Mini Amilo on the way.

With all the hype around the Ultra Mobile sector it’s no surprise that every man and his rusty dog is jumping on the band wagon. UMPC’s sales are predicted to eclipse those of laptops and PC’s combind by 2011 - that’s a whole lot of hardware.

So, into the fray steps Fujitsu Siemens Computers with a mini Amilo offering. The new device will be unveiled at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin later this month.

The mini Amilo will be powered by Intel’s Atom processor and run Windows XP (I don’t which version yet but hopefully not Home Edition). Prices of about £300 are being touted so it should easily be within the budget of most buyers. Users will be able to choose a number of differently coloured clip-on casings - a pretty crap idea if you ask me but in reality feature has been added to keep prices down.

More details will be disclosed at IFA.

There’ll be some info available over here at this UMPC news site.

Popularity: 26% [?]

We’re all on the move.

According to figures, laptop sales are set to peak this year whilst PC shipments will grow by 15.2%.

Many of the big manufacturers think that notebooks will bring them real returns with HP alone launching ten new laptops.

But don’t forget the low cost market. This sector has seen a 40% jump in international shipments with the likes of Asus leading the way. Predictions for the ULCPC and UMPC market suggest that this sector is going to be hot over next few years.

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Sub-notebooks galore.

In an apparent attempt to boost flaggins sales Acer has announced the launch of its ‘netbook’. Basically, the Ultra Mobile PC has been designed to compete with the Eee PC and HP2133 in a market that is reported to become the next big thing in hardware sales.

The Aspire One is a Linux based device offering WiFi and an 8Gb Solid State Disk - not great storage features but likely an attempt to keep the price low. WiMax and 3G models are expected to follow shortly after the initial launch.

The Aspire One should make its debut on 10th July 2008. Prices range from £199 for the Linux variant, featuring  an 8Gb SSD, to £249 for the Windows XP model with an 80Gb platter disk. Hmm, I can’t wait to try this out when it hits the market.

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Is your desktop a dinosaur?

I don’t about you but I haven’t used a desktop for a long time now. I have one as a test machine. It’s not exactly gathering dust as I still use it to run test on MySQL and PHP. But more recently I’ve been doing more of this work on my laptop. Virtualisation makes life so easy - no more dual booting or trying to repair your boot records. Looking at a report just released it seems that more and more people prefer using a laptop.

Forecasts suggest that late 2008/early 2009 will see notebooks sales exceed that of desktops. That’s not to say that the desktop market is dead. Sales are expected to grow for several years more but only in single digit figures. The current economic climate isn’t helping either.

Why the move?

Do you have a desktop? How much room does it take up? How easy is it to show friends photos or ‘home made movie’? I know there are plenty of sites, such as Flickr, that allow to share media but I’m sure you know someone who doesn’t have a computer - no jokes about the Stone Age. Owning a notebook, or any other mobile device, gives you huge flexibility. Add in one the many mobile internet packages such t-mobile ‘web and walk’ and you never need be chairborn again.

Businesses also have a vested interest in replacing desktops. The trend appears to be moving to a more mobile workforce with ever growing numbers of employees working from home. So what is a company to do? Give the worker two desktops; one for home and one at work? Or a laptop? Not long ago the price of a notebook would have seen employers favouring desktops. The advent of ULCPC and MIDs has changed that view.

I’m going to dust of my desktop - it’s need some TLC and assuring that it’s not going to the great mainframe in the sky…well, not just yet.

Popularity: 57% [?]

It feels like every man and his dog is making an EEE clone these days and it makes sense. Cheap, light and small laptops are the future of portable computing and Microstar International (MSI) are entering the fray with their somewhat amusingly named “Wind”.

Somewhat bigger than the Asus EEE and with more customisation options, it incorporates either an 8 inch or a 10 inch TFT screen and a decent looking keyboard.

It looks like it will be based on the Intel Shelton platform, with processor speeds ranging from 1GHz to 1.5GHz, 1Gb of RAM and a choice of solid state or conventional hard drive storage. It will support (and presumably ship with) Linux or Windows and battery life is claimed to be around 7 hours, although that sounds somewhat optimistic.

While still a prototype MSI has been showing off several differently coloured versions, all of which look pretty good and will likely reflect the usual high MSI quality.

Prices are anticipated to range from £250 for the cheapest model up to £550 for the all singing and dancing one.

Frankly, I can’t wait!

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But only in limited numbers.

In April Taiwanese manufacturer Asus announced that the EEE PC 900 would be available in Britain on 1st May. True, it is available but only from selectedsmaller outlets. Large online stores and high street chains don’t appear to have received any units. The shortage would appear to be industry wide with Dixons stating that the devices are available for pre-order through PC World. However, some retailers have suggested that the Asus ULCPC will be in stock from 3rd May - we’ll see.

Tech stuff.

The 900 will see some major improvements such as a larger, higher-resolution screen, a multi-touch touchpad plus beefed up storage. The keyboard is still the same so no joy for my fat fingers.

I’ll give you a full review once I get my grubby mits on one. Stay tuned.

Popularity: 57% [?]

Sets target on business market.

Dell has decided that it’s time hit small businesses with its latest offering in the form of a redesigned Vostro. Here’s a listing of features in the latest models:

Security features.

• The Vostro 1310 and 1510 laptops have integrated fingerprint readers, cable lock slot, and factory-installed McAfee Total Protection for Small Business security software.
• Trusted Platform Module 1.2 is available - prevents unauthorized access and reduces the threat of data theft.

So it would appear that security is becoming a more pressing concern for businesses. Companies now seem to be preferring laptops to desktop machines which stands to reason. Mobility is a key factor for many organisations; attending client sites, home working and mobile internet access are fast becoming the norm for many business sectors.

Apparently, Dell has stated that customers also want thinner and lighter machines. I don’t think they took that one to heart as you’ll see. Enough of my rambling, on to the details of the 1500 model.

The first point to note is the graphics card: Nvidia 8600M GT. Apparently, it’s been included with a view to catering for web developers and CAD applications. I used it for gaming! Can you blame me?

The 1.8 Ghz Core Duo and 2Gb of RAM are more than adequate for the default install of Vista. They also made my Ubuntu installation fly! Add the 160Gb disk and that should give you enough space to store plenty of MP3’s and movies.

Do you remember my comment about size and weight? Well, the Vostro weighs in at just over 3kgs with the following dimensions: 368 x 270 x 42mm. Strap it to your back and walk up big hills, you’ll be fit in no time.

Surprisingly, the battery lasts for over 4 hours (but probably over half the weight of the laptop!).

Another downside is the screen. 15.4″ is great but the 1280 x 800 resolution quite restrictive. You can always upgrade to the 1440 x 900 version for just an extra £40.

Not a bad offering. The Vostro could do with being a little lighter and slimmer but you have to remember that this is a bargain basement model. Ideal for small businesses looking for low cost laptops.

Current price is around £400. Lower spec models start at £169 +VAT.

Click here to go to the home page.

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How much?

As yet, I don’t know. But, in the grand tradition of Aldi, you would expect it to be cheap. Prices are expected to be announced the day before launch.

Here’s the lowdown on the Medion:

• 15.4″ TFT WGA widescreen
• Intel Dual Core CPU
• 320GB hard drive
• 3GB of memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 9300M G PCI-Express graphics
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Digital TV tuner and integrated webcam
• eSATA port
• HDMI Interface
• DVD re-writer

…and a nice bag to carry it in.

Check your local Aldi store on 8th May.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 49% [?]

MacBook Air sparring partner.

Are you ready for slim line goodness from the Lenovo stable? Well, read on. This year, it’s become apparent that Apple’s MacBook Air has been setting the standard for lightweight notebooks. I agree that a laptop without a DVD drive can be a pain — cue the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. The latest addition to the ThinkPad X range incorporates the best of the MacBook Air. But wait. There’s more. The X300 has an abundance of features: a DVD burner, WiFi and GPS. Do you want more?

Touchy, feely.

The X300 comes in its instantly recognisable black, square-edged case so beloved by many users and weighing in at 1.3kg to 1.6kg (depending on your choice of components). It’s has to be said that this is the sleekest ThinkPad yet. The major downside to this offering is the price tag: starting at about £1,876 and then moving upward from there (did you really think it would be cheap?). That said, the 64 Gb solid state disk adds a fair chunk to the cost but should see disk failure instances greatly reduced.

Aside from the notebook’s dimensions, the layout will be familiar to Thinkpad user. The blue IBM button and the keyboard light are still there. Some nice little features have been added: the mute and power buttons produce a pleasant afterglow when pressed!

The bezel includes a 1.3-megapixel webcam and a microphone for web conferencing. The native 1,440 x 900 resolution is clearer than that of the MacBook Air and other notebooks with a similar sized screen.

The keyboard is the same size as found on other 14″ and 15″ Thinkpad models so no more problems for my sausagey digits. Having used some of the other X series models I can confidently say they weren’t designed for big hands. P.S the little red rubber trackpoint mouse is still there. Have you ever actually used that?

Mobility features such as 3G/HSDPA, WiFi and even GPS will ensure that  mobile workers have a range of connectivity methods no matter where they are (don’t quote me on that. I know there are still some places in the UK that are still comms dead zones, such as my work place!).

The Thinkpad X300 is an exercise in minimalism. Inside the lean chassis there’s an Intel SFF Core 2 Duo (clock speed has been toned down a little) and 2 Gb of  RAM should keep all but the most hungry of applications happy. Enough to give the MacBook Air a run for its money? If you said on, consider this: the X300 has two added USB ports, an Ethernet port and a DVD burner. And, even with a solid state disk, still comes in cheaper than the Air.

Love you long time.

If you slap a six cell battery on the ThinkPad X300 you be able to hit amid 3 and 4 hours working time, depending on your setting preferences. Ok, the MacBook Air lasts longer but it doesn’t have a DVD drive and, if more juice is needed, you can buy an extra 3 cell battery that fits into the drive bay. I know that doesn’t give you a full days working but, really, how often do you find yourself away from a mains supply?

All this and a warranty?

Err, yes and no. In conjunction with Lenovo moving to a built-to-order model they have dropped warranty times to a single year! It’s not great and I can imagine many businesses will be cautious when considering Lenovo notebooks. Well, either that or they’ll negotiate some cut-priced extended warranties.

Trimming the fat.

Now that Lenovo has proved that ultra slim coupled with standards found on traditional laptops can be done you won’t be surprised to see other vendors following suit.

alms built-to-order systems, the aggregation has alone the baseline assurance for ThinkPads to a distinct year. The preloaded apartment of ThinkVantage applications helps users troubleshoot problems, and Lenovo’s abutment web armpit includes the accepted troubleshooting topics, disciplinarian downloads and user guides.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 26% [?]

ULCPC love fest is go.

It would appear that Dell is keen to get into the low-cost PC market. Unconfirmed sources has suggested that the world number 2 computer vendor will be launching their own product sometime around the summer. It has been suggested that Compal Electronics will be shipping 200,000 - 300,000 units to Dell per month. In light of EEE PC sales it seems unrealistic that Dell will not join the market. Add in competition from HP, Aces, Everex and MSI and the whole game might get very interesting.

Come back soon, we’ll keep you updated.

Popularity: 30% [?]