Mio smartbook features VIA platform

Clamshell design devices seem to be the most popular type of mobile computing device. UMPCs and tablet PCs still do a good trade, but for the everyday consumer, a notebook or a smaller version of it is usually the type chosen. The battery life on netbooks hasn't been fabulous. The designs of x86 processors like VIA's C7-M and Nano series have come a long way in addressing the issues of power consumption and that's why they've been favored in netbook designs but when you take a clamshell design even smaller, to 7" screen devices, manufacturers are opting for ARM processors instead, not x86 processors. This doesn't leave VIA short-changed since they have cleverly invested in a subsiduary company, WonderMedia, who manufacture ARM-based platforms for mobile internet devices (MIDs) like smartbooks. Smartbooks are a new breed of ultra portables that shorten the list of features you'd expect on a netbook and increase the battery life.

WindowsForDevices brings news of a smartbook from Haleron which features an ARM 9-based Prizm 8510, one of WonderMedia's babys. "Haleron doesn't specify the resolution provided by the Mio Smartbook's seven-inch screen, but other devices of this type have displayed 800 x 480 pixels. The device comes with 128MB or 256MB of RAM, from 1GB to 4GB of flash storage, and includes an SD expansion slot, according to the company.

As well as offering stereo speakers, a microphone input, and a headphone output, the Mio Smartbook is said to include 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b wireless networking, and three USB ports. The system can be booted from a USB memory stick containing an alternative operating system such as Linux or Android, the company claims. (Misleadingly, Windows XP is also cited as possible, though Haleron elsewhere concedes that this OS requires a $55 "processor upgrade.")"

Months ago the gadget type sites starting murmoring about smartbooks saying that most manufacturers would have them out before the end of the year. With 5-6 weeks left of pre-Christmas sales, the Haleron Mio is already on the market for US$190. Haleron ships worldwide, taking orders online.

Linux to gain more foothold in mobile space?

As the year rolls on we're seeing more and more specs released for smartbooks. They're kind of like netbooks but even smaller and with crazy battery life - battery life like you're used to on a mobile phone in fact. I might have to change my blog name if they really can deliver what they promise. A lot of these smartbook designs use ARM processors and almost all of them run Linux. Both ARM and VIA joined the Linux foundation this month. Is the use of Linux on mobile devices about to increase with smartbooks?

"Two designers of low-power microprocessors – ARM and Via Technologies – this month joined the Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to standardizing Linux operating system. Both companies said that see huge opportunities for Linux in mobile devices, but while ARM processors power the vast majority of mobile phones, chips from Via are only found in a few netbooks (which are sold only in China) and low-power desktop/embedded applications." - XBitLabs.