Despite the UMID MBook [details] being a very powerful and very small little computer at a very reasonable price, it has never really gained the traction I thought it deserved [review]. The USB dongles and the screen hinge were two significant issues but despite that, I thought we might have seen more action on blogs and forums than we have. To get a handle on what’s going on I contacted UMID to check that they hadn’t gone the way of OQO and Raon Digital. Here’s what they said.

Chippy: Is it [umid M1] shipping in quantity now? Are the early build quality problems fixed?

UMID: Since there have been LCD shortage, we are not able to supply enough qty, but we are expecting to get delivered enough products beginning of Sep. with Black model also. We have fixed plastic (cabinet) problem..such as no clicking sound when you open it up and easy to control screen angle and etc.

Chippy: What overseas (EU, US) distributors do you have?

UMID: In US market, we have one channel supplier named Dynamism so far, we will extend more a sales channel US in near future. And, we are setting up an exclusive distributor organization for EU market as ODM brand.

Chippy: Do you have plans for an upgraded or new model soon?

UMID: You will see them at IDF SF, and M1 BK model.

So it looks like the Black version is coming at the beginning of September and that there may be a new model shown at IDF although that’s open to interpretation. If the screen folds back further than it did though it removes one of the major issues with the device. It tried to clarify that point because a black version with a better screen angle would really interest me.

Chippy: Does the screen now fold back further or have you just fixed the "click" problem?

Yes, there is modification of controlling screen angle

We’re trying to get images and information but all we managed to get hold of so far are images of the Black (BK) model which looks great.

Click to see full size versions.

We’ll be at IDF so of course we’ll be checking out the latest version and testing it for screen angle. I hope they don’t mind me stealing it overnight for some testing and videos!

UMID Mbook product details.

Great news. Following the Australian reseller, Justek (news) Dynamism have announced that they will be selling the UMID M1 Mbook and that it will be available from the 15th June.

For $599 you get exactly the version we tested. WIndows XP Home + 16GB of SSD. Good value? Yes. The UMID is truly a next-gen UMPC and, along with the Viliv S5, one of the best UMPC choices there is right now. It’s got a very fast web browser (we’re talking 3-4x the rendering speed of an iPhone here with full flash capability!) and a good video playback sub-system. From our review:

We’re impressed with the technology in the UMID Mbook, the processing power, the battery life, the screen and the fast SSD. We’re not impressed with the fiddly micro-SD slot, headphone and USB ports though and these, we’re sure, will be major issues for a lot of people. Build quality could also be better. Despite these issues, the UMID is a device that you keep going back to and keep wanting to take with you, even if you don’t have any ‘computing’ activities planned. It’s a very flexible, and fast, pocket companion. One might say, a pocket microblogging rocket!

Our full review of the UMID Mbook M1 is here.

Full product details including videos and links to other UMID news items on the ´net

Dynamism link.

Related articles in the right hand column ->

Here’s my overview and opinion on the UMID MBook M1 in 12 points and a seven minute video. It highlights what I think are the most important things you should be thinking about if you’re looking to buy it.

Negative

• Build quality. Plastics and part fitting is poor. Some creaking and poorly fitted casing components. *1
• Table or handtop use. Neither are perfect. If the screen folded back further it would be far more comfortable to use in hands. Too light for tabletop touchscreen use.
• One shift key is awkward in handheld mode. Strange layout for some keyboard characters.
• Wifi and BT default to off after standby and can not be individually enabled.
• No direct usb or headphone port
• (Not in the video) No mouse control other than touchscreen which can be fiddly with Windows XP.

Positive

• Smallest, most powerful notebook style pocketable pc available.
• Extremely fast to boot, resume and start programs due to fast ssd
• Good quality touchscreen with stabilisation software/drivers.
• Powerful enough for Skype video capability out of the box. Good webcam.
• Excellent battery life. (I’m currently running a full start-to-finish web browsing battery life test as I write this.)
• While not perfect in every scenario, can be used successfully in every scenario. A flexible device.
• Silent, cool operation.

Overall it’s one of the best UMPC devices available on the market and a great step forward for UMPCs but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

More information, links, videos, gallery in the UMID information page.

[*1 I am told that this is a retail UMID Mbook and not a prototype as I mentioned in the video. JKK has a similar problem with the one he bought from Ebay but there's still a question about whether I have one of the pre-recall versions here.]

On of the key features of the UMID Mbook M1, apart from the processing power, form factor and battery life, is the speed of the SSD. What better way to demonstrate it than to show a boot sequence. Here’s proof that it boots in 30 seconds from pressing the button to being able to se the start menu. The OS is Windows XP Home with about 30 processes running. Update: One correction on the video; the UMID weighs 338gm (measured), not 490gm as shown on the video.

Detailed info, including a new gallery and links to review articles and videos are available in the updated UMID information page.

Jkk, the master of mobile modding, is always quick to point out internal shots from the latest hardware. This time, he found some shots of the UMID M1 [Portal page], which Chippy just recently wrote his hands on thoughts over at MIDMoves.

Unfortunately the tiny laptop form-factor device won’t be that easy to mod considering the RAM and even the SSD is soldered to the motherboard. Jkk mentions that a 3G mod won’t be easy either as the UMID M1 isn’t using a PCI-E 3G modem.

[UMPC Fever] via [jkkmobile]

With a base memory of 512MB, a Linux OS and the 1.1Ghz processor, the $500 local price reported by (Via Lazion) indicates that there’s going to be a wide range on pricing for the UMID M1 MID/UMPC

Add an estimated 70 for XP, 100 for 1.3Ghz, 50 for another 1GB and 120 for a 3G module and it brings the pricing up around 850 dollars for a high-end model. It’s going to seem quite high to a lot of people but in reality, it’s not. $850 is still cheaper than many other 3G enabled mobile computing options (OQO 2+, Q1 U HSDPA, U820 HSDPA) and in-line with high end smartphones that are also commanding prices in this area. (E90, Touch HD, Advantage.) The chances are that this could be one of the best ultra-mobile mini-pc’s yet.

We’ve heard that both Dynamism and Mobilx are working on global sales for the UMID and we’re expecting prices very soon. The source article indicates that samples are going out from UMID now so that would indicate a timescale of under 2 months to sales.

Source PMPInside

Update: Another post at CNet gives us the details in English. Note Kevin’s comments about the RAM.

As we mentioned on CES podcast 8 yesterday, the UMID M1 seems to be getting a lot of attention. Mini clamshell laptops always attract the eye as a familiar form factor so its not surprising.

Both jkOnTheRun and Pocketables have had hands on now and the feedback is positive. James called it out as his favorite of all the Intel MIDs. [Note: Intel and others have been calling the Windows based devices UMPCs but I sense that soon, everyone will be calling them MIDs.The marketing is tending in that direction and there's nothing much we can do to stop that.] Jenn had a good hands-on session and has written a more detailed article saying that it works well for thumbing but that it felt a little laggy in a Vista/1Gb kind of way. She was testing the 1.1 ghz version. A 1.3ghz version with hyperthreading is planned.

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