This question just cam up on Twitter and I think I know where Daniel Blake, the CEO of TinyChat, a web-based Webcam-enabled chat system is going with this!

It’s a subject very close to my heart and so I’ve decided to answer it in more than 140 characters.

The requirements are:

• Small device
• Webcam
• Mic
• Wifi
• Flash 10

First of all, let me highlight my recent article about the Mobile reporting solution version 6. It’s a 3G-enabled solution with an external cam but the core, the Viliv X70 UMPC, can actually run with its own webcam. The X70 is probably the best long-battery-life mobile (and 3G capable) solution out there. But that’s no what Daniel was asking. He just wanted something small with Wifi.

In my experience, the quality of the webcam depends on the software drivers behind it. For example, the very small, very light Kohjinsha SK3 has an awesome 3mp, auto-focus webcam on a swivel screen but the video drivers are so damn heavyweight that the results are just not up to scratch. On the other hand, the lower quality Clevo TN70M with the 800×480 screen is a much better solution. I’ve done WiFi-based Skype on this for long periods and the quality is excellent. The best thing is that it’s available without an OS so you can drop Ubuntu on it and have a sub-1KG portable web chat system for under 400 Euros.

Looking at the product database (and sorting by weight) I see some other solutions too. The smallest and lightest solution there is the UMID M1 at 315gm / 11oz.  We’ve done a full review of this one and here’s what I said about the cam.

The quality of the webcam is good for such a small device. Recording using Movie maker at a relatively high 1mbps bit-rate resulted in better-than-expected results. It also works with Skype although you will be hitting CPU limits that will keep the frame rate down. Streaming with Ustream again returned better than expected results.  Not totally smooth but certainly acceptable for a quick broadcast.

Remember it’s running the same CPU as the Clevo and X70 I just mentioned and it’s also available in a very nice black finish too. Ben is testing that one right now.

In summary then. Here are the top three choices.

• UMID M1 UMPC. *smallest lightest) 315gm
• Viliv X70. (also comes with cam post-processing effects software, Youcam) 660gm
• Clevo TN70M. Swivel screen. Low cost. Available without OS. 990gm

Devices based on the Intel Atom 1.3 or 1.6Ghz version e.g. the T91, the U820 (available with a 2.0Ghz Atom!) and some of the lighter netbooks, are all worth looking at. Also keep an eye on the Archos 9.  If its small and light that you want though, the UMID is unbeatable for the occasional web-cam chat session.

Let us know if you do any tests Daniel.

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.

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.

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 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!

Check our product page for the latest info and links.

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 inch 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 ultra mobile PC 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.