If the UMID M1 has shown us anything, it’s that no one device can be everything for every person. The 4.8-inch touchscreen clamshell MID has come in for praise over its compact size, speedy components and lengthy battery, but concerns over keyboard usability and build quality have left some uncertain. Over at UMPC Portal, our friend Steve has been summing up the M1
Seven-minute UMID M1 overview video after the cut
One of the biggest issues consumers have had with MID and UMPC devices is start-time. Linux offers a speedy boot – down to just 5 seconds if you fettle it right – but lacks user-familiarity for entry-level buyers, while Windows XP satisfies on the latter but tends to miss out on the former. That’s why we’re glad to see the UMID M1 MID can hit an XP desktop in just 30 seconds from a cold start.
Video demo after the cut
We’ve a definite soft-spot for the UMID M1 here at SlashGear, but with the company themselves dragging their feet on official US and European sales, and import prices riding ever higher, it’s hard to see the clamshell MID ever finding its niche. Australian-based importer Justek have tweaked the pricing on the non-HSDPA version of the M1, but for US customers it’s still in excess of $660.
Ah, the perils of not being specific enough. When we said we wanted UMID to sort out the first-gen M1 mbook having non-US-friendly HSDPA, what we hoped was that the Korean company would switch radios to a US-spec 3G chipset. Instead, they’re now planning to leave out HSDPA in the first wave of shipments.
Despite all our hands-on time with the UMID M1 mbook, we’ve never had long enough to decide finally whether it’s a triumph of miniaturization or a scale-down step too far. MID Moves took the 4.8-inch mobile internet device to SXSW, comparing it to a number of other MIDs and UMPCs along the way, and despite some qualms about build quality and just how much long-term use you could make of the keyboard they’re impressed.
When they’re not trying to bless the Viliv S5 with HSDPA, the guys at UMPC Fever are dissecting the UMID M1 ‘mbook’ to try to do something similar. If you thought the S5 was a challenge – soldering in a new mini PCIe connector, changing the storage – then prepare for what the UMID folks have set up for hapless modders: a combination of very little space and missing controller chips.
While we grabbed not one but two hands-on demos with the UMID M1 MID at Mobile World Congress last month, we didn’t want to push our luck running benchmarks on the compact touchscreen handheld. Obviously UMPC Portal’s Steve isn’t quite so shy, hence these CrystalMark 2004R3 results for the 1.3Ghz Atom MID.
After UMID recalled the M1 MID – aka the mbook in Korea – over build quality concerns, the latest rumor is that the handheld device will go on sale again there on March 16th. Sales of the MID were halted, and the pre-ordered devices recalled, when users complained of badly finished hinges and ports.
Bad news for anyone considering picking up a UMID M1 mobile internet device in the US, as the company confirms that the previous Summer release has now been replaced with “[UMID] can’t give exact information on the releasing date in US.” It’s also been confirmed that the currently shipping M1 units – the MID has been launched in Korea already – are incompatible with US-spec 3G, not supporting the 850MHz or 1900MHz bands.
If you’ve watched our two hands-on videos from MWC09 (here and here)you’ve probably seen all you can stomach of the UMID M1, but the company still has a few surprises in the shape of their retail bundle. While the first batch of Korean M1 pre-orders – sold there as the mbook – have been recalled due to dodgy build-quality, that hasn’t stopped the reviewers from detailing exactly what you get in with the mobile internet device.
SlashGear Japan
