Pocketables

EKING S515 MID priced, shipping from Amazon China

Right on schedule, the rebranded DigiCube Z8 MID phone also known as the EKING S515 is being released this month to anyone clamoring for a 1.2GHz Atom-powered handheld computer with a 16GB SSD, 1GB RAM, and 5-inch WVGA touchscreen in China.

Though said to be compatible with three of the country's 3G networks when it was announced last month, only the China Telecom-flavored device is currently up for grabs at Amazon China. The good news for those who have already taken advantage of the retailer's discounted price of 4569 yuan (~$669) is that their Willcom D4 look-alikes should be arriving very soon. According to the product page, the S515 should begin shipping tomorrow.

Additional photos below.

Fujitsu joins the party with official Windows 7 drivers for U820

UPDATE: There have been 6 more drivers added, for a total of 17.

Anything pertaining to the Fujitsu U series seems to get my attention, since I'm a very satisfied owner of a twin set. In a world full of Sony P series clamshells, touchscreen tablets from Viliv, and now Archos and its fancy new Android creation, it can sometimes seem like we U820 owners are the forgotten ones. The "little convertible that could" chugs along on either Windows Vista or XP, hoping that one day it too can experience the latest system from Microsoft and get some love.

Well, today is that day because it looks like the Fujitsu mothership has just released official Windows 7 drivers for the U820 here in the US. Looking at the list of 11 drivers, you begin to wonder why there are so many fewer than the 20 that are required for Vista. Well, part of the answer lies in the fact that Win 7 natively supports many of the hardware features of the U820, including the touchscreen, so Fujitsu was able to keep things to a minimum.

Currently missing are drivers for the GPS module, if so equipped. I placed a call to Fujitsu tech support this afternoon to find out if more drivers would be on the way, or if it was possible to use the Vista drivers in place of the missing Win 7 versions, but was not given a clear answer. They are apparently still working out some issues, so proceed with caution.

I have been very anxious to rid my U820 of Vista, so I plan on trying a clean install on my U820 in the next day or two and I'll see what happens and report back.

[Fujitsu Support Downloads]

Kohjinsha PA series available in November

The convertible clamshell UMPC/MID with the 4.8" WSVGA touchscreen better known as the Kohjinsha PA series may not be in the running for any style awards, but if you're intrigued by the form factor's versatility and are eager to start carrying Windows XP Home in a pocket roomy enough for a 6.34" x 4.37" x 0.39-1.02" device, then your wait is almost over.

Wow-Pow has learned that the 1.33GHz Atom-powered unit will be released in Japan early next month for 69,800 yen (~$758). Think that's expensive for what you get? Then you won't be pleased to hear that Geek Stuff 4 U is accepting preorders for 84,800 yen (~$921). Conics will be selling the PA series as well and have priced their stock at 79,800 (~$867).

Sounds like a very tough sell to me, but hey, no one said importing the latest gadgets from Japan was cheap!

Has Windows 7 transformed your UMPC into something better?

It's probably a little soon to be asking these questions since we're barely 24 hours removed from the worldwide release of Microsoft's newest jewel, Windows 7, but they just beg for an answer. Has Windows 7 breathed new life into your UMPC? Now that the final version of Win7 is out and manufacturers are releasing official drivers, are most of you ready to hit the upgrade path, or will you wait for new devices to come out?

Those of you who use popular devices such as the Sony P series and the Viliv S5 and X70 have been sampling early beta copies of Win7 for quite a while now, with some of you even using the official RTM versions. Even the Kohjinsha and Fujitsu U series owners, who are a smaller group, have dabbled with Win7 installs. This is obvious by just looking at some of the threads in our forum, many of which are fairly long and contain the different successes and failures of the various installs along with driver issues.

I have been running an RTM version of Windows 7 Starter on my EeePC 900A (32GB SSD) for the last 3 weeks, and I am extremely impressed with the performance compared even with Windows XP, once the benchmark for performance on our small Atom-powered devices. My next project will be getting my Fujitsu U820 up and running with a clean install of Win7 because it has really suffered with the bloat of Windows Vista, and I think Win7 will transform it into the device it should have always been.

Please chime in with your thoughts and experiences regarding Win7 and your UMPC, either here in the comments or in our always resourceful forum.

Nice deal on the Fujitsu U810 at sellout.woot

Being that the Fujitsu U810 has been out for close to three years now, this probably doesn't qualify as breaking news, but some really nice deals can be had on the tiny Fujitsu convertible UMPC nowadays. One such deal is happening today over at sellout.woot, where they will sell you a brand-new U810 for $399.99 plus only $5 for shipping.

The listed specs are well-known to readers here at Pocketables, so I'll briefly list the important ones, like the 5.6" swivel touchscreen (1024 x 600), the Intel A110 800MHz processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB hard drive, and both 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless. At checkout, you have your choice of either Vista Home Premium or Vista Business, with that second choice being the key, since it should include an Windows XP Tablet downgrade disk that truly transforms this machine into a very competent performer.

UMID mbook M1 gets WiBro in South Korea

Here's another version of the UMID mbook M1 with integrated wireless broadband that won't work in the US. Its model number is M1D-1C1KWA and it's identical to the M1D e-dictionary MID released in South Korea a few months ago in every way except one: it has built-in WiBro through SK Telecom. Other than that, we're looking at the lowest configuration of the device with no webcam or DMB module, a 1.1GHz Atom processor, and 16GB SSD.

Windows XP, the included dictionary software, and of course the new 4G connectivity make this a compelling choice for those in South Korea, to be sure, but I don't think anyone else will feel left out when the device is released there next week.

[Lazion.com]

Kohjinsha unveils PA series with 4.8-inch convertible screen

Just a month after introducing the rebranded UMID mbook M1 as the PM series, Kohjinsha is showing off another Atom-powered clamshell with a 4.8-inch WSVGA touchscreen at CEATEC 2009 in Japan.

The new PA series, as it's called, one-ups the PM with a 1.3GHz processor, 32GB SSD, optical mouse, and a swiveling display, making it the smallest convertible MID/UMPC running Windows XP around. On the flip side, the 14.1-ounce device is outfitted with only 512MB of RAM and has its bezel loaded with buttons/controls, giving it a decidedly busy and unattractive look.

Gauging interest in the Viliv S7 mini convertible

Is it just my imagination or has interest in the Viliv S7, which was once quite high, fizzled out before the Atom-based mini convertible has started shipping to customers? When I did my unboxing and size comparisons a few weeks ago, I think it's safe to say that no one cared. Since then, I've received no inquiries on when my full review would be done or even what I thought about the UMPC, which never happens when a new gadget comes my way.

Several other sites received their S7 review units around the same time I got mine, so perhaps information/coverage overload is to blame. Or maybe it's Gizmodo's negative "review" or PC World's ridiculous recommendation to consider the Samsung Mondi instead of the S7 "if storage isn't a big deal." Whatever it is, it seems to me that interest in the 7-inch convertible has taken a serious nosedive.

If this is true for you, then what happened since the S7 was first unveiled over a year ago that ending up turning you off or changing your mind about it? The big bezel? The price? The long wait? Another product?

DigiCube Z8 rebranded as EKING S515 XP phone

The Atom-powered DigiCube Z8 MID phone may have gotten some attention at IDF last week, but it's the rebranded and higher spec'd EKING S515 that will most likely beat it to market.

Due for launch next month in China, the S515 will pack a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z515 CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G into its 14.8-ounce bodies painted in pink, black, and white. Rounding out the XP/Linux-running MID phone's features are a 5-inch WVGA touchscreen, silver QWERTY keyboard, 0.3MP webcam, and compatibility with China Telecom CDMA2000, China Mobile TD-SCDMA, and China Unicom's WCDMA 3G networks.

None of the promo images (below) show the device being used as a phone, but they give you an idea of its size and make it obvious that the S515 isn't designed to be held against your cheek while chatting. Whether we'll ever see this outside of China and how much it would cost us are unknown, but it looks like we'll find out soon.

Willcom D4 lost a lot to become DigiCube Z8 MID

Even though I've had it for over a year and don't use it daily anymore, I'm still enamored with my slide-and-tilt Willcom D4 (Sharp WS016SH) UMPC. Naturally, then, anything that looks almost identical to it will capture my attention too. This is what happened when the DigiCube MIDPhone-50 made its debut at Computex a few months ago, so it's no surprise that the renamed Digicube Z8 being shown at IDF this week would have the same effect on me.

The MIDPhone-50 was a mixed bag of specs, as it improved on some areas of the D4 (0.6" shorter, webcam, standard USB and headphone ports, 1.6GHz Atom CPU option) while also taking a few steps backward (WVGA resolution, 16GB SSD, no rear camera). The newly christened Z8, on the other hand, just seems to have gotten worse. The 5" screen that the D4 and MIDPhone-50 had is now being listed as a 4.3" display, the internal SSD is now a paltry 8GB, the CPU is only a 1.1GHz Atom, and the RAM is stuck at 512MB.

My Willcom D4 isn't perfect, but it's got a bigger display with higher resolution, more internal storage, faster CPU, and more RAM, which are hardly the kinds of things I like to give up.