Sad Times for UMPCs

UMPCPortal reports that Viliv may be closing up shop soon.  When considering a new UMPC, I'd contemplated purchasing a Viliv N5.  Its sleek lines and specs made it an alright upgrade.  It's still available on Dynamism, but who knows for how long as they only have one model left.

Having watched company after company bite the dust when it came to UMPCs, this isn't a surprise.  Its predecessors, Vulcan, Raon, and UMID to name a few all collapsed within a model or two.  The pocket clamshells garnish a lot of attention at events, but rarely ever come to fruition, at least in the US, such as the iWatch Q839, or Usmart M1C.  They are often delayed, outdated, and expensive (UMID M1, Vulcan Flipstart, and even the N5 are guilty of this).  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the form factor, but I don't want to pay a premium for size and have it run slower than the current iteration of netbook that I can get for half the price.

I've noticed that companies dedicated to this form factor never really take off in the market, as opposed to major electronics corporations with sizeable R&D departments where part of the development is done, so it's more cost efficient.  Especially now that data phones are becoming more prevalent and tablets are gaining in popularity.  

I fear that my favorite tiny computer, the Nanonote will fall victim to what these other companies have fallen.  Open hardware companies tend to have a difficult time unto themselves and despite having a large community, it's harder than with open-source software.  I've noticed their timelines for their next iterations were extended, which is typically one of the precursors.

I'll always prefer the clamshell over a tablet for the convenience of a keyboard for which I do not have to pay separately, the screen protection, and the miniature factor, but it seems it's not the popular choice.  I wish there were room for both in the market; however, I don't think that is the case.  I truly hope there is a resurgence.

What's been your favorite UMPC throughout the years?

Desert Code Camp

Heads up for everyone lost in the middle of the desert like me.  Desert Code Camp 2011.2 is scheduled for Saturday, November 5th.  I went to the last one and had a blast.  There's some really good info there and the opportunity to look into some different areas and technologies.  Some training benefited where I am now, while other sessions benefited where I want to go.  It's free, there's shwag, and there's a lot of learning opportunities.  Save the date!

Teeny-Tiny, Itty-Bitty Mouse

I have a few handheld computers; ok, 1, 2...5.  That counts as a few, right?  In addition, I've been going to more and more meetings at work with their laptop (I swear I'm not that important) and detest using the trackpad.  I have a couple of mini mice, but with my desktops at home and a workstation for when I work from home, I have more mice than computers.

Given my obsession with miniatures, there are a bunch of tiny mice out there and even some super tiny trackballs.  Occasionally, when surfing the interwebs, I do things like search for "smallest _______".  One day in my searches, I looked for the smallest mouse and found the Z-Nano Optical Mouse.  Initially, it was impossible to find to purchase, but fortunately Amazon and a couple other places have it now. It's slightly larger than my finger and you "left-click" by pressing forward and "right-click" by pressing backwards.

It's not too great for gaming, but it serves its purpose and doesn't take up much space.  It rarely gets tangled on itself as there's a magnet to connect the usb connection to the mouse.  Additionally, it's a wonderful way to break up awkward silences in a meeting when you take it out of your bag.  The best part it doesn't add bulk to tiny clutches when I'm carrying one of my handhelds.

My Favorite Things: NanoNote Edition

Since there's so much amazing technology out there and I haven't purchased any of it since my phone, I wanted to highlight one of my favorite pieces of technology, Qi Hardware's Ben NanoNote.  While I was initially drawn to it because it's diminutive size (half the size of my UMID M1 at 3.9" by 3.0") was unique for its form factor, a handheld clamshell computer.

I was on the fence initially, but the more I read about the project, the more I was intrigued.  The goal of NanoNote is not to be simply a pocket-sized computer, it's to be a launching pad for hardware design and engineering.  Manufactured by Qi Hardware, their goal is free software and to open up hardware using Copyleft.

I am a big fan of open source software and realized a while back that the opportunities for kids interested in learning about hardware engineering was significantly more limited.  While growing up one can search the web to learn how to program; how often do they gain exposure to hardware?  Sure, you can take appliances apart and often times learn the hard way, but that doesn't mean that you understand the schematics and calculations it took to get there.

The NanoNote can be taken apart, modified, redesigned, and even sold in its new form, so long as the licenses and terms are the same or equivalent as what was used initially.

The device itself is relatively rudimentary and slow compared to the machines we presently and most smartphones out power it.  It runs OpenWRT and there's a flavor of Jlime available as well.  Some members of the community were able to get Debian running on it also.

I eventually bought a couple to play around with off of Sharism.  I love the idea of spending my money with a vision that supports learning and openness.  One NanoNote I carry around with me constantly and use to play music while the other I use to play with the different software options.  Priced at $99 plus shipping (it ships from Asia which costs around $30 to the US), it seems a fair price for those interested in developing hardware.

UMID Mbook SE

My blog as of late has predominantly been about the girly stuff, but I am a tech geek at heart, especially when it comes to tiny computers.  I love technology that I can throw in my purse without having to worry about purchasing purses to fit everything.  

The UMID SE caught my eye and I'm tempted to pick one up as the conversion rates and time have lowered the price.  Since I already have two functioning netbooks with wifi (the Asus and the M1), I can't really justify the UMID SE, but I do see where it would be an improvement.

Both of my other devices frustrate me.  The Asus only has a half gig of RAM and a Celeron processor that runs under 1 GHz.  Trying to do more than one thing at a time is nearly impossible.  The EEE PC runs a form of Xandros out of the box.  I've switched to the advanced UI, but it still feels like an oversimplified version of Windows.  I miss the robustness of other operating systems.  I realize I could throw Ubuntu on it and call it good, but it wouldn't resolve the speed issues.  Lastly, it's larger than my ideal machine.

The size issue is resolved with the M1; however, there are other issues.  Right now, I need to reinstall the OS.  Installing anything off of a disk is problematic as it doesn't have a normal USB port; it has a mini-USB port with an adapter that has to be held in exactly the right position otherwise the data transfer stops.  It comes with a proprietary jack for headphones which require an adapter as well.  Worse yet is that I can't have the power adaptor hooked up with the adapter for the headphones in at the same time.  Add to all of this that it has half a gig of RAM that can't be upgraded.

The SE resolves a lot of these issues.  While not a speed-demon, it has a 1.6 GHz Atom processor and twice the RAM, which will run XP nicely and even give the option of Windows 7. The form factor is perfect for me.  It's tiny and  I lean towards the clamshell design in any of my computer purchases.  I love the idea of a miniature laptop in aesthetics.  I prefer a keyboard and if I'm going to be tossing it in a purse pocket, I don't want to run the risk of something ruining the screen.  In addition, the now-defunct manufacturer listened to the complaints about the use of adapters and switched to a normal USB port and headphone jack.

While an upgrade, is it an upgrade worth the money?  Clamshells have taken a back seat to tablets, but who knows when that will change.  When I bought my M1, they wound up announcing the BZ and the Viliv N5 shortly thereafter and I kicked myself for not waiting longer.  I try keep up on the blogs and haven't heard much, but there have been so many leaps forward since the release of the SE, dual-core atoms, the Nvidia Ion, etc., that I wish I had a crystal ball.