Umid M2
 

http://www.slashgear.com/umid-mbook-...video-2257507/



Great looking device. For $500. I'm finally going to be upgrading my n810. I'm sorry, but this smokes the n900.

Re: Umid M2
 

At a glance, I don't see that competing with a smartphone. It's too big and bulky to carry on you unless you use a purse or a manbag; and it's not a phone. I couldn't find battery specs but it's obviously not packing a 9-cell so I don't think you'd get far beyond 4 hours of usage. Not a bad device, but I can't see this being anything but a novelty. If it's right up your alley though, I'm happy for you.:cool:

Re: Umid M2
 

Look around on the forum, out of the four Nokia devices being discussed, only the N900 is a phone, and there is still an ongoing argument whether it should be termed a "smartphone".

A netbook that is approximately the size of the original NITs is definitely competition. I have been considering the M1 ever since its price started dropping a month ago, and the M2 seems even more compelling.

I quite enjoy following the convergence of the x86 and the ARM world in terms of form factor and/or size of the devices... Interesting times...

Re: Umid M2
 

Battery specs of the M1 was 5-6 on wifi. Even longer with the wifi off. Plus this is exactly what I want. It's not a phone, it has a large screen, and a very nice keyboard. And upgraded, bigger, n810, with windows xp. I figure there are n810 users out there that don't want the 3.5 inch screen and the 3 row keyboard of the n900. Don't get me wrong, I love maemo, not a fan of the n900.
I'm a student, so I can't get this the day it comes out, but come graduation in a 6 months, I'll have a new device fitting my pocket.

Re: Umid M2
 

Runs windows. N900 wins.

Re: Umid M2
 

Sure you can slap some Linux distro onto it, in case Windows 7 was not your idea ;)

Re: Umid M2
 

Put ubuntu 9.1 on it. Umid wins.

Re: Umid M2
 

I strongly avoid playing that game, for my "primary devices". For devices that I just tinker with, or are just laying around and I don't care if I can't take the time to "make it work" for a few weeks, maybe. But, otherwise:

Maemo, Ubuntu, or Android on vendor supported hardware: Many Plusses

Legal Mac OS X on Apple hw: Some Plusses

Linux other than Maemo, Ubuntu, or Android on vendor supported hw: Neutral

Android, Legal Mac OS X*, Legal Maemo*, or Linux on non-vendor/Apple supported hardware: Some Minuses

Non-Legal Mac OS X, non-Legal Maemo on non-vendor supported hardware: MANY Minuses

Windows (any flavor, on any hardware): TOO MANY Minues


(* such as: ripping out the motherboard of a mac mini or macbook air, and putting into another device that has the case profile you want -- it's legal, but very unsupported; I haven't actually tried it, but I've considered it for a tinkering project ... and as I write this, I suppose I should consider similar possibilities with the motherboard in my N810)

(in this case, "legal" means "not pirated, not in violation of the software vendor's license")

Re: Umid M2
 

For all those who say the N900 is not a phone, it's a computer - wrong. The UMID is a computer. The M2 addresses most of the issues with the M1 which, although it pwns the N900, was a bit slow and needed more RAM to be a viable pocketable computer. However, with the faster CPU, the battery life may go down versus the M1 specs cited above.

I'm waiting for the M2 to show up at a real retailer. Currently I can only find the M1 for sale. The 1.6 GHz model may replace my OQO (although I'll still keep my NIT as a PDA - it replaced my Palm TX).

BTW, it is pocketable without a purse. I have a similar sized OQO 02 and it fits nicely in my front pants pocket.

And, as far as the Linux versus Windows comments, I can run Puppy Linux off a USB on my OQO and retain most of the functionality of the device (despite its high degree of customization versus the UMID). In the x86 world, compatibility is the norm rather than the exception.

As far as Windows in general, some of the programs I use only run on Windows. None of the programs I use, most of which are FOSS, only run on Linux. I'm running Win7 RTM and it is stable and relatively light weight.

Re: Umid M2
 

(I'll assume you mean 9.10, since I don't recall them releasing a version in January 2009)

Nope, N900 still wins.

I consider three categories of mobile devices that I consider:

Pocketable -- at most 5" screen size, but, honestly, probably no bigger than 4.3"; and it must be a phone (I don't do non-phone pocketables anymore; it was too annoying for me to carry both a phone and an N810). Not a phone: doesn't win. No physical qwerty keyboard: doesn't win.

Mid-range -- 6"-12" screen size. And, to win this category, for me, it has to be 9" or 10" screen, and some form of tablet (convertible tablet netbook is good, slate tablet is good, folding tablet (MS Courier, Entourage eGEe, OLPC 2) is good; but I've had a conventional netbook, and I'm no longer interested in that segment).

Laptop -- 12" screen size, or larger. (there's a grey area right at 12" ... there are some 12" devices that are definitely netbooks, and there are some 12" devices that are definitely laptops). I don't buy laptops ... so the only way to "win" is: don't be in this category.


The UMID M2 is at the upper end of my "Pocketable" category. It has a keyboard, so that's good. But even if it had vendor supported Ubuntu (or even Maemo) on it ... it's not a phone.

The N900 not only has the physical keyboard, it's a phone. The N900 wins.

Re: Umid M2
 

Hmmm..
Some minuses:
- no Linux
- no GSM/UMTS radio,
- no GPS,
- pretty big to be carried in your pocket,
- Windows XP,
- questionable battery
do I continue?

Re: Umid M2
 

Windows 7 or Linux Ubuntu 9.10 if you're into that. 5-6 hour battery with both wifi and bluetooth enabled.
The others, I can't help you with. But remember, technology has only come so far. You can't get everything you want, and at a good price.

Not entirely true. With a sim card, skype, and a bluetooth headset, the umid m2 could be a phone. If you have a big problem with that, that's your preface. Personally, I don't.
Also, 3 row keyboards don't win in my book. Neither do 3.5 inch screens. I originally said this was for people who want an upgraded n810, big screen, big keyboard, no phone.

EDIT: Sorry about all the edits, making sure I say what I need to say.

Re: Umid M2
 

Honestly, I'd stick to my N810 if I were to choose.

Re: Umid M2
 

I like the M2, even the M1 was appealing. However, it's hard to use it as a phone for incoming calls. Afaik the device has to be turned on, so you can't really put it in your pocket and expect calls to com through, or am I wrong?

Re: Umid M2
 

johnkzin, I respect your right to have your preferences and so I would not try to impose my opinion about which OS is better, as different as it may be from yours. Suffice to say, my ranking is different, and with good reasons.

For the sake of argument, however, I am going to cite a few parameters by which the Umid M2 is closer to your ideal tablet than the N900:

1. 1024x600 screen resolution
2. USB host/otg port (at least one, possibly expandable via hub)
3. Higher external display resolutions
4. Option for 1GB RAM

...not my words, as you will recognize.

Surely you have more reasons to like the N900 better, and you're free to share them. However, I think you should agree that putting down an unreleased device solely for the OS it originally ships with was impulsive rather than rational.

Re: Umid M2
 

My three categories would be:

1) Phone/PDA - three to four inch touch screen, light weight, long battery life. This is the device that is always with me. I want to get and make calls; keep a schedule and have it beep at me to get me to meetings; let me jot handwritten notes (recognition is a bonus); let me do light browsing; and have enough simple games to keep me entertained for minutes at a time. This is the device I keep with me when I go to the bathroom. This is where the N900 or Droid would fit.

2) Portable Computer - about a 5 inch touch screen (ideally capacitive plus an active digitizer); under 1 pound; physical keyboard and mouse (the latter ideally via trackstick or trackball); 1.5-2.0 GHz CPU, 1-2 GB RAM, 16-64 GB SSD; support for standard USB peripherals (keyboards, flash drives, etc.). This is a device that I might not have in the bathroom but I would take to lunch and to meetings. This is my OQO and might be the UMID M2.

3) Desktop Computer - whatever $2k buys when I buy it. Currently I have an Dell Studio XPS built around Intel's i7 Bloomfield and geared towards general processing (versus graphics processing).

The UMID doesn't compete with the N900, it competes with the netbook and laptop market.

Re: Umid M2
 

I have a problem with Skype, but not with VOIP. I also have a problem with bluetooth headsets (but not with headsets in general). I can respect your sentiment with Google Voice and a wired headset (with built-in mic, not just speakers). But, it also depends somewhat on how friendly the carriers are to you using VOIP. I seem to recall that most of the US carriers frown on using your wireless data plan for VOIP calls. So, whether it's skype, or google voice, either way, it may not be a true long-term answer to the question of "is it a phone?"

I'm not happy about the 3 row keyboard, but for my preferences "3 row keyboard + phone" is better than "5 row keyboard and no phone".

On the otherhand, I can completely respect that it may be a good answer for those looking for the non-phone successor to the N810.

Re: Umid M2
 

I've got to agree. Not calling you a fanboy, but...

You have one flaw in your logic, I don't care what american phone companies frown on. I do what I want. And they legally can't kick me off for using VOIP.

Re: Umid M2
 

You got those from my mid-range/tablet list, not my pocketable/phone list.

Both the UMID and the N900 would fail my mid-range/tablet criteria. They don't have a 9" or 10" screen. That's a loss right there.

In the pocketable/phone category ... it _has_ to be a phone. In order for me to consider it to be a "phone", it has to:

• be able to make voice calls to any number (including emergency services)
• be able to send SMS messages to any phone number (not just other VOIP subscribers)
• be able to receive voice calls from any number, and if necessary wake the device up from "stand-bye" mode in order to alert me of the incoming call
• be able to receive, via your public facing phone number, SMS messages from any phone number

As far as I know, Google Voice can only do SOME of those, and Skype can't do any of them (can't call emergency services, like 911, can't wake your device up from stand-bye mode, can't send or receive true SMS messages, nor will it gateway its internal IM service to/from standard SMS messages, nor allow you to use your "skype-in" phone number for receiving SMS messages). Those are all things that I use on my phone, and that I, in varying capacities, depend upon.

Of the above 4 things you mention, only ONE of those is a criteria that matches my _ideal_ pocketable/phone list (USB Host/OTG). Certainly, the N900 is less than ideal. But the UMID, without those two voice call capabilities, is not only "less than ideal", it doesn't enter the race.

(if you translate those other 3 items into the comparable items on the pocketable/phone list, it's 800x480 resolution, external display of some sort, and more than .5GB of RAM ... the N900 does meet all 3 of those requirements. And, while I don't consider it a show-stopper, I don't think I'd want 1024x600 on a 5" or smaller screen -- at that point, I expect the pixels would be TOO small)

No, I have a very rational basis for rejecting a device based upon the OS it ships with. I don't want to lose my device because of a bad upgrade. My gf currently has a door-stop of a laptop because of a bad-upgrade from Ubuntu 7.10 to Ubuntu 9.10. Bricked it. And she doesn't even have her 7.10 install media anymore. I'm an IT guy, but I don't have time to fix it.

Luckily, it's not her primary device, so she's not "dead in the water". But I can't afford to be dead in the water, either. As I pointed out in an earlier comment in this thread: if it's not a Vendor Supported OS, I am not going to use it on my primary devices (my pocketable/phone, the mid-range device that I carry with me to work, nor my main workstations at home nor work). I will only go down that path if it is a "purely tinkering device".

And, it's entirely rational, not impulsive. I don't have the luxury of being "unable to do my real work" just because of a bad upgrade. Nor do I want to lose my non-computer hobby/recreation, girlfriend, nor dog time to fixing such a situation. If my only recreation was "making computers do things they weren't intended to" (like when I was younger), then that would be different. But, at the very least, my girlfriend and dog deserve to be a higher priority than that.

Re: Umid M2
 

I see people are splitting hairs here... or is a consensus slowly forming:

1. The better smartphone: N900
2. The better portable computer: M2
3. The better car: ...

Re: Umid M2
 

I'm a fan boy because I don't have time to waste on self-supporting my primary devices?

If you're in the US, and you are using a US carrier, I'm pretty sure that, yes, they can. You're in violation of their terms of service, and thus they can deny you use of their service.

And, again, as with the "primary device" logic: I know that there are plenty of things I can sneak past the carrier. In past years, I've don them. That doesn't mean it's a good use of my time, nor my primary device. To suddenly loose my phone number, and phone service, because the carrier has decided that I've been outside of the TOS too often ... and then miss a critical "on call" call from work, because my servers are down, is just not acceptable. It would be irresponsible for me to go down that path with my primary phone number (and I don't feel like having a half-dozen phone numbers just to tinker with these things).

Re: Umid M2
 

There are a lot of local phone service companies that have massive loopholes in their TOS. I know, I've taken advantage of them before.

And this is going to be my primary UMPC, not phone. I can use my basic motorola flip phone and this no problem. I'm one of those, can and will carry around two devices. I'd love a phone that can do all this, but there just isn't one.

Re: Umid M2
 

Alfa. And Nokia's delays with the N900 don't even come close to getting me TOTALLY PO'ed as Fiat-Chrysler's delays in bringing the Alfa back to the US.