One of the distributors of the Wibrain i1 has got hold of a Wibrain i1, snapped a few pics and made some comments in the forum here. If you’re looking the the ultimate Windows XP mobility device with the best battery life and best connectivity for, potentially, a very interesting price, keep reading.
The 1.3Ghz Atom-based device is based on the old Wibrain B1 design which was, quite frankly, an ugly brick to most people. There are some styling improvements which help it a little but don’t expect young geeks to be fainting at your feet when you whip it out. However, this is an action UMPC, not a flowery style-icon. It has the same easy-to-learn control layout (the touchpad is the best I’ve ever tried on a UMPC for example) and the same extremely high quality and brightness screen in a package that weighs 500gm. That’s 1.1lbs. It runs XP, has a 60GB hard drive, new SD card slot and re-positioned USB port. The real kicker is three-pronged though. 6hrs+ battery life on the standard 30wh battery, a 3G module and what looks like it could be an amazingly good price for such a setup.
Wibrain claim 7hrs on the standard battery. I’ve seen 6+ on the battery meter in hands-on testing and ‘Digital’, is now reporting 6.5hrs with wifi or 3G on. In marketing terms, this is an all-day UMPC in 500gms.
Final availability is still not 100% clear but early pricing indications at Mobilx look positive. 467 Euros ($600) pre tax without 3G and 532 Euros ($712) pre-tax with the 3G module. We’ll keep you updated on availability when we hear anything.
More links, news, details in the Wibrain i1 information page.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Oh, it’s so tempting to swap my Everun for this - more CPU, a ‘keyboard’, very tempting. Have you tried running a movie in a loop to see how the battery lasts if you stress it?
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November 6th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Very interesting indeed.
If only they weren’t so ugly!
My biggest question is noise. The original was very noisy, but I have silent Atom based devices here. Could this possibly go the same way?
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November 6th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Marc. This is not silent but a lot lot quieter and cooler than the B1. I suspect the fan will be off mostof the time.
Tony. Running a movie through the processor is going to add about 2W of drain which will give you a good 4 hours. Running it through the Poulsble decoding hardware will be even better.
Steve
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November 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
can you post some pics with the 5mm thick key/wallet storage compartment that is inside this unit ?
I am assuming that is what they are doing with the extra thickness, since this device is roughly _double_ the thickness that a:
- screen
- chipset
- soldered on SSD [1]
device needs to be.[2]
[1] I know it’s not an SSD. But it should be.
[2] 10 (ten!) years later, this device is the same thickness as my toshiba libretto 110ct. And that had two pcmcia slots…
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November 6th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
You know how big a 30wh battery is right?
Its about 30% of the volume of your libretto and half the weight and will turn in around twice the battery life… and you dont think that’s progress?
Steve
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November 6th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
heh, i would not mind seeing a i1 with linux
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November 9th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Wibrain B1 -
http://techvesti.ru/node/313
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