If you've been frustrated because Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor gave your blazing-fast, three-month-old $10,000 gaming monster PC a bad rating, you're not alone.In addition to consumers, chipmakers such as VIA and AMD have commented to Microsoft about the program's deficiencies. Now, Microsoft, admitting that the results can be "misleading," plans to revise the tool, including changes to the user interface to make information more accessible, and possibly fine-tuning the results so that they're more in line with standard industry benchmarks. So, if your PC flunked the test, your best bet is to wait a while before splurging on upgrades -- besides, it's not like you don't have plenty of time before you'll need to be Vista-compatible.

DualCor Technologies has just released the final specs for their cPC “ultimate convergence device,” and those who were looking forward to this model are bound to be horribly disappointed: not only will the production version lack cellphone capabilities out of the box as first promised, but the device contains no radios whatsover. That’s right, if you want to get your WiFi, Bluetooth, or 3G on with the cPC, you’ll need to bring your your own CF cards or USB dongles to get connected, which takes an awful lot of convenience out of a product designed to lighten your load. Besides the crushing lack of wireless, the rest of the specs seem decent enough, with the XP side of the device powered by a 1.5GHz Via processor that’s backed by a full gig of DDR2 RAM. Both OSes can store data on the 30GB hard drive (and not 40GB as we previously reported) or the 1GB of NAND flash memory, with the Windows Mobile 5.0 side is supported by a 400MHz Intel PXA263 chip and 128MB of DRAM. GottaBeMobile is reporting that the cPC will be shipping within the next 90 days, though now that the product is devoid of any wireless capabilities, we’re curious to see what type of customer actually picks one up. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via jkOnTheRun]

If you were one of those early-adopter types who pre-ordered your TabletKiosk eo V7110 UMPC, then you've probably already received the bad news. After selling-out their "entire initial production" stock (is that 10 or 10,000 units?), TabletKiosk is officially delaying what would have been the first UMPC to market with "most orders fulfilled by the beginning of June." It seems those first eos suffered a problem whereby the system fan was striking the unit's back panel which now must undergo a "slight redesign." We can only assume this affects shipments of the SmartCaddie in Japan and the It's UMPC version we've seen floating about France as well. Alas they won't be the first, but at least TabletKiosk will have the distinction of being the cheapest UMPC on the market come June.

[Via cNet News]

Wondering who to blame for high-priced UMPCs? According to "market sources" out of Taiwan, it's Intel -- and Asian manufacturers in the company's thrall. The story goes something like this: Microsoft really, really wanted the UMPC to be priced at around $700. And the company was all set to partner with VIA, which could have delivered the goods using its C7-M processor. However, manufacturers like Samsung and Asustek demurred, insisting that Intel, with its good name and R&D might, was the only way to go. That bumped pricing up to the $1,200 range, and soured the whole UMPC launch. Well, maybe. If that's the case, we still have to wonder why the VIA-powered TabletKiosk eo is going for $900. And we can't help but point out that both Samsung and Asustek have had no trouble spurning Intel before, pumping out AMD-powered computers when it suited them. Regardless, VIA may have the last laugh. Samsung is already planning a $700, VIA-powered UMPC for later this year, and if other companies follow, pricing for the mini-tablets may actually come down across the board. Whether that will goose demand enough to make this a solid product category is, of course, another story.

[Via TG Daily]

src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/umpc_mce-(small).jpg" />Telecoms Korea is quoting a Samsung company
official who claims a low-cost, Via-based UMPC will be launched in the second half of 2006. While no model number has
been released, it will be priced at "slightly over $700" undercutting that other Via-based href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/28/tabletkiosk-umpc-pricing-revealed/">TabletKiosk eo by about $200 or href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/12/samsung-q1-gets-2-000-price-tag-in-korea/">less than href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/31/samsung-q1-umpc-available-for-pre-order-for-1-400/">half of Samsung’s own
Q1 (pictured). We’re still a few hundie above that href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/02/microsoft-said-to-issue-specs-for-ultramobile-lifestyle-pcs/">$500 sweet
spot, and we still have to wait and see what this new Sammy packs for specs and if that’s Korean or US pricing
they’re referring to. Still, with prices dropping and that href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/06/umpcs-to-get-special-media-extender-software/">Media Center Extender on
the horizon, well, we won’t abandon this fledgling platform just yet.

Also, while we’re here, we wanted to
issue an update to yesterday’s href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/12/samsung-q1-gets-2-000-price-tag-in-korea/">Samsung Q1 post. As pointed out
by several people, the Korean price will actually be W1,199,000 (about $1,250), not W2,000,000 (about $2,000), as
reported yesterday. Not exactly a huge bargain, but certainly better than the price we originally reported.
/>[Via UMPC Buzz]