Expansys sent over their demo M528 for me to take a look at. Thanks guys!
As you can see, it looks fantastic. Unfortunately it’s running a very early software build so I can’t make any valid comments about its UI, software suite and performance and so I won’t be putting that part of if under the microscope. Disappointing, I know, but I’m just happy to have it in my hands and not have to battle with exhibition crowds at the same time. More after the pics…
Click to enlarge or view the complete gallery. Specifications are available here.
What I can tell you is that it looks great, feels light, is pocketable, has a good keyboard slide action, feels solid and has a good range of ports. Its also got 4 radio’s inside. 3G, Wifi, BT and GPS. Just what Dr. Mobile ordered! The keyboard appears to be slightly different to the one I tested at CeBIT so maybe they are testing various designs. There’s a 9wh battery, headset port, mono speaker (good quality), built-in mic, 3G radio (it works!) , Wifi (working) BT (working) GPS, 512MB of RAM, 4MB flash, power and hold switch, rocker selector (not sure how this will be used,) full-size and mini usb ports, Micro SD slot, 5V DC input and a GPS antenna port. Also worth noting is that it’s silent. Oh I almost forgot, it comes in a very smart box which included a stylish lined-leather case. (Marked ’sample’ - this may not be the final design.)
Full Gigabyte M528 specifications, videos and links to related articles available here.
I’ve got it playing MP3s into my Hi-Fi at the moment and I’m trying to measure battery drain but I’m not getting very granular reports back on the remaining battery capacity. It looks like I might have to let it run from full to empty to get a feel for potential battery life, which I’ll try tomorrow.
I did get the chance to make a video though. As I said, I can’t report on software (not that anyone was stopping me but it seems silly to risk embarrassing Gigabyte for no reason) but I’ve given you a good look at the device without you having to put up with the exhibition-hall din that accompanied almost all the other videos that are around!
If you have questions, I’ll be happy to try and answer them in this forum thread but please don’t ask software specific questions. Full specifications and links to other videos and stories are available on the M528 page. One article and video that I will recommend is the one that UMPCFever did in May. They had the Aigo version of this device. Check it out via this article.
Thanks go to Expansys for letting me take a look at this and for keeping me up-to-date on new information as it comes in. I’m looking forward to pricing and availability info!
July 12th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Is there any accelerometer? In other words, will there be a auto-rotate function for ebook reading and other portrait tasks?
Nice machine indeed
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July 12th, 2008 at 1:40 am
This thing is so far the best UMPC/MID. The Nokia N810 is crap because its processor is smartphone grade - cannot run Windows XP. The Sharp Willcome D4 is too large and battery too short.
Note that the equivalent model of this M528 has already been released in China.
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July 12th, 2008 at 2:25 am
@nikooo
There are no auto rotation features on the version I have. Its a shame because the device feels very good in one hand in portrait mode. Its impossible to tell if there’s any related hardware though. It could be a feature that hasn’t been built into the software yet.
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July 12th, 2008 at 2:27 am
@fixup
The Aigo is already available?
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July 12th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Have not seen the Aigo MID on market yet, only saw it on a news conference.
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July 12th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I did manage to get some sort of info on Expansys, Rather dissapointed on the inbuilt HD, just 4 gig its to less for a MID.
Does the device support GSM/Edge? any plans on WiMax, do drop in a comment.
Regards,
Vishal.
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July 12th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Have you had a chance to look at the BIOS?
Does it support booting from the USB port? Might give an indication of being able to load on another OS.
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July 12th, 2008 at 7:54 am
beautiful device… lets hope it performs well too…
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July 12th, 2008 at 10:14 am
thx chippy!
btw.: nice lounge music in the second video…it’s not even afternoon and i’m thinking about mixing a martini lemon
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July 12th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Yes, this is nearly the device I am searching for… but I want to replace my mobile phone, so I need GSM-Support. I don’t want a mobile phone in one pocket, and a MID in the other one.
So, has anyone seen a device like this which supports GSM, GPS, HSDPA, runs (Ubuntu) Linux and is not bigger than this M528?
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July 12th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Very nice device. I have a hope for good price in UK.
And I am really happy with flash memory rather than hdd, finally it is mobile device
Regards
Pete
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July 12th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Does it have a fan like the Oqo Model e2?
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July 12th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
As far as I know this is the smallest MID/UMPC that has shown to be able to run XP. Significantly thinner and lighter than the oqo 02. Once this thing is out, there’ll be no reason for oqo.
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July 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
can you shoot (low res) video as well with the camera?
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July 12th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Is 23mm vs. 25mm really “significantly thinner”? It’s noticeably wider than an OQO (152mm vs 142mm), but shorter (80mm vs 83mm). It is ~100gm lighter which I bet is certainly noticeable though. While this means the M528’s volume is slightly smaller, I would worry if the extra 10mm of width will make it stick out the top of my pant pocket. (The OQO pretty much just barely fits now.) This is a consideration for me, but not necessarily anyone else.
Other differences between this and an OQO include passive vs. active digitizer, and the amount of built in persistent storage. These are both matters of personal requirement and taste. For example, inking may not be very good on the M528. However, if you never ink anything, then, for you, it doesn’t matter.
It’s hard to say objectively that either company has made the right decision for everyone here. Personally, I think the diversity in the marketplace is a good thing. The market segment would be better off if both the OQO and the M528 sold well. In other words, the M528 may be the perfect device for you. That doesn’t translate to it necessarily being the perfect device for everyone. (The same goes for the OQO.)
With respect to putting XP on it, while it’s obviously doable, the M528 wasn’t designed with running XP in mind. It may be hard to actually store anything on your Gigabyte M528 once you’ve installed XP on its 4GB SSD. (Your data would have to go on Micro SD cards. At least that’s on option.) Along those lines, we don’t have any hard data on how well an 800 MHz Atom actually performs. It may offer a perfectly satisfactory XP experience. Or it may be like the OQO where half the people on OQOTalk want something faster. Or it may be worse. Until we see some full-fledged reviews, and hard data, it’s just too easy to ascribe to it all the qualities you want.
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July 12th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
@fixup what is the chinese name of device(m528) i bet is cheaper too
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July 13th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
JC: XP was tested on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJIymS3YdOo
Some drivers still needed.
Chippy: Is there any real word of price? And U.S. availability? I’m still intrigued by this. That 4GB storage — can the unit be opened and hacked to increase it? (jkk probably wetting his lips over that!!)
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July 13th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Whoops. Just watched the vids. OK, no pricing or avail.
Wish you had opened *something* into which you could have typed. Those keys worry me. They seem like calculator keys. Are they better than that?
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July 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am
As near as I can tell, what the YouTube video shows is that it wasn’t intended to run XP, and we know nothing about how well XP runs on it. XP may run really well on it, once someone puts in the time to supply the missing drivers. Or if you don’t mind the missing functionality, XP may run really well now. However, we don’t know because all the video showed was that one video ran choppily and another one ran smoothly.
This is existence proof that XP can run on the thing. Like I’d said, that was obviously doable. But it’s little more than that.
(BTW, the one on the video had 8GB flash. Chippy’s only has 4GB?)
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July 28th, 2008 at 12:34 am
The SSD in the video is 2GB with some to spare after XP was installed. The 8GB was a flash drive into USB!
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July 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Sizeasy comparison of the OQO e2 vs. M528
http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/15035-OQO-e2-5-vs-GIGABYTE-MID-M528-4-8-
and just in case that link won’t work here is a TINYURL one:
http://tinyurl.com/64aj38
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July 14th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I added the PSP to the list too, even though I am not a gamer nor have I ever really played on a PSP I recognize the form factor as a very desirable one!
http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/15036-OQO-e2-5-vs-PSP-vs-GIGABYTE-MID-M528-4-8-
P.S. You can take and “grab” the “devices” in the list on the right and reorder them as that might be needed to get a clear understanding which one is thinner or wider than the other
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July 21st, 2008 at 6:51 am
that 2nd video’s like sex
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Can you tell me where the numeric keys are on that keyboard?
I can’t work out where they are from the pictures
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Look for the blue on the keys
http://www.umpcportal.com/gallery/d/11035-6/IMG_6734.JPG
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
There isn’t any good high res pics (AFAIK) on the web yet this is the best one I could find:
http://64.202.120.86/upload/image/new-news/2008/march/cebit-2008-umpc/gigabyte-m528.jpg
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
OK not larger or higher in resolution but showing the keyboard…
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k17/pauliu/aigo_mid/DSC_6771.jpg
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
What I would like to add though to this is that looking for pics for the M528 lately I’ve run across this pics lately, showing what I feel is a nicer layout keyboard:
http://digital.xy.hk/news/pics/lg_umpc.jpg
Is it part of the same platform?
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August 24th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Xp install is going well, it took some time, but it is working I can send pictures if requested.
The Aigo does work, but it works better with vista, if the storage was larger, vista would install with little effort. Xp required some tweaking to get it to boot.
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August 24th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Brook,
Want to share you experiences so far?
http://www.midmods.com/forum/index.php
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January 5th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
So this thing supports GSM??? I can make calls with the device right?
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January 5th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
no, afaik it doesn’t support gsm. so I don’t like the device…
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February 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Do you think they will ever add a vibrate function for notifications or incoming skype calls? That would be amazing and make this the must have device.
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