced from $629.
Room in your hearts for another generic Chinese MID? Shinchun Electronic Co. certainly hope so, because their UMPC-501 A actually sounds like it may eventually go on sale, unlike some of the OEM designs we generally see. The 5-inch WVGA touchscreen slate runs from a 1.1GHz Intel Atom Z510 processor, with between 8 and 32GB of SSD storage and 1GB of RAM.
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