A couple of reports have come in over the last few days about pre-order and availability for the Gigabyte M704. The M704 is basically a 1.2Ghz version of the slider U60 UMPC with an LED-backlit 7", 1024×600 screen but it’s also available under other brands. Its actually made by Flextronics (previously Arima) in Taiwan.
Image of from Rover computers (Russian)
The Gigabyte M704 info originally leaked through a Gigabyte website error last year but was quickly taken down. Since then it’s appeared in Russia (as the Rover A700 for around $1000,) in Israel (site in Hebrew but I’m informed that it’s going for about $US910) in Spain (as Ahtec X70GT for around 700 Euros) and now for pre-order in the UK (aff.). I spoke with my contact at Gigabyte yesterday who confirmed that the 704 will be ready to ship in mid May although the price isn’t yet available. [This is normal, look to resellers for real prices] The full specifications have been released though and I’ve updated the M704 information page and added an Ahtec X70GT page with all the new information. More info after the jump…
I tested a version of this last year with a 1.0Ghz processor and 6.5" screen and at the time it was quite good value. Using the same VIA platform as the HP 2133 this version will be much more useful though as the 1.0Ghz CPU was just a little too underpowered for a many common tasks. The 7" screen and big increase in real estate is the most important change though and if the LED backlight is good, this will make a useful device for travellers, especially with the docking station which will turn it into a desktop PC. As for the keyboard, it’s not fantastic but it’s better than the 
Q1 Ultra and Everun. Not as good as the HTC Shift’s although you can actually thumb this one better than you can the Shift. In terms of size, its really small. Way smaller than an Eee PC or Cloudbook and the HP 2133 is huge in comparison (click image right.) The M704 even covers less area than the HTC Shift although its a few mm thicker. Apparently it has up to 4 hours battery life which, even if it’s 3 hours in real use, isn’t bad at all. As for VFM, when you compare with the HTC Shift and Q1 Ultra, a price of $1000 isn’t bad but when you compare with an Asus Eee PC 900, you need to be considering very carefully how much the size and mobility means to you. I wonder if any U60 owners out there care to comment on build quality and capabilities?
April 30th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
ya…but will it still be as badly built as before? Or has it actually been improved from the units we saw at tradeshows?
April 30th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Yeah, I will travel to Russia by the end of May, hopefully I will be able to pick one there.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I don’t see this coming to the US. The keyboard seems like a waste and only adds thickness and weight. And really, there should be a frikkin law against putting Vista on that VIA chip!
May 1st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Well, AFAIK, only 200 pcs of RoverPC A700GQ were imported to Russia and their price was around 800 USD.
Nowadays, I doubt, that someone can buy it..
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
Found the M704 on a retailer’s site (www.dfj-store.com) for about 700€, seems quite cheap. I’m thinking of buying one, ’cause I’m not sure it will be out in europe vefore some times, really…
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
The unit has been selling in Europe for months now, at least under the Ahtec brand, being the 7″ model 700 euros and the 6.5″ 500 euros at the moment.
Most of the people I know with it are pretty happy.
If you speak Spanish, here’s a little community of users at todoumpc dot com that could probably help you out with your doubts.
Hope it helps.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Well, starting from May 2, you can buy RoverPC A700GQ in Moscow again for ~ $860 in the “Sunrise” computer store. Most of the people from the “ixbt” forum are happy to have it.
June 1st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I just ordered the M704 from http://www.dfj.com, and according to the reviews(in spanish) it seems to be a better choice compared to Wibrain, although the ram is not upgradable. I like the wibrain and used it for 3 months but, lack of screen estate is not doing it for me. And I am basically use it for web-browsing on the go(so large processing power is not required)
I will post my thoughts when I receive it(in 3 days).
I will like to know if someone else from the US bought this device
June 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
corretion, the site is http://www.dfj-store.com
August 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Your article is much more informatics for all of the visitor or tourist. I am very happy to read it. This is really very nice. Thank you for it.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Thank you for such a great resource