This Week at Mobile Tech Manor #42: UMPCs Everywhere

My favorite time of the week is here and I am looking forward to sharing my week at Mobile Tech Manor (MTM) with you. It was a fun week, with new gadgets on every tabletop at the Manor and at times I couldn’t even make up my mind which one to play with first. That’s a great problem to have if you’re a mobile tech nut like me. The Viliv folks have me with three different UMPCs and it’s been an interesting time getting back to my handheld roots. I also had some of my stable of smartphones updated this week and caught a new mouse. Step into MTM and visit with me a while.

Here a UMPC, There a UMPC, Everywhere a UMPC

Viliv is a Korean company that’s making a big splash in the ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) world. They sent me the S5 Premium model a few weeks ago and I liked using that handheld computer so much I bought it. This week they sent me the other configuration they have available, the S5 3G. This UMPC is also a Windows XP device but it has a 32 GB SSD and integrated 3G.

The 3G model is like the first model I tested but I was surprised to find it slower than the model with the standard HDD. PCs with a solid-state disk (SSD) should definitely be faster than HDD-equipped models, so I was understandably confused. These two models are almost identically configured otherwise, so it was even more surprising to find the model that should be faster was in fact slower.

I shared the benchmark results I obtained from both models when I was trying to determine where the problem lay and they confused everyone, including the engineers at Viliv. I decided to set the S5 3G aside for a bit as I had plenty of things to do so, I turned it off and let it sit for a couple of days.

Yesterday I picked it back up again and ran several iterations of benchmarks and was amazed to find them produce results more in line with what I expected. I used the device for hours after that and it is now as fast as the other model, even faster with disk tasks, as I would expect. I’ve given it a lot of thought but I cannot come up with any explanation for the original problem or the subsequent “healing.” It’s one of those computer mysteries. The one thing I did was to invoke the BIOS settings, where I disabled the “special settings” for the CPU. This had no affect on the benchmarks so I enabled those again. That may indicate that somehow these mystery settings were actually disabled, although the BIOS thought they were enabled. My cycling of them may have actually turned them on. I don’t know.

I haven’t tested the integrated 3G functions on that model yet as I’m not sure how to do it. Oh I can figure out how to configure the carrier settings easily enough; I’m not sure how the testing might affect my standing with the carrier. I have both a T-Mobile SIM and an AT&T SIM, but since the T-Mobile 3G network uses special frequencies I can’t test the 3G with that. The AT&T SIM is in my iPhone so if I remove it and put the SIM in the S5 then I lose use of my phone; plus I’m afraid that AT&T will be able to tell that I’m connecting with a PC instead of the iPhone. Do any of you use your AT&T phone SIM in a PC?

Viliv also sent me the larger sibling of the S5, the X70EX UMPC. This slate UMPC has a beautiful 7-inch screen and also uses a SSD like the S5. This device is lightning fast for an Atom-based PC so the SSD is working just fine. This X70EX has integrated 3G so my question about how to test the S5 applies to this device, too.

I’ve gotten a lot of good usage out of the X70EX, which has me leaning toward liking it better than the S5. It’s totally a question of size, as Viliv has indicated to me the non-3G model will be priced similarly to the smaller S5. I find the X70 to be comfortably used in the hand and while not quite as comfortable as the S5, it is a nice experience.

The case that Viliv sent along with the X70 doubles as a convenient stand and it enabled me to use it with a Bluetooth portable keyboard. I spent literally hours using it this way and did not feel I was compromised in any way doing so. I also spent hours reading e-books on the X70 in portrait mode and it was a great experience.

I suppose at some point I’ll have to decide if I keep the S5 and buy the X70 or if I go with the bigger one. Decisions, decisions. This UMPC evaluation has surprised me a bit, as the interest level in the readership has been very high. It almost seemed that the UMPC was a dying breed of a gadget for a while, but I have seen a lot of excitement and interest in the genre.

I picked up the Microsoft Arc Mouse to use with the Viliv UMPCs and the keyboard and I really like it. Bluetooth mice are good but I find the Arc is more precise. The USB dongle is very small and not a hassle to carry.

Updates were in the Air

This week saw not just one of my smartphones updated but two of them. The T-Mobile G1 Android phone moved up to version 1.5. You may have heard this update referred to as Cupcake, the code name. I haven’t had time to check out the new version in depth, but I do like the new onscreen keyboard. I found it easier at times to use that virtual keyboard, eliminating the need to slide the physical keyboard out.

My Verizon BlackBerry Storm got updated to version 4.7.0.148 and I’ve already seen good improvement. Screen rotation happens much quicker and overall performance is improved.

Pre-planning

I’m going to get a Palm Pre, hopefully on launch day. This week I have been trying to hone my plan to get one and I’m still not sure the best way to approach it. If the expected shortage of the Pre is as big as I’ve come to believe it will be it may be very difficult to find one on Saturday.

I expect that Sprint stores will be the best bet, but I’m hearing noise that even they won’t have a lot of them on hand. If this is so, then Palm and Sprint have blown a big opportunity as the absolute best time to rack up big sales numbers is at launch time, when the excitement is tangible.

Health

Last week I shared the experience of having a nuclear stress test and promised to share the results of that test. I am very happy to let you know that my heart and coronary vascular system are in good health and the cardiologist was happy with the images taken during the test.

I was understandably relieved to hear this result and I admit I danced a little jig when I hung up the phone. It was the newly updated BlackBerry Storm that took that call for those who keep track of such things.

I also had an ultrasound scan of the carotid artery to check if the existing blockage had increased or was the same as last year. This scan didn’t show any further blockage but the cardiologist wants to be sure, so I am to have an MTA. I don’t know what MTA stands for but it was explained to me as “sort of a 3D x-Ray.” It’s non-invasive and I’ll have it in the next few weeks. I’ll share those results, too, as many ask me about this sort of stuff. I appreciate the concern that everyone expresses; it means a great deal to me. I truly have an extended family here and I thank you for that.

E-books of the Week

This week the latest Jack Reacher book was released and I picked it up right away as all the books in this series have been great. “Gone Tomorrow” by Lee Child finds Jack Reacher on the wrong subway at the wrong time and things happen quickly from the very beginning. It’s a great read, as Lee Child’s novels always are. I find it entertaining how trouble always finds Jack Reacher, a man without a home, no phone and no ties with anyone nor anyplace.

I have been reading “Starship Down” by my new friend Darrell Bain and it’s typically good Bain. A civilian starship suffers a mysterious problem that throws it off course in a way that makes it impossible to find its way back to Earth. The ship thus becomes a colony ship and the story covers that big process. Time has passed quickly while I’ve been reading the book, a mark of an engrossing story.

That’s All Folks

You now know how I spent my week and I hope you felt like you were there. I always like sharing my time with you and until next week, peace be.