It’s been about 2-weeks since I last used my daily desktop PC and 2-weeks since I’ve heard that horrible background noise of fan and disk. For the last two weeks I’ve been using a silent, modular, ‘grab and go’ solution based on the Fujitsu U820 UMPC and it’s working out very well indeed. You won’t find many solutions like this out there because this is one of the secrets of the UMPC world that marketing teams and board members get scared about – a multi-scenario device!
I’m afraid I don’t have time to do a written review of my Windows 7 experience with the U820 but I can say that it’s good. So good that I took some time this morning to quickly go over the device and how it works with Windows 7. Highlights for me (over the Vista build I was running) are:
Windows 7 really does spell the end of XP on UMPCs in my opinion. The only question now is, cost. How much will a touch-enabled version of W7 cost?
The video below is relatively long at 19 minutes. YouTube’s HQ processing may take time so check back later if you want an HQ version.
Note: This video edited and processed using Windows Live Movie Maker Beta with the YouTube upload plugin on the U/B50N. The render time is much longer than with the old version of Movie Maker (in this case, way over 1hr to process 19 mins of VGA MJPEG 14mb/s source video) but the editing and posting process using this method is very very simple. I’ll have to do some more testing to see if it’s a valid option for UMPCs.
Thanks to Conics for the loan of the Loox. They have the 2GB version with an SSD option so check it out.
After a very successful and stress-free install of Windows 7 on the U/B50N (U820, U2010) UMPC yesterday, I’m now giving it a full test as a desktop PC with full size monitor and keyboard. Using the dock, the screen keyboard, mouse and power can be left plugged in and I can grab the UMPC whenever I need to take Twhirl to the kitchen!
The Loox was already an impressive device but with Windows 7 it’s working so much better. Quick, clean, enjoyable. Not as fast as XP but the trade-off is worth it now. Battery life appears to be better. It ranges from under 5W (wifi-on, screen on, idle = 4hrs) drain through 7W (average Wifi browsing = 3hrs) up to 10W (2hrs) if it’s pushed for videos. Boot time is about 60 seconds until fingerprint swipe and another 30 seconds on top until it’s stable. Far better than Vista was. All touch features are working including floating tip and the on screen keyboard is great in portrait sofa-surfing mode! Even the fingerprint reader is working for Windows login. There’s no audio output on the dock which is a little annoying but USB audio dongles are dirt cheap and there’s always the A2DP route so it’s not a major hassle. With the 1.6Ghz processor (1GB RAM) it’s fast enough for my journalistic and social networking activities although there’s clearly room for improvement in disk speed. A fast 64GB SSD would make this almost unbeatable. (The 2Ghz version with an SSD will be the ultimate grab and go desktop!)
This isn’t a cheap setup by any means but it’s one of the best engineered, multi-scenario UMPC packages you can buy. From tablet to thumbing to table-top and desktop. It’s up there with the 1.8Ghz OQO 2+ and docking station setup I tested. I’m enjoying the U/B50N so much that when I’ve completed the Viliv S5 review (that I’m supposed to be doing right now!) I’ll schedule a full review of this. When the UMID Mbook goes back to Mobilx this week, the U/B50N will become my main UMPC. Thanks very much to Conics for the long-term loan of the U/B50N. It’s been a pleasure but I really can’t stop thinking about the 2Ghz version you have!
End of day update:
This is very cool to work with. I always like a dual-screen setup and theres a great feeling of efficiency here but don’t expect this setup to be without limits. I put the Fuji into high-power mode (no speed stepping) and the fan got annoying (in my silent, out of town room while I was concentrating on an article) and there were one or two stutters too many. I think, however, these are coming from my RF keyboard and mouse rahter than the UMPC. I need another session with a hard-wired keyboard.mouse. If you need ONE PC for mobility and desktop and you want to use it a lot, i.e. you need quality, this is probably in the top three with the Sony UX and OQO. I dare say the 2Ghz with SSD and windows 7 will be the ultimate one-pc setup.
Jenn from Pocketables shows us a press release from Fujitsu making official the latest iteration of the Lifebook UMPC. We already knew most of the details regarding the Atom based U2010, but the press release has shed light on a few new bits of info. The U2010 will be available in five different colors: Ocean Black, Pink Gold, Cool Silver, Fuchsia Red, and Luminous Blue. Fujitsu is also saying that the U2010 will run for 8 hours on its extended 4-cell battery, or 9 hours with the 4-cell battery and the announced 64GB SSD option. The U2010 looks to be shaping up to be a good sequel to a pretty popular line of UMPCs. Lets just hope that press released 9 hour battery figure is true!
JKK uncovered something nice on his daily FCC rounds today. The U2010 that seems to be shooting up the UMPCPortal charts (#4 as I write this), is going to be available in the U.S. as the U820. Jkk reports that there doesn’t appear to be any differences in spec apart from an FM transmitter (for in-car audio transmission) and a good-to-see, XP Tablet Edition option. Bravo Fujitsu!
Details: JKKMobile.
Meanwhile, over at the UMPCFever offices, JOE has been doing some more testing with the U2010. He’s completed 2 battery life tests which proce that it’s running more efficiently than the SC3, the other Menlow-based laptop-style UMPC. Playing a movie with 50% brightness, Wifi on and power saving mode returned 2hrs and 30 minutes. 3hrs browsing might be a little difficult to achieve at 50% brightness but it’s going to be very close. Is it going to be enough for people though? Joe continues testing and promises some CrystalMark results tomorrow where we’ll probably get a good feel for disk speed; another important factor.
UMPCFever are the source of the information here and I find myself more than a little interested in this 1.6Ghz Intel Centrino Atom-based (Silverthorne + Puolsbo) device having read the article. The Fujitsu U2010 appears to be a significant step forward for UMPCs and a possible replacement for my broken Q1 Ultra (more about that here and later.)
Improved:
UMPCFever have measured 3 hours WiFi-on, full screen backlight playing a movie. Remember this is on a 20wh battery. 7W drain under those conditions is nothing short of impressive. Expect around 7-hours music playback, 5 hours wifi-off typing or 3 hours browsing. If you so wish, you have a 40wh battery option which will bulk the device out a little but double your battery life.
The U2010 has many of the components of the SC3 but it’s smaller (click the size comparison on the left,) is more powerful and has better battery life. In my book, that’s worth paying for so it’s the reason that the U2010 has gone right to the top of my wishlist. Anyone want to buy an SC3 from me?
UMPCFever U2010 First impressions.
UMPCFever have also got pictures of the device disassembled. Check out the internals here where you’ll see the good news that the HD can be swapped out and the bad news that the memory is soldered.
We’re tracking and linking all the U2010 info as we find it on the U2010 info page.
Focusing on the ‘high-end’ of the market, the Fujitsu U2010 that was announced in Korean today will be an Atom-based (we assume Silverthorne/Poulsbo) UMPC running Windows Vista and including GPS and 3G. One of the problems of the previous U1010, the multi-function keys, might have been solved in this model as there’s a 6th row of keys on the device. Weight is an impressive 610g. Screen is 5.6" at, we assume, 1024×600. I also see a fingerprint reader and SD card reader. There’s no word on processor speed but we can assume that this will be running 1.6 or even 1.8Ghz and a few quick calculations based on a small 20wh 2-cell battery as seen on the U1010 returns a potential in-use battery life of around 3hr which would extend to 6hrs with the commonly used 4-cell battery pack. A local Taiwanese price of $1300 puts it into the middle of the UMPC pricing along with other 3G-enabled devices like the Q1 Ultra HSDPA and a July launch ties-in with the expected availability of the Intel Menlow platform.
Its good too see some more pro-mobile devices appearing but the success of this little baby will largely depend on how Vista performs so keep any eye out for reports from Computex.
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