Archive for the ‘reviews’ Category

Thanks to PocketPCSolutions, I have the Amtek T770 here, the fist Vista on VIA device to ship and I’ve just posted a gallery and intro video below. Thanks to everyone who took part in the live unboxing (jkk grabbed a video of it here) and Q&A. It sounds like it was useful for everyone and was a good chance for me to hear/read peoples thoughts as we went through it. I’ll definitely keep the studio on standby for another session soon.

Back to the Amtek T770 though, its a nice solid UMPC with a good specification and its a very nice improvement over the original T700 (TabletKiosk V7110, IT’s, AGOPC branded.) The 1.2Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, SD card slot, Web cam, stereo speakers and design are worth having and the pricing in Europe is very competitive. Buttons are all dual-programmable (long/short press) and very high quality as are the plastics.

[read on for video overview and hands-on review.]

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The docking station and Pentium-M processor hint at something a bit more than the average UMPC, something that could justify the extra cost. Connect a keyboard and screen, just as you would with a normal PC or docked notebook and the Tablet Kiosk i7210 transforms itself nicely into a full-format system. Does it have the power to perform in both UMPC and MiniPC scenarios? I’ve had the i7210 for a few weeks now and have explored just about every angle.

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The smallest notebook PC in the world, the most energy efficient and the quietest also has the lowest CPU clock-rate. The Kohjinsha SA1 takes a low-power approach to computing in order to enable mobility and long battery life. Carrypad used it for a month and here’s the detailed report.

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After spending some time with the Raon Digital Vega recently, one of the smallest devices in the Ultra Mobile PC bracket, it was a huge leap over to the top-end of the market to a device with 400% more screen area and a 400% bigger ego! The Flybook V33i is an 8.9″ 1024×600 convertible laptop with cellular connectivity and a huge huge slice of style. Thanks to myflybook.de I’ve been able to test it out for four days and bring you the low-down. Is it all talk and no action?

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The Pepper Pad 3 is your Google-life companion!

On one hand it provides a quick, mobile and easy way to use the Internet through a Firefox-based rich browser. It’s also a capable entertainment device. On the other hand its a complete Linux-based touchscreen PC and a real hackable gem of a mobile pc platform. With a great thumbboard! We have one or two issues with the style of the device, the limitations of the Pepper desktop and wonder whether the price is a little too high for basic users but in general, its a great way to enjoy the internet, browser-based applications, media and a super platform for further development. Read the full review of the Pepper Pad 3 here.

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Over the last week we’ve been fortunate enough to have one of the first Microsoft Origami-based UMPC’s to arrive in Europe. Its an Easybook P7 from Paceblade, a VIA C7-M based device.

We’ve lived with the device and put it though some typical useage scenarios. Its certainly mobile and certainly very easy to use as it run a standard Microsoft Windows XP operating system with Tablet (touch screen) extensions.

There’s no hardware keyboard and only 800×480 pixels to play with it - is it really enough to be useful? Read on.

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The Raon Digital Vega can best be described as an ultra-small PC. Its smaller than a paperback book, weighs less than half a bag of sugar, and runs Windows XP home operating system. Yes. It’s really is an ultra small PC, with screen included!  Carrypad has had the device for nearly two weeks and put it through a heavy real-life test schedule. Read-on for a detailed review and our opinion on the device.

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The Carrypad UMPC product list contains UMPC’st range in price from about 350,- euro to well over 2000,- euro and if you look at the functionality of these devices, there isn’t really much difference. They are all capable of performing the core UMPC functions like quality internet browsing, email retrieval and sending, video playing, audio playback and document creation.

At the time of writing, the Sharp Zaurus SL-C3200 and SL-C1000 weren’t in the product list because we couldn’t find a supplier. We’ve found one now though through Trisoft in Germany. They were kind enough to lend us an SL-C3200 and and we can now say that yes, the SL-C3200 and, by definition, the SL-C1000 are Ultra Mobile PC’s

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