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Orange Web Book Review

Ok, from the start; I couldn’t actually get one of these devices to review so I had to go and stand in a Car Phone Warehouse store for about 2 hours playing and testing. Lots of questions from the staff especially once I started taking photos (they came out pretty crappy so I used a stock image for this post).

The image shows the Web Book running Windows XP but the model I played with was an Ubuntu based UMPC - good news for me as I’m a massive Ubuntu fan.

Ok, let’s go.

Design

I have to admit that when I first saw the Orange Web Book it looked very cheap, not the robust feel you get with the likes of the MSI Wind. The model I’m reviewing features a silver chassis which, to be honest, just didn’t look the part. In fact, the first impressions were a real turn off. However, the Orange Web Book has a really sturdy feel to it (aided, in part, by the weight - 1.3 Kg). Although the screen panel did flex, it’s not enough to make you worry about the breaking this netbook (I’ll stick to netbook for the sake of sanity - too many names flying around now!). One thing that I did notice was the lack of branding on either Orange’s or CWP’s part. The only logo you’ll find is from Elonex, located to the right of the track pad. Are they ashamed of this netbook?

The Orange (Elonex) netbook features a 10.2″ screen - resolution and image rendering was actually pretty good although the panel seemed a little dim. Maybe it was a worn out display model. I don’t know but I couldn’t seem to improve this. That said, the display was adequate for day to day use.

The keyboard, as with most netbooks was fiddley. Just to small for my fat fingers. Typing at any real rate was hampered by the clunky feel of the keys (actually, feel and sound - the keys made an audible clicking when pressed) and I was never quite convinced that I’d actually typed a letter - not good for touch typing .

The left and right mouse buttons were much the same; clunky but responsive. No problems there. The track pad was ‘ok’ - my own personal experience was that you had to apply a little more pressure to the pad when scrolling otherwise the pointer failed to move.

The Web Book that I used came with Ubuntu and Open Office pre-installed - favourites of mine. The OS ran more than adequately on the VIA 1.6 Ghz CPU and 512Mb of RAM although Open Office was a little slow starting up but that’s always been the way. If you want OOo to run faster there are plenty of tuning tips on the web that you can use to boost the speed etc.

The battery life of the Web Book is around 2 hours. I managed to test this by unplugging the PSU cable and setting off my stopwatch!! Just under two hours later the low battery warning came up. This isn’t the best battey life around and I’m sure Elonex could improve this with a larger capactiy battery. Although I didn’t get the chance to test media, movies etc I imagine that intensive apps will reduce this time significantly - make sure you’re near a power outlet if you’re going to be doing any heavy duty work.

If you’re after an Orange Web Book, you have two options - free with a 24 month subscription to Oranges Mobile Broadband service (USB dongle included) or £219 for the Web Book. To my surprise, the mobile broadband worked without a hitch - there’s a first for Linux!

Conclusion

Ok, it’s not the best review in the world but it’s a starter. The Web Book is actually a pretty good piece of kit if you look past the tacky silver exterior (there is a model in black). The price for the standalone model is pretty competitive when you consider some of the other options out there. Although the performance was adequate I’d suggest upping the memory if you buy one as OOo likes to eat memory as do certain websites.

Specifications

• Wi-Fi Connectivity
• Processor: VIA C7-M
• Clock Speed: 1.6Ghz
• Battery Life: Up to 2.5 hours
• RAM Memory: 512MB
• Hard Drive 80GB

Downside

Have I said it looks tacky? Also, something needs to be done about the screen panel - like I said, it flexes a little too much. Sorting this out would give the Web Book a far sturdier feel. It would also be good to see a little more memory in the stock device. I know, I know - they’re trying to keep the price down.

Posted in Elonex | 1 Comment »

Elonex ONEt Review

It seems there’s a lot of interest in Elonex’s ONEt. Although it’s an ugly beast people seem to keen to get an idea of what it’s all about.

The whole idea behind the ONEt was to create a UMPC with a low price tag (£180ish - discounts for education workers and students). There are other variants with a higher spec that sell for a higher price but we won’t be looking at those today.

Ok, ready to take a look at what Elonex have to offer in the UMPC market space?

Design

You’ve seen the images so I guess you already know that some versions of the ONEt will never win a beauty contest. If you really want to get noticed choose the green, pink or scarlet options otherewise stick to black or white.

The ONEt follows the Asus Eee PC mold; clamshell design with dimensions of 210mm long x 140mm wide x27mm deep and weighs in at .58kg (1.3 lbs for us old timers). You’re looking at a UMPC that measures about the same as a paperback book and weighs less than most Sunday joints (to avoid any confusion; beef joints!)

The keyboard, like any other in the UMPC range, was a little fiddly at first. I know I should be getting used to this by now but I always write my reports on a desktop with its full sized keyboard. That shouldn’t an issue though as you’ll be able to connect a keyboard through one of the 3 USB connectors when you’re chairborne.

The touchpad is ok. It responds well unlike some devices we’ve tried although the mouse buttons are a little clunky and noisey.

The Elonex ONEt has a range of connectors that should keep all but the most ardent lover of peripherals happy.

The 7″ monitor is surprisingly clear giving crisp images but the major letdown here are the speakers. Audio output is a bit tinny but I can live with that.

The ONEt comes with a Linux distro pre-installed. You’ll get the usual bags of goodies such as media player, photo viewer, calculator plus Word and Excel compatible productivity tools (only up to Office 2003).

Battery life is pretty much par for the course; you’ll get about 3 hours out a new battery with normal usage. Switch on your WiFi, watch a movie etc and you’ll see this drop rapidly. We got just over two hours once we cranked up some applications and started eating processor time. Make sure you have a mains supply nearby if you want to watch some movies.

Conclusion

It’s certainly cheap and the Elonex ONEt gives you a lot of features in a small box. This will be an ideal UMPC for mobile workers and students especially if you’re mainly interested in web browsing.

Specifications

• 3 USB ports
• microphone/headset jacks
• 10/100Mbps Ethernet port
• WiFi
• external battery charger socket
• an SD card slot - up to 32GB. We recommend you buy a memory card as the OneT only has 1Gb SSD
• 128MB RAM
• 400Hz processor - couldn’t find any specifics on the Elonex site but the word is that the ONEt is powered by an Ingenics CPU The keyboard is surprisingly good, with a reasonably conventional layout for a laptop and a fair key response.

Downside

Memory - ok, it’s a basic machine but it really does need more. Disk space is also a letdown. As I said, there’s on a 1Gb SDD, of which 320 Mb is taken up by the OS install.

Posted in Elonex | 33 Comments »

Elonex readies OneT

We’ve picked up some news regarding the launch of a new Elonex device; the OneT.

The Elonex OneT will come with a price tag of £129 plus £10 for postage and packaging.

At the moment, specifications are a bit hazy (in particular the processor) but The Register has provided some information regarding the general style and features.

Here’s what we have so far:

• 7in, 800 x 480 display
• 1GB of solid-state storage
• SD card slot
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• VGA output
• 3 x USB 2.0 ports.

The OneT is 210 x 140 x 30mm and weighs 625g with the three-hour battery life. Another variant, the One T+, comes with 2GB of storage.

Posted in Elonex | 9 Comments »