[isajoo]

i still think that UMPCs are not a necessity. if u DO have a ppcpe and have a voice/data plan then why not just get a app like gotomypc(not the best one, but quite famous) and u suddenly have access to a pc and can basically run any app. also u will have access to all data stored on that pc. there are many full screen apps for remote pc from ppc. u can thank me later for saving you $2000 and now u have a REAL ppc that fits in your pocket and have full access to vista/xp. problem/solution.

[isajoo]

i still think that UMPCs are not a necessity. if u DO have a ppcpe and have a voice/data plan then why not just get a app like gotomypc(not the best one, but quite famous) and u suddenly have access to a pc and can basically run any app. also u will have access to all data stored on that pc. there are many full screen apps for remote pc from ppc. u can thank me later for saving you $2000 and now u have a REAL ppc that fits in your pocket and have full access to vista/xp. problem/solution.

[alese]

Originally Posted by isajoo

i still think that UMPCs are not a necessity. if u DO have a ppcpe and have a voice/data plan then why not just get a app like gotomypc(not the best one, but quite famous) and u suddenly have access to a pc and can basically run any app. also u will have access to all data stored on that pc. there are many full screen apps for remote pc from ppc. u can thank me later for saving you $2000 and now u have a REAL ppc that fits in your pocket and have full access to vista/xp. problem/solution.

That's true, but from my experience, you need at least UMTS or WiFi connection (GPRS is too slow) and VGA PPCPE (even with VGA the screen is still really constrained) to be able to really do something.
And even then it's just a quick fix sollution, to do some simple tasks remotelly, it's not even close to beeing good enough for longer use of full applications, and any multimedia use is out of the question.

[alese]

If HTC would "Shift" the price to Athena(Advantage) level this would really be something.
Actually even at $2000 I consider this to be a better (more usable and bang for a buck) sollution than Athena...

I just hope that (since it has GSM/GPRS/UMTS) carriers will offer this subsidized, for $800 and 2 year contract this could be really great...

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Originally Posted by Nurhisham Hussein

I can live with 30GB, but the VIA CPU worries me

I thought I'd explain this a little bit for those who aren't in the know - the VIA C7M does not run Aero Glass under Vista, in fact it's multimedia and graphics capability is quite poor. On the other hand it is less power hungry than the current generation of Intel chips (that will change with the new mobile chips coming out soon). There is a new VIA chip line on the way, which may be what this is equipped with considering that HTC explicitly state the Shift will run Aero.

My other concern is that the screen resolution is only 800x480, and trust me, this can be a real problem - lots of apps are written for much larger resolutions and you can even run into problems with Windows dialogs. My Sony U8G runs in 800x600 and I still run into problems like this - it would be worse on WVGA.

BTW, PCMag have posted a hands-on preview and they actually like it, especially the keyboard.

Originally Posted by alese

That's true, but from my experience, you need at least UMTS or WiFi connection (GPRS is too slow) and VGA PPCPE (even with VGA the screen is still really constrained) to be able to really do something.

I agree with alese - you have to try this first before you know the limitations, and the experience is leaves very much to be desired. You're really at the mercy of the quality of your data connection and network congestion - trying this on GPRS is painful, and UMTS isn't much better. I tried this out for a couple of months before giving up and buying a laptop.

Originally Posted by alese

I just hope that (since it has GSM/GPRS/UMTS) carriers will offer this subsidized, for $800 and 2 year contract this could be really great...

Sorry to disappoint you mate, but HTC have confirmed that they'll be selling it through PC channels, not carriers.

[alese]

Originally Posted by Nurhisham Hussein

...

Sorry to disappoint you mate, but HTC have confirmed that they'll be selling it through PC channels, not carriers.
...

That's dissapointing. Although you never know, maybe things will change, after all why would they sell only Advantage through carriers and not Shift, given that HTC has good relations with them.

[Gen-M]

And, while current systems using the VIA C7M chip do not run AERO, this machine evidently does - so HTC has figured out how to do it. Given that they are a sister company to VIA, if anyone can do it, they can.

[Paul Kay]

Nurhisham Hussein wrote:

My other concern is that the screen resolution is only 800x480, and trust me, this can be a real problem - lots of apps are written for much larger resolutions

Any developer whose work is only usable on higher resolution screens should be shot or at the very least be drummed out of the business.

After 30+ years of eye-straining development, I can't read a screen anymore at resolutions greater than 800x480.

[Gen-M]

After 30+ years of eye-straining development, I can't read a screen anymore at resolutions greater than 800x480.

AMEN!

[Darius Wey]

More eye candy: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogs.../~3/104606942/

[Cybrid]

Originally Posted by ricksfiona

And do I REALLY want Vista running on a 1.2GHz processor? My XP based machine runs 'satisfactorily' on a 1GHz machine.. Is an extra 200MHz really going to make that much of a difference?

From my experiments with my PC, the Vista compatibilty advisor and some experts...I would have to say the biggest requirement in Vista is the graphics card. You could run it in as little as a 1 Ghz provided you have a good graphics card. Mine is a NVidia 256Mb and I've got 784 RAM.

No issues were detected for these system components
The following table contains system components that meet the minimum hardware requirements needed for Windows Vista.
Category Action Required Explanation
CPU No action required Your computer's CPU is AMD Athlon(tm)
System memory (RAM) No action required Your computer has 768.00 MB of RAM.
DVD drive No action required Your computer can read DVDs.
DVD-RW drive No action required You can record DVDs on your computer.
Video card No action required Your current video card will support the Windows Aero™ user experience.