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Entries in Ultra-Mobile PC (2)

Wednesday

Oct222008

Medion E1210 Netbook

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 7:51AM

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by liewcf via Flickr"][/caption]

One of the UMPC's I have been following is the Medion E1210. There are two reasons why the 1210 has been on my radar, one is the feature list which puts it up with the big name Netbooks, and even makes a couple of their offerings look silly. The second is that this Netbook looked like it would be available through our local ALDI store.

Well, I have the Aussie details, as ALDI will start selling the E1210 from the 23rd of Oct, and with the $599 price tag, it might have been worth the wait. So here are the details:

- 1.6GHz Atom N270

- 160GB SATA

- 1GB RAM

- 802.11 b/g Draft N

- USB dongle

- 10" Screen

So we get a better chip, and a bigger Hard Drive, but the rest is much as we expected. You can choose between White and Black, but as with anything from ALDI, you'll get what is available in-store at the time.

I'll be trying to get some play time with the E1210, but as I only have access to a small regional ALDI, they might be a bit thin on the ground. I wonder if being exclusive to ALDI will effect sales? I can't see that the normal ALDI shopper is going to be looking for a Ultra portable netbook to supplement their busy lifestyles, but in the same week as the E1210 they have a $499 BBQ, so maybe I'm wrong.

The good thing is that we have a 10" netbook in the sub-$600 range and with a solid feature set here in Oz. And with a new Cloud OS from Microsoft on the horizon, the E1210 could be the mobile weapon of choice for the masses, if we can find one, and in white.

Jason Remnant

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UMPC of Choice

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 1:09PM

Image by Maverick Dal via Flickr

I am a technology whore. There, I have said it, I want an iPhone, I want new Mac, and I want the new version of Ubuntu. I probably don't need any of the above (although I could use a new desktop), but of all the new trends in the tech gadget world, the Mini mobile notebook is one that I could use. Why? Well, because I live on the net, I get all my news on the net, I communicate over the net, and do a lot of work over the net. So a device that lets me do that without the overheads of weight, size and cords is my new cool device of choice.

Mobile devices are not new, in the old days a couple of the top manufacturers produced ultra mobile devices but the timing and the price were wrong, especially the price. Asus may have just been testing the waters with the first Eee PC, but their timing was right, and delivering a geek gadget at a reasonable price gave more people the opportunity to find a use for it.

These ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) hit that sweet spot between the cell phone and the laptop. Because the cloud is so much more important to me today, I find myself trying to live on my phone, but needing more. I brought a cool laptop that would replace the need for a desktop, but find that it is either not portable enough or too important to head out with. This weekend is a perfect example, I'll be heading out to a Fly Fishing Course on the river. I don't need the computing power of the Laptop, but I wanted to spend some time writing, the old Imate Jasjam could do it, but really.....

So it looks like I need to look at the Eee PC, or maybe a MSI Wind or maybe.... What Asus started with the Eee PC looks to be finished by just about everyone else. I though I might put down some details on the main contenders and see if anyone has any ideas.

Choices are:

Asus Eee PC 901, 1000

MSI Wind

Medion Akoya E1210

Acer Aspire One

Dell E

Thanks to umpcportal.com for the specs and pricing.

Now as much as I'd love to pick one of these up, there is a slight problem with actually getting one. I have seen a couple of the MSI Wind's on Ebay and we are starting to see some of the Asus models filter into retail here in Australia, but as with most new toys, the pricing is a little "early adopter".

The Dell E interests me, 'cause I like Dell but there is only a blog post on the US site and nothing on the AU site, so more waiting for me. The Acer Aspire One was launched at the start of the month so I'll need to do some looking around to find one in the wild.

Jason Remnant