Oh to have Bjorn Stromberg's job - not only does he get to play with new VIA-based UMPCs as much as he likes, but he can also pretend to be a spy and sneak pre-production samples out from under the noses of engineers.  Today's internal espionage involves a pair of ultraportables, based on VIA's Ultra Mobility Platform, the VIA NanoBook and Packard Bell EasyNote XS.

Sadly he only got around fifteen minutes to compare the two - before the sharks with head-mounted lasers found him - but it's enough time to take a tour around the different ports and options each has.  While the VIA design - which has apparently been picked up by an as-yet unannounced distributor for the US - has the clever pop-out module, the Packard Bell version - which will be Europe only - shifts the screen more centrally and has a fixed webcam and microphone module.  Bjorn points out that the removable module could be used for an HSDPA modem, and hopefully the XS will also have some sort of cellular broadband option.

Both are expected to run to $599, with the EasyNote XS launching in late August, and both have an estimated 5hr battery life and weigh in at just 890g.  You can find out more about the VIA reference design over at our sister site, SlashGear.

Introducing, not one, but two new UMPCs [ultramobilelife]