Mobile Internet Devices are a hot topic today, but not in the way that MID makers would hope. It all started with Ars Technica explaining that these handheld computers are hard to find and buy. No news flash there since you can’t walk into an electronics retailer and walk out with a MID. Even online ordering is limited to a handful of places.

Steve examines this situation over at UMPC Portal and spotlights the fact that MIDs are a niche product. As such, retailers aren’t buying stock to sell. He’s right on that part, but he didn’t quite get into why that is.

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When James and I caressed the “I am not a netbook” Sony VAIO P in a video this year at CES, we walked away generally impressed. But since we only had a few minutes to finagle with the device, we obviously couldn’t determine how well it would suit mobile device users’ needs. There’s sure to be some very happy VAIO P owners, but the general consensus is that it’s too overpriced and underpowered for many. James later tried an evaluation unit, and while he enjoyed using it, he felt that it struggled with Vista.

Sony has a chance at changing that perception, and it looks like it’s taking it. Sony Insider found that a new VAIO P is running the FCC gauntlet for testing. While there’s no guarantee that a tested device will appear on retail shelves, it’s pretty likely that we will see an updated VAIO P. A product refresh that undergoes testing is a safe bet.

The question now is: What will Sony be changing? More importantly, what would it have to change for the device to interest you?

I think it’s pretty unlikely to see a major change in the form factor, and most, if not all, of the updates will be under the hood. Windows 7 support is surely going to be there. But the device really needs to gain an identity, too: Is it a “small notebook” as Sony claims or is it a netbook? At first, you’d think that doesn’t matter, but I think it does.

If Sony is positioning this as a full-featured, but small notebook, it needs to offer better performance — the $999 base model currently uses a 1.33GHz Atom CPU meant for MIDs. If instead, the VAIO P is meant to compete with netbooks and upcoming smartbooks, Sony could simply go low end on the inside — maybe even use an ARM platform — and whittle the price down to $300 or less. Sony is a premium brand, so I suspect that it’s better off going with the former router as opposed to the latter. And the bottom nameplate on the FCC image still references Microsoft Windows. Still, I like the VAIO P form factor for a cheap, smartbook. We should know more by October, which is when most of the FCC documents drop their confidentiality terms.  Oh, that’s around the time when Windows 7 launches, too. I’m sure that’s not coincidental.

I still don’t much about the Linux-based Plaszma operating system on the Zii EGG, but information abut the native browser landed today. A version of the popular Opera mobile browser will be fully integrated into the ZMS-05 processor powering the device. As I read it, the Opera Devices SDK version 9.7 is what the EGG will work with, much like the Opera browser on the Nintendo DS handheld gaming device.

Although the EGG supports Google Android, my suspicion is that Opera won’t be available when running Android — only in the Plaszma environment. This news gives me hope that the browsing capabilities will be fairly robust on this unique handheld.

Is that enough to open my wallet for $399 and a development version of the device? Not just yet. Although Android is maturing, I don’t know anything about the Plaszma operating system, nor do I know what application support it will have out of the gate. We already know that the device doesn’t offer traditional voice support, so apps is where it’s at in my book.

While some folks are still trying to figure out what smartbooks are supposed to be, I think Tim Bajarin is on the right track. He penned a post at PC Mag that’s right in line with my thoughts, called “Smartbooks: The New Netbooks.” In it, Tim illustrates a key difference — one that reiterates the fact that I could easily use a smartbook in lieu of a netbook — an always-on Internet connection and a browser:

“[A] smartbook may look like a netbook, but it’s ultimately designed to be more of an always-on connected device, with browser and Web- or cloud-based apps and services tied to what will be a complete set of telecom-related solutions.

While netbooks really do need the Windows eco-system that delivers compatibility with Windows apps and peripherals, a smartbook’s real value is its connection to the Internet and Web apps and services; it does not need Windows or an X86-based processor. Instead, these smartbooks can have various versions of ARM processors and even different operating systems, such as Linux, as long as they can deliver a solid and easy-to-use connection to the Web and all that it has to offer.”

Nearly all of my time on a netbook is in the browser and online. However, there are times when I power down my Wi-Fi radio in order to save some battery life. In a case like that, I rely on Google Gears for some offline mail, blogging or RSS reading. While I could (and often) do the same activities with smartphones like my iPhone or Pre, I’m far more effective with a larger screen and a full keyboard. That’s where a smartbook comes in to play — web work on the go. Given that these devices are expected to run on energy efficient ARM processors, like both of my smartphones, they should last all day on a single charge. And these devices are better suited to subsidies from carriers who can provide that wireless broadband service for a web-based device.

Will you be able to watch high-definition video or play complex, graphically intense games on a smartbook? Not as well as you could on a full notebook. But that’s not what smartbooks are all about. They’re about accessing the net for basic content creation and consumption using web services and apps. Sort of like what we thought netbooks would be, until we all thought we wanted cheap little laptops.

Earlier this week, TheAppleBlog turned me on to the Zii EGG from Creative. I didn’t have much interest at the time because the EGG isn’t yet a consumer device. It’s available to developers and OEMs — meaning it’s more of a working concept than an end product. But then I saw this video demo of the EGG over at CNet. Color me intrigued by the EGG based on the user experience walkthrough and these specifications.

• 3.5″ display running 320×480 resolution with 10-point capacitive multitouch support
• 1080p high-definition output
• 32GB internal storage memory, 256MB of RAM
• SD slot supporting up to 32GB of expanded storage
• 802.11g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2.1 +EDR, GPS, 3-axis accelerometer
• 3D hardware graphics accelerator supporting OpenGL ES
• Support for Android and the Android SDK

You can grab one of these devices for free, provided you pay $399 for the Zii Plaszma SDK. I don’t know the details of Plaszma, but of course you could turn this into an Android device with a little elbow grease. Behind the scenes is what Zii claims to be the “world’s first stem-cell computer.” This one chip handles everything from audio and video to processing power, which Zii says can be scaled from 10 Gigaflops to PetaFlops. That sounds impressive, but it remains to be seen what that means in real-world scenarios.

In a sense, the Zii EGG is a cross between a next-generation iPod Touch and today’s Android devices. And that’s intriguing to me. I’m really interested in a handheld device that can hold high-definition video for local playback but can be connected to my 1080p television for enjoying on the big screen. I’ve envisioned that for nearly four years now and the EGG seems closest to making that a reality now. I’m not sure I have $399 to find that out, but I’ll admit that I’m thinking about it. Pre-orders aren’t expected to ship for a few weeks yet, so I’m on the fence like Humpty Dumpty right now. I don’t want to order a half-baked unit only to end up with EGG on my face.

Best Buy and Clearwire stores will start selling the Samsung Mondi MID on August 1 in the three U.S. cities with live WiMAX service. The Mondi runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and is powered by the ARM-11 processor. The interface has been customized by Samsung, allowing widgets to be placed as desired on the screen for a tailored user experience.

The unique MID has a 4.3-inch screen (WVGA) with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. The inclusion of Windows Mobile makes this more of a PDA, although with the very fast WiMAX connectivity. When used outside the WiMAX coverage areas the Mondi falls back to Wi-Fi. Note that the Mondi doesn’t offer traditional cellular voice support — there are settings to use VoIP, however.

(Press release via pocketables)

There must be some tech news today that doesn’t involve the Google Chrome OS announcement, but if there is, I can’t find it. The big news from Google and the upcoming new OS for netbooks is generating a lot of tongue wagging, but more importantly it is provoking a lot of thought. There are many ramifications about a Google Chrome OS that will continue to pop up over time and one of them has hit me right between the eyes: smartbooks. Those are the net-centric notebooks running ARM processors that were a hot item at the recent COMPUTEX trade show. Many of the prototype smartbooks being shown at COMPUTEX were running Android but now I’m thinking that likely won’t happen.

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It hurt the whole mobile community to hear the woes of OQO. Last month, the company that helped define the early UMPC and MID markets closed up shop due to financial challenges. As sad as someone’s bad times are, certain folks can find a little happiness in the situation in the form of closeout prices.

GottaBeMobile says that our good buddy Hugo Ortega can still get a handful of OQO Model 02 devices direct from the factory. Prices are ranging from $995 to $1,495, depending on the configuration. If you want a piece of history as well as a pocketable PC, I wouldn’t wait on this.

I’m a little tongue-in-cheek with my post title, but watching the video of Kinpo’s Android tablet raises a good question about UMPCs in general. Why shoehorn a desktop operating system onto a mobile device? Obvious answers to that question mainly involve applications: support, availability, compatibility, and the like. The downsides are generally worse battery life due to X86 processors and inefficient user interfaces. That particular issue is lessening with Intel’s next-genration Atom platform in the works though.

UMPC debate aside, have a look at Kinpo’s 7-inch Android tablet, and see what you think. No word on price or availability yet, and it looks like there are still some kinks to be worked out. I like what I see. Thoughts on Android for a device like this?

(via Engadget)

Intel has been madly pushing the Mobile Internet Device (MID) for some time. MIDs are positioned to be cheaper handheld web devices that fall under the UMPC in size and price yet are bigger than smartphones similarly equipped. Intel has been pushing them hard in an effort to sell their low-end processors that are not typically used in other devices.

Sources close to the business state that Intel forecast MID sales of 150,000-200,000 devices since a new processor launched in March but the reality is closer to 30,000. Reasons for the low sales are said to be the poor economy and failure to convince consumers to take on the expensive 3G data plans needed for connectivity.

(via electronista)