Wibrain shows off Atom-based i1, takes shot at Blackberry

We've already seen some nice and polished images of Wibrain's Atom-based i1 MID / UMPC, but the company's now finally let the device out on the trade show circuit, and the folks at Pocket-lint thankfully managed to grab a few shots of it at IFA. As we had heard, the device packs either a 1.1GHz or 1.3GHz Atom processor, along with 1GB of RAM, a 30GB or 60GB hard drive or 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB SSD (no 64GB option, it seems) and, perhaps most notably, tri-band UMTS / HSDPA and quad-band GPRS / EDGE connectivity. There's still no word on a price or release date, unfortunately, but Wibrain sure is taking a rather, um, interesting approach to marketing the device, with one of its leaflets (pictured after the break) boldly proclaiming, "Sorry, Blackberry. We provide you a real free mobile life – full browsing internet plus the complete functionality of Outlook, of course all MS Office documentation anytime, anywhere". Oh, snap.

[PnTR @ Sep 1st 2008 12:42PM]

At least they should hire a designer team.
"Yes the designer team has picked the color, and Pink is the new Black"

[Magallanes @ Sep 1st 2008 1:53PM]

this is fun because it's damn true.

[Benson @ Sep 1st 2008 4:03PM]

Well, it's true as long as you don't click the read link, and see pictures of baby-blue (the other new black) and black (the everything-old-is-new-again black?!) versions as well.

[linuxamp @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:34AM]

Yea, I love the specs but I just can't get over the unorthodox layout. I'll should try it out for a while before I criticize it.

[Mike C @ Sep 1st 2008 12:43PM]

Big enough? I'll pass....

[Tonicboy @ Sep 1st 2008 12:43PM]

I don't know what kind of crack they're smoking to think that this in any way competes with BlackBerry. First of all, it will probably be 3-4 times the price of a low-end BlackBerry, which means there isn't a manager in the world who will fill out a req for this over a BlackBerry for one of his employees, and 3/4 of all BlackBerry sales are corporate. Second of all, the thing is a brick. It isn't even close to being a mobile device. You might as well bring along your full laptop, which again rules out the corporate crowd.

[Tonicboy @ Sep 1st 2008 12:48PM]

Did I mention it's ugly as sin so the 10% of BlackBerry users who are fashion whores rather than cube farm convicts will also not buy it.

[Viaono @ Sep 1st 2008 12:44PM]

Sorry WiBrain, My Blackberry fits perfectly in my shirt pocket.

[zenstylejunglist @ Sep 1st 2008 12:45PM]

What I want to know is if these atom based machines can play a game like WoW or CS. I would buy one just to play some older games on it.

[Chikenbutt @ Sep 28th 2008 10:57AM]

YES IT CAN!

[andrew @ Sep 1st 2008 12:48PM]

IMO: This thing is massive. It aint there to compete with an iPhone, it has no relevance to the post. It's got xp, which i would say is a pocket pc? the iPhone being a pocket mac, erm... nope, how many mac application can it run? doubt you can do you video editing on the iPhone. I think you are getting ahead of yourself. It is quite an ugly MID though but quite powerful.

[gad get @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:08AM]

Who are you talking to, and what does this have to do with the iPhone?

[Phoenix @ Sep 1st 2008 12:49PM]

So it's saying it's better than blackberry by saying it does what Windows Mobile does...

Wow.

[computer.dude.28 @ Sep 1st 2008 1:00PM]

While we're on the topic of Windows Mobile Office, why can't you create new documents with it? You can open a document and go into "Edit Mode" and edit the hell out of anything, but you can't start from scratch? Wtf?
I keep a blank document saved to work around this, but still shouldn't there be a new document button somewhere?

[computer.dude.28 @ Sep 1st 2008 1:01PM]

Windows Mobile Standard*

[Phoenix @ Sep 1st 2008 1:11PM]

Oh. So I'm low ranked for the truth? Geez. When did this become a Mac article?

[RikF @ Sep 1st 2008 1:33PM]

"Oh. So I'm low ranked for the truth?"

At about the point when everyone else realised that this isn't a Windows Mobile device. It's a Windows XP device.

[Phoenix @ Sep 1st 2008 2:11PM]

Oh, I KNOW it's a windows XP device. I was just saying that what they're advertising is nothing new. And doesn't have to be on a device that big.

[RikF @ Sep 1st 2008 7:55PM]

You know, I've had my Tytn II for about a year now, and I can't seem to find the complete Outlook functionality on here, nor a complete internet experience...

[Ronald Mcdonald @ Sep 1st 2008 12:51PM]

I don't think Wibrain understands that the Blackberry isn't about cramming as much productivity functions as possible into a portable device. The ergonomics of that keyboard is atrocious and that's only the beginning. Wibrain, hire some R&D and product designers. Or a marketing team that won't make you look like clueless fools.

[Viaono @ Sep 1st 2008 12:51PM]

I hate comparison commercial when they bring one of the the best to compete against them.
Just like iPod and Zune,
"Disreputation"

[brandon @ Sep 1st 2008 12:52PM]

WTF is that?????
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.........

[andrew @ Sep 1st 2008 12:57PM]

Fair enough, but they are not mac apps, they are iPhone / iTouch apps. there is a different. dont think you could replace your macbook pro with an iPhone

[gad get @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:10AM]

Wha-?

[TareX @ Sep 1st 2008 12:59PM]

I fail to see why they targeted BB specifically. How about taking a shot at other products that are actually IN THE SAME UMPC CATEGORY?

[gad get @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:13AM]

I guess they didn't think they could make a good comparison with something in the same class. They had to go for beating a smartphone in features.

[)law( @ Sep 1st 2008 1:15PM]

it's as big as a game gear yet has suppposedly more features then a BB, I don't see how this thing can compare with a BB due to it's size. If they could make it smaller then yea it might stand up to a BB

[dfkd @ Sep 1st 2008 1:16PM]

Seriously, you Apple fanbois are totally killing this site for me...and I worked for Apple!

[Steve Paine @ Sep 1st 2008 1:58PM]

Not sure what this really has to do with Blackberry or iphone but, if you're interested, it was at IDF a few weeks ago and I did a quick video.
http://www.umpcportal.com/2008/08/wibrain-i1-intel-atom-based-umpc-video-overview/
Should have one for testing in a few weeks. Chippy.

[andrew @ Sep 1st 2008 1:25PM]

I guess it could all depend on what you use your pc for. You make fair points. Respect. I'm not saying the iPhone isn't good, cuz it is, my brother has it and an iTouch. Don't really think you have been low ranked there are you wrote a fair piece that was not Fanboyism. Nice.

[gad get @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:15AM]

Did I miss something?

[Phoenix @ Sep 1st 2008 1:26PM]

Your brother has an iPhone and an iPod Touch? Why would he have both?

[PCIV @ Sep 1st 2008 1:27PM]

I doubt you want to do video editing on this either... At least the iPhone can do h264 properly.

[andrew @ Sep 1st 2008 1:31PM]

@Phoenix

He had the touch first, his last creative broke. Also was still on contract, then got the iPhone 3G at the end of the minimum term.

[RikF @ Sep 1st 2008 1:33PM]

You posted your videos once in this article already. At least wait for another story that is unrelated to the iPhone before you spam again, please.

[Juxtah @ Sep 1st 2008 2:07PM]

The iPhone can't edit video, it can't play any decent games (well those it can are extremely difficult to control with a touch interface), you can't use Java, you can't process or download large amounts of data. The iPhone will never be a reasonable replacement for a laptop, at least in my eyes the screen is too small to use regularly for web browsing, it's missing way too many basic features (If Apple didn't manage copy+paste in the multitude of firmware updates so far what makes you think it's coming?) and generally is you know... meant to be a smartphone... a phone that does a lot but can't really replace a proper computer.

Stop trying to compare completely different products, this is a small ATOM based portable computer that looks terrible and you're trying to compare it to a smartphone that looks terrible and that likely costs at least twice as much money.

[System Wizard @ Sep 1st 2008 2:20PM]

You can't take a shot at Blackberry when your device runs Windows...

[avester @ Sep 1st 2008 2:51PM]

I'd take XP over BB OS anyday, thank you.

[Rob Conway @ Sep 1st 2008 3:45PM]

yeah, i kinda sorta fucking hate the BB OS, with a passion.

[ethana2 @ Sep 1st 2008 11:39PM]

Screw them both.

[RiddleMeThis @ Sep 1st 2008 2:20PM]

brick???

[phanbouy @ Sep 1st 2008 2:35PM]

don't feed the trolls

[jdog @ Sep 1st 2008 2:48PM]

Big and just too bloody fugly. Ya know, if they shrank the whole thing, rounded the edges, put a camera on the back, put the screen above a full keyboard....that'd be awesome. Just like my Blackberry. Mopes.

[Juxtah @ Sep 1st 2008 2:49PM]

The iPhone costs $200? That's news to me, you know since it costs $30 a month on a 2 year contract means overall it costs over $900.

[Michael Scrip @ Sep 1st 2008 5:17PM]

If you had a phone without a contract it wouldn't do a whole lot.

So saying something is expensive because of a mandatory service fee in ridiculous.

[Juxtah @ Sep 1st 2008 3:12PM]

@ Phanbuoy
How exactly am I trolling? I'm not saying the iPhone is bad because it isn't, I've used it and rather liked it (though I personally preferred the HTC I also had a quick flick around with) however I'm simply pointing out that you cannot compare a smartphone that costs over $900 with what is effectively a netbook.

[phanbouy @ Sep 1st 2008 3:41PM]

huh? relax, i meant the serial poster who was deleted going on about replacing a laptop with an iphone

[Juxtah @ Sep 1st 2008 4:09PM]

Oh right, ops :P Sorry.

The deletion thing confused me, threw all the posts out of order.

[gad get @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:20AM]

Ha ha ha! I knew there was something going on here. All these posts that had nothing to do with anything were replies to other posts that had nothing to do with anything.

Engadget, delete the now-obsolete replies while you're at it.

[Benson @ Sep 1st 2008 4:05PM]

The one change I'd like is a switch to UMTS quad-band; since I'd put pretty good money on the tri-band not including 1700 (T-Mo USA).