July 4 was the date, but hey, what's the harm in opening up the floodgates just a handful of hours early? Get past the lack of 3G, EDGE, camera, and a rock-solid set of tested, commercialized apps, and open-source phoning nirvana can now be yours for $399 on the plastic.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

As we all wait tensely for Everex's Cloudbook MAX to land (and WiMAX to launch in a big way), rumors are swirling that First International Computer (FIC) -- Everex's affiliate and the maker of the Cloudbook -- is preparing a 10.2-inch "Eee PC killer." 'Course, by the time this thing comes out it'll have 27 Eees to kill, but we digress. Early word suggests that the unit will pack a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, a 1.3-megapixel camera, up to 2GB of RAM, a 4-in-1 multicard reader, ExpressCard slot, 4- or 6-cell battery, 802.11b/g WiFi as well as optional 3G WWAN / WiMAX capabilities. With everyone and their first cousin twice removed getting into this arena, don't be shocked to see this turn up here in a few months.

[Via SlashGear]

Never heard of Everex? They're the smallish, low-end PC maker owned by FIC (who we'd guess also might not know) that makes the Cloudbook (among other things). We only mention them because a third, even more unfamiliar company, a systems integrator named NewMarket Technology, is buying out 75% of Everex to flesh out their mobile hardware presence in certain developing nations. The sum's undisclosed, the transaction's due for completion this September, and you might still be wondering what it all means to you. Well, unless you live in Asia or Latin America, probably not a whole lot.

[Via PC World]

Unless you're very, very special, you haven't yet had an opportunity to run your hands over Openmoko's latest open-source creation, the FreeRunner, which was announced several months back with the hope of a spring release. Unlike the Neo1973 before it, the FreeRunner's said to be chock full of enough spit and polish to take on an audience larger than the original's hardcore developer base, and while a springtime date with destiny is now out of reach, it looks like they'll only miss the mark by a few days. A recent message from Openmoko's VP of marketing on the community listserv said that the retail phones should be packed and shipped by tomorrow and -- if all goes well, of course -- should clear customs by the first of July, meaning buyers should be able to get them delivered in the first week or two of the month. If they'd been able to squeeze in 3G, we'd hardly be able to contain ourselves, but even as it is, we suspect there's enough buzz to get units sold; let's just hope they're already hard at work on version three.

[Via The Inquirer Spanish]

The FIC manufactured Everex CloudBook has finally made its way to Japan. What's interesting is not its US-rooted Everex branding but the fact that the ultra-portable picked up a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, and 802.11a (to augment the existing b/g WiFi) along the way without any change to the CE1200J model number. All the other specs remain true to the original right on down to the 1.2GHz VIA C7-M proc and 30GB hard disk. We'd chalk this up to a typo(s) if it wasn't for the new, tax-inclusive price of ¥59,800 or about $600 -- a stiff bump from the $399 touchscreen-less, Stateside model. Let's see if the March 22nd release in Japan brings the additional options for North America and Europe.

[Via Impress]

According to DigiTimes, the reason we haven't seen any CloudBooks on sale is due to the weather. Recent heavy snowfalls in China wreaked havoc on the local rail systems and power supplies leaving FIC unable to meet their targets. According to "sources," retail shipments will now be pushed back to mid-March. Now our quandary. What's more dubious? Everex's newly posted 2/21/2008 availability date or China's claimed ability to control the weather during the summer olympics?

Read -- Everex
Read -- DigiTimes

Everex's site has been updated with a new CloudBook ship date. The little 9-inch, Via-based laptop with 7-inch display, 30GB disk, and 5-hours battery is now expected to pop with a gOS Rocket on Walmart.com and ZaReason.com February 15th. A day earlier would have required a pink version which nobody wants... at least not yet.

[Thanks, David]

So this is a really early version of the FreeRunner, but mad love to FIC for bringing it out for us all to play with nonetheless. The first thing you'll notice is that it's still sporting its predecessor's "Neo1973" branding, an indiscretion we were promised would be put to bed prior to the scheduled spring launch to OpenMoko's developer community. Anyone used to toting a smartphone of average size could totally get used to carrying the FreeRunner around, which we think is probably key to the device's success outside the enthusiast community. The current build of the software, though, is another matter entirely -- it's in a pretty raw alpha state right now and hugh swaths of core functionality appear to be missing. Then again, they've got a few good weeks until spring, and even then the FreeRunner will find its way into hackers' hands before the masses; they've got some solid-feeling, solid-spec'd hardware here and we're still really hopeful that the final product is going to rock.

Well, we've finally gotten some face time with the Packard Bell EasyNote XS / Nanobook / Cloudbook / FIC CE260. Sure, it's hard to keep tabs on the various re-brands and name changes of this thing, but one thing is for sure -- it's got the potential to give the Eee a run for its money. The ultraportable feels pretty good -- if a bit plastic-y -- in your hand, and it seemed to handle XP with relative ease. We kind of wish we'd seen some gOS on this puppy -- but hey, you can't have it all. Check the gallery below and see it yourself.

Remember that other ultra-portable announced during the month of the Eee Pc and Palm Foleo? Right, the 7-inch Via / FIC (parental unit to Everex) collaboration first shown as the NanoBook reference design or CE260 / CE261 when touted by FIC. Having already cleared the FCC, FIC is saying that US and European shipments of the VIA C7-M device will begin in Q1 of 2008 and will include either Windows XP or Linux preloads on that 1.8-inch 30GB disk. It's supposed to be priced similar to the Eee PC which has carved a nice little niche for itself in the ultra-portable market. With any luck, it'll show up at Wal-Mart with a sub-$300 price tag sporting Everex's lovely new gOS.

We'd heard that Everex / FIC was going to be the Stateside OEM for VIA's NanoBook, and it looks like that hunch was right on the money -- two NanoBook variations, the CE260 and 261, have just shown up the FCC's all-seeing database with FIC branding. Nothing revolutionary in the docs -- and no word on what's to come for that expansion bay -- but we've always liked the NanoBook's design, and we're stoked to see it finally hit the US.

Continuing on with more glimpses of foreign gadgetry from the floors of Computex comes the seven-inch CE261 UMPC from FIC. This laptop-styled machine sports a glossy black exterior, noticeably large gap beneath the display's bezel, and a swank looking keyboard to boot. Aside from the WVGA display and reported five-hours of battery life, this sucka also touts a pair of stereo speakers, miniature trackpad, a pair of USB ports, audio in / out, Ethernet, DVI output, flash card reader, 0.3-megapixel webcam in the bezel, and a number of LED indicators to keep you informed. Per usual, there's no word yet on when certain sects of the world can snag one of their own, so click on through for the obligatory snapshots to tide you over.

Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese just went hands-on with the Via NanoBook at Computex. Better yet, they seem to have unearthed the other, US-bound OEM: FIC (First International Computer) as it's known in Taiwan, or Everex as we know 'em Stateside. Makes sense given Everex's penchant for VIA C7-M procs in their StepNote series of laptops. The FIC CE260 they played with even had a prototype Skype-phone module in place of that oddball world clock insert seen previously. Also new is a date: they were told to expect the unit to show up in China and Europe (presumably under the Packard Bell branding) sometime in August. Engadget Chinese has tons of pics and first-hand impressions so be sure to click the "read" link below for a quick trip across the Pacific.

End users are still in for a bit of a wait, but tinkerers, devs, and 1337 hax0rz should soon be able to get their hands on FIC's Linux-based Neo1973 handset. The device, getting thrown together courtesy of the OpenMoko project with the goal of open-sourcing both the phone and the platform, will drop first in $200 "Hacker's Lunchbox" trim (for the aforementioned hackers) late this month featuring a seemingly bombproof plastic box to hold your GPLed bundle of joy and its dev tools. This fall -- September, if OpenMoko's prediction holds up -- the retail version will follow on for $350 with a variety of bundled accessories (though not the pictured car mount, which'll run an extra $75), faster processor, and possibly a cam or integrated WiFi. Why not both, FIC? Go crazy!

[Via LinuxDevices.com]

Hot on the heels of DrewTech's Linux-powered DashDAQ is FIC's own piece of Linux-based hawtness, the FIC-GTA001 mobile. While the company is already familiar in the world of CDMA, this marks the firm's first endeavor into the realm of GSM smartphones. Sporting a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 resolution touchscreen with "multi-touch gesture recognition," GPS capabilities, dedicated "emergency paging button," and an "iPod-quality MP3 player," the svelte cellphone is primed for homebrew apps thanks to the inclusion of the SDK right in the box. FIC is hoping that adopters will participate in developer communities to craft new and improved applications for the limitless device, and even hopes to enable wireless uploads / downloads of completed files. The device is powered by a Samsung S3C2410 ARM9-based processor, 128MB of internal RAM, and 64MB of flash memory, but unfortunately there's no scheduled release date or expected price for the open-source (and delightfully styled) handset.