Mio's Windows Mobile-powered concept MID hands-on

Well, what have we here? While waltzing about the CES floor today, we stumbled upon a conceptual Mio MID that looks suspiciously like Sony's VAIO P. The currently unnamed device was actually lookin' pretty sharp, as it boasted a 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) resolution display, integrated WiFi, a non-removable battery good for eight hours or so and a full QWERTY keyboard. It was also packing a trackball setup, an SD card slot, a few USB ports and audio in / out. We were told that the design was still being finalized and that it wouldn't ship until mid-2009 at the earliest, and while we'd love to see this piece ship Stateside, we have our doubts. Oh, and did we mention that this thing runs on an evidently skinned version of Windows Mobile? Because it does. Peek the gallery below if you're in disbelief.

Gallery: Mio's Windows Mobile-powered concept MID hands-on

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[Sarig @ Jan 8th 2009 9:24PM]

It looks like a poor-man's Everun Note, really.

[KAIKAI @ Jan 8th 2009 9:38PM]

the trackball seems like a good idea
but if my experience with blackberrys is ...well...subpar...
hope its better :D

[Victor @ Jan 8th 2009 9:52PM]

Oh my God, this is EXACTLY what I want. I HATE trackpads. I want this but with a touchscreen.

[Jon Nelson @ Jan 8th 2009 9:43PM]

and yet you guys tear down Celio's REDFLY at every turn. Maybe I'm wrong, but that thing seems to have (as long as you have the WinMo smartphone accompaniment) the same skillset as Mio's concept does.

Siigh. I'm not sure I'll ever understand tech blogs.

[Charles Knight @ Jan 8th 2009 9:52PM]

yes it just the same - well except for needing a separate device to well... do *anything* with the redfly..

[bolezhinkov @ Jan 8th 2009 9:47PM]

the inside looks awesome but the outside colour could use a change as well as a different logo . . . someone else kind of took that one.

[Knee to the Groin @ Jan 8th 2009 9:49PM]

Well with that resolution? The Vaio P doesn't stand a chance...

[Pat @ Jan 8th 2009 10:00PM]

Did my MobilePro finally get updated - thought Microsoft had killed off the CE/WinMo "Jupiter" form factor.

[ZSX @ Jan 9th 2009 3:36AM]

Exactly what I was thinking: but the Jupiter H/PCs were more to do with the size of the device and the Handheld PC OS. Glad to see their return, but hope they won't cost as much as they did the first time round.

[jd @ Jan 8th 2009 10:05PM]

ohh palm is fucking pissed

[John @ Jan 8th 2009 10:21PM]

Looks cool, but how much does it weigh?

[dark star @ Jan 8th 2009 10:22PM]

welcome back trackball! i miss ya!!!
i never liked the trackpad, the ibm nipple is ok. trackball has always been my favorite. not sure why they arent in laptops anymore.

[Alexandre Emond @ Jan 8th 2009 10:42PM]

4 months ago I was complaining that we need an 8in keyboard, small screen, Mobile OS with laptop battery to achieve the first 10 hours of unplugged work for under 800$. Is it it? For real? Will my dream come to to market?

[Unknown @ Jan 9th 2009 2:07AM]

WinMo? Lame, lame, lame.

[shugg @ Jan 9th 2009 1:56AM]

price?then i can start bashing it.,after ill know what to compare it to, then can make determination if it will tank or not,,

[Nadool @ Jan 9th 2009 8:48PM]

Shugg, based on the majority of your comments I'm guessing you'll bash this thing even if it costs $5.

[bjay @ Jan 9th 2009 2:34AM]

Could be better, as well draw more interest if if it were running Android. Hope d price is reasonable whenever it becomes available

[Harry @ Jan 11th 2009 8:08AM]

It would be nice if someone could get linux to run in it, turning it to a real computer. Any word on type of CPU, RAM etc? I guess price would not be finalized yet.