Update: The manual linked to in this article is not the final release. Just a draft that I have been able to get hold of.

Both Gottabemobile and UberTablet websites have unboxings underway so I thought I’d pull out all the stops and go one better. What I’ve got for you today is the exclusive ‘opening’ ceremony for the Vega Ultra Portable PC manual. In English no less.

[Is that the sound of a church bell, the doors of a saloon? Is that tumbleweed rolling across the screen there?]

I’ve had a read through it this morning though and there’s a few things I can point out. Before I do that though, has anyone else thought ‘car pc’ for this device? To me it seems almost perfect. Not too big (a 7″ screen is going to be too big to sit on top of most dasboards) and not over powerful. Its well priced and has good battery life. My only problem with it is that it doesn’t have a bluetooth module built in so won’t be able to link it up with a Bluetooth GPS module, a headset or a cellphone for internet access on the go without plugging something into the USB slot. I’m not a fan of sticking USB modules into mobile devices becuase they either fall out or get broken off. They also look ugly. Maybe one of these DLink mini adaptors will do the trick. We’ll have to see.

Back to the manual though. Here are a few observations:

Positive:

• VGA adaptor cable included.
• Flexible DC input (10-15v should be able to wire directly up to auto electrics.)
• Good range of external screen resolutions.
• Hardware screen rotation.
• stereo speakers.
• Great array of key-based shortcuts. over 40 combinations of keys on RHS of device including function keys, keypad and mouse controls.
• Resolution button. 4 resolutions up to 1024×768
• LCD off. Very useful for music.
• On screen keyboard.
• Mouse control via pen.
• USB storage device mode.

Negative:

• No Bluetooth built-in
• No SDIO built-in
• No Wifi built-in. (Wifi USB stick included

Hands-on is definitely needed with this device to determine it’s performance. As I type away here on a PII450 with 192M RAM I feel quite positive that the Vega is going to be a useful device.

The PDF download is available here.

Regards

Steve / Chippy.