New Sony UX UMPCs with 64 bit – Sony UX72, Sony UX92 and Sony UX490

According to Akihabara News Sony has release much awaited new models of the Sony UX. I got the UX90S J and it is one of my favourite gadgets. But the new models are: UX72, UX92S and UX92NS. The new models have the new 64-bit Core Solo chips on board (U2200 1.2 GHz and U2100 1.06 GHz) and the smallest model will feature the Celeron M523 (32 bit).

Unfortunately no new keyboard it seems. So i'll keep my old trusted 90S...

A new option of us who loves SSD drives – the UX can now be delivered with the 48GB or 64GB SSD drive. J

One of the US versions (that of course have different model numbers) will be called 490NC – specs below: Price with B&H Photo after rebates: US$ 2500,- and seems like another kit (with Intro Kit?) will be available for about $3100

Processor 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Solo Processor U2200
Cache L2: 2 MB
System Bus 533 MHz
MemorySlots: 1
Type: 400 MHz PC2-3200 DDR2 SO-DIMM
Installed: 1 GB (1x1 GB)
Capacity: 1 GB
Display Type: Widescreen/Touchscreen LCD
Size: 4.5" Native Resolution: 1024 x 600 (SVGA)
Graphics Display Card Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 251 MB Total Available Graphics Memory

Storage and Expansion
Hard Drive Bays: 1x
Installed:48 GB, NAND
Type:PATA
Optical Drive None
PCMCIA Expansion None

Input/Output Connectors

Ports
1x USB 2.0
Port Replicator Connection
Port Replicator
1x 4-Pin FireWire-400/iLink
3x USB 2.0
Display Output
1x VGA via Port Replicator Only
Audio
Speakers: Integrated Monaural Speakers
Headphone: 1x
Microphone: 1x Input, 1x Integrated
Video
Digital: 1x In/Out via FireWire-400/iLink on Port Replicator Only
Analog: 1x A/V Output via Port Replicator
WebCam
1x Integrated 0.3 MP Digital Camera (Front)
1x Integrated 1.3 MP Digital Camera (Back)
Flash Media Slot Memory Stick DUO Media with MagicGate Functionality

Mobile phone manufactures agree on universal cable standard

According to a press release from OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform) they have now agreed to make the micro USB cable the standard for connections to the phone and charging the phone.

Many Phones - ONE charger - PERFECT :-)

Nokia's participating member and driver behind the standard, Markku Verkama says "The OMTP's work to bring consensus for what is such a simple yet significant recommendation will have wide reaching benefit. With the reduction of cables needed for mobile data connectivity, we can further enhance user experiences in our devices while reducing the burden to the environment."

Read the press release here

Thanks good – this will reduce the amount of crap chargers and make other devices follow the lead. An iPod Touch with micro USB charger would be nice.

And now there will really be a market for building micro USB connectors into cars, stereos and other gadgets – if not for fun and charging – then for usability.

Unfortunately Micro USB is not in so many phones yet. (Moto Razr? Only)? I have inserted picture – thanks to mobileburn.com. Mini USB on the left – Micro USB on the Right. But a bright future we have we have. J

Let's clap our hands! And cheer for micro USB in all our gadgets.

iPod Phone in UK Nov. 9th

Damn – it will be out in the UK on the 9^th of November according to Engadget.

But who in EU is bonkers enough to buy a £279,- phone PLUS data package? For use on the EDGE network only? Apple - Europe is 3G now – remember?

Despite free "unlimited" UK Wi-Fi Roaming with TheCloud (or included in the price) and with maximum of 1500 page views pr. Day.... – again hmm..

Mum is the word – and the word from my mum is "Get lost and make a decent phone with 3G"

And my comment – it is not even on my wish list. Get it a keyboard and 3G and 16GB and we talk.... Then at least it would be an upgade to my E90 or HTC Advantage X7500

HTC Shift Battery Details 7.4v 2700 mAh

Finally I got the details about the current battery.

Had another chance to play with the Shift – and I still like it. It might NOT be the shipping battery – but feast your eyes on it.

Seems like quite efficient machine in my book.

I have cut away the serial number.

In the recent model i played with – the Sync between the "Non WM6 WM6 with HTC Shift Vista Windows Mobile Sync Center seemed to work."

Still no browser though – only messages (email/txt), calendar and weather stuff.

Let us plug in Opera J PLEASE and let it use the full screen.

Sony OLED TVs in the market for Christmas

One of the best things I saw on Gitex 2007 was the Sony OLED Screens. On display was the 11,5" demo screens.

An OLED screen has several benefits over LCD. First of all there is not a backlight shining light through it. Each pixel is its own light source, just like plasma.

Energy consumption is a lot lower as well, and picture quality and colour range is very good compared to LCD displays. That means better, thinner and more lightweight screens.

OLED screens are already available in some phones and car radios etc. But OLED screens are still hard to manufacture in large sizes.

But it might seem like Sony will bring the first products to market in Japan for Christmas this year. The Sony staff claimed that the 11,5" TV and a 27" OLED TV will be first to be released.

No news on when it will hit Europe or USA.

Check the pictures J

The HTC Shift Official Specs – Scanned Brochure

Well some people don't know me yet J so some "Doubting Thomases" have claimed my specs from HTC might not be the right ones. Well – here they are...

Press here for High Res Download	Press here for High Res Download

Direct from the Hand that feeds you the news. J

All brochure content is of course (C) HTC.

The rebirth of the Turbo Button

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember the first clone PC's? Well my professional track in the computer field started about the same time the PC was launched in about 1983.

The first mass sold IBM PC XT computers as they was called – ran at 4,77 Mhz.. (Yes.. Mhz...) – and so did the first clones. But it did not take the Asian clone manufactures long to add a turbo button – increasing (over-clocking) the pc to 5, 6, 7 and even 8 Mhz.

You pushed a button (the big red "Turbo Button") on the front of the computer and – voila – the computer increased the speed. The reason at that time for not running at high speed all the time, was that some software was dependent on the slow "original" speed of 4.77 Mhz. Some games did look pretty funny when processor speed doubled...

Well – at Gitex I found the Turbo Button re-incarnated – but this time in a notebook – and not to slow down games – but to slow down battery drain – and over-clock the CPU when you need it. The current generation of processors really over-clock well – and MSI is taking advantage of the over-clock possibility for a Gamers Deluxe Notebook.

So look at the pictures of the MSI notebook – a giant silver and red turbo button. Damn like fashion the IT industry seems to revolve in about 20-25 year turns. (Remember Blade's – mini mainframe technology that came a good 5 years back)

So say welcome to the MSI GX600 Extreme Edition with MSI's Exclusive Turbo Drive Technology... that turbo drives a Merom T7500 from 2.2 Ghz to about 2.8GHz.... J And btw. I know this is not "new" news – but to me it was – and I was chuckling to myself all the way to the next hall.

Kaz911 Interview with Kevin Chen about HTC Shift

Today I was lucky enough to meet up with Kevin Chen (Picture), General Manager for HTC Middle East, Africa & CIS. Kevin is a very nice and open guy, well.. as open as you can be J when the world is on your back regarding information on the HTC Shift.

I asked Kevin a lot of questions especially about the HTC Shift. So I have filtered out all the stories about old days, as we know some of the same people in Taiwan (they might come in a follow up – remember I'm an "old" IDG PC World Editor J ) and concentrated this write-up on the bare HTC hardware and software questions most of you guys have posted to me.

First of all – as some of you know – Qualcomm is suffering some patent setbacks in the US - but according to Kevin the current Qualcomm problems will NOT affect delivery to USA. HTC expect to launch late November or December to the US market place. Availability in UAE and possibly Europe will be early Q4 – maybe first weeks of October. This question was from Rob and the guys @ www.gottabemobile.com and hope answer was clear enough. :-)

Second – Kevin and HTC keeps saying... "The HTC shift does NOT have Windows Mobile embedded, but a (in my words) a Wireless data modem with advanced BIOS and some of the same applications as you would see on a Windows Mobile Device. Well – again in my interpretation it is Windows Mobile – but very limited version. J - There are no plans for any voice capability or full Windows Mobile Office for that matter. It is ONLY there to perform as a modem and provide push mail technology while the rest of the computer is in sleep mode. But anyway my pictures clearly show a Windows Mobile kind of OS J so let's see what can be done about it from 3^rd. Parties.

Regarding the screen. I asked Kevin why they chose a tiny resolution LCD, and the answer is simple. The screen is only 7" and since power consumption has to be low, HTC decided on the low resolution screen. That's it final J

Well that was all I could get out of him so far J but we agreed to touch base closer to the shipment date. But while browsing round at the stand J I overheard that something else will be ready for the HTC Shift launch – maybe we are talking SSD drives or high speed internal ready boost memory? I keep you posted – as always.

Last thing missing is now figuring out the Voltage of the battery for Chippy from www.umpcportal.com J but that should be coming - so we can calculate how efficient the HTC Shift spends its battery juice.

Well – in my wish book for the perfect UMPC for the Road warrior is:

Take the HTC Shift and the Sony UX90s and put them in a blender and let the best parts survive. J I HATE the keyboard on the UX90, but I love the screen – even though it could be 5,5" to 7" and not 4,5" for 1024 x 768. Take an enhanced TyTN keyboard and put it on the UX 90s – would be a big step forward J then embed a true Windows Mobile - and I would be happy – and finally – add an ACTIVE touch screen with a good pen and it would be perfect. J Add a 5-7 hour battery life and I would never look back.

My other HTC Shift Postings

HTC Shift Official Specs

HTC Shift WM6 UI Pictures

HTC Shift Sneak Preview

HTC Shift launch at Gitex in Dubai

PS: If you look at the second picture – to the far left is what is now the tallest building in the world – Burj Dubai. Estimated final height between 650 and 800 meters.

Gitex 2007 picture review of i-Mate Ultimate 8150

i-Mate officially announced the Ultimate 8150 and Ultimate 6150 today. Specs to be found elsewhere – fx. On www.msmobiles.com.

Release date is said to be first or second week of October according to the staff at i-Mate.

Here are a few pictures of the Ultimate 8150. For pictures of the 6150 click here. Again – fair use please – use the pictures as much as you like as long as you give kaz911 the credit and link back directly.

HTC Shift Official Specs

Just arrived in my inbox...

The final Specs (as HTC Claims them) (c) kaz911 rescue
Remember you found them HERE FIRST :-)

WM6 new pictures - here
Older info and mini review- here

update - yes it is the official specs - got them from HTC today - but nothing is ever final is it?

Processor and Chipset	Intel Stealey 800 Mhz (c) kaz911 rescue Qualcomm MSM 7200, 400 Mhz
OS	Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Memory	RAM 1GB
Hard disk	1.8" 40GB or 60GB hard disc (60GB option)
Dimensions	207mm (L) x 129 mm (W) x 25 mm (T)
Weight	800g with battery
Display	7" 800x480 TFT LCD display with adjustable screen angle and touch sensitive screen. (c) kaz911 rescue Supports AERO with 3D flip
Network	HSDPA/UMTS; Worldwide UMTS (Tri-Band 850, 1900, 2100 Mhz) HSDPA: Up to 3.6Mbps for download and 384 kbps for upload (c) kaz911 rescue UMTS: Up to 384kpbs for up- and download GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Quad-Band 850, 900, 1800, 1900 Mhz (c) kaz911 rescue (The device will operate on frequencies available from the cellular network)
Keyboard	Slide-out QWERTY keyboard (c) kaz911 rescue
Mouse Control	Left/right mouse buttons and MicroPad
Wireless Connections (c) kaz911 rescue	Bluetooth 2.0 Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
I/O	1 USB 2.0, VGA out, and 3.5 mm stereo audio out with Microphone. (c) kaz911 rescue
Card Slots	USIM/SIM card slot (c) kaz911 rescue SDIO slot with hot-swap functionality
Security	Fingerprint sensor
Web Camera	Colour CMOS VGA camera for video conferencing
Audio	Built-in microphone and dual speakers
Battery	2700 mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion polymer battery Windows Vista operating time: Up to 2 hours SnapVUE standby time (push e-mail enabled) Up to 53 hours (c) kaz911 rescue SnapVUE standby time (push e-mail disabled) Up to 11 days.

Gitex Pictures HTC Shift WM6

Part 2 of my Gitex Pictures Review

Of course I went to HTC J too see the HTC Shift and get some more pictures for you guys – since you all really wanted more WM6 info.

Well still looks like a very limited version of WM6 – with only mail and calendar.

But today's NEWS UPDATE is – HTC Shift HD will be upgraded from 30GB to 40GB before shipping in Q3.

2. update - read the new complete official specs here: Kaz911 Official HTC Shift Specs

Check the pictures incl. Device info. J Remember you can use the pictures if you credit kaz911 rescue AND provide direct link to this site!!

My latest info says – there will so far be no voice capabilities but it might change due to popular demand. HTC still says WM6 only support 640x480 so still black bars in the side. And as you can deduct from the pictures – no office – only Calendar, E-Mail, SMS, Weather, Contacts and settings. So far missing in my book are WiFi from WM6 without shift being online and Phone and Web Browser? But we can cross our fingers and HOPE it will be included.

And to startac – here you go – fast enough for you? J (got a comment about 3 min. ago...)

Gitex 2007 Picture Show – i-Mate Ultimate 6150

Hi Guys,

Just returned from day 1 of Gitex J and thought I'd get you the pictures ASAP. Please notice all pictures are (C) of Kaz911 Rescue and you can use them on your own website – AS LONG AS YOU PROVIDE DIRECT LINK to kaz911.blogspot.com, and credits kaz911.blogspot.com for the pictures. No other strings attached. But it must be direct link – no redir statements or any tiny URLs etc.

i-Mate Ultimate 6150 pictures

I had a chance to play around for a bit with the i-Mate Ultimate 6150 J Seems nice and sturdy – but a bit slow for a high speed device. But that might just be either that it is a late prototype software or due to all the Arabic software installed on the unit. Would i buy it? No – the lack of real dialling keyboard is a deal breaker for me. But the screen looks nice (640 x 480).

End of part 1 J Ultimate 8150 and Garmin Nüvi 700 + HTC Shift Windows Mobile + Sony OLED TV pictures coming.

HTC Athena / Advantage X7500 WM6 officially available

Get WM6 for X7500

Now the upgrade is available for all WWE editions. Register at www.htc.com to download the WM6 update.

You can read my comments here

Recap of the latest news

Symbian Related

The Nokia E90 Bug list – I got it and I like it – despite the bugs

No VPN for Symbian – Why ?

Installing Exchange Certificates on S60 – Tutorial on S60 VPN

Nokia N95 - RIP – dead and gone – never Nokia N95 again

HTC & WM6 Related

Sneak Peak at HTC Shift – Mini Review HTC Shift

HTC Shift to Launch at Gitex In Dubai – The Launch is confirmed

HTC Athena / Advantage X7500 Windows Mobile 6 Review – the WM6 Mobile ROM review

12 New Phones from i-Mate – i-Mate launch at Gitex

Being HTC Touched – HTC Touch Review

Skype Related

Skype in Dubai – Skype is again working in Dubai without tricks