I missed this when he put it up, but in light of the CloudBook's launch I think this is especially relevant. In this latest Coffee with ThoughtFix, Daniel goes over his 5 rules for Linux Device Developers and I think every single one of them is important. Over at VIA we are working hard with our partners to make sure that they have all the support they need to get their devices running Linux and to drive 3rd party development on those devices. Looking forward to the CloudBook, we've got the Developer version running gOS and is aimed squarely at all those Linux fans out there who want to develop for an ultra mobile device. People are definitely going to have some fun working with the modules and the touchscreen on the CloudBook.

CTitanic looks like he's having lots of fun with his UMPC from Avox. He's got it mounted in his car and has shot this video showing off how quick and easy it is to use the GPS navigation functions. In less than one minute he's gone from the UMPC off to connected to the satellites and ready to drive. It's a very impressive demonstration that really shows off the UMPC platform. With an integrated GPS and a soft touch screen, the Avox makes the "perfect carputer".

It looks like the B1 from Wibrain is getting into peoples' hands around the world. This video from Poland shows us some video playback and browsing over wifi. Whie it's not the most exciting video to watch, it is good evidence that this UMPC is shipping. I think a lot of people may be getting a B1 as a present this holiday season. I'm hoping to get one myself, but I don't think I can wait for Christmas to roll around.

This one is too cool to pass up. A Scottish research team has come up with a way to give an audio and tactile indication as to how many messages are in your inbox and how full your battery is. Shake your phone, if it seems like there is a little ball bouncing around inside of it you've got a message. Have 2 messages? Two balls will bounce around inside. Checking your battery life will result in a sensation similar to water being inside your device. When your battery is full, it will make a sloshing sound like your device is full of water, when it's near empty it will seem like there's just a little sip left. We all know the OQO model 02 has an accelerometer, I think it's just a matter of time before we get start shaking our UMPCs to find out how much battery power we have left.

Check out the Shoogle site for more information.

In case you missed it this week, Dynamism announced that they would begin carrying the Wibrain B1 for only $699. They've put together this video of a guy playing Quake II on the B1 and I was blown away at how well he could play an FPS with a touchpad. I mean, seriously, that's some excellent hand eye coordination right there. I don't think I could do half as well as he did under the same circumstances. One of the main points of the video is just how intuitive the keyboard layout is. The mouse buttons, they keys, everything feels like it's right where it belongs. If distribution goes well, the Wibrain B1 looks like it will be the hottest UMPC this holiday season. 5" screen, 1024x600, 1.2 GHz VIA C7-M, 512MB of RAM for $699, that's hot!