Laptop upgrades are not difficult to complete yourself, and there are three key upgrades that you can easily accomplish to make your laptop run faster.  These will also give your laptop a higher resale value when you decide to replace it.

One of the most simple laptop upgrades to complete yourself is to upgrade your operating system. If you are running Windows XP or Windows Media Center, upgrading to Windows Vista is a good idea.  You will be able to take advantage of the many features of Windows Vista, as well as enhance the speed of your system.  An upgrade to Windows Vista for the Home Basic edition is under $100 and is worth it to enhance the efficiency of your system. (More…)

Here’s a great little video of the Sony UX180P playing Slamdunk via MAME. Nice. This thing is a PSP on steroids. Of course, it has a PSP on steroids price.

It will likely be a companion to the beloved TabletPC, and, perhaps, it might even steal some of the UMPC folks away from the ultra mobile platform, but there is no denying that the new Windows Mobile (Ver5.0) is a sexy little thing, even if it doesn’t appear to offer much in terms of increased PDA functionality. It’s main claim to fame seems to be that it comes in the same flavor and look-n-feel as its much hyped and oft-delayed big-brother, Windows Vista. Msmobilenews has the low-down on the little pocket OS… so if you still think that the UMPC is too big, and that the PALM is too useless, then this might be just what you are looking for.

[Thanks Alan]

If you’re a long-time reader of Ultranauts.com, then you know that we take the marketing and promotion of the UMPC and associated ultra portable platforms very seriously. And we love to point fingers when things don’t get done quite right. Today, we’re waving our finger at Best Buy and Samsung for their terrible Q1 display as shown above. Why we hate it: The Q1 is simply lost on an end-cap, with no supporting signage or a running demo to attract the eye (I had to turn the thing on for this photo). Empty shelves below the unit only reinforce the “nothing to see here” theme of the Q1 display.

Compare this to the Sony UX180P and Samsung Q1 displays over at Fry’s. While those have their weaknesses too, they are far more effective than this. In the end, retail displays probably aren’t mission critical for the UMPC platform overall, but if you’re going to invest space to promote the product, it needs to be done right. Afterall, you can’t exactly walk into many stores and see them in action. Retailers and vendors need to make sure that when we do see them, that they impress.

If old rumors are hard to kill, then this one is damn near immortal. The latest speculation on Apple’s much anticipated ultra mobile device has surfaced via T3 (the world’s #1 gadget mag!).

“The Apple rumour mill’s going crazy over speculation the Mac makers are prepping an ultra-portable computer for release next year, but what new technologies are likely to appear in such a secretive device?”

T3’s best answer to that question boils down to the Apple UMPC having a touchscreen that touches back. It also may sport a screen that acts as a camera (ala a two-way mirror), a new on-screen keyboard mechanic and solid-state storage.

If Apple is planning a UMPC (and it does make a lot of sense but it is a big IF), I think solid-state storage and a unique keyboard may be possibilities. The others are a bit too esoteric for a device debuting next year. I have no doubt that Apple engineers are hard at work on some cray stuff, but only time will tell if this latest round of rumor and gossip will amount to anything. Read more at T3.

Early adopters of new technology always run the risk of seeing their new gizmo become obsolete much faster than desired. This usually happens over the course of many months. Early buyers of Sony’s UX180P are crying foul and saying that Sony has made their rather large purchase obsolete in mere weeks by discontinuing the UX180P and debuting the Sony UX280P, a device that supposedly “fixes” many of the original model’s “shortcomings” (memory, disk space, etc). Tom’s Hardware Guide has investigated the situation:

“What does Sony have to say about the short-lived UX180P and why it has disappeared from the market? Basically: We only made a small number of the UX180Ps. The UX280P is so much better. As a buyer of a UX180P, I’m not impressed by the excuse that Sony made only a small number of UX180Ps and is now selling the ‘real’ UX as the UX280P.”

I tend to agree with the writer. But not because my new toy is now “last year’s model,” but because of the apparent lack of customer support. The “we only made a few anyway” attitude doesn’t sit well with us.

“I tried to get someone to do something about this mess. The UX180P was purchased from a Sony dealer who refused to take it back. Sony’s highest level customer service people assured us that they felt my friend’s pain, but that they couldn’t do anything about it. It was up to the dealer. A most elegant example of finger pointing.”

Sounds like the consumer got the middle finger in this case. Check out the full, funny and tragic article at Tom’s Hardware Guide. And, as always with cutting edge tech, buyer beware.

Let’s just say that I’m underwhelmed. While the “nearly full-sized” keyboard is a nice touch, the rest of the unit is either too much (MP3 controls, Gamepad controls) or too litttle (the screen). Of course, I haven’t held one of these in my hands, so I’ll certainly reserve judgment. It could be the best thing since pizza. See the S-X-gen in action.

Also made availabe today are some additional specs on the unit:

“The S-XGen has a robust shock-proof 20GB hard drive, a 6.5″ X 3.8″ X 1.125″ form factor, including a TFT Transflective Touch Screen viewable in sunlight, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth connectivity, SD MMC and Compact Flash sockets, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and a near full-sized Qwerty folding keyboard, stereo speakers and inputs/outputs, docking socket and tri-band cell phone communications capability. GPS capability will be available as an add-on.”

You can read more via S-XGens latest press release. Again, you can see the video here.

Today OQO announced that they are making some strategic executive appointments to “address their ass-whipping at the hand of the Sony UX180P company’s rapid growth this year.” Here’s the bottom-line:

“OQO Inc., leader of the UMPC-Pro market and creator of the world’s first smallest fully-functional Windows XP computer today announces that it has named Bob Rosin as the senior vice president of marketing and alliances, and Fred Bowes as the vice president of worldwide sales. These two strategic appointments further confirm OQO’s growth in the mobile PC market and position the company to address its rapid growth through 2006 and beyond.”

You can read more about OQO’s strategic direction, the appointments and their executives’ “midas touch” (thier words, not mine), by reading the full press release.