Looking like a slightly modified Clevo TN70M and having sizing and specs to match is this variant called the Suzuki 701 M.

I’ve just reviewed the TN70M and wasn’t too impressed by the 800×480 screen on it but I know there’s a 1024×600 variant and if it is well priced, it makes a great netbook. The only issue I can see is that Suzuki appear to have a very small 4-cell battery on this. The 4-cell on the TN70M lasts for around 5hrs. The 4-cell on the Suzuki is said to last for 140 minutes which is no good to anyone wanting mobile capabilities. The other thing is that this one is thinner than the TN70M. Maybe Clevo have a new model up their sleeve!

Suzuki Singapore product information page.

Thanks CorticalSam. Original story – Liliputing.

At 535 Euros inclusive of Windows XP Home and European taxes the Clevo TN70M is remarkably cheap for a convertible touchscreen device. The overall quality is good and there are no show-stoppers but there are a few issues that get in the way and are probably going to stop most buyers in their tracks. Relatively large size, 800×480 screen and a huge amount of competition from netbooks narrow the target customer down to a very niche segment indeed. In this review I take a look at the main features of the Clevo TN70M, give you some test results and opinions and see if I can find out exactly where the Clevo TN70N is aiming. Thanks to Mobilx.eu for sending the TN70M over for testing.

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I’ve installed Windows 7 on the Clevo TN70M and it’s working very well. Auto screen rotation isn’t working yet but everything else seems to be. Even tablet features started working fully after I installed the touch drivers. I’ve tested the beta graphics drivers and it even enables Aero.  (But causes problems with Windows Media Player so I rolled back to the standard drivers.)

The fact that Windows 7 works is more significant than with many other devices because you can buy the TN70M without an operating system for just over 400 Euro. This makes the Clevo TN70 with its excellent touchscreen the cheapest tablet PC available today. The wide frame and palm resistance help too so although it’s not the ultimate handwriting pad, it’s a fantastic entry point. Even if you’re not into handwriting, there are some nice features in Windows 7 that help with finger navigation and mobility. I just wish that auto screen-rotate software was working. It hasnt been working under XP either so it is possible I have a faulty unit here.

There’s not much more to say at the moment because it’s early days. I want to upgrade the RAM to 2GB because although Win 7 seems much more gentle on hard drives than Vista, it’s not as gentle as XP is. A fast 32GB SSD would be a better option than the 60GB HDD in my opinion and would really help Win 7.

Optical pointer, webcam, mouse pointer, fingerprint reader, touch, brightness, volume, sleep, sd card, audio, BT, Wifi. Check! Everything working.

What a bargain this is turning into. I have a broken Q1 Ultra here. I wonder if the 1024×600 would swap into it! I’m tempted to buy this little budget baby just to try it out because that’s the only thing that would need changing in order to make this a very compelling little UMPC.

Hands-on first impression and video here.

When you read about the TN70 in the umpc and netbook community you’re likely to hear references to the T91 and the Sony Vaio P along with words like ‘ugly’ and ‘cheap.’ You probably won’t hear much mention of mobility but if you’re thinking about mobility, umpcs and tablet PCs I encourage you to pause for a moment and take a closer look because this bargain basement device (that I’m calling a UMPC) has surprised me by turning out to be well designed and very, very usable. If you think back to the Wibrain B1/i1 you’ll remember a similar story. It certainly didn’t look attractive and the reason was that Wibrain designed something to be usable rather than marketable. The same is true of the TN70. It’s a very usable and very good value device.

The TN70N has been supplied for review by Mobilx. Their information and ordering page is available here.

Our TN70N product page which includes links, images and videos.

Before I get my first impressions down though I have to do a comparison to Kohjinsha SA1. When I bought it 2.5 years ago it cost me over 1000 Euro, ran on the Geode LX500 CPU and served me well until I ran out of patience with the slow processor. The TN70M costs less than half and brings a swivel touchscreen, way over double the processing power, hd video decoding, a fingerprint reader, rotation sensor, optical mouse, web cam, expresscard/34 slot and a much much better keyboard. It even has the same, great battery life. If you’re buying pre-tax, you’ll pay just 337 Euros today. That’s without an operating system but if Windows 7 release candidate runs, (i’ll be testing that today) then why bother with the OS. 405 euro is the price including tax.  Seriously, if you’re thinking about a cheap netbook for mobile duties, stop! This Clevo is more mobile, more flexible, more usable than any netbook in almost all mobile scenarios except long-term desktop use.

Let’s put a few things in perspective though. It only has an 800×480 resolution screen so you’ll be experiencing dialog box problems. You’ll also hit problems with some software installs until you switch to a higher, non-native resolution. It’s also pretty ugly. A large screen frame houses useable controls but makes it look like a toy, especially in the white coloring.

In our 1hr live evaluation last night (video here) we discovered the following:

• The keyboard is good. Better than the Kohinsha SC3. Not as good as most netbook. It only has 1 shift key.
• The fingerprint reader works and the software captures password too.
• The mouse pointer on the frame is a very good optical type which gives you great control in two-handed or tablet mode.
• Has strong Wifi reception. (b/g modes)
• Appears to have about 5hrs battery life (although the battery indicator doesn’t show times)
• Has a soft touchscreen with a good level of palm rejection. The screen is matt but has a typical milky appearance in sunlight.
• Includes a rotation sensor (although the drive software appears to be broken on this model)
• Is as fast as any 1.3Ghz Menlow device for browsing. Sub 10-second average page load times.
• Includes a hard drive with a max throughput of 28MB/s
• Was silent for the whole 1hr testing session
• Has a removable back allowing RAM, HDD and PCI-express mini slot.
• Speakers are of acceptable quality.
• Microphone level seems low (tested with Skype)

Initial CrystalMark test result:

The graphics driver is extremely old and causes crashes on flash full-screen so i’ll leave you with some images and run down to the studio to install Windows 7. Wish me luck!

Thanks to Mobilx for the TN70M review device.

Check our product page for the latest info and links.

Update: We (jkk and I) recorded 3 videos last night.

MiFi overview

Clevo TN70M evaluation (1hr)

quick overview of the Viliv X70.

Thanks to everyone that participated. You can access the videos through the player below.

JKK and I will be turning on the cams and tuning into the chat session again tonight at 2100 CEST.

• Highlight the main points of the MiFi 2352 and answer your questions.
• Unbox the Clevo TN70M that Mobilx sent over for review
• Answer questions about the X70 EX and Viliv S5
• If we have time, i’ll load up the new GMA500 drivers on the Fujitsu U820 / Loox  with Windows 7 and we’ll see if makes any difference.

We expect to be live for about 2hrs. Preparation starts at about 2030 CEST, 3pm EST  (Check your local time here)

Access the live session here. Feel free to use the chat session at any time.

We haven’t had time to test the Clevo TN70M yet but definitely have it on the list due to it’s low cost, long battery life and European availability. In the meantime we’ve got some details from the Korean website, Lazion, to share with you. They’ve tested a branded version of the Clevo, the Hansung Sparq M7.

We think the M7 tested by Lazion is equivalent to the Clevo TN71M. The TN70M is very similar. Differences are highlighted below.

• Z530 1.6Ghz fanless design (the Clevo TN70M uses the 1.3Ghz CPU)
• ExpressCard slot
• Fingerprint reader
• This version has a 1024×600 screen (TN70M has 800×480)
• Expandable Memory (up to 2GB)
• 38.48Wh standard battery
• Sub 1KG
• G-sensor for automatic screen rotation
• Stable screen hinge
• 2mp webcam
• No operating system included
• 3hrs high-load battery life
• 1.8” HDD, RAM, PCI-Express Mini (used for Wifi) easily accessible. (Lazion also tested an SSD version which returned good benchmarks.)

Looking at the keyboard, it looks slightly more spacious than the one you would find on the Kohjinsha SC3 and the battery looks to be about double what you’ll get on the SC3 with a full load. The 1.3Ghz version will probably return even better battery life. Add the fingerprint reader (well worth having if it works reliably) and the easy expansion capability and it’s looking like a very good value UMPC option.

Lazion review Part 1. Overview. (translation)

Lazion review Part 2. Details. (translation)

I just reported that Mobilx have the Eking i1 available to order and now they tell me the Clevo TN70M is coming too. It’s raining new devices today! The TN70M is a device that JKK and I tested over a year ago at CeBIT 2008 (video) and we were very interested in the specs. How does it look today though?

The TN70M reminds me of the Kohjinsha SA5, the touchscreen version of the SA1, a pre-netbook device I used for blogging at CeBIT 2007. It’s an 800×480 convertible touchscreen device but based on a 1.33Ghz Intel Atom and includes ExpressCard 34 slot, 60GB hard drive and a 4-cell battery. This was one of the key features we highlighted at CeBIT and at that time I estimated a 7-hour runtime. Based on how the Eking i1 performs (6 hours on the 32wh battery) I see no reason to doubt that with a 37wh battery (2008 specs,confirmed) this is going to be close to that 7hr mark. It weighs 900gm.

When I bought the SA1 in 2007, it cost me over 1000 Euros. The TN70M price is 472 Euros including taxes (about 393 Euro for exports) but excluding operating system. That’s double the battery life, double the processing power for half the price!!! Given that the TN70M was supposed to have a free PCI-Express Mini slot inside (unconfirmed at the moment) this could make an interesting Linux tablet/netbook project. 800×480 screen though. 800×480 will help touch navigation and viewing but with so many 1024×600 devices around, is it enough?

• Mobilx TN70M info and order page.
• UMPCPortal TN70M information page.

Update: Ndevil.com have a recent YouTube video up (German, accompanying article) that shows the battery unit with a 37wh capacity. Thanks Balazs.

The Clevo TN70M that we reported on back at CeBIT has now turned into the TN71M but the key feature remains the same. Battery life. More after the image…

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