I’ve covered OQO news in the past, anticipated the OQO Model 02+ which was to come with their first Intel processor but somewhere along their timeline to come out with that model, OQO went out of business. Or did they?

From out of nowhere, OQO.CC has come forth with news about how they are/were the Chinese arm of the American OQO firm that went out of business officially in April of 2009, before the release of the OQO Model 02+. There are even official sounding specs on the device:

Operating system: Windows 7
Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Z550
Memory: SSD 128GB
Memory: 2GB
LCD: 4.8-inch bright LCD screen (supports 1024X600)
Touch mode: Multi-touch
Graphics: Intel GMA500
Sound Performance: Built-in speaker and microphone
Communication: Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 2.0 chip, 3G, Ethernet (optional), etc.
Computer Interface: High-speed USB2.0 port headphone jack DC power input port HDMI port
Interface expansion slots: Power input port VGA port Ethernet interface (optional)
Input Devices: Built-in keyboard pointer keys
Battery Type: Polymer lithium battery
Power adapter: V AC 12 V DC/100-240
Supplied Accessories: Standard Battery Double the battery power adapter
Price: 31,888 yuan

While it looks very official and even has an official release date of Q3, 2010… that price is a killer. 31,888 Yuan translates to about $4700 USD. Ouch!

Guess my old OQO 01+ will have to wait to get replaced after all.

[ Links: OQO Chinese ]

Cowon launched its Windows 7-based MID Cowon W2 in the Korea market. It comes with a 4.8 inch wide LCD screen with 1024×600 resolution, utilizes an Intel Atom processor for low power consumption. Features include full browsing, high-performance virtual keyboard and Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR.

Designed with metallic body, it supports up to 10 hours of battery life and 230 hours of sleep mode time. Other features included two USB ports, D-SUB, SKYPE support, JetToolbar and voice recognition function.

But I don’t see a forward facing camera and you know this is probably never coming to the US.

Link to the original article…

Lenovo announced the industry’s first hybrid PC for consumers, the IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook, a groundbreaking concept and new genre in PC form factors. The IdeaPad U1′s unique design is engineered to provide consumers with two PCs in one device – each with its own processor and operating system – that work together and independently as either a clamshell laptop or a multitouch slate tablet.

The IdeaPad U1′s fashionable scarlet red exterior has a footprint just smaller than a piece of paper and is paired with an equally impressive 3.8 pound thin and light design. With its unique detach-and-converge form factor, users can easily remove the screen to instantly switch from clamshell mode into a multitouch slate tablet. When the IdeaPad U1 is in its traditional clamshell form, the system boasts an 11.6-inch HD LED screen and runs Windows 7. When the 1.6 pound, multitouch screen is removed, it becomes an independent slate tablet with a powerful ARM processor, running Lenovo’s customized Skylight operating system.

Leveraging the benefits of both CPU, the two devices can synchronize to work as one with the ability to share battery power, 3G wireless, data and documents. In this way, the base laptop system can serve as a hub and docking station and the slate tablet as a mobile device. The two PCs have been engineered to work together and independently through Lenovo’s Hybrid Switch technology that enables seamless toggling between the two processors. For instance, users can surf the Web in laptop mode and then continue from the same point without interruption if they detach to tablet mode.

The IdeaPad U1′s laptop and tablet modes each support more than five hours of 3G Web browsing and 60 hours of 3G standby. In addition, the U1 comes with integrated video camera and two stereo speakers with integrated microphone with echo cancellation make this the ideal PC for users who need flexibility but do not want to compromise features or functionality.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook will be available June 1, 2010 with an estimated retail price of for under $1000.

Link to the original article…

SEOUL, Korea (AVING) — Toshiba Korea launched its premium ultra-thin notebook pc ‘PORTEGE T130′ in Korea market, which is designed to meet the demands of everyday mobility.

Measuring less than one inch thin at its slimmest point and weighing 1.7kg with 6-cell battery pack, it adopts a 13.3-inch Clear SuperView 16:9 widescreen. Powered by Windows 7 OS and power-efficient Intel ultra-low voltage processors, the PORTEGE T130 is equipped with ultra-fast DDR3 memory and lots of expansion ports, including HDMI-out.

Toshiba Korea launched its premium ultra-thin notebook pc ‘PORTEGE T130′ in Korea market, which is designed to meet the demands of everyday mobility.

Link to the original article…

SEOUL, Korea (AVING) — ASUS launched its two new Eee PCs ’1101HA’ and ’1005HA’ based on Windows 7 operating system. Equipped with 250GB HDD, it adopts a 11.5-inch HD LCD screen with 1366 X 768 resolution. Eee PC 1101HA is available in Blue, Black and White, and Eee PC 1005HA comes in Blue, White, Pink and Black. No words on pricing yet.

Link to the original article…

If the launch of Windows 7 is news to you, you either had to be under a rock, still on the International Space Station or enjoying your Apple 10.6 (Snow Leopard) too much to really care.

Or… you’re still clinging onto your Microsoft Windows XP SP3 install like it’s the best thing ever – ok, WinXP is better than Vista, even I’ll admit that. Windows 7 takes a lot of the stuff that made Vista wrong such as being slow as heck, inconsistent UI in some places, unstable for the oddest small problems among other things that tend to bother even the most patient computer user and fixes almost all of that. Almost.

It’s not perfect, but it’s the first OS that got my attention since the mature Windows XP or Windows 2000, which remains my favorite OS from Microsoft ever. With the three flavors of Windows 7, down from the 2 billion iterations for Vista, with prices ranging from $119 USD to $219 USD, or cheaper if you’re upgrading (I truly suggest a clean install), do your research by finding out which one is for you via the Microsoft Comparison for Windows 7 [ site here ]

[ Microsoft ]