Qi Smartbook U2000 gets WinMo 6.5 upgrade, retains its wide berth
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted April 1st 2010 10:12AM
posted April 1st 2010 10:12AM
When dealing with Chinese products that have yet to cross the pond (and are unlikely ever to), you spend a lot of time looking at translated docs, trying to figure out what the hell it is exactly they're trying to pitch to you. For instance, the Qi U1000 that we caught wind of last September -- or its successor, the U2000, pictured above. Looks like a MID, acts like a smartphone, yet someone (or, more likely, something) insists on calling it a "Smartbook." What we do know is that it'll run you 2,680 Chinese yuan (roughly $390), and it sports Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, a 624MHz Marvell CPU, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a whopping 5-inch touchscreen. What do you think: Can you handle this much phone?
Holy sh*t I bet this will be the next iWall :D
It's kind of scary that WM6.5 is considered an upgrade to something.
@grahamj
What would you prefer?
@eminisp
I'm an iPhone guy so that's my first choice, but second to that I'd pick Android, WebOS, RIM - in fact, pretty much anything - before WM. And I've owned several WM devices so it's not out of ignorance.
@grahamj
From personal experience (first gen iphone owner). I was hung up on the glitz and glamour of apple at the time. I sold the iPhone and purchased the Bold when it arrived.
I find Winmo more of an upgrade to the iPhone os because of the multi-tasking abilities and the customization. I know, i can jailbreak the iphone but that should not be required. Customization should be a given right out the box. Recently, I sold my Bold and purchased the HD2 for the reasons above.
Im looking forward to WP7 but without the customization (WM6.5
@grahamj
*comment was cut off*
ill be patiently waiting for future iterations of WP7 to catch up to its big brother.
@eminisp
Ya I had a 2G as well and can understand your indecision if that's the only iPhone experience you've had. Now I have a fully tricked out 3GS and it's simply amazing - Pre-style multitasking, popup SMS, video wallpaper, calendar/notifications/email/vm/sms on lock screen, instant camera, iPod upgrades, you name it... Sure, maybe you shouldn't have to jailbreak it to get those things but it's so easy to do I don't think that's much of an argument for using something else. On top of that the breadth of available apps is just staggering.
@eminisp
Agreed that WP7 is looking pretty good so far, I think it has the potential to make a Microsoft mobile OS worth having again. I'll be curious to see how that plays out but it'd have to be nothing short of miraculous to pull me away from my iPhone :)
@eminisp
Dont forget how long it took for Apple to add cut, copy and paste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMlAwRVon_U
@grahamj
It looks like were happy campers with what we purchased. To each his own my friend :)
Competition is great for us and its exciting everyday.
@OCEAN CLAK
What does that memory add to this conversation?
@eminisp
Yep exactly - the world would be boring if we all used the same thing and thought alike :)
@OCEAN CLAK
Im sure itll be added in the future. Ill be holding out until then and a few other options.
First gen will be a little buggy. Sec gen will include copy and paste. third gen will be customisable including multi-tasking and a few other options. Thats how i envision the path. Then again i maybe wrong and MSFT knock the ball out of the park on the first gen *crosses fingers*. We'll just have to wait and see.
@eminisp
Are you kidding me....I can multitask on a WM blah blah blah
I guess you forgot that half of the time you had to go to settings, end programs, etc...that was a horrible experience
@4nth0ny
I don't think anyone is disputing that you can multitask on WM6.5 and below.
@grahamj
Good thread. My 2 fav phones right now are the iPhone and HD2. Now I only use a 3G so I can only imagine I'd be even more impressed using a 3GS.
Anyway the HD2 kicks ass as well. That screen! Damn! That screen! It basically almost gives you a tablet vibe. Finally they freakin got WinMo on board with capacitive technology. Even though there's a weird shimmer and dots displayed on the HD2 in the sun that the iPhone does not display. I think I read somewhere that the screen is actually resistive with some patented tech from HTC that "makes it capacitive"... I could be way off but there is a thread on XDA.
The iPhone UI and OS are great. Also, hands down I still prefer surfing the web on mobile Safari over Opera Mobile. Not by that much but it's still a bit more stable and polished experience IMHO.
WinMo's customizability are however enough for me to give it the edge. Sure the iPhone is customizable jailbroken but the HD2 a bit more IMHO.
There are some really nice gadgets out there and not enough money in the bank. Here's some things I got my eye on.
1. Telstra HD2 so I can use on ATT
2. Lenovo S10-3T
3. iPad... X)
4. Canon T2i
5....
@grahamj
its funny how people complain about Winmo as a standalone yet praise it when comparing it to say WP7S. Geeks alike must get their act together....myself included.
@abedinthehouse
I haven't seen too many people praising WM, especially in comparison to WP7.
*comment removed by author*
I'd like to see an atom tablet with this size and price
The fact that it has WM 6.5...isn't that like dying a slow 8 month death?
Needs Android, Windows Mobiles slowly being fazed out for a dumb phone OS known Windows Phone Severn Series Phone
@OCEAN CLAK : Well just because it's being phased out by Microsoft, doesn't mean there isn't great support in the Windows Mobile community, like XDA and others. There will still be many apps and whatnot support. I think Microsoft is still planning to sell 6.5 alongside for businesses and power users and for hardware makers to get use of it.
that's either a very large phone, or a very small car.
THATS A BIG PHONE!!!!
The grammar Nazi in me wants to ask, did you mean "girth" instead of "berth"? A berth is where a ship is docked (if I remember correctly), and I didn't see any mention of a big dock in the article.
yo that phone is huuuuuuuuuge
WHERE ARE YOU DELL MINI 5
i hate to say it but i kinda like it ...it's the chinese answer to dell mini 5 aka dell streak 5" screen device capable of making phone calls ...(though i'm actually dying for the dell mini 5 to finally so up on the market !)
The HTC Athena (x7501) is the only other smartphone I know of that has a screen that large. This has a similar spec, and 2 years later the price is much cheaper, down from $1000 to $400. I wonder if it has 3.5g and a gps module. Then it is a bargain...