Comments on: Black UMID comes to Dynamism http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/ portable pc, mobile computer, pocket pc and handheld computing Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:29:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kuromatsuri http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25313 Kuromatsuri Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:32:44 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25313 I'm very intrigued in the UMID M1 because I want a clam-shell (or convertible) pocketable laptop with a physical keyboard, and the UMID M1 is the only one I can find that fits those features. There are some obvious flaws with the M1, but unless someone can point out an alternative that fits those features, I'll likely give in and buy an M1 before too long. Any leads, maybe? I’m very intrigued in the UMID M1 because I want a clam-shell (or convertible) pocketable laptop with a physical keyboard, and the UMID M1 is the only one I can find that fits those features. There are some obvious flaws with the M1, but unless someone can point out an alternative that fits those features, I’ll likely give in and buy an M1 before too long.

Any leads, maybe?

]]> By: DavidC1 http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25198 DavidC1 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:03:58 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25198 Wow, 10% drain is a lot. I think 30 hour standby on the Viliv S5 resulted in somewhat between 0-10%. The battery life figures are interesting. Reviews seem to indicate similar battery life(maybe S5 achieving 30 min more), but 4 hours is a significant different. Is it 4 hours from 100% to 0%(or whatever the shutdown percentage is)? Like I said, the S5 lasted 4 hours going from 100 to 30% playing WC3 while streaming files over WLAN. Of course, I don't keep my screen brightness higher than 30-40% of the max most of the time and I put settings to "Balanced". Antivirus and Defragment is a big drain on both battery life and performance. I think its even greater than the usage I mentioned above. Wow, 10% drain is a lot. I think 30 hour standby on the Viliv S5 resulted in somewhat between 0-10%.

The battery life figures are interesting. Reviews seem to indicate similar battery life(maybe S5 achieving 30 min more), but 4 hours is a significant different. Is it 4 hours from 100% to 0%(or whatever the shutdown percentage is)?

Like I said, the S5 lasted 4 hours going from 100 to 30% playing WC3 while streaming files over WLAN. Of course, I don’t keep my screen brightness higher than 30-40% of the max most of the time and I put settings to “Balanced”.

Antivirus and Defragment is a big drain on both battery life and performance. I think its even greater than the usage I mentioned above.

]]> By: StraySoul http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25188 StraySoul Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:19:17 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25188 So this device becomes very hot when using like the OQO 01 does? So this device becomes very hot when using like the OQO 01 does?

]]> By: yamete888 http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25166 yamete888 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:46:36 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25166 only 512mb (why not 1gb??? so no Win7), no built-in 3g, no standard ports (USB, earphone/mic jack)...but I love the matte black, small size, SSD, microSD slot, and the freebie case that dynamism.com is offering for the time being... only 512mb (why not 1gb??? so no Win7), no built-in 3g, no standard ports (USB, earphone/mic jack)…but I love the matte black, small size, SSD, microSD slot, and the freebie case that dynamism.com is offering for the time being…

]]> By: yves http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25160 yves Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:00:07 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25160 In stand by mode, I noticed a battery drain of 10% in 10 hours. Not so bad. I almost never shutdown my UMID. The device wakes up from stand by in less than 3 seconds, it's ideal. Real battery life is ~4 hours with wifi on and "normal" surfing activity (and the device becomes very hot in this use case). 5.5 to 6 hours (and a much cooler device) with wifi off. After having removed some unuseful XP components and installed my usual apps (firefox, open office, the GIMP, Foxit reader, Faststone image viewer, VLC, some light games, Eset Nod32 antivirus), I've 10.4 GB free on the SSD (I store my data on a microSD card). The 512 MB RAM are not a real issue if you know what you are doing... With just XP and the antivirus running, there are 180 MB free. Firefox with heavy pages opened (e.g. umpcportal...) can take more than 100 MB. But I dont't think that you can find a real usage of such a small device with a lot of apps running simultaneously. In my use cases I almost never noticed any swapping. The antivirus is a problem: I tried Avast and Avira Antivir; both had a too big impact on the performances and took too much RAM space. Eset Nod32 is much better - but has no free version. What else...? I'm typing this comment on the keyboard of the UMID. I can type with 2 or 3 fingers of each hand at a decent speed (>50% of my typing speed on a normal keyboard), or thumbtype. I wouldn't like writing a novel with this keyboard but it's more than acceptable for a mobile usage (or for using it in a sofa, in some positions where I couldn't use a laptop...). If you don't need to type long documents or work on large Excel sheets, and if you can deal with only one mini-USB port, the UMID can be a replacement for a netbook. And it is pocketable. In stand by mode, I noticed a battery drain of 10% in 10 hours. Not so bad.
I almost never shutdown my UMID. The device wakes up from stand by in less than 3 seconds, it’s ideal.

Real battery life is ~4 hours with wifi on and “normal” surfing activity (and the device becomes very hot in this use case). 5.5 to 6 hours (and a much cooler device) with wifi off.

After having removed some unuseful XP components and installed my usual apps (firefox, open office, the GIMP, Foxit reader, Faststone image viewer, VLC, some light games, Eset Nod32 antivirus), I’ve 10.4 GB free on the SSD (I store my data on a microSD card).

The 512 MB RAM are not a real issue if you know what you are doing… With just XP and the antivirus running, there are 180 MB free. Firefox with heavy pages opened (e.g. umpcportal…) can take more than 100 MB. But I dont’t think that you can find a real usage of such a small device with a lot of apps running simultaneously. In my use cases I almost never noticed any swapping.
The antivirus is a problem: I tried Avast and Avira Antivir; both had a too big impact on the performances and took too much RAM space. Eset Nod32 is much better – but has no free version.

What else…?

I’m typing this comment on the keyboard of the UMID. I can type with 2 or 3 fingers of each hand at a decent speed (>50% of my typing speed on a normal keyboard), or thumbtype. I wouldn’t like writing a novel with this keyboard but it’s more than acceptable for a mobile usage (or for using it in a sofa, in some positions where I couldn’t use a laptop…).

If you don’t need to type long documents or work on large Excel sheets, and if you can deal with only one mini-USB port, the UMID can be a replacement for a netbook. And it is pocketable.

]]> By: Sokonomi http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25159 Sokonomi Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:08:13 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25159 No adequate port out, still no dice. This device would have been so godlike if it only had a USB port and 3.5" headphone jack. It would have pulled me away from buying an Eking i1. Maybe they will get it right with the M2. No adequate port out, still no dice.
This device would have been so godlike if it only had a USB port and 3.5″ headphone jack. It would have pulled me away from buying an Eking i1. Maybe they will get it right with the M2.

]]> By: pepilo http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25152 pepilo Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:55:06 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25152 Sorry but no 3G no deal. Sorry but no 3G no deal.

]]> By: UMID mbook M1 MID lands at Dynamism from $599 | Best Price For New Laptop Computer | Laptop Deals http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25149 UMID mbook M1 MID lands at Dynamism from $599 | Best Price For New Laptop Computer | Laptop Deals Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:47:48 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25149 [...] [via UMPC Portal] [...]

[...] [via UMPC Portal] [...]

]]> By: Marc http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25142 Marc Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:25:11 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25142 I've nearly ordered a MiFi three times now! My problem with it, is that I have to carry another device and ensure it's charged... I’ve nearly ordered a MiFi three times now!

My problem with it, is that I have to carry another device and ensure it’s charged…

]]> By: Chippy http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25141 Chippy Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:23:21 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25141 Thanks. Article corrected. With the Mifi in my hands, I wasn't that interested anyway ;-) Thanks. Article corrected.
With the Mifi in my hands, I wasn’t that interested anyway ;-)

]]> By: Marc http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25140 Marc Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:59:04 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25140 I really have no statistics on the drain on the UMID. I pretty much go the S5 and UMID at the same time and due to it's few quirks switch to the S5 and sold the UMID very quickly. All I remember was coming back to the device after a few days and it having no battery left even though it was turned off. Something I didn't notice with the S5. Any other UMID owners able to comment? I really have no statistics on the drain on the UMID. I pretty much go the S5 and UMID at the same time and due to it’s few quirks switch to the S5 and sold the UMID very quickly.

All I remember was coming back to the device after a few days and it having no battery left even though it was turned off. Something I didn’t notice with the S5.

Any other UMID owners able to comment?

]]> By: DavidC1 http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25136 DavidC1 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:36:53 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25136 Ahh, I forgot about that. May I ask what the drain was? Honestly even owning one of the longest battery life device on the market, I still feel 6 hours isn't enough(one reason being said above, Li-Ion limits, I don't want to have a 4 hour device in less than a year). So what's happening is while up to 10 hours I would put it on standby, I would try not to as every % on actual usage becomes precious. Off Topic: What is up with the battery life sensor on the S5? No software can really detect the battery life and capacity even remotely accurately(Battery Bar shows it as 100mW). Ahh, I forgot about that. May I ask what the drain was? Honestly even owning one of the longest battery life device on the market, I still feel 6 hours isn’t enough(one reason being said above, Li-Ion limits, I don’t want to have a 4 hour device in less than a year). So what’s happening is while up to 10 hours I would put it on standby, I would try not to as every % on actual usage becomes precious.

Off Topic: What is up with the battery life sensor on the S5? No software can really detect the battery life and capacity even remotely accurately(Battery Bar shows it as 100mW).

]]> By: Marc http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25134 Marc Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:21:57 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25134 David, you've made me pause for thought with the power drain comment as it reminded me of something... I had a UMID for a few days, generally like it a lot, but build quality, cheap plastics and lack of headphone jack were big negatives. In general I preferred the S5 but in the end lack of keyboard killed that for me. One thing I forgot about the UMID, that was much better in the S5, was that even when turned off the UMID seemed to drain the battery pretty quickly. Not something that happened with the S5... David, you’ve made me pause for thought with the power drain comment as it reminded me of something…

I had a UMID for a few days, generally like it a lot, but build quality, cheap plastics and lack of headphone jack were big negatives. In general I preferred the S5 but in the end lack of keyboard killed that for me.

One thing I forgot about the UMID, that was much better in the S5, was that even when turned off the UMID seemed to drain the battery pretty quickly. Not something that happened with the S5…

]]> By: DavidC1 http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25131 DavidC1 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:15:47 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25131 The problem I see on these type of devices is that it'll be most useful for video. I have 11.5GB worth of video on my S5, since I don't want to have to carry a USB stick every time. Or say I want to install a game, which takes several GB. I also use an SSD on my desktop. Rather speedy even for desktop standards, the X25-M seems to have lag that isn't otherwise noticeable when the capacity gets to 70% or so. Which means space is even more crucial on an SSD! It's already a hard buy against a 1/2 price Netbook anyways. The low standby power drain also meant that I'm not rebooting this device as often. I couldn't imagine how it would have been back in the McCaslin or even 900MHz Celeron M days, oh boy... The problem I see on these type of devices is that it’ll be most useful for video. I have 11.5GB worth of video on my S5, since I don’t want to have to carry a USB stick every time. Or say I want to install a game, which takes several GB.

I also use an SSD on my desktop. Rather speedy even for desktop standards, the X25-M seems to have lag that isn’t otherwise noticeable when the capacity gets to 70% or so. Which means space is even more crucial on an SSD!

It’s already a hard buy against a 1/2 price Netbook anyways. The low standby power drain also meant that I’m not rebooting this device as often.

I couldn’t imagine how it would have been back in the McCaslin or even 900MHz Celeron M days, oh boy…

]]> By: Marc http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/08/black-umid-comes-to-dynamism/#comment-25128 Marc Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:03:11 +0000 http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=8939#comment-25128 I notice that Dynamism aren't offer a 3G version. I notice that Dynamism aren’t offer a 3G version.

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