The Ultimate UMPC is not a UMPC!

According to Microsoft, a UMPC is supposed to be:

photo courtesy of Engadget

"About the size of a paperback book, the UMPC is small and light enough to fit easily into a carry-on, a purse, or a backpack. And yet, the UMPC features a powerful processor, a big, bright display, easy-to-use input options, and support for the latest connectivity standards.

The UMPC offers a display of 4-7 inches and touch capabilities, all in a package that weighs less than 2 pounds. But don’t underestimate this small computer—it can run all of the same Windows Vista-compatible software you’re already familiar with."

We certainly have seen some of these ideal elements in UMPCs, but as far as running "Windows Vista-compatible software" using a "powerful processor" is concerned, this project is a failure.  Some recent reviews illustrate the concept:

From JK on the Run’s WiBrain review on slow performance, "For example: opening up Microsoft Word 2007 takes 6 seconds on the Q1P. The same task on the WiBrain routinely takes 9 seconds." 

And on the screen resolution,
"Here’s where compromise, as it so often does with mobile devices, comes into play: due to the high res and the excellent trackpad, I found myself rarely using the touchscreen. Items are too small to accurately touch when it’s easier to just use the trackpad, cursor and mouse buttons."

From Pocketables’ OQO Model 2 Review on slow performance, "If you can tolerate nothing less than the top-of-the-line powerhouse desktop systems, then something like the OQO Model 02 (or any UMPC, for that matter) will definitely not make you happy."

Photo Courtesy of Ultramobile PC

From UltraMobilePC’s Vega Review on its 5" screen size, "For example, I use contact lenses and I do not need reading glasses unless the letters are too small, like the ones printed in some drug boxes. I do not need reading glasses at all to use any of the UMPC with a 7 inches display but I felt the need of my glasses using Vega.

From UltraMobilePC’s Amtek T770 Review on battery life, "…the battery life is between 2 hours and 2 hours 15 minutes according to my tests."

And on performance, "If you are a regular user that does not care about performance but you want an integrated webcam and microphone without having to pay a extra money, yes, you will find in this machine these features…"

Photo courtesy of Hanno’s Blog

Hanno’s Everun Review on odd size resolutions often found in UMPCs, "800×480 is the recommended screen resolution that Microsoft chose for UMPCs, yet the OS has menus that don’t fit. What good is the promise of being able to run standard software when the screen estate is too small for it?"

You get the idea.  The processor’s are too slow for the (bloated) OS, the screen resolution is all wrong, rendering many UMPCs unreadable without a magnifying glass, the OS’s menus don’t fit on the screen, multitasking is impossible due to lack of memory and processing power, and battery power is generally lackluster, if not putrid.

Indeed, not all UMPCs fail in every area.  Some are better than others.  But there is a lack of consistency across the board regarding features and performance.  UMPCs range in size, keyboard type, connectivity options, price, screen sizes and many other features, so lumping them into one category and saying they are inadequate may not be completely fair, but I have not read one UMPC review that has made me want to run out and get one.  To be sure, spending $800 to $2400 for lackluster performance in a package that is not quite pocketable, and is fraught with compromises, hardly intrigues me.  Pocket PCs are too small.  I need a larger screen to view spreadsheet data among other things.  Laptops are too big.  So I find myself aching for a UMPC. 

The Ultimate UMPC

Find the Ultimate UMPC after the break

And I think I found the Ultimate UMPC.  Ok, it’s technically not a UMPC, but it can outperform any UMPC.  I would have trouble naming one UMPC that packs so many features into one unit and performs so many functions well.  It fits in a pocket (barely), has HSDPA, Bluetooth, WiFi B & G, GPS, onboard USB 1.1 hosting, 3MP camera, 5" VGA touchscreen running at 640 x 480, ATI graphics, an 8 GB microdrive and much more.  The OS?  Windows Mobile 6.  (I am not actually going to review the unit.  There are many excellent reviews already.  My intention is merely to show how the Advantage bests the UMPCs in their own arena).

Windows Mobile 6 is light enough to run quickly on the 624 MHz proc, yet robust enough to handle every software program I use.  With just a few adjustments I can customize it for my needs with almost no compromise. 

The Display

Unlike the tiny 3.7" display on many PDAs, this 5" display looks absolutely monstrous.  Yet a 5" display on a UMPC clearly doesn’t work.  I can view a large enough chunk of a spreadsheet using PlanMaker.

TomTom GPS is so large you can see the whole county.

The Home screen is glorious, and with SBSH iLauncher, I can access everything quickly.

Look how beautifully movies are rendered using TCPMP.  I feel like I’m sitting in the front row of the movie theater!

Photos are spectacular.

It comes with Adobe Reader built in for PDF viewing.  The screen orientation can easily be changed with the included software.

Browser performance is outstanding.  It comes with both Pocket Internet Explorer and Opera.  Check out this photo from Pocketables:

The Advantage comes with VueFlow, a technology that senses the screen movement and scrolls the browser up or down with your movements.

Touchscreen

The complaint with many UMPCs is that even though they utilize touchscreens, the resolution is so high that it is difficult to read and the icons are so small it is hard to touch them with a finger.  That is not the case with the Advantage.  I installed RealVGA from XDA Developers so I can change the DPI settings.  I can make it run at 96DPI, 128DPI or 192DPI.  96 yields tiny icons.  I can fit many more on the screen, but everything is too small for my taste.  I prefer the larger 192.  With that I can use my finger for nearly everything I previously used my stylus.  It works well when scrolling on a browser, opening software, and even using the software input panels. 

Above: 92DPI

Above: 192DPI

Size

It fits in my pocket, but barely.  With the included leather case and keyboard, it is 5.26" x 3.89" x 0.79".  Any bigger and I couldn’t get it into my pocket.  Fully loaded it weighs about 1 lb, so compared to a PDA it’s heavy, but it is lighter than nearly all UMPCs.  Additionally, its size is perfect for in-car navigation.  A UMPC would be far too large.  I found my Axim x50v to be a nice size for navigation as well.  But the Advantage’s screen really makes the TomTom software pop.  As they say on America’s Next Top Model, "it’s fierce!"

Keyboard and Input

The Advantage comes with the normal SIP (software input panels) included in Windows Mobile.  It also comes with the attached keyboard which is a bit awkward to use.  It’s too small for traditional typing, and a wee bit large for thumb typing, but it’s still better than a SIP.  Speaking of SIPs, I have found Zoomboard to be a phenomenal SIP replacement.  Using it with TextMaker:

Using PhatPad to write notes:

Between Zoomboard, PhatPad and the included keyboard, I have input options that are better than most UMPCs. 

Software

Ideally I would love to run a full blown OS, but again, you just can’t cram that much bloat and run it with a weak processor and little ram.  In this arena Windows Mobile shines.  It runs nearly all the same software I would run on a UMPC, but it does it faster and more effectively.  TextMaker and PlanMaker, for example, perfectly fulfill my mobile office needs and run with no lag.  In fact, I can’t think of any software that slows the proc down. 

I use Act! Contact Management software on my desktop and it integrates perfectly with Pocket Informant.

And check out the calendar.  The font on my old x50v was small but readable.  On the Advantage it is nicely sized.

Multimedia

Some UMPC reviews mentioned that playing movies would cause stuttering playback.  Not so on the Advantage.  Movies play smoothly.  Plus the built-in 8 GB hard drive provides plenty of storage.  In addition, the unit has a miniSDHC slot for additional storage.  It plays movies, music (it comes with a standard 3.5 mm jack), displays photos and has a decent camera that utilizes auto-focus, flash and records video clips with audio.  It also comes with a built-in vga out slot for viewing on a larger screen.

Connectivity

Here are the bullet points:

Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE

Built-in GPS

Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 Standard with Direct Push Technology

TV or VGA Out lets you output screen contents to an external viewing device

Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® (B and G)

Battery Life

Most UMPCs struggle to get past the two hour mark with their batteries.  I was able to watch video, surf the net and use software apps for almost five hours with the 2200mAh battery.

Windows Mobile 6

Windows Mobile includes much software that is not the best in its class.  We all know that Pocket Internet Explorer, Pocket Excel and Pocket Word are not full featured, to say the least.  But the beauty of the OS is that it provides a framework for mobile computing that does not require intensive processing power or tons of ram.  Furthermore, any software a user deems substandard can be replaced by a wealth of other software both free and pay.  For example, I replaced my boring Today Screen with SBSH’s iLauncher, Pocket Word and Pocket Excel with SoftMaker’s TextMaker and PlanMaker, and Pocket Outlook with Pocket Informant, to name a few.  The Advantage comes with the Opera Browser installed. 

Some complain that Windows Mobile doesn’t have a true "close" button.  When you click an X at the top right of a program it doesn’t actually close it.  iLauncher has a utility built-in to take care of that, but so does the Advantage.

I’ve heard others complain that Windows Mobile requires use of a stylus.  Well, so do UMPCs that utilize a touchscreen.  But as I previously mentioned, using RealVGA set to 192dpi makes everything large enough to be finger friendly.  I hardly ever use the stylus.  But it would be wonderful to get rid of scroll bars and navigate a la the iPhone.

So My Point Is…

What UMPC device offers as many features as the Advantage?  The Advantage lists for $899 - not cheap, but you can find better deals if you look.  I picked mine up at CompUSA for $540 because they are going out of business.  You can even find them for under $800 on Ebay.  With few exceptions, UMPCs cost more, $800 - $2400, and offer less features, larger size, and poor performance.  Let’s face it, neither Windows XP nor Vista were meant to be used with the low power processors, and especially in Vista’s case, less than 2 GB of ram.  Yet these devices have very little ram, 256 MB in some cases, and low wattage, under-powered procs that neither deliver performance nor decent battery life.  See UltraMobilePC’s test results of several UMPC procs.

"But it’s not a UMPC because it doesn’t run Windows!"  Some consider the Nokia 810 Tablet a UMPC.  How about the Asus Eee - it comes with Linux but is considered a UMPC? 

The Advantage is the size of a small paperback, features a host of connectivity options, great battery life, and does everything a UMPC strives to do.  The Advantage is my UMPC.

Recommended Reading:

Gear Diary Reviews the Advantage

JK on the Run - A Day in the Life of the Advantage

from Pocketables:

HTC Advantage News and Reviews

Advantage as Mobile Entertainment

Browser performance on HTC Advantage X7501

XPad4Laptop Review

Hot!

Holy cow, my laptop gets mighty hot.  Laptops don’t employ such effective cooling methods as desktops, thus the whole bottom acts as sort of a radiator, dissipating heat.  According to their website, laptops can give off 130 degrees Fahrenheit of heat and more.  That is hot.  I’ve tried many solutions to block the heat, but none so effective as the Xpad4Laptop. 

First Impressions and Specs

So what is this thing?  My initial impression is of a thin, plastic coated, very light, board.  According to the website it weighs just one pound, and measures 13" x 10.5" x .66".  The bottom and the 4 legs of the "X" on the top face contain non-skid pads. 

The Xpad accommodates laptops with screens measuring up to 17".  It is a universal size.  Again, it is so thin that after using it a couple times I don’t even notice it’s there anymore.  It’s very portable as well.  It easily fits into a laptop bag and doesn’t add noticeable heft. 

The Technology

But how does it work?  There are no fans, electrical or mechanical devices on the unit.  You just put it under your laptop and you are set.

The legs of the "X" shape are raised slightly above the base of the unit, allowing airflow and cooling.  Inside is a strong platform with insulative air pockets, and EVA insulation material at the bottom provides a third layer of insulation and acts as the non-skid surface.  I don’t understand all the tech stuff.  I just know that it works. 

Results

While no solution completely blocks all the heat from contacting your legs, this Xpad has come amazingly close.  Other solutions use up USB ports and utilize fans, which in itself creates heat and noise.  But the Xpad’s passive heating technology just relies on a great design to do the job.  The result, even when using a laptop for hours, is the same feeling as having a warm, comfortable blanket on your legs.  And a warm blanket is far better than a burned lap. 

Summary

I have found the Xpad to be a very effective solution.  To put it simply, it works.  It does it’s intended job without reminding me it’s there.  It sits, unobtrusively, above my lap doing its job without asking for any kind of recognition.  It’s kind of like the military’s "stealth" technology.  I happily recommend it to all laptop users.  At $29.95 it is a great solution at a reasonable price.

Pros

light and thin

portable

effective heat blocking

easy to use

doesn’t take up USB ports

quiet (no fans)

Cons

I would like to see a thinner design

Even though this is a very effective solution, it could be even better

The price, though reasonable, may be higher than some competitors

I rate this a 9/10.  It is a fantastic product.  Visit them at Xpad4Laptop

101 Dumbest Moments in Business 2007

Fortune Magazine has made an absolutely hilarious list of the worst business decisions of 2007.  I’m not going to reprint them all, but here are some of the highlights.  Enjoy.  (I threw in some of my own comments in blue)

1. China - Mattel recalls almost 20 million items made in China due to the use of lead paint and tiny magnets that can be swallowed by children.  844,000 Barbie accessories are also recalled.

Pet food makers recall 60 million cans of food laced with melamine.  Steroids and growth hormones are traced back to 37 companies in China.  There’s plenty more Chinese recalls, but you get the point.

13. Disneyland - They announce plans to close the "It’s a Small World" attraction to deepen the water channel after the boats get stuck under heavy passengers.  Employees ask larger passengers to disembark - and compensate them with coupons for free food.

It really is the "happiest place on earth."

16. Microsoft’s PR Firm - While working on a background article for MS execs, Wired contributing editor Fred Vogelstein receives a 13 page article about himself, describing him as "tricky" and his stories as "sensational."  The PR firm sent it inadvertently to the writer.

They should’ve used Outlook.

32. Jay-Z - Rapper Jay-Z, founder of the Rocawear clothing line, is taken to task by the Humane Society after it finds that the "faux fur" in jackets sold by his company is actually dog fur.

Word to your mother.

36. Best Buy - The state of Connecticut sues Best Buy for setting up in-store kiosks set to a website that looks identical to bestbuy.com but lists higher prices than those they would actually find online.

That’s it!  I’ve had it.  I’m going to shop at Circuit City instead.

46. Johnson and Johnson - Johnson & Johnson sues the American Red Cross for infringement of its trademarked red cross.

"Those greedy bastards at the Red Cross are NOT going to get away with this.  Johnson!" 

"Yes, Johnson."

"Sue them!"

47. John Mackey of Whole Foods - "I like Mackey’s haircut. I think he looks cute." — Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, posting under the screen name Rahodeb, on a Yahoo Finance stock forum. The Federal Trade Commission reveals that Mackey authored this and numerous other posts over an eight-year period, hyping his company and himself while trashing the competitor he hoped to acquire, Wild Oats.

But he looks so down to earth!

51. Apple -

One, two, three, four, we’ll sue you if you send us more

Nine-year-old Shea O’Gorman sends a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs suggesting ideas for improving her beloved iPod Nano, including adding onscreen lyrics so people can sing along. She gets back a letter from Apple’s legal counsel stating that the company doesn’t accept unsolicited ideas and telling her not to send in any more suggestions.

I have the punch line right here.  "Apple then announces a new iPod Nano, featuring onscreen lyrics so people can sing along."

54. Research in Motion - BlackBerry users are forced to go cold turkey when maker Research in Motion’s servers go down for the better part of a day. "I felt like my left arm had been amputated," says one. Six months later a number of prominent addicts - including venture capitalist Fred Wilson and Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams - admit to experiencing phantom incoming-message vibrations even when not wearing their devices.

68. Thomas the Tank Engine - Illinois-based RC2 Corp., maker of Thomas the Tank Engine toys, recalls 1.5 million of the wooden trains because of excessive levels of lead in their paint (see Mattel). Consumers who return the tainted toys are then sent free boxcars, some of which are recalled three months later for the same reason.

"Outraged customers are given tickets to Disneyworld and free food coupons."

70. Circuit City - In a cost-cutting move, Circuit City lays off all sales associates paid 51 cents or more per hour above an "established pay range" - essentially firing 3,400 of its top performers in one fell swoop. Over the next eight months Circuit City’s share price drops by almost 70%.

"That’s it!  I’ve had it.  I’m switching to Best Buy.  I mean, uh, I’m switching to Comp USA!"

74. Google - As thousands of eBay’s biggest sellers gather in Boston for a convention sponsored by the auction site, Google invites them to a party promoting Google Checkout, a payment system that competes with eBay’s PayPal. In response eBay, the single largest buyer of search ads on Google, "tests" a shift of its marketing dollars, pulling all its U.S. ads from the search engine for more than a week. Google cancels its party.

Later that month Google hosts a party for it’s largest users.  Ebay offers to help the attendees search for airline tickets on their on their website.

76. Jessica Simpson - Jessica Simpson stars in commercials for Pizza Hut’s Cheesy Bites pizza, then tells Elle magazine that she’s allergic to wheat … and tomatoes … and cheese.

She later admits that she does like sausage, then heads off to Mexico with quarterback boyfriend Tony Romo, who subsequently loses the big playoff game.  He says, "We partied to hard.  Heck I partied like a Rock Star.  But that’s not why we lost."

82. One Laptop Per Child - Nigerian schoolchildren receive $200 computers under the U.N. One Laptop Per Child program and quickly learn a few things nobody expected - such as how to find adult websites and how to store their favorite images on the computers’ hard drives. Program leaders say future laptops will be fitted with filters.

I believe they also started emailing copies of the Nigerian Scam, in which a wealthy foreigner needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland, promises a hefty percentage of this fortune as a reward for assisting him.

84. Southwest Airlines - A Southwest Airlines gate agent tells Kyla Ebbert - a 23-year-old college student and Hooters waitress wearing a denim miniskirt, high-heeled sandals, and a sweater over a tank top - that she’s dressed too provocatively to be allowed on a flight from San Diego to Tucson. Though the agent ultimately relents and lets her onboard, an indignant Ebbert goes public, appearing on the Today show. Southwest takes a massive publicity hit; Ebbert is hired by Richard Branson to promote rival low-cost carrier Virgin America and by Playboy to pose for a pictorial.

Isn’t Southwest the same company on the show, Airline, where customers are consistently mistreated, kicked off flights, face delays and are abused by the staff?  Yeah, I thought so.

90. Southwest Airlines, Part 2 - A man boarding a Southwest Airlines flight in Ohio is ordered to change his T-shirt, which depicts a fictional fishing shop with the words MASTER BAITER. The airline is again forced to apologize.

I’m sorry, was this Southwest Airlines or are Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa critiquing the worst dressed passengers now, since the Oscars might be cancelled due to a writer’s strike?

98. Intel - To promote the speed of its Core 2 Duo Processor, Intel releases a print ad featuring six bare-shouldered black sprinters crouched in their starting positions beneath a white guy dressed for the office. "We made a bad mistake," says Don MacDonald, the company’s director of global marketing. "I know why and how, but that doesn’t make it better."

Hold on please, Kelly Tilghman is coming to the phone to explain the faux pas.  She’ll be right with you.  While you’re waiting, please enjoy the music.  "Swing low, sweet chariot…"

Please feel free to add your own.