Possible eeePC killer, the Belinea-S 7-inch touchscreen UMPC?

[digip]

Belinea-S 7-inch touchscreen UMPC

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/...creen_umpc.html

Not that I like the eeePC, but this one has an 80gig hdd and Touch Screen, so it seems a bit more ideal with the options.

I am having trouble finding prices on it though. Anyone ever heard of it?

[SomeoneE1se]

eeePC killer?

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ategoryId=16154

untill there's a price it's not even close... plus.

it's crap ugly wtf is that phone thing doing there

[digip]

eeePC killer?

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ategoryId=16154

untill there's a price it's not even close... plus.

it's crap ugly wtf is that phone thing doing there

Unless I missed something, $2,499.99 is not going to deter me from an eeePC, although, I do not want somethign with such little options as an eeePC.(If I had $2,499.99 I would by a new desktop for myself) If an eeePC had a  larger HDD then I could live without a CD drive or even a burner as long as I can attach one via usb. But 2 gig HDD or even SSD is just useless to me for long term fun. The 8gig is plausable, but I have a music collection over 14 gig so I need at least that much to start + whatever the OS and any needed programs installed would take up. Minimum decent size would be 20gig. I could live with that, but anything smaller just won't do.

IMO, Sony is the sux as far as I am concerned. Other than the builtin biometric scanner, they are like Apple Computers to me. High price for eye candy and if somethings goes wrong, the most expensive paperweight you'll ever own. I have have worked on two sony laptops for people now and one(because of the the scanner) was about as usefull as a brick, and the other was only nice for the size of the screen, but other than that, it was no better than any other laptop and not worth the price tags they sell for. I'll stick with my cheapo Gateway lappy that has yet to ever give me any real issues and I only paid $700 for it new. AMD Athlon 64, 80gig hdd, gig ram, built in wireless, ton of usb ports and car reader, DVD Burner and 15.4" High Res Glossy Widescreen with 256meg Ati Radeon 200m. It's 2 years old, out dated, but stable and keeps me happy.

Now I just need to find one for my wife. She likes the smaller laptops and touch screens. I would have bought her an eeePC but she doesn't do Linux and she wants to be able to rip and burn cds as well as watch movies on the road. Without a cd/dvd drive and a larger HDD, these things are only good for people who have specific uses for them and know what they need it for.

I'd say in some ways, the eeePC is for the lite crowd and I am in need of somethign that any point and click n00b can use on a daily basis. Not so much for the "hacking" that can be done with them, but for more general everyday use. Aside from the fact that you can do all those things and more with a laptop that has more options available to you...

[metatron]

I have an eeePC it's a piece of shit. Shitty OS, shitty keyboard, shitty screen, shitty wireless card and shitty battery, People would be better off buying a refurbished  12" Dell.

[K1u]

Gross...

like a fourth of the screen is taken up by a bloody phone of some sort.

"7” touch display (800x480)"

Ugh... no thanks, EEE FTW!

[jollyrancher82]

That thing looks retarded.

[digip]

-If i wanted pretty I would buy a Mac.-

I do not want this peice of crap either, just wanted to find out how much it costs because it had some options that the eeePC didn't have, like larger keyboard, larger HDD, touch screen. And I think that photo is probably not the only one they have, although their site is lacking on detailed pics, every site seems to have the same pic with that skype phone built in. The same s-line looks completely different on their site: http://www.belinea.com/en/s_line/index.jsp

If an eeePC with cd/dvd burner and at least 20gig hdd existed maybe I would get one, but better options are avaiable in slightly larger packages that hav cd/dvd burders, 200+gig hdd's, etc, etc...

[VaKo]

Isn't the eeepc more like a modern Psion than a full blown laptop though?

[SmoothCriminal]

I would love to hear your eePC opinions, as I am thinking about buying one.

[metatron]

Isn't the eeepc more like a modern Psion than a full blown laptop though?

It's a full laptop, just like the old mobile ones that came with a docking station.

[VaKo]

Isn't the eeepc more like a modern Psion than a full blown laptop though?

It's a full laptop, just like the old mobile ones that came with a docking station.

Oh I understand technically that it is a fully blown laptop, but the price range, spec and physical size of the thing would just lead me to put it in roughly the same usage bracket as a modern Psion type device. I have a Dell X300 12" laptop, but it seems a little fragile for throwing in a backpack when compared to something like the eeePC. The eeePC just seems like a fun toy, something you wouldn't be overly pissed about if you dropped it in a puddle or sat on it.

[SomeoneE1se]

or got stolen

[K1u]

http://i9.tinypic.com/81rzr79.png[/img]

[cooper]

- 800x600 now cool?

It's a small device. If you had 1600x1200 in there you wouldn't be able to read the screen.

- cell phones... hello?

It's where they chose to put the numeric pad and stuff from your otherwise full-size keyboard. But yeah, this is just wasteful, as people would use the Fn key for this, and looking at the blue-colored labels on the keys it actually has them.

- Leave a screw hole.

Nitpicking.

- The point of the hole was?

Leave enough room for a sizable battery without fattening the thing up. It does however in all likelihood impact the sturdiness of the device, which is rather bad for a highly mobile device. Drop this sucker while opened, and the screen probably breaks off.

- Too small touchpad.

Probably. They should've moved the keyboard up towards the battery by an inch, and put the on/off button on the side or something. It would free up space for the touchpad.

- 2 different colors

Meh. To each their own.

[VaKo]

Posting a huge image when text could have said it better... lame...

The device is a Via Nanobook, so other companys are going to be bringing out there own versions based around it, the device pictured is little more than a re-branded concept device. The bit with the phone type device (i think its a calculator tbh), is designed for snap in upgrade moduals like WWAN, GPS, VOIP handsets etc. Not 100% overly sure about the idea of the addon positioning myself, but who knows, Via make CPU's so perhapse end users product design is just not a strong point with them yet. If you ignore the visuals of the decice for the moment, it is a better device than the eeePC. I'd much rather someone use it as a base, ditch or hide the addon device and slap a huge screen in its place. These UMPC things are the future though, no doubt about that.

[digip]

Lets not forget its also a touch screen, so putting tablet software on there might be usefull as well(if the thing flipped around or somehting, like a normal tablet pc) Being small has advantages, especially with a touch screen but the design on this one is still lacking. And it is ugly as sin, but I tend not to care what a machine looks like,as long as it gets the job done. Make the device all in white and it still doesn't do anything for me, other than remind me of a mac and then I would just want to smash it for the imitation factor.

There are some really ugly laptops out there (and pc's for that matter: http://www.onmylist.com/category/tech/Cool...LY_computers_1) , and bulky ugly, almost completely retarded layout designs, but they got us through many years of IT work and one of them is still around today, if only rebranded. Case in point, the IBM thinkpad, now lenovo, was always ugly to me, hated the tracker point in the center of the keyboard, ugly screens and the size of them was awkward, but as a laptop everyone wanted one, they lasted a long time and 99% of the people I worked with used them for years and only recently started moving to smaller or more advanced devices for a lot of their work, like tablet pcs, blackberrys, and pdas like Palm, etc.

Bottom line, if's it's going to be samll form factor,  I want th emost functionality out of it and appearance is only part of the equation. It could be the ugliest device in the world(which means less chance of being stole as well) but if it has the most functions and accessories, that will probably win me over more than appearance. Stability of both the electonic parts and the sturdenous of the device also make a difference too. Liek the toughbook style laptops (http://www.oneil.com/img/Toughbook-large.jpg http://www.gearpatrol.com/images/panasonic_toughbook.jpg) they are ugly, but their functionality is highly desireable.

[cooper]

Hey Metatron, got a question for you!

I have an eeePC it's a piece of shit. Shitty OS, shitty keyboard, shitty screen, shitty wireless card and shitty battery.

You can replace the OS.

Why is the keyboard shitty? Too small or something?

Why is the screen shitty? I'm expecting it to be small and low-res. Is it simply difficult to read outdoors or something?

I would very much expect you to consider the wireless card shitty, if anything on account of its low powered-ness. Any additional reasons?

The battery is claimed at like 3 hours or something, right? That not enough, or does it simply not make it that far?

I'm curious, as I'm considering the thing as a toy box.

[metatron]

Hey Metatron, got a question for you!

I have an eeePC it's a piece of shit. Shitty OS, shitty keyboard, shitty screen, shitty wireless card and shitty battery.

You can replace the OS.

Why is the keyboard shitty? Too small or something?

Why is the screen shitty? I'm expecting it to be small and low-res. Is it simply difficult to read outdoors or something?

I would very much expect you to consider the wireless card shitty, if anything on account of its low powered-ness. Any additional reasons?

The battery is claimed at like 3 hours or something, right? That not enough, or does it simply not make it that far?

I'm curious, as I'm considering the thing as a toy box.

The OS can be changed which fixes that issue. My problem with the wireless card is more related to drivers, you can get it working on other distros but you have to jump through a few hoops, really your better of changing it. The power output really doesn't bother me. The card also does not support a few things I like, master mode being one and I get people saying that it won’t go into monitor mode. I changed the card so it’s no longer an issue. 

The screen is really just very low quality although the back light is quite bright. The screen really should have been LED backlit (not with the cheapest shit they can find) to lower power consumption.  The unit I have has keys that stick and other units I tried had the same issue, this is fixable, but still. The keyboard also feels like something of a kids toy, the size is what is to be expected but the quality and feel is very low. 

Now my issue with the battery is that for this type of device 3 hours is awful, it uses solid state storage, has a small screen and a fairly low heat output. My ThinkPad gets 6 hours  and that’s got quite a few moving parts and a much bigger screen, it also works a lot harder over that time. My little Sony Vaio TZ which I have a solid-state drive in gets about 19 hours and that’s also bigger than the eeepc. The eeepc is very cheap but 6 hours would be easy to get on such a device.

[VaKo]

Is the wireless just a mini-pci card?

[metatron]

Is the wireless just a mini-pci card?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2354/2122728257_b7059a7f4c_o.jpg[/img]

[VaKo]

Excellent, I can add GPS.

[metatron]

Excellent, I can add GPS.

Yes as stock they are shit which is why I say buy a Dell. If you are going to mod it get one but it's going to end up costing you the same price as a Dell for something usable.

[Darren Kitchen]

If an eeePC with cd/dvd burner and at least 20gig hdd existed maybe I would get one, but better options are avaiable in slightly larger packages that hav cd/dvd burders, 200+gig hdd's, etc, etc...

You're spec'ing out a full blown laptop. Think of the eee as more of a companion laptop, or big PDA with keyboard. I was just toting it around town and had no problem with the HDD because my iPod was supplying the tunes. The emphasis is on the fact that I was even toting it around town while I got my car fixed up. It doesn't matter that I've got a bangin full size laptop at home. I don't bring it anywhere because its huge and heavy (12" 5lbs). Think of it as your laptop's laptop.

Botton line: Cheap small hacktoy. Quite handy to kick around town with.

[Darren Kitchen]

Isn't the eeepc more like a modern Psion than a full blown laptop though?

It's a full laptop, just like the old mobile ones that came with a docking station.

Oh I understand technically that it is a fully blown laptop, but the price range, spec and physical size of the thing would just lead me to put it in roughly the same usage bracket as a modern Psion type device. I have a Dell X300 12" laptop, but it seems a little fragile for throwing in a backpack when compared to something like the eeePC. The eeePC just seems like a fun toy, something you wouldn't be overly pissed about if you dropped it in a puddle or sat on it.

Basically a psion but big and powerful enough to be useful actually yet not big or powerful enough to be a fulltime computer. I'm the same way with my 12" laptop. I never brought it anywhere because it was so cumbersome. Dispite its shortcomings (and believe me there are some annoyances to get over) it goes everywhere and thats the main selling point to me.

To be honest the biggest selling point to me was the size + wifi + webcam + bluetooth headset for skype. I'm in a long distance relationship and I'm getting tired of having to be at my desk to talk on skype with video.

[Darren Kitchen]

Hey Metatron, got a question for you!

I have an eeePC it's a piece of shit. Shitty OS, shitty keyboard, shitty screen, shitty wireless card and shitty battery.

You can replace the OS.

Why is the keyboard shitty? Too small or something?

Why is the screen shitty? I'm expecting it to be small and low-res. Is it simply difficult to read outdoors or something?

I would very much expect you to consider the wireless card shitty, if anything on account of its low powered-ness. Any additional reasons?

The battery is claimed at like 3 hours or something, right? That not enough, or does it simply not make it that far?

I'm curious, as I'm considering the thing as a toy box.

The OS can be changed which fixes that issue. My problem with the wireless card is more related to drivers, you can get it working on other distros but you have to jump through a few hoops, really your better of changing it. The power output really doesn't bother me. The card also does not support a few things I like, master mode being one and I get people saying that it won’t go into monitor mode. I changed the card so it’s no longer an issue. 

The screen is really just very low quality although the back light is quite bright. The screen really should have been LED backlit (not with the cheapest shit they can find) to lower power consumption.  The unit I have has keys that stick and other units I tried had the same issue, this is fixable, but still. The keyboard also feels like something of a kids toy, the size is what is to be expected but the quality and feel is very low. 

Now my issue with the battery is that for this type of device 3 hours is awful, it uses solid state storage, has a small screen and a fairly low heat output. My ThinkPad gets 6 hours  and that’s got quite a few moving parts and a much bigger screen, it also works a lot harder over that time. My little Sony Vaio TZ which I have a solid-state drive in gets about 19 hours and that’s also bigger than the eeepc. The eeepc is very cheap but 6 hours would be easy to get on such a device.

5 stars on OS for being easy to change

Agreed, OS is not an issue. 4GB is fine for OS and some programs. bigger stuff goes on SD cards. Best thing is you can select boot device from ESC at startup. I'm booting XP from the internal SSD and BackTrack3 from the SD slot. Got an 8GB SDHC card for $30.

2 stars on keyboard for at least having letters, numbers, arrows, etc.

I agree with metatron on the build quality of the keyboard. Its no inspiron or apple keyboard but its better than those crazy CE devices form years ago. I don't have any sticking keys but it did take a few days to get ok at typing at a reasonable speed. I can't stand some of the key placements. For example, the right shift key is to the right of the arrow keys, so when you first start typing on it you often press the up arrow instead of shift. Also, the tilda key is between ESC and F1, rather than to the left of 1, therefore shifting the numeric keys over to the left. Its only a slight shift but its still taking some getting used to after 2 weeks in. There are hacks out there to remap keys but i think thats a bit lame.

2.5 stars on screen for being bright

The resolution is slightly too small. I find myself using the virtual desktop of 800x600 rather than the native 800x480 since some apps (thats you wireshark) make it nearly impossible to click OK at the bottom of dialogues. The screen isn't 16bit, its like 4096 colors with dithering. I wouldn't recommend using this as your primary porn watching device. The brightness is great but agreed with metatron on LED for battery saving. I find that I use it at 50% bright most of the time for conservation. In a pitch dark room I set the screen as dark as it will go and its easy to read. About as difficult to read in direct sun light as any other screen. 7" is sad. I understand for the pricepoint that its small but I'd be willing to pay a little extra for a bigger screen. I hope the rumors of the 10" are true because I would get it in a heartbeat.

3.5 stars on the wireless card for good support

The latest BackTrack3 beta has madwifi drivers that allow for monitor mode right out of the box. Was able to do packet injection with ease. On the windows side cain, wireshark complain that it wont do promiscuous mode. Supposedly commview drivers fix that. Need to play around with it more. Still able to arp cache poison / packet capture regardless. Fun on public wifi. Would be nice if it were pre-N but its a standard mini pcie and simple to replace.

2.5 stars on the battery. 3 stars on the battery with a little hackery

The battery is fine. Gets the reported 3 hours. Yawn. But seriously after coming from an inspiron with a huge frickin batter its a slight disappointment. Out of the box the ACPI isn't optimized for longevity. There are ways to get slightly more battery life out of it which I will blog about on eeehackers later. Basically on XP theres a patch for processor idle + utility for disabling webcam when not in use. For the most part its just "as advertised". I'll be getting a 9 cell or whatever larger size they come out with as soon as its available. Some other battery annoyances include the meter only reading % in increments of 10 and no "time left" feature in windows or linux. Hopefully this will be resolved in a bios update.

Overall I'd say its a good companion to your existing arsenal of mobile tech. Cheap (both in cost and build in some areas), and full of hacking/modding potential. As I've stated before the biggest selling point to me was portability. This is the notebook I actually take places *gasp*.