It sports a similar form factor to what Nokia is offering though the keyboard on the xpPhone is noticeably more crammed and has what appears to be a mini touchpad. It also boasts of a 4.8-inch 800×480 touchscreen display, 1.3-megapixel camera, an AMD processor, 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD, WiFi, and various cell radio supprt, but what truly sets this apart is that it runs on Windows XP just as its name suggests. We’re not completely sure how successful it’ll be in providing consumers with an all-in-one device, but just by looking at it alone, this might just be another case of a jack-of-all-trades device that ends up being the master of none.

No price or availability date was mentioned. However, if you’re within the vicinity of Computex, you can check xpPhone out for yourself.

[via engadget]

Which leads us to “Pink”. The new but more reliable rumor from ZDnet provides us with a tasty glimpse of the new Microsoft product, probably not ZuneHD but a smartphone running Windows Mobile 7:

• Powered by Snapdragon and Nvidia Tegra and will be based on OMAP 3
• 3.5-inch touchscreen
• WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, accelerometer, 3 MP camera and a compass (everything iPhone has and the new iPhone will have)

Engadget is saying “Pink” is software (read), which does not discount a Zune phone or a new Windows Mobile phone, but Microsoft like Ballmer had implied several times, is already on the mobile phone business via WinMo and will not a branded hardware to prove that.

Tommasco Gecchelin has virtually confirmed that a MacBook tablet is coming. There’s no mention of a MacBook Nano Touch, however but, then, we’re only really interested in the multitouch feature on a MacBook. The new design will be groundbreaking in not just the touch panel implementation on an Apple laptop but the inclusion of a screen that actually folds flat on the table. You can’t do this on current MacBooks which only go so far.

The MacTouch will weight around 1 kilo and will feature a very wantable OLED screen. OLED screens aren’t only better with wider viewing angles than current LCDs, but they are also flexible. Imagine what Apple can do with OLED. Unfortunately, since the designs are only coming out now, it’s most likely we’ll have to wait for at least another year before seeing prototypes of Tommasco Gecchelin’s MacBook Touch. [designer is a Yanko Designer and does not officially work for Apple.]

More info: The MacBook Touch will come with a magic dock. It’s netbook-size with a touchscreen keyboard that’s a continuous part of the screen. Folded completely flat, it’s a desktop screen. There’s an iPen and an interesting Magic Dock. Alsom black Macbook comes back. More photos after the break.

[9to5mac via I4U]

The Archos 5 and 7 internet tablets will now enjoy ntive HD videos with the $20 HD Plug-in accessory after they update to Firmware 1.6.03.  These are 720 x 1280 videos playing at 24fps. The firmware update also fixes several bugs: recording bu on the new Archos TV snap-on, and bugs in the Music Library, TV Program Guide and in the GUI, including the animated wallpaper failing to go fullscreen. And the new features:

• HiDef Video Plug-in support
  - WMV/VC1 AP at 720p, 24 fps, 6 Mbps maximum
  - MPEG-4 ASP w/o QPEL and GMC at 720p, 24 fps, 6 Mbps maximum
• Network: Now display only one Hidden SSID item in the access point list even if several are detected (Note: previous Wifi configuration is lost after firmware update)

[more at dapreview]

As far as touchscreen phones are concerned, Samsung is definitely one of the leaders in the industry. As a testament to this, Samsung proudly claims that they now control 25% of the touchscreen phone market. In addition to this, their Samsung F480 is reported to do quite well despite being a bit outdated already as more than 500K units continue to ship out every month. Likewise, the Samsung Omnia i900 isn’t doing so bad either taking up 18% of the smartphone market in Germany, 17% in France, and 15% in Italy. That’s quite an impressive feat, but that’s all last year. This year is a brand new ball game, and it will be an even bigger challenge for Samsung to sustain their remarkable performance in 2008.

[unwiredview via cellphones etc]

Internet media tablets are all the rage with Archos these days, but for people looking for more features in a portable player, the new Archos devices will not sell them short. Today, Archos has announced the availability of the much-awaite TV module. Yeah, it just snaps on the Archos 5, so no need to send your Archos 5 back to the store. The TV module costs a pretty penny: 79.99 euros ($102) for DVB-T.

[archos via gmp3]

Rumors of Nokia entering into the mobile computer biz has been one of the hot topics on the internet lately, and according to Digitimes, Nokia is actually in talks already with several Taiwan netbooks makers and EMS companies for possibly tie-ups in their latest venture. As opposed to their traditional handset-making practice wherein the only the manufacturing is outsourced, Nokia is mulling the idea of a considering a joint design manufacturing (JDM) process this time around for netbooks. An Intel Atom and Qualcomm Snapdragon are the candidates for its processor while other possible partners include Compal and Foxconn. Safe to say, this will definitely be more than just a successor to the yet-to-be-released Nokia N97. No exact date when their first model will be released, but nonetheless, this does give us something new to look forward to from Nokia apart from their usual handsets.

[digitimes via unwiredview]

We thought the UMID M1 mbook was a pretty cool device but hi-tech Korea doesn’t think so. While Viliv sold all 1,000 units of the S5 in pre-order, UMID’s 500 M1 mbook has some left overs. Now, we have no idea how competitive the UMPC market is in Korea. Kevin Kang of CNET thinks it’ll only get hotter. As impressed as we were of the M1 mbook’s form factor, one cannot deny that Viliv is ahead in manufacturing efficiency and designing well-built devices, though we are not as impressed by its products aesthetically.

Lesson to UMID: don’t sell poor-quality hardware to Koreans, not ever again (read on to see for yourself).

[via engadget]

Here’s a product that will blur the definition of portable media player. Is it still a portable media player if it’s not too portable?

I’m sure i-Luv doesn’t care much for the answer since this isn’t the first time they announced a PMP of this size. The i1166 also serves as a DVD player (DVD, DVD+/-RW, VCD, CD, CD-R/RW) and iPod dock. Complete specs below:

•     MPEG-4 Certified to pay MPEG-4 Videos
•     Compact and light-weight portable DVD Player with iPod doc
•     Play back from DVD or your iPod video through the 9″ widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) TFT LCD
•     Watch your favorite video on TV through Video output
•     Built-in powerful stereo speakers
•     Enhanced user interface with detailed controls and graphics based display
•     Supports 3-way power sources
-AC Power Adapter
-Car Adapter
-Built-in Li-Polymer Rechargable Battery

Pricing not yet available.

[via itechnews]

I have to admit, Hyundai’s venture into the mobile phone industry (we’ve covered Hyundai PMPs, and also here) is making a big splash. Their medium-range phones look like calculators and Chinese iPods with antennae. The Hyundai Dolphin (relax, there’s a good reason why they gave it this name, just read on) is unique in its own way without being too ridiculous. The metal casing is polished into a mirror finished. It looks fun and disposable without being too toy-like. Am I making any sense. Anyway, the feature includes Yamaha speakers and a 3.2 MP camera. No pricing yet.

Rear shot after the break. Know why it’s called the Dolphin, also after the break.

Update: The Hyundai Dolphin (I really wish Hyundai would market this phone feverishly) will be available May this year for 250 euros, which is really reasonable for a touchscreen phone, hopefully 3G, though it looks WiFi-less.

[source via itechnews]