Ultra-Mobile Computing Buyers Guide 2008. Part 4

Posted on 07 November 2008 by Chippy

4 Comments For This Post

1. JP says:
   November 7th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

   Hi Chippy, under the “River of Links” section, I’m not sure that the link works correctly. We end on a “nothing found” page with an embedded Error 404.

   Chippy Reply:
   November 7th, 2008 at 2:59 pm

   Fixed. Many thanks.

2. There are other considerations in a choice, by Pixel Qi fan in waiting... says:
   November 9th, 2008 at 3:35 am

   The only addition to the guide is for those who are looking past the standard specs for something else, like battery life, and progressive environmentally friendly technologies.

   Here are some videos that address this present, and future that were not part of the overall guide but could be:

   Reshaping the Laptop Market
   http://www.bigthink.com/business-economics/11931

   The Future of Computer Design
   http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/11929

3. DoctorZick says:
   November 9th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

   Let’s try to raise the curve on one aspect—ultra mobility—and “help you make informed decisions.”

   Ultra mobility should all be about “devices that you can take anywhere,” and in that light we should review “some of the most important parts of the UMPC, starting with the form factors and, possibly the most important aspect of all, the keyboard.” Somebody said “If you want a pocketable PC, grab a smartphone. Nokia’s E-Series has a full QWERTY Keypad.”

   In reality, Nokia’s E90 is less typing-friendly than the older Communicator 9300 [History repeating the amnesia it had relative to the Psion 5 keyboard superiority!]: whereas I hold the 9300 with one hand and type with three fingers (1+2), I can use only two fingers on the E90 because the grip (on-the-move) is no longer secure. Further, there is no comparing either of these with the Psion 5 which could eventually be called a “pocketable PC,” because it allowed the requisite speed of input enabled by its touch-typing capabilities. Yes, it was slow (the search function was abysmal), but what actually killed the machine was the flimsy production quality of British industry—the screen connectors kept on falling apart from regular usage, year after year. Their Austrian representative had a simple explanation: “You know, British workers…” [This same complacency could finally spell the end of western supremacy, now that the financial and insurance industries—the only sectors where the West had an edge—are going down the drain.] A good product gone defunct because of the clubbing-and-beer-drinking imperatives of the new, decadent industrial class—“the masters of the universe.”

   If you ask “What is Ultra Mobile Computing?, ” another factor you have to consider is shock protection, or “mobility [might not] translate to more fun and flexibility.” We’re not talking of rugged UMPCs that function underwater, but of devices that are mobile enough to get there. I broke two Psion 5 screens—one on the downhill bike, the other on snowboard [tucked in front of my belly, figuring that the chances of landing with the face straight down were minimal!]. Today I always carry a hard case; for the Nokia Communicator I simply use a (free) hard case for sunglasses (Police). I had one for the Psion too, but it added to the bulk and the pocket-size requirements; now, imagine what it will add to a Raon Everun Note—forget the baggy pockets!
   The reason I am still considering the Everun is that the [fashion] design industry has come up with these new bags that hang in various setups from the belt [spawned from the Italian "marsupio bags"], and come in sizes that max out at A5 (roughly 21×15cm). I bought two of these leather bags (not to get bored), searched for hard cases to match, and now have to choose the right UMPC. Hope it will work (or I’ll just follow western civilization to where the sun never shines)!

   And the “operating system choices!” If the review “takes into account the emerging high-end smartphone market,” and goes on about “Apple OSX [that] is not currently available on mobile productivity devices,” it should also refer to the Symbian operating system that, once upon a time, was the stablest of all. Back then, when it was known as the EPOC operating system, I can’t remember that it ever crashed. After the Symbian syndicate bought EPOC, the first platforms that used it—the Ericsson MC218’s—had still the EPOC stickers on the case. With each successive upgarde, Symbian programmers made it less stable. [Talking of retrograde processes!] Today it does freeze, and often displays the blue screen of death, but I have (as yet) never lost any data to system crashes [when defaults are set to store all data directly on flash memory]. I think that deserves a mention in the overview of operating systems used in Ultra Mobile Devices.

4. Archos 704 says:
   March 24th, 2009 at 5:38 pm

   This is the second time I visit your blog and find an interesting article perfectly matching what I was searching for so I decided to add your feed to my RSS Reader. Thanks for you work.

2 Trackbacks For This Post

1. Ultra-Mobile Computing Buyers Guide 2008. Part 3 | UMPCPortal - The Ultra Mobile Computing reference site says:
   November 7th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

   [...] Part Four: ‘Additional Information and further reading.’ In this section we cover some of the less commonly found features on Ultra Mobile computers and give you information and links to further reading resources. [...]

2. Mobile Computing Guide Now Available as Free PDF. | UMPCPortal - The Mobile Internet and Computing Reference Site says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 pm

   [...] Four: ‘Additional Information and further reading.‘ In this section we cover some of the less commonly found features on Ultra Mobile computers and [...]