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Mobinnova Beam netbook spotted running Android, sporting other improvements
Mobinnova had already mentioned that it planned to ditch Windows CE in favor of Android for its Beam netbook before the device was actually released, and it looks like it's now finally made the jump, as evidenced by Laptop Magazine's recent hands-on with the netbook. Whats' more, the 8.9-inch device was also seen sporting a few other minor improvements, including some new media playback keys on the keyboard, and CinemaNow pre-installed on the system for downloading movies. Expectedly, you won't have access to Android Market, btu Mobinnova says it will include some games that "leverage the Tegra chip's multimedia prowess," and that it's even working on its own app store for the device.
Mobinnova Beam Tegra smartbook hits the FCC en route to AT&T
Looks like AT&T will be launching at least two smartbooks at CES -- the Tegra-powered Mobinnova Beam just hit the FCC database with a device ID of BEAMATT. Yeah, that's not so subtle. Sadly the listing doesn't have much else to say about the machine formerly known as élan, but we're guessing we'll find out way more about what AT&T's got planned for these not-quite-netbooks in Vegas.
Mobinnova élan renamed Beam, headed for mysterious carrier in January 2010
Mobinnova's élan, or the Beam as it's reportedly known as now, is a curious beast. It runs Windows CE, yet it's packing NVIDIA's Tegra graphics technology. Thus, it's not really a netbook, but calling it a smartbook might be short-changing it. Whatever the case, a recent interview with Mobinnova's CTO Mark Anderson has unearthed plans to launch the machine at CES 2010 with an undisclosed mobile carrier (or more, maybe) in America. We're also told that it should last between five and ten hours when playing back HD video, or up to 24 hours if it's just sitting around looping an iTunes playlist. Needless to say, our interest is definitely piqued -- hit the read link for a gallery of shots, and keep an eye right here for the rest of the story direct from Vegas.[Via Slashgear]
Snapdragon and Tegra smartbook rumors swirl before likely year end push
DigiTimes is reporting -- in its usual sourceless, rumorific way -- that a slew of Taiwanese manufacturers are set to deliver smartbooks based on the Snapdragon and Tegra chipsets by the fourth quarter of this year. Acer is leading the charge with an Android-sporting device, adding to its push of the Google mobile OS, while Mobinnova has confirmed US and European orders for its 8.9-inch élan, shipments of which might top half a million units in 2009. In the meantime, Inventec is expected to launch a 10-inch Tegra smartbook entitled Rainbow, which is probably set for a prompt rebadge. On the other hand, citing what it sees as weak demand, ASUS is holding back and won't launch anything until November at the earliest. While none of these rumors are massively surprising, and given the source could be downright erroneous, they do hint at a wild, industry-wide synergy of smartbook rollout for the holiday period. And we all love synergy.
Mobinnova Ice given lobotomy, reemerges as Highscreen PP5420 with Android
If you don't remember the Mobinnova Ice, we can't say we blame you -- apart from its unique and mildly amusing (but poorly implemented) secondary display, the Windows Mobile-powered handset really didn't have anything going for it to set it apart from the pack, and our hands-on experience with it left us questioning its build quality, its robustness, and indeed its very reason for being. Anyhow, it seems that a Russian company has taken the Ice's guts and remixed them as the Highscreen PP5420, offering Android atop the 528MHz Qualcomm core with a WQVGA primary display, 3 megapixel camera, GPS, and full HSPA. As other fly-by-night companies have already learned, Android really looks like garbage on anything but half VGA right now -- and who the hell knows what (if anything) that secondary OLED is going to be programmed to do -- so we'd probably stay away from this one. If you're still feeling it, though, it should be available now for 15,990 rubles (about $511).[Via Unwired View]
Engadget Podcast 153 - 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition
It's your holiday weekend America -- how are you going to spend it? We'll tell you how: by listening to Engadget Podcast 153 over, and over, and over. What better way to utilize your extra day off and barbecue-packed good times than by putting Josh, Paul, and Nilay on repeat for you (and your friends') enjoyment? Check out the 'cast this week as the boys explore the ups and downs of the Olympus E-P1, Dell's MID plans, and field a handful of questions from our handsome, intelligent, and just basically awesome listeners. You won't be disappointed. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent Wolbe Song: Virt - Katamari on the Rock Hear the podcast 00:02:10 - Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review 00:10:26 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market 00:14:22 - Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren't worth the fuss 00:24:45 - Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ 00:32:08 - Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development 00:38:10 - Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI 00:47:30 - Video: NVIDIA Tegra's GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash -- Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt 00:47:30 - Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing 00:50:17 - BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold 00:53:00 - RIM CEO: "SurePress is here to stay" 00:57:00 - 13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact 01:04:55 - iPhone 3GS review 01:07:15 - Palm Pre review Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI
Although we get irked by all the names assigned to netbooks, smartbooks, or in this case, viewbooks, we are still pretty excited about the élan's 1080p capabilities, and now the Netbook News crew are adding to our enthusiasm with a pair of videos investigating the machine's chassis and software. The UI they looked at is notable for being supplied by NVIDIA, and may therefore give a good indication of what future Tegra-based devices of all shapes, sizes and naming nomenclatures may look and feel like. We like the media-centric approach, which complements the platform's strengths well, and the chunky navigation icons avoid the pitfalls inherent in a screen of this size (8.9-inches). Click through for the vids, but be warned: super-glossy screens and pink laptop enclosures lay ahead.
Mobinnova élan smartbook powered by NVIDIA Tegra
Ready for the smartbook revolution? Too late, cause here they come -- and the first officially-announced product we've got is the Mobinnova élan netbook, a NVIDIA Tegra-powered machine that weighs in at just two pounds but can pump out 720p video on its 8.9-inch screen. It's not at all clear what OS this guy's running, but we're told that it has an "innovative 3D graphical user interface," supports hardware-accelerated Flash video -- which is huge freaking deal, if you ask us -- has WiFi and 3G, and can play video for five to ten hours on a single charge. That's pretty impressive, but we'll wait to see what pricing looks like -- if it's cheaper than the sub-$300 10-inch netbooks that are starting to arrive we'd say it could be a huge winner. That's not all for Mobinnova's Tegra announcements either: there's also the T8 tablet, which repackages the élan in a 10.1-inch tablet form factor with GPS and HDMI out. Definitely interesting -- check the full presser after the break.
Mobinnova Ice hands-on
On the surface, the Ice from Taiwanese upstart Mobinnova looks like a decent WinMo set, it really does. The spec sheet's solid enough with a wide QVGA display, AGPS, integrated FM radio, HSDPA, and a secondary touch screen for navigation (a la LG Venus) -- but regrettably, the specs only tell half of this tragicomic tale. Up close, questionable engineering decisions start to come out of the woodwork. Take the d-pad, for example: sounds like an awesome idea, but the screen the Ice uses is so dim you can barely make it out under normal lighting. Not that you'd have to make it out, since -- as far as we can tell, anyway -- the only thing it ever shows is the d-pad, which begs the question why they're using a display here in the first place (we'd figured that opening Windows Media would trigger a transition to music controls, but no dice). What's more, Mobinnova's skin to take advantage of the 400 x 240 screen is possibly the worst manufacturer-issued skin we've ever seen on Windows Mobile, with text that looks like it was hastily downscaled to the point of being illegible at the Ice's dot pitch. Now that Sony Ericsson's said to have made the leap to these guys, we're a little worried for the future of XPERIA, honestly.%Gallery-41523%
Mobinnova's ICE suggests Sony Ericsson might know what it's doing
So remember how Mobinnova allegedly has some hot new contract with Sony Ericsson for busting out future XPERIA models? We're still a little bummed considering how good the X1 looks -- and how good HTC is at its trade in general -- but digging into Mobinnova's dealings a bit gives us hope. Turns out the Taiwanese company introduced the "ICE" last month, a reasonably decent-looking Windows Mobile 6.1 slate with a 3-inch WQVGA display, 3-megapixel cam, WiFi, and HSDPA. It doesn't stand out against the myriad offerings on the WinMo front these days, but if nothing else, it shows that Mobinnova might just have the chops to keep pace.[Via pocketnow.com]
Sony Ericsson rumored to be moving away from HTC for WinMo phones
We tend to think Sony Ericsson and partner HTC pretty much nailed the X1 -- at least to the extent a WinMo 6.1 phone can be "nailed" -- but for whatever reason, it looks like the company might be looking elsewhere to continue development of its Microsoft-based lineup. DigiTimes (which, granted, doesn't have a spotless record when it comes to this sort of stuff) is quoting a Chinese paper in saying that SE is cheating on HTC with Mobinnova to produce its second XPERIA model, and what's more, they're suggesting that Sony Ericsson's entire business partnership with HTC will draw to a close when the final X1 rolls off the assembly line. We're seriously unsure why they'd go their separate ways after creating one of the most beautiful phones of the year, but hey, business is business.[Via the::unwired]
