Perhaps it's just that nostalgia for the ThinkPad 701 but there's something about this dual-display reference design that's causing optical interrupts all over Engadget editorial. It's certainly not as elegant as some other dual-display laptops we've seen, but what it gives up in looks, the Electronic Keyboards, Inc. design makes up for in practicality. They're currently pitching it to OEMs and will gladly sell you the related US patents if interested. Though given our choice, we'd be more interested in patents related to an elongated trackpad which doubles as a secondary glass display or e-Ink informational widget. Hey, a boy can dream can't he?

[Via The Raw Feed]

Not content with dominating the PC and smartphone market in the realm of operating systems, Microsoft has apparently now set its sights on PNDs. Today the folks in Redmond announced a new OS aimed directly at GPS units, dubbed Windows Embedded NavReady 2009. The software is based on Windows Embedded CE, and combines navigation tools enriched with Live Search, MSN Direct, and Windows SideShow integration, coupled with an emphasis on Bluetooth connectivity. The company says that the system is shipping to OEMs and developers as we speak, which will yield consumer devices in time for the 2008 holiday season.

[Image courtesy of Jim Clark]

Don't want to wait until March for Windows Vista SP1, but not feeling the whole torrent thing? Microsoft has posted a disc image to its OEM partner site with a full copy of SP1 on it, and the download is free -- if a bit slow at the moment, thanks to all y'all grabbing a copy. The 1.2GB disc image requires you run it as a clean installation, so you've gotta ask yourself it's just worth waiting a few more weeks for an easy peasy update courtesy of Windows Update. Decisions, decisions.

[Via Download Squad; read link is the disk image]

You probably won't be seeing TVcompass's SR 1500 universal remote released looking exactly like this (or even bearing the TVcompass name) but we have high hopes some other company will rebrand the WiFi-enabled unit soon. Featuring a QVGA display,and Windows CE, the SR 1500 pulls device codes from the web using the built-in browser, which supports Flash and J2ME, backup settings to a server, and do custom guide displays. There's no pricing yet, but hopefully that'll get sorted when this thing gets picked up for resale.

[Via pocketpcwire]

We don't often catch sight of units like these until after they've already begun the usual cycle of re-brands and ever so slight changes, but the folks at Empower apparently decided to shake things up a bit and give everyone an early peek at its latest trio of personal navigation devices, which are now available to OEM/ODM and other "private-label customers." Those devices include the P2000, P2200 and P2800, each of which boast 4.3-inch touch screens, along with built-in Bluetooth handsfree functionality and support for traffic advisory data. The P2200 ups things slightly from the base model with an integrated digital camera, while the top-end P2800 adds a wireless rear-view camera for some help backing up, as well as some added iPod connectivity. No word on any companies that have picked 'em up just yet, but Empower itself seems fairly confident in them, with it set to sell all three under its own PowerPlay brand. Look for the P2000 to be the first of those available in March for $299, with the P2200 and P2800 set to follow sometime in the second quarter of this year for $399 and $499, respectively.

HP wants out of the camera manufacturing game. In what reads like a help-wanted ad, HP just announced that they are seeking an OEM to "design, source, and distribute" digital cameras under the HP brand. Instead, HP will refocus on its home photo printing and on-line photo services under its Print 2.0 strategy. So much for HP's rumored acquisition plans of Kodak, eh?

[Via DPReview]

Brace yourselves old school PC players, Asustek has just unveiled their plan to become more competitive. Like HTC before them, Taiwanese Asustek Computer will begin pushing their ASUS brand front and center. To make this happen, Asustek's OEM business will split from their branded business under the new names of Pegatron (PC-related manufactuing) and Unihan (casing, modules, and non-PC goods) starting January 2008. Trouble for the establishment, maybe, but nothing short of good for us consumers.

In what appears to be a doomed repeat of Palm, Inc's name changing and restructuring fiasco, BenQ had donned a new, newer moniker: Qisda. Damn if that doesn't just drip off the tongue... like a pneumonic cough. The new name, an acronym actually, stands for Quality, Innovation, Speed, Driving, and Achievements, not Quality Inn San Diego Airport regardless of what the all knowing Google thinks. The company's Chinese name has also changed from "Jia Da" to "Jias Da." So to break it down for you: BenQ is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qisda (AKA, Jias Da) whose familiar purple logo will continue to appear on Qisda's self-branded products. Qisda, however, will focus on LCD monitors, projectors, multi-function peripherals, and handset OEM/ODM businesses. The name change gets all official on September, 1st. Hey Qisda, feel free to use the illustration above for your new corporate logo.

This one's not quite as clear as we would wish, but here's what we've got: Asustek is prepping to launch a series of cheap laptops based on Intel's Classmate PC platform in the second half of this year, which will go up against (what else?) the OLPC XO. What we can't quite figure is if Asustek is building these OEM-style for Intel branding (shown above), or if it's just using the design to line its own pockets -- it could really go either way. The best news is price, since we've been rather worried about that $400 tag that's been kicked around, more-or-less officially, for the Classmate PC. Apparently the 1GB SSD version of Asustek's 7-inch Classmate PC will start at $199, with price points at $249, $299, $399 and $549 for capacities all the way up to 40GB. Ah, nothing like those educational laptop warm-fuzzies on a cold Monday afternoon.

At least Redmond can't say that no one told them so, as the folks at Microsoft are finally holding up a hesitantly-raised white flag and admitting that Windows Vista is indeed far from crack-proof. After depressing the mental "Allow" button, Microsoft Senior Product Manager Alex Kochis has come to grips with the Vista hacks that are currently floating around (and apparently functioning). Interestingly, he insinuates that the company will be looking at ways to "disrupt the business model of organized counterfeiters and protect users from becoming unknowing victims," but also mentioned that it wouldn't be rushing out in a likely futile attempt to nab every "mad scientist" (saywha?) on a mission to hack Windows. Hmm, wonder if that has anything to do with the barren efforts it exhausted trying to one-up FairUse4WM?

Like it or not, if you buy a Windows PC in 2008, it's almost certain to be running Windows Vista. Next January is Microsoft's contractual deadline with PC builders for selling the OEM version of Windows XP, meaning computer manufacturers will be forced to stick customers with a copy of Windows Vista, despite the continued driver problems and beefy system requirements. Hopefully Microsoft is able to prep a service pack or two before that time comes, but it's hard to imagine all the kinks being ironed out before then. We're sure you'll be able to nab a retail copy of XP through standard or slightly-shady channels, so it's not like you'll never see that frumpy "Luna" theme ever again, but we still won't be surprised at an '08 backlash if Microsoft makes good on its promises.

[Via Slashdot]

It might look pretty OEM-a-riffic, and Logitec seems pretty branding shy on this thing as well, but all the same we're kind of intrigued by this departure from the usual peripheral fare for Logitec. The new Core 2 Duo LN-14W laptop from Logitec is a BTO number, even down to your choice of six different languages. There's a 14.1-inch 1280 x 800 LCD, ExpressCard slot, dual-layer DVD burner, 40-100GB HDD, and three different colors to choose from. The base configuration will run you 211,000 yen, about $1,736 US, and while Vista doesn't come pre-loaded, the laptop includes a coupon for a free copy of Vista Business for pepping up your OS when January 30th rolls around.

[Via Akihabara]

There's some crazy pent-up demand out there for this new OS Microsoft has been prepping for the better part of the century -- you might have heard of it -- that's why it's not incredibly surprising that a few retailer are jumping the gun and getting real copies of Vista (as opposed to those completely illegitimate copies of Vista) into the hands of consumers a tad bit early. We're sure the Microsoftian repercussions will be swift and just, but for now you can snap up an OEM copy of Vista Home Basic for the low, low price of £54.99 in the UK ($109 US) from the oh-so-busted Overclockers UK online store. Of course, OEM operating system purchases aren't exactly on the up-and-up anyways, so this is just all the more exciting, right?

[Via The Inquirer]

Sometimes it takes an unknown to show these megacorps how it's done -- and we do mean unknown: we've got plenty specs of this here UMPC, but virtually zero info on the manufacturer. All the same, if these looks and deets are any indication, we shouldn't have long to wait for rebadges to start popping up. The US700W sports a 7-inch 800 x 470 screen, Celeron M 1.06GHz processor, a 20-60GB 1.8-inch HDD, 1.3 megapixel webcam, SD card reader, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g. While it doesn't sound near beefy enough to run Aero, you get Vista Business or Ultimate pre-installed (hooray for Vistagami), and the 1GB of RAM should help on that front. Where it gets especially exciting is the 20.5mm thickness and 19.8 ounce weight, making it one of the slimmest and lightest products in its class. Things are also looking up in the US701 version, which includes a 2 megapixel camera, built-in SiRF Star III GPS, and a 1024 x 600 pixel display. Finally, the US702 does 'em all one better with a convertible keyboard, which boosts the overall thickness to 26mm, but is a must for certain users. Obviously, we're rather clueless in regards to price and launch date on this thing, but at least we've got a vid (after the break) to keep us occupied while we wait for this hotness to drop.

Although vanilla desktop PCs have (generally) been the same size and shape for years, the small form factor world has never really settled down, and while various other protocols have been thrown out there, no one has actually stepped up the task of standardized an SFF chassis until now. AMD has just announced the DTX "open standard," which the firm hopes will "enable broad adoption" of the SFF PC in order to deliver "innovative solutions to market that are smaller, quieter, desktop-friendly," and less taxing on the ecosystem. Reportedly, the DTX standard "will be designed to embrace energy-efficient processors and allow an optimally designed small form factor system to consume less power and generate less noise." Additionally, an open standard that's widely embraced will make the lives of OEMs much easier, and will hopefully give us folks looking for those wee PCs a bit more choice when it comes to picking one up. Notably, it seems that Asus has latched on already, boasting that it will start busting out DTX-compliant motherboards here shortly, likely to be bundled in some fashion with an AMD chip. If all goes as planned, this open standard should actually decrease manufacturing costs across the board over time, and AMD stated that a "review copy of the DTX specifications" should be made available sometime this quarter.

[Via Inquirer]