Need a MID or smartphone that can replace a laptop for travel – comparing the iPhone 4 to the Nokia N900 to the HTC Advantage

The hunt is on for a new MID or smartphone or something very portable that can still meet my productivity needs while travelling. I’ve narrowed it down to a few contenders and put them up against the iphone 4 for good measure. I’m almost set on a smartphone bu the viliv N5 could make the cut if the 3G model is not too expensive. Here’s my table trying to compare apples with apples.

		Nokia N900	IiPhone 4	HTC Advantage x7510
General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100	HSDPA 2100, UMTS 850 / 1900
	Announced	2009, August	2010, June	2008, February
	Status	Available. Released 2009, November	Available. Released 2010, June	Available. Released 2008, June
Size	Dimensions	110.9 x 59.8 x 18 mm, 113 cc	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm	133 x 98 x 16 mm
	Weight	181 g	137 g	375 g
Display	Type	TFT resistive touchscreen, 65K colors	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors	TFT resistive touchscreen, 256K colors (65K effective)
	Size	800 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches	640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches	640 x 480 pixels, 5.0 inches
		- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off	- Scratch-resistant surface	- QWERTY keyboard
		- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate	- Multi-touch input method	- Handwriting recognition
		- Full QWERTY keyboard	- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
			- Three-axis gyro sensor
			- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3 ringtones	Vibration, MP3 ringtones	Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes, with stereo speakers	Yes	Yes, with stereo speakers
		3.5 mm audio jack	3.5 mm headset jack	3.5 mm headset jack, dual speakers
Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Detailed, max 30 days	100 received, dialed and missed calls	Practically unlimited
	Internal	32 GB storage, 256 MB RAM	16/32 GB storage, 512 MB RAM	16 GB storage, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM
	Card slot	microSD, up to 16GB, buy memory	No	Mini SD
Data	GPRS	Class 32	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps	Yes
	EDGE	Class 32	Class 10, 236.8 kbps	Yes
	3G	HSDPA, 10Mbps; HSUPA, 2Mbps	HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps	HSDPA, 1.8 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP	Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	Yes	No	No
	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB	Yes, v2.0	Yes, miniUSB
Camera	Primary	5 MP, 2576×1936 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, Dual LED flash, video light	5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging	Touch focus, geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, WVGA(848 x 480)@25fps	Yes, 720p@30fps, LED video light, geo-tagging	Yes
	Secondary	Yes, VGA	Yes, videocalling over Wi-Fi only	VGA videocall camera
Features	OS	Maemo 5	iOS 4	Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional
	CPU	ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX530 graphics	1 GHz Apple A4 processor	Marvell PXA270 624 MHz processor
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), Email, Push Email, IM	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email	SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
	Browser	xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds	HTML (Safari)	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML ( Opera 9)
	Radio	Stereo FM radio (via third party software); FM transmitter	No	No
	Games	Yes, 5 + downloadable	Downloadable, incl. motion-based	Yes
	Colors	Black	Black, White	Black
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps	Yes, with A-GPS support	Yes
	Java	No	No	Yes, MIDP 2.0
		- Skype and GoogleTalk VoIP integration	- MicroSIM card support only	- Voice memo
		- MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ music player	- Scratch-resistant glass back panel	- MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/OGG/AMR player
		- WMV/RealVideo/MP4/AVI/XviD/DivX video player	- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic.	- WMV/MP4 player
		- TV-out	- Digital compass	- TV-out
		- PDF document viewer	- Google Maps	#NAME?
		- Photo editor	- iBooks application	- Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF viewer)
		- Adobe Flash Player 9.4	- Audio/video player and editor
			- Voice command/dial
			- TV-out
Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1320 mAh (BL-5J)	Standard battery, Li-Po 1420mAh	Standard battery, Li-Po 2100 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 278 h (2G) / Up to 250 h (3G)	Up to 300 h (2G) / Up to 300 h (3G)	Up to 300 h
	Talk time	Up to 6 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 4 h 30 min (3G)	Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)	Up to 6 h
	Music play	Up to 24 h 30 min	Up to 40 h
Misc	SAR US	0.92 W/kg (head)     0.82 W/kg (body)		0.48 W/kg (head)
	SAR EU	0.80 W/kg (head)

MIO MID – awesome mobile internet device, tablet UMPC and GPS

This little unit seems to have everything we’d ever need:

http://www.mio.com/miocebit2010/MoovV780.html

JKK Video:

Mio Moov V780
A premium navigation, entertainment and Internet experience.

The Mio Moov V780 goes beyond being a navigation device. The iF Award-winning design provides a premium navigation, entertainment and Internet experience, the Moov V780 features the new Mio Spirit navigation software, a 7” flat widescreen, HD multimedia capabilities, digital TV receiver, and wireless connectivity. Rethink your navigation experience with the premium Mio Moov V780.

http://hothardware.com/News/Mios-Moov-V780-MIDGPS-Device-Gets-Powered-By-Tegra/

Libretto W100 awesome dual screen tablet

Here’s the ipad competitor: Libretto W100

This concept looks awesome and even better it’s going to be for sale. Most prototypes turn up at CES and then disappear. This one will be for sale in limited numbers which means we’ll be starting the W100boys blog .

I think it actually looks like the second generation Entourage Edge if there was such a thing as the centre hinge looks like a slimmed down version of the Edge’s one. Windows 7, two multi touch screens, Toshiba reliability = must have machine.

I’ve had almost very model of Libretto from the Ct70 up to the Libretto L5 and U105 and have actually regretted it every time I sold one. The Libretto L series was hands down the best UMPC, subnotebook I’ve ever owned and the Viliv X70 ties with the Samsung Q1 as the best tablet UMPC. So the W100 and the Samsung Tape are for me the best options out of all the new range of tablets – promised or vapourware. When they come….when are they coming?

The Libretto W100 runs Windows 7 on a 1.2Ghz Pentium processor, boasts a 62GB SSD and 2GB of RAM, and features a Webcam, a USB port, a MicroSD slot, and Bluetooth.

Perfect companion to the Viliv X70 or any Tablet PC – cool looking wireless keyboard

I like to pack light. That’s the main reason I got into UMPC’s in the first place. So of course I travel with a thinkoutside BT keyboard. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought and even worked with my Nokia N95 and my Windows smartphones.

This awesome looking keyboard might bump it off the Fav’s list:

From the website:

Features:

Wireless(RF 2.4G) connection, smart & portable size

To enjoy PC Multi-media Entertainment at home

Convenient & efficient for Conference, Presentation & lecturing

To share large TV and projector screen

Large PAD for handwrite

Built-in lecture laser pointer

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Backlight function with a handheld keypad

Support Window 7 / Vista / XP / 2000, Linux (Debian-3.1, Redhat-9.0, Ubuntu-8.10, Fedora-7.0 tested or above)

Standby time: 500~ 700 hours

Operation range: up to 30 meters

Dimension: 151 x 59 x 13mm (approx.)

Weight: 103g

Off on a trip with the Viliv X70

The picture is showing the tech I’m about to head off on a two day business trip with. I’m taking a lot of stuff and haven’t even packed clothes or anything yet.

But part of this trip is to demo mobile tech so I’m taking the X70 to demo a pure slate PC and I class it as a UMPC because it’s so light and compact. The other machine is my LG P100 convertible Tablet which is a desktop replacement machine because of the power it has but it’s over a kilogram with the extended battery and I have to use the extended battery because the standard one gives me an hour tops of use.

I have thumb drives, portable hard drive, bluetooth keyboard, power adapters, The Balckberry for work, the iPhone for everything else.

I’ll see what I use on this trip (besides the demo times) and see how I go just using the Viliv on the road. Maybe the lack of a keyboard is going to hurt, maybe the lack of inbuild 3G? Have to wait and see.