Filed under: Handhelds

Oh good, another marketing-speak change-up tossed our way from Intel. Apparently, the Centrino Atom naming convention is no more, leaving the in-house branded Menlow chipset used in MIDs and UMPCs essentially nameless. Atom, as you may recall, is the name of the Silverthorn and Diamondville-class CPUs. Got it? Of course you don’t. No worries, that’s why you’ve got us. You just focus on trying to understand the difference between MIDs and UMPCs and netbooks and ultra-portables and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Filed under: Handhelds

Aigo’s MID (more formally known as the MID P8860) just arrived in the anxious hands of UMPC Fever, and of course, it uploaded a number of photographs so we could all share in the joyous unboxing experience. Granted, you’ve already seen so many in the wild shots that you aren’t apt to be surprised, but we’re rather impressed with just how nicely everything was arranged inside of the subtle black box. We’d totally have to debadge it (is the Atom sticker really necessary… really?), but other than that it’s not a half bad item to have residing in your rear pocket. More shots in the read link.

[Via Pocketables, thanks Jenn]

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Filed under: Handhelds

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds

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Filed under: Handhelds

You might remember that little BenQ MID prototype which was doing the rounds at IDF and CES. Well, it looks like the folks at HQ have decided to get all official with the newly-repainted gadget — creatively dubbed the BenQ Mobile Internet Device — during another three letter party, MWC. According to the press release, the unit boasts a 4.8-inch touchscreen, 0.3-megapixel webcam, and “high-speed mobile internet access.” Interestingly, the company appears to be aiming for some fancy-shmancy gesture input, like sliding finger movements and the ability to shake the device to minimize windows — a feature which should notably increase the numbers of these which get thrown across a room. BenQ still hasn’t given any release date or expected price on the Menlow-based device, so don’t start any breath-holding competitions just yet. There’s one more press image after the break, if you haven’t seen enough (and we suspect you haven’t).

[Via jkkmobile]

Continue reading BenQ’s MID gets official-er, can be shaken like a martini

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Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Our eyes may still be slightly out of focus from the complete lack of sleep obtained while at CES, but the two Inventec UMPCs purportedly going by 7-A / 5-D sure look a heck of a lot different than the model we peeked in Vegas. As you can glean from the image above, the UMPC 7-A sports a nifty slider design that supposedly places the QWERTY keyboard at a “more natural angle” for the user. As for the so-called UMPC 5-D (shown after the jump), it ditches the aforementioned design and takes a more modular approach to satisfy those who just adore buying a new dock for every handheld they own. Regrettably, we’ve no hard details surrounding the specs of these two machines, but we doubt we’ll have to twiddle our thumbs for too much longer before finding out.

[Via Pocketables]

Continue reading Inventec’s UMPC 7-A and 5-D get pictured

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Filed under: CES

It looks like Lenovo isn’t the only gang of techno-hooligans launching an MID this year at CES — word on the street (and in official PR) is that BenQ’s entry to the relatively new category will be making a showing before you know it. According to the company, the device — which we’re thinking is going to be the purple number we saw Intel demoing back at its Developer Forum in September — will feature a 4.8-inch display, WiFi, 3.5G (such as HSUPA), and will be driven by (surprise!) Intel’s Menlow platform. The device will apparently consume less power than a UMPC (as expected), and will carry a price tag that will likely bend closer to a smartphone than a laptop. Info is scarce right now, but we suspect all will be deliciously revealed this week — stay logged in.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Laptops

We suppose it was always inevitable, but things are about to get quite interesting at the intersection of cellphone and laptop processors. According to Intel, Apple has apparently committed to using the company’s 45nm Silverthorne chip in multiple products slated for 2008. The chip offers the processing power of second-generation Pentium M processors, with the power consumption of a cellphone chip. Of course, it’s not just the processor. Apple is expected to emerge as a major supporter of Intel’s whole “Menlow” Mobile Internet Device platform, which packages processor, graphics and connectivity into a small enough bundle to give iPhone-powering Samsung a run for its money in ultra mobile products — and Intel has made it clear that it has its sights set on that very member of Apple’s lineup wit. The best news for dreamers that’ve been holding out for a true Newton successor all this time is that the chips provide plenty of juice for a UMPC-type device should Apple choose to go down that path.

[Thanks, Mark]

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