Isaiah's Tech

We've been hearing about this "smartphone" for over a year now and it looks like ITG has finally released the xpPhone to much less-than-mediocre fanfare. The 3G model with Windows XP Embedded is available right now for $732, the 3G model will cost you $798, and there's even a model going for $666 which does not have 3G and runs DOS instead of Windows XP. I don't think anyone should really be interested in this one because it's not that big of a deal unless you want some sluggish performance. Check it out on the official website here.

[Engadget]

Acer is just about to release their latest netbook, the Aspire One D255. This one sets itself apart from most netbooks out there by dual-booting the Android OS and Windows XP. Unlike the rumour we heard in early July, the Aspire One D255 netbook doesn't feature a dual-core Intel Atom N550 CPU. Instead, Acer has decided to stick with the industry standard Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz CPU. Other specs include: 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB HDD, and a 3-cell battery (optional 6-cell). This netbook will cost you NT$11,900 (around $375 USD) when it hits the shelves.

[Engadget]

Early last month we heard about the Asus Eee PC 1201K netbook and the full spec sheet has just been mentioned. This netbook is going to be sporting a 12.1-inch display with a 1,366 x 768 resolution, an AMD Geode NX 1750 1.4GHz CPY, 1GB of RAM, WiFi b/g/n / Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR support, 160GB / 250GB / 320GB HDD options, a 0.3MP webcam, VGA / two USB ports, a card reader, audio jacks, a 6-cell battery, and Windows XP Home. As you can see from the spec sheet, it's a netbook on the lower-end of the scale - judging from the CPU, OS, and the amount of [DDR1] RAM. Look out for it to quietly hit the shelves soon.

[Netbooked]

After many months of waiting Amazon is now reportedly shipping the Asus Eee Keyboard PC! It's going for $599 if you want to order one (here) and you should have already memorized the specs by now. We've been hearing about this keyboard for a long time, so nothing in there should surprise you. Not even the 5-inch multitouch capacitive display running Windows XP Home.

[Engadget]

What you see here is the Shenzhen HT560 UMPC, which actually looks familiar - but more on that later. This UMPC sports: a 5.6-inch touchscreen display, a VIA C7 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, two USB 2.0 ports, a 1.3MP camera on the back and on the front, WiFi / Bluetooth / GPS support, and Windows XP. You can find this somewhere in China for the equivalent of around $421 USD.

One question though, isn't this a rebranded Owl iMPC A10 from back in April. The specs are nearly - if not - identical.

[Engadget]

Well, it definitely looked a bit more desirable in the concept photos that popped up a couple of weeks ago. Today, there are more specifications on this "phone" from Viewsonic. We already know that the VPC08 has: an external 2-inch display with a numeric keypad, an internal 4.3-inch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 2MP camera. In addition to all of that, it looks like it will also be outed with: 512MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, an Intel Atom Z500 800MHz CPU, Windows XP, and just a 1,200 mAh battery. This may not be enough seeing that it's running Windows XP and wants to be a phone - but it's more like a UMPC to be honest. It even makes the Nokia N97 look puny as you can see in the picture below.

[Pocketables]

If you go on the ITG xpPhone's official website there are a couple of new options like putting Windows 7 (and MS-DOS) on this "phone" as an OS and you can also add in dual GSM/CDMA support. There are also other sizes for this "phone", there's the standard 4.8-inch touchscreen display and also 4.3 and 7-inches. The resolution of the display is 480 x 800 resolution or you can also upgrade it to 1,024 x 600. Check out all of the options on their website now.

[Gizmodo]

Viewsonic has just announced a new and large "phone" that will run full-blown Windows XP. This is the VPC08 and it features: an Intel ULV CPU, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, a QWERTY keyboard, a 2MP camera, and an external 2-inch display with a numeric keypad which is pictured below. However, it'll be available for $800 when it launches - likely just in China - and, uhh, yeah.

What is the point of these large MID-looking devices - but they're apparently phones - running Windows XP. You know, like the xpPhone. This phone reminds me of the BYD Mars handset that we saw back in April.

[Engadget]

I'm pretty sure this is the first look we've seen of the ITG xpPhone showing off its UI - besides the default Windows XP wallpaper. It's been available for pre-orders for a while now, but if you've been behind then check it out here. Check out either link below to see a couple of UI pictures. Specs are below.

Configuration
• CPU: AMD Super Mobile CPU
• Memory: 512M/1G
• SSD: 8G/16G/32G/64G
• HDD: 30G/60G/80G/120G
• LCD: 4.8' TFT Touch-screen LCD 800*480
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA (HSDPA/HSUPA)
• CDMA/CDMA2000 1X/CDMA1X EVDO,TD-SCDMA，TD-HSDPA
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g,WiMax(optional),Buletooth,Stand-alone GPS
• Camera Specifications:CMOS, 300k/1.3 Million
• Ports: 1 x earphone jack, 1 x microphone jack,Docking Connector (includes VGA output signal ), 1 x USB 2.0, SIM Slot
• Battery: Removable Lithium-ion
• Talk time: about 5 hours,Stand by time: about 5 days
• Real life: about 7 hours(Standard), about 12 hours(Large)
• Talk time: Standby time，Operation time may vary depending different usage.
• Weight: 400g (include battery)

[Engadget Mobile, Gizmodo]

Android groupies, recjoice! That Acer netbook that will dual-boot Android and Windows XP is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon. Other than that, everything else is typical: a 10.1-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, integrated GMA 950 graphics, 1GB of RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g, and a 6-cell (5800 mAh) battery that will supposedly last 9 hours. It's now available for pre-orders for $349.99, so check it out here.

Update: As you can see, this netbook is the Aspire D250 and they'll also have another model available with Windows 7 pre-installed.

[Netbooked]

We're hearing rumours of Acer's dual-booting Android and Windows XP netbook again. This time we're hearing that the Aspire One will be the netbook with the dual-booting options. This netbook is rumoured to be available next month (November) and could cost around $350 USD.

In related news, yes we are hearing that netbooks with Chrome OS could be hitting the Chinese market as early as this month, but the big names out there are going to take their time and we expect them to launch their netbooks in early 2010.

[Gizmodo, Liliputing]

[Gizmodo]

We've already heard about Microsoft's "ballot screen" for European users in order to choose their browser in Windows 7. Well, Microsoft has just mentioned that Europeans will also get a chance to choose their browser in Windows XP and Vista as well. The browsers on the "ballot screen" will only include ten different browsers that have over 0.5% market share. I'll tell you more about it when it officially launches.

[Engadget]

I'm sure you remember Acer's Android netbook that's being dual-booted with XP (here and here). DigiTimes has just reported that Acer is launching this netbook in August. This will be the world's first Android-based netbook, but at this point this release date is still a rumour.

[Engadget]

If you didn't read the title yet, prepare to be disappointed. The Asus Eee Keyboard PC that was supposed to be available by the end of this month is now delayed until August. Not much is known about the launch. We still don't know which model will be available at launch - Windows XP or Moblin or both? And we still don't know the exact price tag that will be pegged on this well-thought out designed keyboard PC. But, we  are hearing that it could be around $400 USD. We'll see what happens when August comes around.

[Engadget]

At Computex, the Mtube II netbook / tablet was shown off. And yes, I'm sure you have no clue what I'm talking about. If you take a look at the picture above, you will see a netbook. The good thing here is that you can actually remove the screen, if you want to use it as a tablet. The sad thing here is that the netbook version is running on a VIA C7-M CPU, which is considerably slower than the Atom CPUs out there.

When used as a netbook it will be running Windows XP and when used as a tablet, it will be running Android. Another sad part though is that, when used as a tablet, it will be running on another VIA CPU (unspecified model). One last sad point is that, when used a netbook, the base is connected to the detachable display using VNC, "so video performance isn't going to be all that great." This is a very interesting design and I hope that some big names out there can utilize this design in some of their future models. Windows 7 netbook + Android tablet in one? Sounds like a win to me.



[Engadget]

Since many people don't like change in this world, this should be good news. Consumers should be happy (I'm not) that Acer's first Android netbook (that will launch in Q3 of this year) will dual-boot with Windows XP. That means that it won't be as cheap as I thought, since there will be extra $25 addition of having the Windows XP license. I'm disappointed, but maybe I'm just overreacting. Maybe having Android as a dual-boot - for now - will be a good thing, until it can prove itself worthy.

First thing I'd do though is install Windows 7 over XP.

[Engadget]