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It isn't the Windows XP MID phone that's reportedly still in development, but if these leaked images of an upcoming Aigo walkshow N6500 engineering sample are to be believed, then it seems the company has been spending its time pretty wisely. If nothing else, the rendered device is certainly a cosmetic improvement over its very chunky predecessor.
Now that we've seen the new Archos 5 Android and the old non-Android Archos 5 Internet Tablets face off in photos, let's take a look at how the two ARM Cortex A8-powered devices compare in terms of their web browsing experiences.
Both handhelds feature a 4.8-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen and renders web pages accurately, but do their WebKit and Opera 9 web browsers or 800MHz OMAP 3440 and 600MHz OMAP 3430 processors make one unit better than the other? Read on to find out.
We've known for quite some time that Korea-based mintpass is currently working on a second-generation mintpad and that Android, WiBro, GPS, an all-metal body, and a touchscreen that won't be larger than 7 inches are all under consideration for the upcoming device. So when moveplayer recently discovered listings for two previously unknown models called the mintpad 7wise and mintpad WSketch on the company's website, it's hard not to assume that at least one of these could be the mintpad v2.
Unfortunately, when I got in touch with an account executive at mintpass about the mysterious models, I was told that "something like those are in the process of developing" but that no additional information could be shared just yet. That the 7wise and WSketch are even listed as drop-down menu options for customer service (along with the already released original mintpad, which is still available through Amazon, and mintpad DMB) suggests that the units are already well beyond the "process of developing" to me, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
My year-old Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet was very unhappy yesterday when a thinner, lighter, more powerful version of itself waltzed into Pocketables HQ and had the audacity to demand that it be addressed by an almost identical name.
The brazen, just-released Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android (which we'll simply call the Archos 5 Android from now on) stripped off its packaging and challenged the old timer to a hardware throwdown. They would meet again in a web browsing duel and other situations in due time, but a superficial battle of outward appearances had to be done first. Though showing some definite signs of wear on its once-glossy casing, the non-Android Archos 5 accepted the challenge. See how it went below.
UPDATE: The image is a fake.
Even though Nokia is still making us hang on the edge of our seats as we wait for them to release the long-awaited N900 running Maemo 5, it seems they are already hard at work on the next N-series family member and OS. Thanks to one of our tipsters, we are able to see an image of a purported early prototype that still appears to be running Diablo, with Maemo 6 a strong possibility to be the OS of choice sometime next year.
While it has been known for quite some time that the Internet Tablet line would have perhaps more than one form factor, now we at least have a little more info and a picture of a new, larger design and the future of Maemo.
SmartDevices still hasn't added the SmartQ V5 (previously known as the SmartV 5) MID we first spotted last month to its product list, but it has acknowledged its existence and even sent out a prototype to Chinese site iMobile365.
The company asked the site not to say too much about the device, which isn't a big deal since we already know about its 5-inch WVGA touchscreen, 600MHz ARM11 CPU, 2GB flash storage, microSD slot, Android/WinCE 6.0/Ubuntu operating system options, HDMI output, and 1080p MKV/H.264 support. What iMobile365 was allowed to do, however, was unbox the handheld and take some mostly blurry photos of the all-metal hardware that is apparently painted in an unappealing shade that Google Translate calls "green duck feces."
Remember how Sharp cruelly teased us several months ago with the RD-PM10 multimedia e-dictionary that should have been a MID despite its lowly WiFi-less specs? Well, the company is back at it again, this time with the minimally updated RD-PM1 (~$290).
Despite being lighter than its predecessor (9.67 oz versus 11.53 oz) and having different buttons flanking its 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, the new device is otherwise identical to the old one. That means the same 5.5" x 3.1" x 1.0" body (albeit in black), Windows CE 5.0 operating system, 8GB internal storage expandable with microSDHC cards up to 16GB, dictionary content, voice recorder, multimedia capabilities (including XviD and OGG support), and FM radio that you can already get from the RD-PM10. A DMB tuner is offered with a lower-capacity 4GB model, but WiFi, Bluetooth, and any other kind of useful connectivity are still out of reach.
Now this is definitely interesting, especially considering that the new device has only been out for a few days, but it seems that Amazon has stopped taking orders for the 160GB hard drive-based version of the Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android due to the item being "under review." Now granted, they do say that it could be a problem on their end with the description or the way it's shipped, but when you read that "customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item," that can't possibly bode well for Archos as they look to transition into their new OS and products.
The slimmer 32GB flash-based version is still available for ordering and the 500GB model continues to be up for pre-ordering, so let's hope that any issues that may exist can be fixed right away for the sake of current owners or those who were contemplating a purchase. The reviews from new owners do appear to be mixed from what I have briefly read around the net, so hopefully it is just a matter of Archos pushing out a timely firmware update.
Do you have one of the new models and if so, are you having any issues other than something a firmware update could fix? Maybe this will all be sorted out quickly, but please chime in with your comments and let us know what's going on.
While the last few days have been filled with the latest news on Windows Mobile 6.5 and some of the hot smartphone hardware on the way soon, it would be easy to find an excuse for almost missing this one. It seems that Archos has finally released their newest-generation PMP into the world, with the Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet now available for immediate delivery from Amazon here in the U.S. and direct from other retailers around the world.
Initially, only the 160GB ($389.99) and the 32GB ($369.99) models are available for purchase, with the 500GB ($499.99) model still in pre-order status and coming soon. The other previously-announced capacities will apparently come at a later date, but to be honest, I'm not sure if the smaller flash-based models are even necessary in this day of growing media libraries.
Some users over at ArchosFans have already taken delivery of their new devices, and from what I can tell in brief reading, the experiences are mixed at best. Hopefully the Android platform will take the Archos 5 from just a PMP into a full-fledged MID, because it definitely has the specs to pull it off, and the size seems to be what many people are looking for.
At the expense of appearing to be a total Nokia N900 fanboy, which I readily admit to, here is yet another post to hold us over until the release of Nokia's latest flagship device. Leading up to the Maemo Summit this weekend, the folks over at Nokia Conversations have posted a new video of the Maemo browser being put through its paces. The YouTube video, which is just under six minutes long and can be found past the break, shows off the browser in real-life use and yet again proves that the N900 is going to be a force in the smartphone market.
