Via NanoBook takes aim at ultramobile market
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(InfoWorld) - Via TechnologiesÂ has developed an ultraportable notebook reference design that will soon hit European markets. The Via NanoBook, which will be unveiled Wednesday at the Computex exhibition, uses the company's 1.2GHz C-7M processor and has a 7-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) touchscreen and Wi-Fi. The small notebook PC is intended to ship with either a 30GB or 60GB hard disk, and can run either Windows XP or Windows Vista. The notebook weighs less than 2 pounds, or 900 grams, and has a battery life of up to five hours. The NanoBook is aimed at the same market as theÂ Ultramobile PCÂ (UMPC) reference design developed by Microsoft and Intel, but has different specifications. For instance, the UMPC is designed around an Intel microprocessor and does not include a full keyboard. Via trails far behind Intel and Advanced Micro DevicesÂ in the microprocessor market and is counting on reference designs like the NanoBook to win more business from hardware vendors, said Richard Brown, the company's vice president of corporate marketing. The strategy appears to be working. On Sunday, Taiwanese contract manufacturer First International Computer (FIC) leaked details of a NanoBook produced by the company. That device is being made under contract for Packard Bell, which will put the device on sale in Europe during the third quarter, according to a source familiar with the deal. A similar device will be made for sale in the U.S. but will not be sold under the Packard Bell brand, the source said. Via's NanoBook reference design includes at least one feature that will not appear in the device sold by Packard Bell. Because the screen is smaller than the notebook's lid, there is space for a removable module that sits next to the display. Via has developed three modules that can be changed by users to suit their needs. These modules include a world clock, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone, a DVB television receiver, and a 3G (third-generation) cellular module. Â
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Banners hanging at&#160;Macworld Expo&#160;on Monday read, &quot;2008: There&#39;s something in the air,&quot; suggesting wireless news to come in CEO Steve Jobs&#39; keynote Tuesday morning.Faster cellular service for the iPhone is already on its way later this year, AT&amp;T&#39;s top executive reportedly said in November, but Apple could go beyond that plan and extend high-speed wireless WAN (wide-area network) capability to its MacBook notebooks and even a rumored &quot;ultramobile&quot; computer.Many consumers have been clamoring for more speed on the iPhone since it was announced a year ago with support only for Wi-Fi and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), a version of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) that generally runs below 200Mbps. U.S. iPhone carrier AT&amp;T Wireless and other operators around the world already have a set of faster systems called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) that can deliver more than 1Mbps.At the same time, wide-area wireless has been moving into PC notebooks and smaller PC-like devices. The big notebook vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, and Hewlett-Packard, have rolled out products with built-in 3G. And the Asustek Computer Eee PC and some other small UMPC (ultramobile PC) devices are slated to ship with WiMax.Apple hasn&#39;t made the leap. Mobile Mac owners can hook up to Wi-Fi hotspots but have to buy dongles or other add-on devices from third parties to get fast wireless elsewhere. Offering a built-in 3G card would give MacBook users access to broadband in far more locations.However, that leap would take Apple into a market that hasn&#39;t attracted a large percentage of notebook buyers, analysts said.At least in the U.S., 3G radios are associated with a particular carrier and usually sold along with two-year data contracts. Users keep notebooks longer than they do phones and don&#39;t want to lock them down to a particular carrier, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. In addition, many notebooks are purchased by enterprise IT departments, which demand more flexibility, Golvin said. He doesn&#39;t expect to see another iPhone phenomenon.&quot;I don&#39;t think that laptop users would be as interested in aligning themselves formally with one particular carrier,&quot; Golvin said. One alternative would be to build in a chip that could handle more than one carrier and 3G technology, he added.Avi Greengart of Current Analysis believes Apple&#39;s proven ability to streamline could change the picture.&quot;They have not been in the forefront of 3G on notebooks. However, it wouldn&#39;t surprise me at all if they came out with a simplified offering that just made a lot of sense and became the catalyst, as the iPhone is,&quot; Greengart said. Apple simplified the iPhone experience for customers by sticking with one carrier and letting subscribers sign up with AT&amp;T through iTunes.Apple could also jump-start the market by offering an alternative to the expensive monthly service model that carriers typically use, said Gartner&#39;s Ken Dulaney. Most consumers don&#39;t travel frequently enough to justify spending US$30 or more per month for cellular service on their notebooks, but they might be willing to buy a system with built-in 3G and pay for service as they need it, he said. Verizon has a little-known offering like this, in which users can pay $15 for 24 hours of service, according to spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.Because of its greater mobility, a rumored Mac that&#39;s smaller than a notebook but bigger than the iPhone would be an ideal candidate for 3G. If the company unveils it on Tuesday, that product could lead Apple&#39;s new wireless charge.But that &quot;something in the air&quot; could be a number of other things, too, analysts said. Apple is expected to make its SDK (software development kit) for third-party applications on the iPhone available next month, Greengart said. And the iPhone could gain GPS (Global Positioning System) capability, or some iPods could get Wi-Fi, he said. As always, it&#39;s all speculation until Jobs speaks.&#160;
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Taiwan&#39;s BenQ is showing off a new user interface on an ultramobile PC that it plans to start marketing in the second quarter of this year, a spokeswoman for the company said Tuesday.The device is being displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as part of BenQ&#39;s new mobile offerings. It was first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.BenQ has taken on the new moniker coined by Intel, &#39;mobile Internet device (MID)&#39; for its new gadget, a name that appears to be replacing the term &#39;ultramobile PC.&#39; Ultramobiles have so far not fared well in global markets, despite a much hyped launch and&#160;backing by heavyweights such as Microsoft and Intel.BenQ&#39;s MID sports a Linux OS, but the company tweaked the user interface to work more closely with its functions. Although full details have not yet been released, the company has said the MID is equipped for wireless Internet use via Wi-Fi, or with 3G (third generation telecommunications) networks, which also enable voice phone calls.The Linux OS was developed by China&#39;s Red Flag, but BenQ customized the interface to make its MID unique, said Jean Hsu, a BenQ representative.The MID also features a 4.8-inch touch screen, 0.3-megapixel Web cam, and on board sensors that minimize and pop up all open Windows when you shake the device, instead of making you touch each tab individually.BenQ&#39;s MID uses Intel&#39;s Menlow set of chips, which includes a low-power microprocessor code-named Silverthorne and a chipset codenamed Poulsbo. Intel designed Menlow for ultramobile devices.Companies are developing ultramobile PCs and MIDs in a bid to attract users to device slightly smaller than notebook PCs, but with full PC functionality. Some analysts see the devices as the PC industry&#39;s answer to smartphones, but point out that many ultramobiles do not include telecommunications functions. BenQ&#39;s new MID does include telecommunications capabilities with its 3G support.
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The mobile phone maker will support tiny data storage devices and their multimedia cards.
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There's something in the air -- a new ultrathin laptop from Lenovo that some observers think could become the first major competitor to Apple's MacBook Air.
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A U.S. patent granted to Apple on Thursday seems to support reports that the company is working on an ultramobile PC to compete with Microsoft and its hardware partners in that market.The patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines &quot;a docking area configured to receive a portable computer,&quot; according to the filing. Apple and the legal firm of Van Pelt, Yi and James LLP filed the patent application on July 3, 2006.According to the patent, the docking station will serve as a monitor for a portable computer and also enable connections between data lines and devices and the portable device when it is docked in the station. It also will enable the portable device to communicate with the docking station using Bluetooth and IEEE 80.2.11 wireless connections.Rumors have been swirling that Apple is working with Intel to use a new generation of ultramobile processors as the basis for a new line of devices, but so far the companies have not confirmed that. Microsoft released a Windows-based ultramobile PC platform code-named Origami in 2006, and some of its hardware partners, including Sony and Samsung, have released devices based on the OS. So far, the devices have not garnered widespread interest from customers.Apple&#39;s interest in an ultramobile PC would make sense based on the popularity of its iPhone device, which was released last June and was widely hailed as the best gadget of 2007. The iPhone has a user friendly interface with the ability to check e-mail and surf the Web, so it would not be a stretch for Apple to move into the market for devices that fall somewhere between the iPhone and notebook computers.Apple did not reply to requests for comment about the patent Thursday.
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NEW YORK - Coming soon could be a wireless broadband world in which consumers get to pick any smartphone or other device and load any software on it - not have to take what the wireless carrier wants to sell.
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Packing every possible whiz-bang feature into an ultra-thin, portable, electronic device seems to be the standard business model for cell phone makers [see BusinessWeek.com, 12/4/06, "Upward Mobility"].
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New at CES: the 45-millimeter LG60 LCD, an ultramobile PC, and mobile broadcasting device.
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One-inch media storage drive marks a step forward for convergence of mobile devices.
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Mobile version of Intel Core 2 Extreme is coming soon in high-end gaming notebooks.
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The Mobile World Congress is seeing the introduction of a wealth of gadgets to meet needs and desires.
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'Oakville' mobiles going out to PC makers
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Asustek's upcoming U2E ultraportable has a leather-bound case and a 32GB solid state drive.
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Powerful computer processor will be modified for mobile devices.
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Via Technologies unveils the NanoBook, an ultraportable notebook that can run Windows Vista.
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By Liu Baijia  China is likely to unveil the first ultra mobile PC using domestic microprocessor technology with chip design technologies transferred from the US firm AMD, posing challenges to companies like Intel.