Judging from the concept, the future works surprisingly well, so long as your desktop is populated with nothing but Asus products, computers, mugs and coffee products. [YouTube via Engadget]

Then I wonder how the data—the address book, the music, calendar, etc.—will be kept synchronized between its Android and XP personalities. Did they manage to share data structures between the two operating systems? Maybe. Or maybe it's just a funky prototype that doesn't really work at all. [Crunchgear]

Their Android netbook will actually be an Windows XP netbook, in that it'll ship in a dual-boot configuration. This sounds harmless enough, but it's not:

[Acer Chairman] Wang pointed out that the dual-OS strategy is much safer for Acer since consumer acceptance of the Android platform is unclear for the time being...Acer will be able to promote Android as a value-added feature, similar to Asustek Computer's Express Gate, to account for any price premium.

To characterize Android as a value-added feature is to miss the point entirely, the point being that Android is free, and XP is not. Bundling a gimpy, largely untouched version of Android into an existing netbook relegates the OS to novelty status, which isn't what we—or any other netbook watchers—had in mind earlier this week. [Digitimes]

These confusing little monsters have been popping up all over Computex. They're essentially mobile internet devices, except outfitted with voice-ready 3G SIM slots and marketed as handsets. Like most Mobile Internet Devices, they're Atom-based Windows XP devices, which means their batteries last, oh, about three hours, and that they're too big to be pocketable. As for why anyone would want a phone number permanently assigned to one of these devices, I have no idea.

The whole thing is even stranger when you consider what else is being shown at Computex, namely products based on Intel's upcoming Moorestown platform and Qualcomm's Snapdragon, two solutions that could potentially be used to build a new generation of more powerful, MID-like smartphones, that, at least for the tasks at hand, would actually outperform these clunky Atom mongrels, while lasting long enough to actually consider using. Oh, Computex. [Pocketables]

We don't know much about this mini-Modena, except that it's got netbookish guts and some definite kid appeal. And the people who made this thing really committed to it, custom-molding the body and optical drive tray, all in the honorable service of whimsy. For this, I cannot fault them. [Engadget]

Steven Guggenheimer, general manager of Application Platform & Development Marketing, outlined the plan in a speech yesterday at Computex. The theory behind the push, according to the report, is tied up with Microsoft's overstrict definition of "netbook", as gleaned from Windows 7 Starter Edition's alleged maximum specs.

The thinking is, I guess, that Microsoft would look bad for deeming one notebook as eligible for the discounted OS and not another, when the only difference between the two is an inch in screen size or a extra stick of RAM. By changing the term from "netbook" to the more descriptive, performance-aware "low cost small notebook PC," they can base the slim version of Windows 7 around that term's definition—which they are free to write—and avoid clashing with the public's broad preconceptions about what a netbook is.

Microsoft is planning to outline this plan in more detail today, but from here it looks a little silly. Microsoft can construct as many internal device categories as it wants, but to customers, a netbook will still be a netbook, and Windows 7 Starter Edition will be unreasonably exclusive. [Digitimes]

Don't get me wrong—I'm dead excited about the Tegra—but these names don't really get my blood flowing:

* Compal Communications, Inc. CN88 (netbook)
* ICD Ultra (tablet)
* Inventec Applications Corp. Rainbow (netbook)
* Mobinnova Mabo (tablet)
* Mobinnova ViewBook N910 (netbook)
* Pegatron Vivid (netbook)
* Wistron M5 (netbook)

But I suppose they're more proof-of-concept products than anything else, and besides, these aren't likely to be much more than reference designs for OEMs. But still! 30 hours of HD video! 130 hours of audio! Cut to the current press release:

* Listening to music for 25 days straight on one charge
* Watching 1080p HD video for up to 10 hours
* Playing video games at 46 frames per second

I guess 25 straight days of audio playback would help mitigate the thirding of HD video playback if they were believable, or even comprehensible. But 25 days of playback? Without a screen? In a lab? On Mars? With a 30-cell battery? Through headphones? And what on earth does "46 frames per second" gaming performance mean? In Doom II? Crysis? Addictinggames.com? We'll have to wait for the dust to settle on this one.

But let's focus on the positive: probably great battery life, HD video playback, including Flash, and decent gaming performance. We'll get back to you when someone has run a Tegra device properly through its paces, and when a manufacturer with a history of actually releasing products in America gets on board.

UPDATE: In the face of my "pooh-poohing", PC World's Mark Bachman makes a good point:

Recall that Acer, Dell, HP and others don't actually build PCs any more; they use a network of Taiwan and Chinese ODMs to build them, and, increasingly, design them. Getting the Taiwan ODMs to back Tegra is a sly way to encourage OEMs to ship them.

This is true, but all that ODM enthusiasm doesn't yet have direct consequences for most consumers. The big Tegra story will be when an OEM with any footprint in America actually bites. [Nvidia]

NVIDIA ENERGIZES COMPUTEX WITH NEW ION-BASED PC PRODUCTS

Highly Anticipated Platform Takes Off With 21 New Products for Small PCs

COMPUTEX, TAIPEI, TAIWAN-JUNE 2, 2009-NVIDIA, the world leader in visual
computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, announced broad adoption of its award-
winning NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor at the Computex tradeshow today. The new
products – introduced at an NVIDIA press conference in Taipei and on display at the show –
include small desktop PCs, thin and light notebooks, all-in-one PCs, and low power motherboard
solutions which all deliver a full PC experience in a small, low-power system.

The new products include:
Acer Desktop AspireRevo
AsRock Desktop ION 330
ASUS Motherboard C2N7A-I
ASUS All-in-one eeeTop ET2002
Colorful Desktop iHTPC
ECS Desktop 7AT-3L
ECS All-in-one Morph-I
Flextronics All-in-one Cobra-2
Flextronics Desktop Dove-2
Funtwist Desktop FION 330
ICD All-in-one Kitchen PC
Lenovo Notebook IdeaPad S12
MSI Desktop Windbox D200
MSI All-in-one Windtop AE2201
Pegatron Desktop IPP7A-CP
Pegatron All-in-one IPP7A-DF2
Pegatron Motherboard IPX7A-ION
TCL All-in-one Ruiyi 1010
Telcast Notebook TL-1000N
Weibu Notebook N10A
Zotac Motherboard ION-ITX

The new NVIDIA ION-based PCs and platform solutions are great for high definition video,
mainstream gaming, and GPU-accelerated video and photo editing applications that take
advantage of NVIDIA CUDA™ technology.

ION also supports DirectX Compute as part of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating
system. DirectX Compute running on NVIDIA's CUDA compute hardware architecture delivers
a major boost for small form factor PCs because it accelerates applications like video editing that
run poorly or not at all on today's low-powered PCs. Other GPU-accelerated applications like
vReveal and Badaboom let users quickly edit video and convert it for use on a portable media
player like an iPod.

"NVIDIA is really shaking up the small form factor space with ION graphics," said Rob Enderle,
Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. "Netbooks and nettops are the hottest selling items in
the PC space right now, but most are severely limited. ION removes the major chunk of that
performance limitation allowing PC vendors the perfect blend of design, performance, and value
that drives sales in hard times."

"Consumer interest in the Acer AspireRevo featuring NVIDIA's ION graphics has been
overwhelming," said Gianpero Morbello, senior vice president of corporate marketing for Acer.
"The Acer AspireRevo clearly demonstrates the power of ION to deliver a full and unique
multimedia experience for an amazingly low price. We see strong consumer demand in this
space."

NVIDIA ION graphics processors deliver big performance from small PCs with up to 10X faster
graphics than similar systems1. ION graphics support:

• Windows 7 and Windows Vista Home Premium
• Low-power CPUs including Intel Atom, Intel Celeron, and Via Nano processors
• Outstanding 1080p HD video with true-fidelity 7.1 audio
• Popular games including The Sims 3, Lego Batman, World of WarCraft, and
Battlefield Heroes
• DirectX 10 graphics with advanced digital display connectivity
• Accelerated video enhancement and transcoding using NVIDIA® CUDA™ and
DirectX Compute technology

I can't wait for a new Nicola Tesla to come and bring to use actual wireless power. [i4u News]

We'll presumably hear more about the new Eee line once Computex starts tomorrow, but for now we can see the larger Eee will be packing the same guts as the one Mark reviewed except for that mysterious, huge battery. We're not sure if we can believe Asus on that stat, but if it gets even half that, we'll be pleased. [Engadget]

A flaked-out little man, legs akimbo (above right.) cRadia, who showed this off at Computex, is touting the Flex Mini as the smallest portable cooler ever. Let's hope they start exporting it as soon as is humanely possible. Less penis burn (or whatever the female equivalent is—minge singe? Apologies.) can only be a good thing. [cRadia via Aving USA]

[Aving USA and Displayblog]

What Aiptek means by "50 inches," though, isn't clear. A 50-inch image is theoretically possible with any small projector, but not without serious degradation and fade. Since Aiptek gadgets have developed a somewhat somewhat patchy reputation, and there are no details yet as to the brightness and resolution of the 3M-based unit, the claim should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

[DigiTimes]

For now though, the execution doesn’t seem great. The staff at PC Perspective, who were the first to lay eyes on the device, couldn’t tell much about the exact specs of the projection unit but judging by the photo below (and the capabilities of other miniature projectors) the images won’t exactly be dazzling. The camera is also built into the top of the bezel, which creates two pretty big chunks of wasted space. Speculative reservations aside, built-in projection capability could have serious potential in the business world, so ASUS may be on to something.

[PC Perspective]

The guys over at AnandTech got a brief hands-on at Computex and tested the noise reduction and contrast filters, which performed as advertised. The card also fully supports DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD for Blu-ray, which makes the Xonar an attractive solution for home theater DIYers. ASUS plans to ship the card in July, but there's no word on pricing yet.

[AnandTech]

And fie, a wanderring thru ye Computex
I spyed and smelled the fayrer sexxe
The wenches of the trayde fair
Waggling their bustage and shaykin their hairre.

Yes, yes, I won't give up the day job. [ZOL]

Intel claims that this tech could allow up to eight secondary connections (which would mean eight wireless peripherals at once) as well as a concurrent connection to a standard 802.11x network, all on existing Wi-Fi hardware. It looks like anyone running current-gen Intel wireless adapters can expect to be able to connect with Ozma chip-equipped accessories with what essentially amounts to a driver upgrade.

There aren’t any Cliffside-enabled devices on the market yet, but Intel and Belkin have enough resources and market presence to give the system a pretty good chance at catching on. [Computer World]