Asus R2H UMPC reviewed
After Asus "announced" the forthcoming availability of its R2H UMPC, and eventually gave us all the go-ahead to place our orders, we still had our reservations about the less-than-revolutionary platform. The crew over at OnlyUMPC subjected the R2H to its barrage of tests, and couldn't help but dub it "awesome" based on "first impressions alone." As we expected, reviewers were thrilled with the overall design, control layout, and expansive 7-inch screen, but did find room to gripe about the meager 900MHz Intel Celeron processor and the bevy of pre-loaded applications that bogged the system to a crawl. Frankly, they felt the initial setup was about as responsive as your average "386," but removing a bit of the unnecessary software provided a zippier experience. Unfortunately, the UMPC's biggest dig rang true yet again on this unit, as the battery only delivered 2 hours, 12 minutes of usage with the bells and whistles in full effect, while switching into battery-saving mode mustered a barely adequate 3 hours, 26 minutes. Nevertheless, the "clean design" and impressive "bundle of hardware / software" landed the R2H four out of five golden stars, but we'd recommend a slightly different option if battery longevity is even of mild concern.
[Via UMPC Buzz]
