Friday is here, time to take a step back from the hurried happenings in Mobile Tech Manor and look back at the week. Some gear went back where it came from and other gear arrived for play evaluation. I experimented with alternative e-book readers to get a feel for what I like best before all the “real” readers hit early next year. Step into the Manor and let’s shoot the breeze.
Yesterday, I took a look at Amazon’s Kindle for PC software on my netbook. The beta software is missing a few features just yet — search, note-taking and highlighting passages — but for reading Kindle content, it’s quite good. You gain the benefit of a color screen and the ability to tweak fonts and line spacing to a greater degree. All in all, the experience is enjoyable. But will it be so good that it actually kills off Amazon’s Kindle hardware products? I don’t think so.
If you’ve been lusting after either the Viliv S5 or X70 devices that James has been teasing you with, there’s yet another vendor offering the devices stateside. Laptoping eye-spied them both over at NewEgg, and my quick browsing shows quite the assortment of available models and options. All three X70EX editions are appearing: Express P, Premium P and Premium 3GP. The differing prices — $599, $729, and $879 — range with choice of CPU speed, SSD capacity and inclusion of integrated HSPA 3G radio. All have the 7-inch touchscreen, Windows XP Home (not XP Tablet Edition), 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, card reader, 1.3-megapixel webcam, integrated microphone and stereo speakers. Oh, and a solid five hours or so of battery life. Much of what’s offered here is or was available in my old Samsung Q1U-P device, but of course, that was more expensive, thicker and heavier due to the larger battery size.
The smaller, 4.8-inch display S5 is also squatting on NewEgg’s site — the same three model names as the X70EX are there for $549, $599 and $799. Again, the base feature set is pretty standard with the options coming in for a 1.33GHz CPU over a 1.2GHz unit, hard drive or SSD and integrated 3G. NewEgg is offering some special extras on some configurations: a case, extra battery or other accessory.
It’s been over three years since the original Origami Project concept, but in my opinion, the S5 and X70EX are what we were hoping for back then. I’m curious if folks agree. Assuming you do, it makes you wonder about the original concept to begin with since these devices are generally still considered niche products. Then again, they can be found at Amazon, Buy.com and other mainstream sites these days, too. Maybe we hoped for too much three years ago? Or maybe we’re all still a little ahead of our time. I feel better thinking of it that way. 
Another week, another column sharing that week with you. Mobile Tech Manor had a lot of activity this week, with lots of gadgets leaving and some new ones taking their place. I had the chance to get back in the Tablet PC swing and it felt great. Come on in and let’s jaw.
It is the end of the week and that means it is time to share my past week with you. It was a week of updates and software experimentation at Mobile Tech Manor, and I did some thinking about an upcoming trip. There were e-books galore as usual, and I believe we’ll see an e-book reader that will set the sector on its ear. Come on in and share the week with me.
It’s Friday and that can only mean it’s time to share my week with you. This week at Mobile Tech Manor a fun OS update turned a UMPC into a brick. I read a lot of e-books which was appropriate given the many e-book readers that were announced this week. I spent a lot of time carrying mobile devices around with me to work remotely. Come on in and share my week at Mobile Tech Manor.
I spent a good portion of this week with my sleeves rolled up, up to my elbows in one gadget or another. I started by installing Windows 7 on two UMPCs, at least that was my intention. The first upgrade was the Viliv S5 UMPC, which was harder than it should be.
Mobile desktop
I attended the GigaOM Pro webinar earlier (which was great) and then needed to get out of the office. I am in the coffee shop working away on the loaner Viliv X70 UMPC, now that it’s back running Windows XP after my failed attempt to put Windows 7 on it. I’ll detail that aborted process in tomorrow’s Mobile Tech Manor column.
The X70 is a stellar mobile desktop when paired with the Stowaway wireless keyboard and mouse. It’s so small for transport, yet the 7-inch screen is quite comfortable to use for extended periods on the table. I am flying through stuff with no feeling of compromise at all.
The e-book space has never been hotter with a new electronic reader seemingly announced every day. Amazon certainly has made the e-book game popular and everybody seems to be interested in it currently. I have been reading e-books since the early PDA days, and it is still common to see me sitting somewhere with a gadget in my hand, engrossed in the e-book of the day.
I read e-books on many different gadgets, from phones to UMPCs, and folks often ask me what gadget I prefer for reading. That is another one of those questions for which there is no easy answer, as there are many factors that enter into the equation. The size of the gadget is the most important, as it usually determines what particular one I am likely to have with me when an opportunity to read presents itself. The size also determines the quality of the reading experience, as screen size equates to page size in the e-book world.
It is the end of a week that has flown by, due mainly to having a house full of visitors. My daughter and her family came in to visit and a great time was had by all. The visit meant running all over town and seeing a lot of things I normally don’t see. It also gave me a chance to work strictly while mobile, with a common sight being me with a laptop working in a chair whenever time permitted. I didn’t spend a lot of time in Mobile Tech Manor, but then MTM is as much a mobile concept as a real place. Come on in and I’ll share my week with you. We’ll take a look at all the mobile gear that got used all over the place.
Customers who ordered a Viliv X70 UMPC from retailer Dynamism have received emails informing them of a delivery delay. Dynamism cites a component shortage by the manufacturer, Viliv, as the reason for the delay. That doesn’t provide much comfort for those anxiously awaiting the arrival of their UMPC, but we can assume the UMPC revival is solid if components are in short supply. Those who are waiting delivery of their new X70 can watch our video review of the UMPC to see what they are missing:
done(via pocketables)
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