Rupert White finds that Asus and HTC have both achieved that tricky feat in the world of PCs and mobile telephones: making great little all-rounders


We have written about devices smaller than laptops but bigger than mobile telephones - and the conclusion has always been that they lack some fundamental usability or other. But Asus might just have cracked it with the Eee PC.



HTC, as if in retort, may have cracked the problem of making a mobile telephone that can do almost anything.



The ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), a market still only slowly developing, was originally codenamed by Microsoft, which developed the standard set-up, as Origami. Though this might have meant, to Microsoft, getting something small and clever by compressing something large and boring, it generally means doing something incredibly frustrating that makes one wonder, seeing the result, why one bothered. This has been our experience with UMPCs.



So when the Gazette received an RM Asus Minibook, aka the Asus Eee PC with some extra educational software, we were dubious. But the Minibook delivered exactly what it said it would, with almost no fuss, only a few bad points, and at a ridiculously low price.



For those who want to get to the point, it should suffice to say that the Eee PC is a non-Windows shrunken laptop with 2-4GB of 'hard drive' space (actually a solid-state drive), 256-512MB of memory, a tiny 7ins screen and a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor. Instead of Windows it runs a version of Linux, with OpenOffice for office productivity software and Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird for web browsing and email. We understand Windows XP SP2 also fits, just, under the bonnet should one want that, though a user would need to have their own copy of XP and experience the joy of installing it themselves.



There is also built-in WiFi connectivity, a LAN port, an optional modem port, three USB slots, an SD card slot, a webcam (though only 0.3-megapixel), microphone and speakers. Also optional is a built-in 3G mobile transceiver. It is half the size of the average laptop, under 900g in weight and looks a bit like it belongs in the film '2001'.



Not only does it connect easily to WiFi hotspots outside and in the home, the OpenOffice/Mozilla set-up means users can do pretty much anything they can do on a 'normal' laptop. The keyboard is just a little too small for comfortable, long-term typing and the touchpad button is atrociously stiff and cheap-feeling. But when something only costs £199 (for the version we saw, without 3G) for basic office, web, email and webcam/chat, and can be carried around with complete ease, with a real keyboard, what more could one possibly want? A slightly larger screen, with 4GB more storage? Maybe Windows XP pre-supplied? Reports suggest this option set is just around the corner.



There may be lawyers out there who cannot imagine why they might like one. With no hard drive, there is far less to break when dropped, the interface is easy and, without Windows, the operating system is probably very safe. It is small, light, basic and above all cheap. Just in case you needed something for the kids.



O2 XDA Stellar



The HTC Advantage (see [2007] Gazette, 21 June, 14) was almost unusable as a phone and unsatisfactory as a laptop replacement (though we liked it). O2's rebadged HTC TyTN 2 Windows Mobile smartphone, in complete contrast, is really good. The Gazette liked the original TyTN for its good slide-out 'full' Qwerty keyboard, and relatively lightweight and 'candy bar' format that allowed users to retain some form of decorum while holding the unit to their ears. The TyTN 2 (pictured bottom) delivers all this plus quad-band capability, built-in GPS, higher-speed 3G, a better camera (now 3-megapixels), Windows Mobile 6 and Bluetooth 2.0.



The TyTN 2 (available in different guises from Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone as well as O2) is slightly larger and heavier, at 190g, than its predecessor but the buyer gets a lot for that extra heft. We tried the device with O2's satnav CoPilot installed on a set of long journeys over Christmas and we were, generally, impressed. Using GPS and being connected to the Internet (the default position for CoPilot 'live') drained the battery in two and a half hours, which is not good news. There is an in-car charger supplied with CoPilot, however. We only wish we had taken it with us.



The big obvious change to the TyTN is the way the screen can now be flipped up towards the user when the keyboard is extended. This is both more useful than it sounds and less important than HTC probably thinks. It does make viewing easier when using the keyboard, but in no way does it make the device capable of taking on any real typing jobs.



But overall the TyTN/Stellar performed very well, and Windows Mobile 6 continues to prove how much better it is than its predecessor in small but important ways. For the lawyer who wants as much from a mobile telephone as can currently be wrung from the form factor, the TyTN 2 seems hard to beat.



Factsheet

RM Asus Minibook: £169-199, in black or white

O2 XDA Stellar: around £170 plus £50 per month for a decent one-user business deal