Which device...next?

So I’m finally home and after shaking some heavy jetlag and I must admit I am glad. Not only was I greeted by the reality that the holiday was over, but as consolation I now have a plethora of UMPC to deal with! Admittedly the one UMPC I was most happy to see was the Fujitsu U1010. I don’t know why but it just seems to have this certain magnetism about it. Maybe it is the white coloured shell, or maybe the all-in-one design; either way it was a pleasant surprise. The second device which caught my attention was the TufTab. This unit was a little quirky at first sight but now it just seems to make a lot of sense. In a world full of pace and often full of mishaps, the semi rugged case just seemed to make new sense.

As I sit here staring down the barrel of the gun I realise I am facing a new game of Russian roulette. Now that I have returned from abroad I feel it time to change machines...again. As many of you know it was the Toshiba R400 that was my companion for the last several months. There were several reasons why I chose this unit, i.e. large screen resolution, bright display, nice keyboard, lightweight design, great extended battery option, and great tablet PC experience in pen mode. The fact remains however that the predominant reason for taking this device overseas was that it provided the best desktop replacement experience.

Now that I am back I no longer need the desktop replacement experience as I have monitors and large keyboards that I can use from any room in my home or office so (happily) the need to replace a desktop, while on the road, is no longer there. So here is my new dilemma. Which unit next???

Ultimately I have decided to sell the 3-month old Toshiba R400, with extended battery, with 4GB of RAM and with docking station. It is sad to see it go but three months is long enough. LOL. Faced with the decision of finding a replacement device I am however still struggling. What I would like to know from you is if money were no option, which device, out of the current assortment available in the world, would you go for?

I’m thinking the following:

• Shift: great mobile unit with 3G embedded. Big plus. (crap battery life)
• Q1U: great device overall with the organiser pack and nice extended battery options (poor pen features and bulky when fully accessorised.)
• OQO e2 SSD: this sounds like a great unit with lots of positive features. The big plus is I get to use a lot of existing accessories. (Tiny screen when on the road)
• EVERUN: The Docking station is great and battery life is unbeatable. (specifications are the killer here.)
  

What do you guys/gals think? I will try the HUGOMETER out on myself and let you kow the results.

PS. If you are interested in buying the R400 with all its gear then (email: hugo at Tegatech dot com dot au). The price is $2500 AUD for the lot ($2,200 USD) + freight.

On the Road but this time with an R400

This may sound like a post someone else on the team has written - not Hugo! But yes, I can confirm that I will be hitting the road on an extended vacation (to Europe!) and my primary machine is going to be the Toshiba R400! While I deliberated over my choice extensively eventually it came down to a couple of criteria:

• Screen size,
• Battery life,
• Processing Power ,
• And Screen Brightness,

I must admit that I fell in love with the look of the R400 upon its first release; having said that I fell in love with the OQO model 02 also. The OQO has been my best friend and companion for quite some time now but when it came time to deciding how I was going to be mobile while away I had to think of my eyes and my mind. My eyes could not tolerate the 5" screen as a primary device for such an extended period (two months) while on the other side of the equation is my mind! I am a highly visual person and the screen brightness and resolution of the Toshiba R400 is absolutely irresistible.

I will post a video soon of my new R4OO but in keeping with my 2GB theme several weeks back you will be happy to know that the first operation I performed on R400 is a RAM upgrade! It proudly now sports 3GBs of RAM. The other interesting thing I found out was that there is actually a SIM card slot in my device! It is hidden under the keyboard, and right under that there is an empty PCI-express card slot! I will be doing all I can to turn it into a HSDPA animal! I will keep you posted!

Dennis does Toshiba's flagship

Dennis Rice of GotaBeMobile does a great job of talking up the Toshiba R400. Keep an eye out for the extended battery demo!

The R400 is billed as Toshiba's flagship Vista notebook and if you watch the video you will find little to argue about that. So without delay hop on over to GottaBe and GettaLook at an awesome machine in action.

This is one machine I have had my eye on as my next Tablet (do I really need another one!?!?) and it is also the same machine Jon Dee and I showcased in our Geek-Out.

Jon Dee and the R400 - again

Incredibly my mate Jon Dee has turned up in the media once again, this time touting the Toshiba R400...again. Does this guy ever sleep…hey wait its 2am and I’m still blogging!

Either way I thought it was interesting enough to post this as Jon has done such fantastic work for the environment and his R400 is displayed as a testament to his commitment to a paperless society.

On this occasion Jon has appeared in Australia’s Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph. The title of article is Green Technology Strategy and Jon is the goofy geek smiling behind his JasJam. The article is extremely well written by Stephen Fenech as it helps capture Jon’s amazing personality and passion for tech. The best thing is that it allows several mentions of the Toshiba R400 in a very positive light and depicts the Green Technology Strategy as one we should all adopt.


Here are a couple of quotes I like:

"Apart from switching over to non-polluting and renewable green energy, generated by wind turbines and solar panels, Dee also lives a paperless lifestyle.
This is achieved via a Toshiba Portege R400 tablet PC and an iMate Jasjam Pocket PC phone.”

"You're even able to search through all your handwritten notes. I don't understand why tablet PCs have not had more of an uptake because once you've actually used one, you will never go back.

For those of you waiting for another Jon Dee/Hugo Ortega video I am afraid it will still be a little longer. He and I can’t seem to be in the same State or Country for long enough to complete one; but it is on our radars!