Hasta La Gadget!

It’s no surprise that Dell’s been dipping its toes in Android-infested waters as of late, and now the Wall Street Journal‘s reasserting a previous claim from early April that the company’s hard at work on a MID powered by Google’s mobile OS platform. Multiple sources have reportedly likened it to a slightly larger iPod touch, while one went so far as to suggest a very tentative second half 2009 target release window, assuming the project doesn’t get 187’d before then. Despite its history with Intel and the chipmaker’s penchant for MIDs, the report pegs ARM as the processor of choice. As for how this jibes with rumors of Dell’s smartphone plans, that’s where things get interesting, as WSJ quotes a source who said Dell’s thinking about selling it through cell carriers like it’s currently doing with 3G-equipped netbooks. The article repeatedly calls it a MID — meaning a phone might still be in the cards, but given past whispers, it kind of makes you wonder.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Possible big news on the way later today. According to Bloomberg, Intel’s very own Mr. MID, Anand Chandrasekher, will announce Nokia as a new customer of its mobile processors. This is important because Nokia is a long time friend of ARM and Intel by its own admission can’t currently compete with ARM when it comes to the ultra-low power consumption requirements of smartphones. So whatever Nokia’s got cooking will presumably be running on Intel’s upcoming Moorestown MID platform or its ultra-low power Medfield silicon targeting mainstream smartphones in 2011. On the other hand, Nokia’s CEO already expressed interest in entering the laptop race with Intel or the ARM-based Snapdragon rumored to be at the core. But if this announcement results in yet another Atom-based netbook, well, good luck with that Nokia.

[Via IntoMobile]

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

Intel making ‘important announcement’ today — a Nokia netbook / MID? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We heard earlier this month that the first official CrunchPad units would arrive soon, and it seems like Mike Arrington and company are making progress — here’s what looks to be semi-final hardware and packaging on video for the first time. Interestingly, the device is still plastic and somewhat chubby, not the 18mm-thick aluminum we’d heard earlier — and whoever’s in charge here won’t boot it, so we’ve yet to see the custom Linux / WebKit OS in action. It’s all due to drop in July, so we’ll know what’s what soon enough — for now, check out the vid after the break.

Update: Looks like there is a short video of it in action, so we’ve stuck it after the break as well. It’s certainly an interesting idea, but we noticed some glitches here and there — we’ll see how cleaned up things are at launch.

Update 2: Oh, Mike Arrington. The king of all whispered rumors isn’t too happy that this video went out — he says it’s not “sanctioned or official,” and that “it’s certainly not the launch prototype… which doesn’t actually exist yet.” Of course it doesn’t, Mike.

[Thanks G]

[Via jkOnTheRun]

Continue reading CrunchPad unboxed, handled on video

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

CrunchPad unboxed, handled on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not so sure that being the “world’s smallest Windows-based MID” is really a benefit for those who appreciate keys that are large enough to mash and screens that are large enough to see, but whatever the case, Compal seems pretty proud of its accomplishments here. Shown off along with scores of other me-too MIDs at Computex, the KAX15 is based around Intel’s existing Menlow platform and sports the polarizing tilt-and-slide mechanism for unmasking the QWERTY keyboard. As for specs, we’re told that it packs an 800 x 480 display and an 800MHz processor, but further details have yet to flow. There’s a hands-on vid just past the break if you’re somehow intrigued with shoving Windows in your left cargo pocket.

Continue reading Compal tries harder with Intel-based KAX15 MID

Filed under: Handhelds

Compal tries harder with Intel-based KAX15 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You see, the name “xpPhone” is rather disingenuous here. At first glance, you may assume that you’re about to discover what’s likely the planet’s first cellular telephone to run a full-fledged version of Windows XP. Sadly, we’ve got to slot the device shown above squarely into the MID category — GSM support be darned. Still, we can’t help but applaud the engineering efforts; after all, this thing somehow packs an AMD CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchpanel, WiFi, various cell radios, a 1.3 megapixel camera and a battery good for five solid hours of use into a device barely larger than the average, yawn-inducing MID found in every last corner of Computex. In fact, it’s so impressive that we’re beginning to question its authenticity as a real, working product. Much like the number of licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

xpPhone runs Windows XP, gets costumed as a MID originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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