Android is slowly but surely appearing on a number of UMPCs and MIDs, but if you actually want to buy one – as opposed to just read about it – your options are still pretty limited. Over at jkOnTheRun our friend Kevin C. Tofel’s patience has expired and so he’s loaded Android 1.6 onto his Samsung Q1UP UMPC, courtesy of the Android-x86 project.
Acer have pushed a few new notebooks and thin-&-lights out of the door this past week, but their Italian arm have been saving something a little more special. The Acer Aspire 1820PT Timeline is an 11.6-inch convertible touchscreen ultraportable, packing a 16:9 1366 x 768 multitouch display, 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor and optional integrated 3G. NetbookItalia grabbed some hands-on time, and the 1820PT Timeline certainly looks
Further details about the expected Barnes and Noble ebook reader launch have emerged, this time courtesy of the Wall Street Journal who are claiming to have prematurely spotted a full-page ad for the device. They suggest that the dual-screen device will be priced at $259 and be called the Barnes and Noble Nook, which has to be one of the more ridiculous names for an ebook reader right now.
The Samsung i5700 Spica (aka Galaxy Lite) may still be some way off – early 2010, in fact, if the rumors are to be believed – but that hasn’t stopped some pre-production units arriving into hands early. ai.rs have managed to acquire a device and, after masking what we’re assuming is a carrier logo, have made a video preview.
Video demo after the cut
Remember the Barnes and Noble dual-display ebook reader spotted in concept form last week? There’s obviously something in the water, as Spring Design have just announced an ebook reader, the Alex, with both a 6-inch E Ink panel and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, based on Google’s Android platform and with integrated 3G and WiFi.
The touchscreen can be used to browse the web and grab clippings, which can then be viewed on the e-ink panel. Spring Design have also developed what they call Link Notes, a hybrid of traditional ebooks, clippings, multimedia and user notes. As for production possibilities, the company claim to be in discussion with “selected strategic partners” and “major content” providers, with a release expected by the end of 2009.
Storage is via SD card, and there’s a headphones socket and full smartphone functionality. Spring Design call the dual-display system Duet Navigator, and as well as being used to pull up related photos, news articles, media content and more, it will also aid in annotation and searches by offering an on-screen keyboard.
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Rumors about Korean firm mintpass' next-gen models have been swirling since the company themselves tipped a bigger, potentially up to 7-inch touchscreen and all-metal construction. Now two possible models have been identified by Moveplayer, who spotted the mintpad 7wise and mintpad WSketch listed on the company's website.
Launch details for ASUS’ long-promised Eee PC T91 with multitouch have been revealed, courtesy of Amazon’s preorder listings for the convertible touchscreen netbook. First demonstrated back in June at Computex, and officially confirmed by ASUS shortly after, the T91 Multitouch will officially go on sale come October 22nd, unsurprisingly running Windows 7.
We’ve mentioned the HTC Dragon a few times over the past week or so, with the rumored 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android smartphone – aka the Android HD2 – seemingly promising to answer any complaints users had about HTC smartphone performance. However, we’ve been yet to actually see the device in action; that may have changed today, with The Unlockr being sent some live photos of a mysterious, unnamed Android handset that could very well be the HTC Dragon.
With Verizon’s ad campaign for the Motorola Droid kicking off in earnest over the weekend, and a launch date of October 30th tipped, it comes as little surprise to see a pre-production handset arrive over at the BGR. They’re mightily impressed, too, calling the Droid “the fastest Android device we’ve ever used” courtesy of its TI OMAP3430 chipset, branding its capacitive display “awesome” and “huge”, and concluding that it’s “the Android device to beat”.
Plastic Logic have finally announced details about their ebook reader, which will launch as the Plastic Logic QUE at CES 2010 in January. The QUE has the largest E Ink display among ebook readers today, as well as a touchscreen interface, and Plastic Logic are aiming it at business professionals. QUE will be able to download ebooks from the Barnes and Noble store either via WiFi or integrated 3G (courtesy of AT&T in the US).
JP
