Tracy and Matt

There are lots of contenders out there in the UMPC market and Gigabyte are no strangers to small portable devices. Just a few days ago I managed to get my hands on the Gigabyte M528 which is their latest UMPC model. The unit we have on review is effectively a prototype but I'm told it's very close the the final unit which is due out soon.

The Gigabyte M528

The M528 form factor is similar to the HTC Shift but is significantly smaller.

The GIGABYTE MID M528 has a stylish, simplistic design and elegant appearance, and is compact in size. It is equipped with a 4.8” LCD touch screen display and only weighs 340g.

With a built-in 3.0 Mega-pixel camera and a 300K pixel webcam for video conferencing, it is also a great communications device.

In addition, the wireless communication design of M528 allows users to connect to the Internet and to process e-mails and messages anywhere.
The QWERTY slider keyboard and handwriting recognition make editing e-mails and documents easy. The M528 also has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.

Gigabyte M528 specification:

• CPU - Menlow 800MHz
• OS - Linux with Merry-Go-Round i-CON interface
• Core Logic - Poulsbo
• System Memory - 512MB on board
• LCD - 4.8” LCD panel 800x480 with touch panel
• Hard Disk Drive - 4GB Intel Solid State Disk
• Input Device - 47 key keyboard/Pointing button/Volume +/-
• 1 x Std. USB Host,
• 1 x mini-USB Client,
• 1 x micro SD
• 1 x 3.5mm Earphone-mic,
• 1 x GPS RF switching connector
• SIM card slot
• Bluetooth - Bluetooth 2.0 via USB I/F
• Camera - 300KP CMOS Web Cam,3MP CMOS AF Camera
• LAN/Wireless LAN - 802.11b/g via SDIO I/F, HSDPA capability
• Keyboard - QWERTY keyboard w/ EL backlight
• Battery - 3.7V 3060mAh
• Dimension - 152 x 80 x 22.5mm
• Weight - 300g

Nigel will have the review for us shortly!

Posted by: Matt