Compal's been a vocal supporter of Intel's MID followup to the tragic UMPC platform ever since It was announced in April of last year. Hell, the Taiwanese ODM even dedicated a team to crank out all the devices expected in the first half of 2008 but never came thanks in part, to Intel's Atom slippage. Now Compal looks ready to toss a MID to consumers (either direct or through a third-party manufacturer, it's not clear) with the unveiling of this handheld at Intel's IDF in San Francisco. The QWERTY slider packs GPS, a Linux-based OS with media player, browser, eMail and IM clients, and Option's GlobeTrotter Connect and GTM501 HSPA data kit offering tri-band HSUPA/HSDPA and quad-band GPRS/EDGE connectivity the world-over. No pricing or availability has been announced but we hope to hear more later today.

Update: Ah ha, it's the same reference design used by Aigo's Patriot, aka, M528.

[Thanks, Stuart L. and LosOutlandos]

We've seen Aigo's flagship MID from just about any angle you could imagine, but now that the P8860 has started to ship, we're starting to see it freed from its Linux trappings and dressed up in a little bit of Windows XP. Video of just such harmony (or atrocity, if that's the way you see it) is after the break.

Right on schedule, Aigo's 800MHz Atom Z500-powered P8860 MID (aka, the Gigabyte M528 for the US and Europe) is hitting the mean, retail streets of Hong Kong today. With it, we've got a bit of video showing off the new pen+finger-based MIDLinux (aka, Midinux) GUI which looks far better than it did when we went hands-on with the Gigabyte back in March. All in all, this 4.8-inch MID with Bluetooth, WiFi, sliding QWERTY, 4GB SSD, microSD expansion, and GPS and HSDPA data options is looking quite righteous for that $700-ish price tag and early reports coming out of UMPC Fever. Now bust out the xylophone and get ready to play along with the video posted after the break.

[Via Pocketables]

Aigo's MID (more formally known as the MID P8860) just arrived in the anxious hands of UMPC Fever, and of course, it uploaded a number of photographs so we could all share in the joyous unboxing experience. Granted, you've already seen so many in the wild shots that you aren't apt to be surprised, but we're rather impressed with just how nicely everything was arranged inside of the subtle black box. We'd totally have to debadge it (is the Atom sticker really necessary... really?), but other than that it's not a half bad item to have residing in your rear pocket. More shots in the read link.

[Via Pocketables, thanks Jenn]

The folks at UMPCFever got in some quality time with the upcoming Aigo MID (an Asia-centric version of the Gigabyte M528), which hasn't really been seen much outside of tradeshows so far. Apparently MIDLinux 2.0, which the device ships with, is running really well these days, which is encouraging given how abysmal it was earlier this year, but that didn't stop UMPCFever from swapping the OS for some Windows XP. While the Intel Atom processor seems to be beefy enough to handle what was requested of it, Intel's promised energy savings were not evident in the device, with a runtime as low as two hours. We suppose the best news is that Aigo's selling this starting at around HK $6000, about $770 US, a major improvement over the M528, but it still seems to be a far cry from the sweet spot for this type of device. Hands-on videos are after the break.

[Via UMPCPortal]

Are you hoping to enter a "two-nuclear detonation true high-definition era" of PMP'ing? Do you desire "really high-definition video playback" which brings a "new visual shock?" Do you want a media player with "super hard drive recorders, easily direct D1 quality" which are "worth your small taste?" If you answered "yes" to those questions, you want the Aigo Patriot MV5920 Dual-Core MP5 player! The unit features video playback at 720p (though not 720p screen resolution), can handle MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, DivX, XviD, ASF, WMV9, RM, MP3, WMA, WAV, AC3, and OGG files, and features a hard drive as large as 160GB... but that's not what you're really after, is it? What you really want is "unlimited life," right? Well, my friend "the curtain has been opened, such as what you."

[Via PMP Today]

We got a chance to fondle the non-Menlow Amtek U560 / Aigo UMPC on the floor of this year's CES, and we've got the pictures to prove it. The XP-running portable had a solid build, though the mechanism for sliding the screen felt a bit janky, and the overall size is possibly more than you want, especially with all the Menlow hotness coming our way this year. Perhaps a gallery of photos might help? Yeah, we thought so.

We got a chance to play with the new Aigo MID that sports the Intel Menlow chip, and here's a slew of shots for you to peep. A few items of note: first, the thing is totally trying to rip the iPhone's interface -- you can't really debate that, though sitting atop its janky Linux implementation, it feels pretty third rate. On the bright side, the little guy uses a new, touchscreen-MID-centric version of Mozilla called CoolFox, which is nice to see on a handheld. Check the gallery and see for yourself.

Nestled comfortably somewhere between its myriad PMPs and Patriot UMPC, Aigo has developed its very own mobile internet device (or MID as the kids are calling them nowadays). The device is captured on video, notably hosted on the very same YouTube account as yesterday's Lenovo MID vid. While it's hard to get a real feel for the size and depth of the unit from the video embedded below, a few things are evident: the interface is pretty familiar (more like iGo, right?), it has a slide-out keyboard ala UMPC, and it doesn't have any trouble playing those YouTube videos. Now how about some more info, eh Aigo?

In case you haven't noticed, Disney has been finding its way into a plethora of handhelds and portable media players of late, and it looks like the firm has accomplished yet another takeover on Aigo's latest. This Winnie the Pooh-themed device sports an oh-so-cute exterior, 3.5-inch LCD, an image viewer, AV output, an SD expansion slot, up to 16 hours of battery life, 2GB of internal storage, and support for a variety of files including VOB, RM / RMVB, AVI, ASF, MPEG, and DAT (VCD). Unfortunately, it seems the kid-friendly MV5910 most certainly packs a premium, as the pricetag on this adorable piece sits at CNY1,699, or just over $224. Click on for another shot -- you know daddy's favorite girl will end up with one anyway.

[Via PMPToday, thanks Brian B.]

Aigo's latest PMP smells like more hype that substance, but regardless, this 2GB player certainly has the look. Internally, you'll find a 600MHz processor, a 2.8-inch panel, Class-D digital amplifier, and support for a wide array of formats including Real Audio, JPEG, BMP, GIF, MP3, "MP5," WMA, FLAC, and APE. Additionally, it's equipped with an SD / MMC expansion slot for loading up excess media, and while we don't exactly envision this one escaping China anytime soon, those in the neighborhood can grab one for CNY999 ($132).

[Via PlayerBites]

Engadget China has just gotten its hands on an old friend of ours, a UMPC based on Intel's McCaslin MID spec. Recently we've seen this same design on the Amtek U560, but this version bears the Aigo badge proudly. Of course, since this (the company's first foray into the UMPC market) is based on the 2007 archetype, the Patriot has some of those bulky, Hummer-esque design qualities that don't hold up to the newer, sleeker, and smaller Menlow-based models (which Intel is heading towards for 2008), but under that jumbo exterior there's an 800MHz, Vista-ready heart of gold. Honestly, we do question the choice of putting function buttons smack-dab in the center of QWERTY keyboard, but hey -- no one is perfect -- judge for yourself in Engadget China's hands on gallery.

We already knew of Intel's 2007 "McCaslin" ultra mobile platform strategy after peeping their pre-show slides: professional UMPCs paired with consumer-oriented, Linux-based MIDs. Still, it's always good to get the official word even if it means that Intel must travel all the way to their IDF in Beijing to make it so. As the strategy goes, before 2007 is up we'll see product from Aigo, Asus, Fujitsu, Haier, HTC, and Samsung all based on the Intel A100 and A110 processors -- essentially underclocked Pentium M cores operating at 3W and certainly besting the UMPC underpinnings we saw in 2006. In the first half of 2008 then, Intel tells us to expect their "Menlow" platform of ultra mobile devices. Pumping Intel's 45-nm dual-core "Silverthorn" processor and "Poulsbo" chipset for longer battery life in smaller handheld devices. But if you're chomping at the bit for Intel's vision of the ultra mobile future, well, you'll be waiting around until well after 2008, boy. Intel doesn't expect to break into magical sub-0.5W territory until the naughts are up. Until then, you'll have to deal with mysterious slabs like the new Fujitsu pictured above.

Update: UMPC Portal just pointed out something very interesting: Intel says that HTC's Shift UMPC is based on their A100/A110 processors. However, the engineering sample we pawed was running a 1.2GHz VIA proc. Looks like Intel scored themselves a major coup over HTC's Taiwanese neighbors.

[Via Impress]