“doesn’t quite fit into most user niches” ?? I would say the opposite all of the existing UMPC designs are not popular to most people as evident with their history of weak sales. I think this D4 is the best umpc available. Yes it is a bit pricey, and yes it will need the extended battery, but it is the right size and does not have a thumb input or pen only input.

I am definately cosidering a purchase!

I read the first trials from Jenn at Pocketables and the battery is tiny. The extended battery only increases the weight .4 oz and makes it a little thicker but then is supposed to provide 4.5 to 5 hours; so to me that makes the unit still a very good UMPC and still small enough to carry in a jacket pocket.

It would be great to have increases in battery life but 4-5 hours is good enough to work. What is the key issue with UMPC’s is not the battery life but the form factor. We need to see more devices shaped like this D4 so that they can be carried in a jacket pocket and have a touch type keyboard NOT a thumb input. Then there will be more interest as the UMPC’s can be productive stand along mobile computers instead of toys for tech lovers whom have multiple devices.

ahh, can’t edit … that’s “pov”, not “pow” in the last paragraph

I wouldn’t agree with Luscious that this is mainly a chipset issue.
Probably a better chipset would reduce power consumption by a few percent. But even a 30% decrease would have a minimal effect on the battery life.

If you look at the standard battery (Jenn over at pocketables.net has pictures), you will easily understand why such a small thing cannot power an X86 based computer with a full OS for a very long time. And I don’t believe that Linux would change much. Either you want your device to perform functionality that requires an X86 platform, then even Linux will have to make real use of the hardware, or you are satisfied with reduced functionality. But then you don’t need an X86 platform.

So I believe that Kevin is dead on with his conclusion that a breakthrough in battery technology is required if we want to get longer battery life from such small devices. Compare this to when LiIon batteries were introduced to the mobile phone market. Back then the (from today’s pow) pretty basic phones were large and had to be recharged basically every day or at least every other day. After the introduction of LiIon batteries this time span increased to a week.

It’s interesting that there is no mention of the chipset used with the device, which is most likely the power hog. Intel forgot to do it’s homework pairing a 2.5W cpu with subpar chipset options.

It’s interesting that there is no mention of the chipset used with the device, which is most likely the power hog. Intel forgot to do it’s homework pairing a 2.5W cpu with subpar chipset options.

Willcom is bundling a “high capacity” battery for early adopters. The battery has a claimed 4.5 hour life. It adds about a 1/4 pound to the weight and makes the unit thicker. See link below for photo. While this addresses the issue of battery life for early adopters, it’s a nicely designed device that doesn’t quite fit into most user niches.

http://www.willcom-inc.com/ja/corporate/press/2008/07/08/index.html

Yep, this kind of pathetic battery life is a deal-breaker for me…

An hour to an hour and a half of battery life makes this a portable device, not a mobile one. Quite frankly, given Sharp’s long history with *mobile* devices, they should be ashamed to release this device as mobile.

Definitely, battery life is a main concern when using small portable devices. I remember hardly ever using my Samsung Q1 until I bought the extended (yet heavier) battery.

I would like to see how this unit fares against a Fujitsu U810 running either XP Pro or Vista.

I’m surprised by how short even the claimed battery life is. Even the OQO, 2 inches narrower than the D4, claims 2.5 hours, and typically achieves 2 hours. I’m wondering if they actually have a battery that’s smaller than the OQO battery.

I’m leery of complaints about fan noise though. The fan may actually be noisy, or it may be like the OQO where people think it’s noisy because they expect it to be utterly silent.

In any case, you’re dead on in your penultimate paragraph. TDP is important if you’re designing a computer. It’s not as important if you’re just using one. For that, you care mainly about average power consumption. That’s what sets battery life.

Maybe you guys could try a lighter OS on it when yu get a hold of one and see what kind of battery life that would give (Ubuntu for portables or Xandros as on the Eee?)