Blue UM650- Halfway There
A cursory check of the specs and you’ll be scratching your head to point what’s lacking. There’s Wi-Fi, a tiny mousemad, comfy keyboard and even a capable webcam. Everything’s nicely tucked away. Ah wait. I see what is missing. There’s no CD/DVD player on the unit, neither on its dock. Forgivable.
Nnonetheless- it isn’t a desktop replacement after all. But wait. For a UMPC, it’s quite chunky. While small in size, it isn’t slim. The screen is tubby and the keyboard is bulky. You’ll feel like you’re lugging a brick after a few minutes.
It isn’t all bad though. The Blue UM650 affords a pleasant typing experience. The thumpad responds quickly, next the well-layed out keypad. Don’t expect to type like how you do on a laptop. This baby’s keyboard is called a thumboard- meaning you type with your two thumbs. For more complex data manipulation, there’s the stylus. I don’t recommend detaching it- it’s very easy to lose. I lost my stylus for one whole day. It turns out that the tiny stick rolled under the car seat.
Okay, for the techeads, you’ll of course want the specs:
- Processor: 1.2Ghz VIA ULVC7-M
- RAM: 768MB
- HDD: 30GB
- Screen: 6.5 inch, 800×480 pixel
- Wi-fi: yup
- Battery: 3.5 hours
- Size and Weight: 190×120x28mm/720g
I’m wondering though… would you folks really invest in an ultraportable when regular laptops are already comfortable to use?
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Comment by zath on 6 March 2008:
Wouldn’t you rather just get the eeepc?
Comment by john on 7 March 2008:
Well, its probably an easy sell when someone has been reading your blog for a year or so!
Comment by Zath on 7 March 2008:
What kind of price would you ahve to pay for one of these?
If it was comparable in price to a compact laptop, I’d certainly go the laptop route.