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Collector Inspector: How Old is Old Enough?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Are you one of those who can never bring yourself to throw anything out? Be it for sentimental value, monetary value or the gosh-darned thing just happened to be the cat’s favorite toy. (Cats seem to have a peculiar affinity for soft-touch keyboards). If your PC is old enough to be in a museum, here’s your chance to find out if it could be considered a collector’s item. PCWorld takes you through a list of 19 of the most collectible PCs of all time, with values ranging from $10 to $10,000+. But before you get out your calculator and start investing in the stock market, journalist, Harry McCracken warns, “Meaningful though it may have been to you, your trusty old ThinkPad running Windows 98 has little monetary value and no historical significance.” Read all about it here.

The New VIA NanoBook: What a Portable Computer Should Be
Monday, September 10, 2007
Described in an enthusiast’s online review as “VIA’s powerhouse” the tiny NanoBook has been busy making a name for itself. With a full-sized keyboard, in-built Wifi, Bluetooth, a 7-inch touch screen, upgradeable 30GB hard drive and running on Windows Vista or XP, this ultra-mobile device keeps you on-the-go for a good four hours. Modules like a broadband wireless card, VoIP or GPS system can be easily plugged in using the USB slot at the side of the screen. According to the review, “In short, it’s a portable bloggers dream come true that packs enough computing power to blow away those uber-trendy folks and their puny, underpowered iPhones. This is what a portable computer should be.” Now who can argue with that? Read more here.

The Final Lap of the Solar UMPC Tour
Monday, September 10, 2007
Nine days since he started his journey, Steve Paine has crossed the finish line with 102 of his best photos posted in the photo gallery on his UMPC blog. The adventurous Englishman, sponsored by VIA Technologies, had set out to tour Germany on his bicycle and stay connected to his blog using only solar power to power up his UMPC.

“It has been a fun and challenging time trying to balance a 450km cycle camping trip with work and a solar powered UMPC experiment but [it has] been fully worth it. And that includes that last three days of full cloud cover and zero solar power possibilities,” writes Paine. “Although I managed to perform a lot of tasks on my simple mobile phone, none of the mapping updates, images, GPS tracks and detailed postings would have been possible without a UMPC and the VIA-based Samsung Q1b has been a reliable and efficient partner all the way through. It hasn't missed a single heartbeat.” Read the entire travel blog here.

The whole world's a paparazzi
Monday, September 10, 2007
The streets of Sydney Australia last week were crowded with protesters and police during the APEC summit, which saw world leaders from across the globe visit the city to discuss an array of politically, economically and environmentally controversial issues. The regular media here in Australia covered the event ad-nauseam. They were not alone. One of the cameras on the streets was that of Cnet.com.au, sister site to the hugely successful US-bred Cnet.com. What would a tech site be doing covering APEC? They were covering the people covering it. As the Cnet.com.au camera pans across the crowd, it's quite amazing to see how many people were there undertaking citizen journalism. They interviewed a handful of people about what they intended to do with their footage and why they were there capturing the event. It's a brief but fascinating glimpse into an ever-growing phenomenon. Watch it here.

The Amtek T770 UMPC
Friday, September 07, 2007

The Amtek T770 is a sadly overlooked UMPC. It comes with a great set of speakers, highly accurate touch screen and a crisp 7 inch screen. This video shows you all of its features.

Interview with the Solar powered UMPC guru
Friday, September 07, 2007
We have been following a story in the news here on VIA Arena over the last week or so about Steve "Chippy" Paine who runs UMPCPortal.com who has been traveling across Germany on a bike outfitted with solar panels to charge his Samsung Q1b UMPC. UltraMobileLife.com have taken the time to shoot him a few questions about the trip and the hardware he used:

"There's a huge difference between a regular laptop and a power-optimised UMPC. Take, for example, this core 2 duo laptop sitting on the desk next to me (it's my wifes!) If I was to set it up for battery optimised usage I could probably get it down to 12 or 13 watts drain. The moment I start using it however, the processor kicks into action and before you know it you're draining 20 watts from the battery. The Q1b, in comparison can drop to an amazing 6 watts when idle and stay under 10 when being used for simple operations. Thats half the power utilisation of a modern laptop. But its not just about watts. The weight and size play an important role."

Read the full interview here.

Hardware news
Friday, September 07, 2007
Seagate has come up with a full storage solution called the Freeagent Pro Drive. With computer sizes constantly shrinking and the need for higher capacity storage to run multimedia applications, this drive produces “impressive performance scores.” Aimed at the desktop segment of the IT market, using the SATA transition protocol allows it to run at 3Gbps outside the case. Drive sizes range from 320GB to 750GB with a 1TB drive in the pipeline. Read the review here.

Looking for a high quality, feature-rich power supply that won’t take a huge bite out of your wallet? Ultra Products’ X3 power supplies now have a 600-watt unit that’s SATA-ready, PCI-E ready, and energy efficient. Find out more about it here.

PowerColor´s Radeon HD 2600 Pro finds itself under the microscope of the guys over at Chilehardware. They subjected the video card to a battery of tests including 6 games played with different configurations of resolution and filters. At the end of a grueling series of games, they finally compare it against other contenders. Read all about it here.

Packard Bell Launches EasyNote XS
Friday, September 07, 2007
With new releases everywhere, Packard Bell recently announced the launch of the new EasyNote XS, a 7-inch notebook. With regular notebooks being too bulky and PDAs too limited in scope, the EasyNote XS addresses the need for something in between, providing a full service PC with advanced portability. The VIA C7-M Ultra Mobile Platform forms the core of the new notebook.

“For all of us who want to stay connected in a comfortable way, this is the perfect companion,” said Emmanuel Fromont, Sales & Marketing Vice President, Packard Bell. “It has all the functionalities of a notebook. It just happens to be very small.” Read more about the launch here.

HP Makes a Record Release
Friday, September 07, 2007
Hewlett Packard is back in the headlines with a total of 59, that’s right, 59 new releases. With 56 of these in the iPaq line, five are new iPaq handhelds, including the HP iPaq 900 Series Business Messenger. This 3G cell phone has a QWERTY keyboard for easy messaging and was designed for professionals in need of mobile e-mail, phone and the capability of running enterprise applications. Also released was the gaming PC, Blackbird 002, featuring optimized airflow and an aluminum chassis. The list is endless. For that kid in a candy store feeling, check out the whole batch here.

Logisys Area 51 Black ATX Windows Case: More than Just a Pretty Face
Friday, September 07, 2007
Benchmark reviews recently took in and took apart a brand new Area 51 ATX Windows case. The two alien eyes up front, lit by a blue LED light, and the large rectangular glass panel built into the side make it a work of modern art. Following the “alien” concept, the power-on button features the face of, what else, an alien, with a mini version just below it for the reset button. The interior wiring is basic (i.e., simple). Britten Wolf concludes, “I would say that the age long saying “you get what you pay for” is true with Logisys Area 51W and for once you can be happy with what you get! I would recommend this case to anyone who is in need [of] a case to replace the plane cubical tower that so many of us have looked at next to our desks or in our home office.” Read the whole review here.