World Exclusive: I got to play with the Lenovo and Aigo Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) at Intel Shanghai

By Josh Bancroft (Intel) (69 posts) on April 7, 2008 at 8:38 am

There are only about 20 Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) existent in the world. Most of them were in Shanghai last week for the Intel Developer Forum (IDF). 10 of them were in the Mobility Software Enabling Lab at Intel Shanghai, where I got special access today to shoot photos and videos, as well as some hands on time to play, with the Lenovo Ideapad U8 MID and the Aigo MID. They also had some other devices around for comparison - an old prototype UMPC with a pivot screen, a Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC, and a Fujitsu Lifebook UMPC. And I threw my iPhone in a few of the photos for size/comparison's sake.

I'll post a more detailed writeup of my impressions of the devices soon, as well as the video of the time I had with them (summary: the Lenovo Ideapad U8 looks and feels wonderful in my hands - I WANT one!). I spent several minutes on video with each device, examining the hardware and UI/software features. Right now, thought, it's almost 1 AM, and I need to get up early to do a blogging training with the Intel Shanghai software guys. But I wanted to get these photos up and available as soon as possible.

Please post any comments or questions you have either in this post, or on the photo's page on Flickr. I want to answer all of your questions, but I'm going to sleep for a few hours, and don't want to miss any of them. Please be patient, and I promise I'll answer all questions. :-)

The entire set of 33 photos is available in this photoset on Flickr. Feel free to browse through all of the photos (bonus photos: some shots of the Intel Shanghai sales offices, which occupy floors 22-24 of the ShanghaiMart tower). Click here to view as a slideshow, and you can see full size/resolution versions of every photo on Flickr by clicking "All Sizes" on the photo's page.

And now, the photos! Here are some that I think turned out best - be sure to check out all 33 photos in the Flickr set!

Aigo and Lenovo Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)

DSC_3809.JPG

Aigo and Lenovo Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)

Fujitsu Lifebook, Samsung Q1 Ultra, Lenovo MID, Aigo MID, prototype UMPC

Stack: iPhone, Lenovo, Aigo, Fujitsu, Samsung

Stack: iPhone, Lenovo, Aigo, Fujitsu, Samsung

Keeper of the MIDs, Lenovo Ideapad U8

Categories: Events, Mobility

Comments (12)

April 7, 2008 10:33 AM PDT


Tom		 how is this "world exclusive"??

I have seen videos and pictures of others playing with all of these devices!
April 7, 2008 5:20 PM PDT


Charbax		 Check my 20 minute interview video with the director of Intel MID program at http://techvideoblog.com/cebit/intels-pankaj-kedia-introduce..... processor/
April 7, 2008 5:31 PM PDT

Josh Bancroft (Intel)
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 @Tom - it's exclusive because this is the first time anyone, besides executives and corporate demo people, has been given access to these particular devices to play with, and take photos and videos. These particular devices made their debut at IDF a couple of days ago. Sure, we've know about the specs of these for a while, and seen photos. Up until now, everything has been prototypes. But how many people do you know who have had a chance to actually sit down and use one for a while? Not that I'm special, or anything, but that's why I called it an exclusive.

@Charbax - nice video! I can't watch it yet, because blip.tv is blocked in China. But I'll check it out when I get home.
April 7, 2008 8:55 PM PDT


Christien		 JB, these are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
April 8, 2008 2:56 AM PDT


Steve 'Chippy' Paine		 Great pics Josh. Thanks.
Steve.
April 8, 2008 5:14 AM PDT


auto rss		 Very good looking devices. Great pics and bad that the devices is only ~20,.
April 8, 2008 5:58 AM PDT

Du Wei 杜伟 (Intel)
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 Josh is using the Lenovo Ideapad U8 that is pretty much close to a final production. Not much people have yet have a chance to get a hands on a U8 with the imprint at the back with Olympics logo. Expect it will be available within a few months.
April 8, 2008 10:42 AM PDT


David Lipsey		 Josh -- Great pix...especially the Lenovo device w/ Olympic theme & the obligatory device stack-up w/ iPhone & Eee PC!
April 9, 2008 8:33 AM PDT


Rick (Vectorpedia)		 Great photo's of the MIDs..........using your iPhone was a good idea to compare their size.
April 10, 2008 4:26 PM PDT


cadouri		 very interesting, yes... nice video ! tnx for sharing with us .... thats alot of tehnology there...
November 19, 2008 7:01 AM PST


Juan Pablo Herrera		 Hi Josh. A few questions:

How long does the Lenovo's battery last?
How many megapixels does the camera have? Does it have zoom?

Thanks!
November 19, 2008 4:09 PM PST

Josh Bancroft (Intel)
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 Juan, unfortunately I don't have any info on battery life or camera resolution. The hardware I played with was pre-production, so it was subject to change, anyway. I think the Lenovo U8 is starting to trickle out in the US through some importers, so I'm sure it won't be long until we start seeing some reviews with more details.

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