Medion shows off its first UMPC device

Medion showed off its first UMPC device, first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES ) in January, at a London press launch today. It also unveiled a new range of satellite navigation devices.

The sleek Medion UMPC RIM 1000 has a 6.5-inch TFT screen with a full Qwerty pullout keyboard. Featuring 802.11 b/g W-Lan and Bluetooth connectivity, it comes with a 30GB hard disk, two USB slots, a VGA webcam and Windows Vista Home Premium.

Measuring 19cm x 12.1cm x 2.83cm and weighing 740g, the UMPC runs on an energy-saving VIA C7-M processor which is able to give 4-5 hours of battery life.

The UMPC RIM 1000 - called "the first affordable UMPC" by Medion - will go on sale in May for £800. Various accessories such as an external DVD writer, PC docking station and DVB-TV tuner will be available too. Future features of the UMPC are likely to include GPS sat-nav, as well as 3G capabilities.

Medion also showed us the new GoPal S2310 sat-nav device/MP3 player. It has a 2.8-inch TFT screen, 2GB of integrated memory (which covers maps of the entire European continent), and features integrated Bluetooth capabilities.

Its GPS tracking links up to Google Earth if you want to retrace your steps and see where or how far you've gone. Its expandable SD card slot means it can also double up as an MP3 player and photo viewer. Medion said the next generation of the S2310 would feature fitness functions such as a heart monitor. It will go on sale in May for £200.

Later this year, Medion will also release two higher-end models in its GoPal series. Apart from features similar to the ones above, the GoPal X4510 will also feature voice recognition and a built-in gyroscope, which can work out routes even when there's no signal.

The new GoPal and UMPC devices will go on sale in the Aldi , Sainsbury's and Tesco supermarkets as well as Carphone Warehouse and Woolworths .