It was a tough choice, but it all came down to the fact that I was able to buy the machine yesterday from Micro Center - which is where I headed as soon as I had the cash.

Continue Reading

Last night I decided to take another look in the box that the U1010 came in, just to see if there were any goodies I was missing out on. Unlike the Shift the U1010 came with reinstall DVDs, as opposed to having a backup partition. I like the way the Shift can completely reload itself without any outside help, but having DVDs is a good idea too.

Anyway, in the box I found install DVDs for both Vista Business (which came preloaded) and Windows XP Tablet Edition. Now the performance on the U1010 has been fine on Vista, but I was curious to see just how much slower Vista was than XP on the relatively slow processor.

Continue Reading

In the spirit of reviewing, two nights ago I gave the HTC Shift restore feature a try. There are no discs included with the Shift, just a recovery partition containing an image of Vista Business, the original applications and the drivers.

Quite a good idea actually, sure it chews up a bit of the relatively cramped 40GB HDD, but at least you’ll know that if something goes wrong (virus, damaged system file, etc) you can just hold F3 while booting, and bring it back to the default state.

In my experience however, not all was moonlight and roses. Getting the recovery going was a simple matter, and it happened quite quickly too (less than 30mins). Booting for the first time takes ages, but eventually I hit the Vista desktop, straight into a driver warning.

Continue Reading

Anyone remember a time when Pocket PCs came with proper styli? They were thicker, stronger, and most importantly they didn’t fold up like a picnic blanket.

These days manufacturers have been stealing space from the old stylus slot to cram ever more stuff into their devices. While I understand they are under pressure to make stuff thinner and smaller, they need to consider how it compromises usability in the process.

I’ve really come to notice this stylus origami since trying to ink on the HTC Shift and the Fujitsu U1010. They include these tiny little toothpicks reminiscent of the CLIE styli that are too thin, too light and they are constantly collapsing when you use them! The Shift has the added excitement of an overly sensitive touchscreen that makes getting that tiny pointer onto the screen (without brushing your hand on the screen) very difficult.

Continue Reading

I’ve been using the Shift this morning and felt some thoughts were in order.

Sorry about the poor photo, the BlackJack II camera is crap

I popped my SIM card in for some high-speed data, and it is just so damned convenient! As soon as Vista starts up I have full internet access, wherever I am. SnapVue really is a great feature, being able to instantly access calendar items and email without having to boot Vista is wonderful.

Quite a surprise was the usefulness of the tiny thumbpad on the right side of the screen. Most people don’t realise it is a fully-functional Synaptics touchpad, which includes scrolling!! Widening the scrolling area of the touchpad makes it really good for scrolling through web pages. And despite the reviews I have read, I quite like the touchpad for controlling the mouse. With a little bit of practice, it’s useful.

Continue Reading

I have been very lucky to get hold of a Shift for a couple of weeks, and figured I’d start with a first impressions article, written entirely on the Shift.

I was very impressed by the packaging, very nicely presented like the Touch Cruise. The Shift came wrapped in it’s beautiful leather case, a really nice addition. Removing it from the case, I was immediately taken by it. It feels really solid in the hand, and looks like a quality product.

The display is very bright, but unfortunately it’s only 800×480. Honestly that’s pretty pathetic for a second gen, and quite pricey UMPC. Using it in the 1024×600 interpolation mode is very usable, and since turning it on I’ve spend most of my time in this mode.

I’ve given the handwriting recognition a quick go, and while it is very good at getting the right words, it is a bit uncomfortable to do since a slight brush sends the pointer scooting across the screen. Will keep trying it over the next few days to see if I can make it work for me.

Built-in HSDPA is great to have, and combined with the instant-on SnapVue means email is only a few seconds away. I get much better signal that I do on my BlackJack II, and surfing seems to be pretty fast.

Continue Reading

Saw two giveaways today that might interest GD readers!  I know it interests me because I’d like to hack these to put Linux on them!

Engadget is giving away a HTC Shift to celebrate their redesign.  Head on over here to win!

Image courtesy Engadget.com

Also, UMPC Portal is giving away a WiBrain B1.  Go on over to UMPC portal to win!  See the WiBrain after the jump!

Continue Reading

[Update: This contest is now closed, and Katie is the winner! Congrats to Katie, and to uzziah0 (the random commenter) and a big THANK YOU to all who entered!]

We recently completed our Contest Interruptus, and some of the submitted photos were so fabulous that they must be shared in their own post…but as usual, there is a twist. Vote for your top favorite in the comments section, and we’ll announce a winner based on popular vote Friday, April 11th at 5:30pm CST. The winner will receive a Naneu Pro Sierra Laptop & Camera Bag. I’ll also have a random prize for a random commenter - so get your vote in!

Here is Bazzawill’s EeePC; I love the Gear Diary theme going on in the background!

Bazzawill says, “my eeepc running eeexubuntu & compiz effects using the web camera so that you can see me.”

Continue Reading

Wayne pinged the Gear Diary Team with a special find on AVING USA this morning. It’s a blocky little beast, but the HDPC (Hybrid Dual Portable Computer) is slated for the Korea market, and it will be running dual OSs - supposedly Windows XP / Windows CE 5.0 or Linux Qplus.

Wayne said, “Unless the currency converter I found online is off — the price of 400,000 to 500,000 KRW converts to about $350 to $ 450, but I have no idea how much overhead import adds. This thing has 4GB of RAM….weird design but still…..looks like a T-Mo sidekick for adults….damn near the same US price (est).”

Hmmm, we’ve been down the dual OS road before, haven’t we? But I’m always up for a look…

SEOUL, Korea (AVING) — MIU(www.miubit.com) introduced its new wireless IP-based hybrid portable device dubbed ‘HDPC (Hybrid Dual Portable Computer)’ in Korea market, which is equipped with dual OS(Windows XP/Windows CE 5.0 or Linux Qplus).

Adopting a keyboard of general PC and a 4-inch display with 800×480 resolution, the HDPC supports dual-mode function and wireless internet function. It is the concept that user can make a choice of any type of soft/hard ware according to users’ needs.

As the name ‘HDPC’ signifies, user can converge the stand-alone technologies of existing portable devices such as car PC, navigation, mobile phone, PMP, mp3, UMPC, electronic dictionary, internet phone, PSP, digital camera, voice recorder, mobile IPTV into HDPC.

The HDPC is expected to be available in July 2008, and the price would be between 400,000(KRW) and 500,000(KRW).

Continue Reading

How long have I been saying that I wanted to buy an HTC Shift? It’s been a desire of mine for quite a while, but I think I may have finally squashed it. Of course, it is easy to say that as I sit typing on my new MacBook Pro, but that is neither here nor there.

I was able to hold and check out a Shift while I was at CES, and although I found it to be a very solid and cleverly designed device, I have come to realize that I am probably not this portable computer’s target audience. Why? Because if I honestly examine my motives for buying one, I would have to admit that while I like the idea of having and using one, it wouldn’t be very practical for my use…at all.

But could it be what you need?

To give us the highs and lows of this portable computer, is a freshly posted review at Boy Genius Report.

Continue Reading