Things
weren't looking good a few months back for
UMID's M1, pictures showing build quality of the sort you'd expect from toys dug out of cereal boxes. The company since issued a recall and, with the device now appearing for purchase,
UMPC Portal has given one the full once-over -- with some decidedly uneven results. The 1024 x 600 touchscreen is said to be great, but the hinge won't let it open far enough or even keep it in place. Battery life is good (4 - 6 hours on average) and the keyboard quite thumb-able, but was deforming after a few days use the case is still apparently rather flimsy (the review suggests you just break the microSD cover off to avoid the inevitable). The final annoyance? No integrated 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning you'll need the included
HTC-style adapter or a Bluetooth A2DP headset to listen to tunes. It's a definite mixed bag here, and with the Viliv S5 already
scoring good reviews, it seems like that's the MID of the moment.
posted Apr 29th 2009 9:21AM
Who's the kid with the attitude?
shin shan!
battery life is alright.
I haven't said many good things about the little mini notebooks but this is small enough to differentiate itself from the laptops. Good Screen Resolution and battery life. This Bluetooth enabled device has created a new category.
You mean like...UMPC? :O
The lack of a headphone jack seemed like it might be an issue until i realized I've been using bluetooth headphone for the past three years...
But always using bluetooth costs you quite a lot of battery, doesn't it?
So you're that guy.
Why on earth do they keep cramming XP into screens this small? XP's user interface was never designed to be used on tiny 7 inch screens. Using that thing for more than 5 minutes must give you a headache. These Netbooks and other small portable devices need their own interfaces pronto, not just the Desktop OS's of yesteryear.
Intel's Moblin looks very promising, but I wonder if the mainstream consumer will bite...
You answered your own question in the last line. The mainstream consumer is used to XP.
Well it's atom based, so there's a high change Ubuntu Netbook Remix will install and function on it.
NO,
Everybody wants an operating system that you can load your own familiar applications on (yes, windows applications). When you hear in the news about the new browser, you want to download it and play with it. When you want to put iTunes, you can do that. All the IM utilities, etc, etc...
What you're suggesting won't allow any of this (sure there's alternative software for many of this, but most folks don't want to be "alternative")
It's VERY SIMPLE... really...
so NO to you.
@pretol
A picture says a thousand words:
http://data.fuskbugg.se/skalman01/windows_apps_on_ubuntu_.png
Your argument is invalid.
No "alternative software", and the skype is not logged in because I don't have a skype-account, and I don't feel like making one just to prove a point. All of these program were run on a Ubuntu 8.04 with wine 1.1.19 and some extras installed with winetricks.
(For you unable to view images, or to afraid to click links, the above image is of a Ubuntu desktop with Windows Live Messenger, Spotify, Google Chrome, Itunes and Skype running
where is the phone feature?
Money is better spent on a Touch Pro IMO. Sure the device has Win XP but what applications besides VLC can one pleasurably run on a PC with such a small form factor and weak specs?
A screen magnifier.
Too small for my blood...shot eyes.
My Mini 9 is as small as I'm comfortable going for any kind of serious tech blog commenting.
I like this formfactor and the keyboard. The Viliv is nice, but I don't like typing on a touchscreen.
Looks like it would make a really nice emu player - especially Mame. With the touchscreen it would even work for NDS.
This reminds me of what I might dub as "Wwhat's law" which states that every device has at least one big flaw guaranteed, so a user must find what it is and see if he/she can fix it him/herself or can live with it.
It's handy to keep in mind because once the inevitable flaw is exposed you know what's what and if a device doesn't seem to have a big flaw it means you are poorly informed about it, or people are lying to you, because a device WILL have a big flaw.
The interesting thing is that it is very often actually easy to fix and you wonder why it has the flaw. Perhaps you need to be part of some secret society to be told why.
This is because for every technology you want to add, there is a trade off in design.
It's not possible to put a 3.5mm jack onto a device if you want to keep it thin. Make it too thick and people will complain. Similarly it is not possible to make a tiny product with a great battery life. Give it a battery that lasts 12 hours and people will complain that it weighs a tonne and looks like a brick.
Personally, I'm not sure why everyone on here is obsessed by 3.5mm headphone jacks when it would mean your device is bigger and can only support one button on the remote.
If you want 4 buttons and a volume dial that controls the devices volume (rather than being completely independent) then it is impossible to do this without resorting to a propitiatory connector of some sort.
Although I see your point about the jack and battery, I must say I've seen some VERY small forms of the 3.5mm jack that could easily fit on most devices, and with a device like this you can even make a slight bulge on the case to fit it in without trouble.
Slap a cell phone on the front and add HSDPA and it'd be great.
Yeah there aren't enough cell phones yet, that's right.
Or you could just get an existing smart phone like a Blackberry, G1, iPhone, etc. that has internet browsing, email, and document editing software.
So, how well does Hulu run on it?
built quality is the ONE thing that has to be absolutely top-notch on a device this small; because this thing is destined for jacket pockets, bar fights, purses,. This is my dream come true, but this thing is just way too flimsy looking. And I like how there's one speaker on the left, and a FAKE one on the right...
I love the concept though... a full fledged computer the size of a Jornada 690 (if anybody still remembers what those were)... I'd get one just for the gadget factor...
It's the right concept, just executed all wrong... It must have usb (without adapters), it must have a headphone jack, and it must be made super-duper well...
Why are the 3.5mm jack missing on so many devices. It is really to make 10 bucks on the adapter ? It seems pretty probable that they loose more money by missing sales of the phone than they gain on the adapter. No ?
... looks like a Nintendo DS
iPhone OS for handhelds!