We've seen bulky UMPCs with hidden QWERTY keyboards and svelte ones you could almost slip in a pocket, but regardless of size they've always been comfortable with their lot in life: not being treated as full computers. Not so for Owl's iMpc A10, a plucky portable that wants you to believe it's a real machine, starting with its name, which intentionally implies "I'm a PC." So too is John Hodgman, though, and funny as he is we wouldn't say he's a very good portable computing device. The A10 should be, with a 1.2GHz VIA C7 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 16GB SSD. It also sports a 5.6-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, a webcam, 802.11b/g wireless, and a claimed 5 hours of battery life -- decent specs but nothing to really differentiate it from the crowd. A price of 2,999 yuan, or about $440, seems reasonable enough, but no availability outside of China means no respect from us.

Big news, folks -- 1008p is about to hit the minuscule PC market, and VIA's making darn sure it doesn't miss the boat. Hot on the heels of HABEY's BIS-6550HD announcement, VIA has stepped in to formally introduce its VX855 Media System Processor, which aims to bring hardware-based 1080p decoding to VIA-based rigs. The highly integrated single chip package sucks down just 2.3 watts and provides hardware H.264 video acceleration when snapped in alongside a VIA Nano, C7 or Eden processor. Other specs include a 400 to 800MHz FSB speed, support for up to DDR2 800 memory (4GB maximum), six USB 2.0 ports and the company's own Chrome9 graphics set. There's no mention of when this bugger will find its way into shelf-bound rigs, but we're hoping Computex sheds some light on the situation.

[Via HotHardware]

Been hankering for a cheapo UMPC? Perhaps the folks at e-Loam can answer your strained prayers. Enter the F7, a VIA C7-based handheld with a 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 8GB (or 80GB) hard drive, WiFi, and... not much else. The teensy device boots XP, has Bluetooth, a 0.3 megapixel webcam, and features a resistive 7-inch touchscreen (cool stylus included). There's not much more info on this guy right now, but based on the pictures, it appears to have stereo speakers, and Pocketables speculates there may be an optical mouse somewhere in this mix. Regardless, we spent this whole post trying to figure out how loam -- a fertile soil of clay and sand containing humus -- fits into the picture.

[Via Pocketables]

Here in the US of A, most netbooks come stocked with a predictable array of hardware: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 80GB HDD, 1GB of RAM and a price tag ranging from $399 to $699. Elsewhere on the planet, things are a bit different, and if VIA has anything to say about it, it will be the name people think of when hearing "netbook" in Asia and beyond. Said outfit has just cranked up a Global Mobility Bazaar program to "drive [global] mobile computing adoption," and it has already managed to pull 15 companies (including Microsoft, for a little thing called WinXP) onboard. In essence, the program will enable second-tier vendors to get in the netbook game and offer products with shorter life cycles and lower prices -- both of which are mighty useful in emerging markets. In somewhat related news, we're also hearing a sketchy report that HP has chosen the Intel route for its future netbooks, and considering that the Vivienne Tam Digital Clutch has already selected Intel, we suppose the forthcoming Mini 1000 will likely be the real confirmation / denial.

[Via Liliputing]

Read - VIA's Global Mobility Bazaar
Read - HP choosing Intel?

Making good on its promise to deliver an uber-small mainboard for tight-space and media-centric applications, Via has announced its first product in the 10- x 7.2-centimeter Pico-ITX lineup. Checking in over 75-percent smaller than Mini-ITX boards of the past, this x86-based reference design seeks to embrace a "new world of ultra compact embedded PC systems and appliances." The board was purportedly designed to be powered by one of Via's own C7 or Eden CPUs, and should be available shortly to board vendors and hardware designers interested in concocting even smaller PCs for their customers. The design also relies on the firm's VX700 chipset and provides Ethernet, eight-channel HD audio, four USB 2.0 ports, a SATA connector, and a multi-format card reader. Reportedly, the VT6047 will be priced anywhere from "$300 to $500," but we guess that's just the premium you pay for a palm-sized PC.

[Via LinuxDevices]

Although it wasn't too awfully long ago that AMD unveiled what it hoped would become an accepted standard for small form factor PCs, it looks like Via is already trying to one-up DTX. The forthcoming Epia PX media-oriented motherboard will clock in at just 3.9- x 2.8-inches, which provides "half the surface area of its already-tiny 4.7- x 4.7-inch Nano-ITX" standard and looks utterly dwarfed beside the 6.7- x 6.7-inch mini-ITX. Via's boards have become commonplace in applications which can sacrifice raw horsepower for low-power requirements and cool operation, such as being housed in Mini-Box's VoomPC-2. Consequently, the the Epia PX will purportedly tout just a 1GHz C7 processor (at least initially), and there's speculation that some flavors might actually support HDTV resolutions and video-in, but most of the expansion will be done through pin headers. Via hasn't opened its mouth to divulge details surrounding price nor availability, but it's assumed that this wee motherboard will run folks between $250 and $350 whenever it finally lands.