Direct From Japan, the guys I bought the Kohjinsha SC3 from, just pinged me with an unboxing video of the Kohjinsha SX3, the 8.9" touch ultra mobile PC based built around the Intel Atom platform. Again, Kohjinsha have squeezed in features that you won’t find on many other mini notebooks, let alone netbooks because this one has a DVD writer built in. Yup, its the same size as an Eee but has a DVD writer built in!
We also have some CrystalMark scores which show almost exactly the same results as the SC3 but remember that this one has the 3-cell battery rather than the 2-cell you find on the SC3. I don’t have any battery life figures yet but i’m expecting 3.5hrs with Wifi off and 3 hours with Wifi on. Official figures state 4.5hrs.
Other features include the 1280×768 hi-res LED-backlit screen, dual cams and ExpressCard slot. All in 1.2KG.
Full specifications and links in the SX info page.
Thanks DFJ.
another video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vny9HpphNlY
Thanks brett.
Will link these videos into the SX3 info page.
Steve.
@chippy
Have you made some tests already? Can you recommend this device despite from the high price?
No havent done any tests on this one. Maybe soon but it’s not planned yet.
will the 3 cell battery from the SX3 fit in the SC3 if it does it might give you the battery life you want from SC3?
Do we have any dates when VyePC will be releasing european versions of the both of these?
SX3 uses same battery as the SR8 / SH8 / SA1
(so if you are upgrading from one of those – keep the extra batteries!)
good news for those wanting to swap out the HDD or wireless cards in the SX…
http://www.conics.net/sx3/
(check the photos, they have made easy access on this one!!)
You can see somes picture from http://www.ultramobilepc.fr
Does anybody know if the device with these CrystalMark scores has a 1GB or 2GB RAM?
looks like it’s about the same size of the Fujitsu P1610. The screen probably won’t be inkable, since the SC3 isn’t. That would be a real shame.
1Gb on this one.
that’s really not bad.. 1GB on vista with these scores… it’s a pity that there doesn’t seem to be a pro-mobile mini tablet on the horizon that doesn’t cost as much as the P1620 and has these nice features that the SX3 has (HSDPA, Expresscard, double webcam, etc.)
I really dream of a fast processor with these features, but up to now nothing seems to beat the P1620 for my usage
thanks for the swift response
and no, its a soft touch screen.
what’s the estimated price?
its available for import from dfj-store.com and conics.net. CAnt remember the prices off the top off my head.
In the video it likes a glossy display! Isn’t it?
In the video it looks like a glossy display! Isn’t it?
mini review online now:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=u0XRKufSJAk
(yes, you can see the PC for more than 10 seconds :) )
Chippy, does it come with Vista Home Premium or not?
All the specs say 1.2 or 1.25kg, but the weight in pounds differs depending on who you ask (geekstuff4u says 2.12, my calculator says ~2.7, the wow-pow video says 1.8). I trust my calculator, and 2.7 pounds is quite heavy for such a small device! It’s just as heavy as my laptop, and that’s without the extended battery.
Can anybody comment on the weight? Is it abnormally heavy?
2.7lbs is ok I think. (BTW, in some specs I saw 2.8lbs) This is the ONLY 9” umpc with dvd drive to date. Almost 40% of space is occupied by dvd drive but somehow they managed to make this device as slim as other 9” umpc’s. They did a great job putting all these together only in 2.7lbs.
You could get 70gr off if upgrade to SSD :) I don’t know if this device is easy to upgrade.
regarding price: I don’t think it’s too expensive, it’s a high tech all-in-one device, you can compare it to HTC Shift or Sony VAIO P series. I would not compare it to any of eee pc, samsung nc or msi wind or acer aspire. While price is 2.5 times higher than average eee pc it’s still cheaper than sony p-series (with comparable configuration) or htc shift.
It is still very useful not only for web surfing but for work too, while sony p-series is just a ladies accessory and htc shift is less comfortable for typing and too slow
2 things I’m concerned about are:
1) battery life
2) durability. I’ve been using some umpcs (htc shift, eee 1000h, eee1002ha) but never tried “netvertible”. I’m worried if it is durable enough for everyday use, and what will happen to display after a few months of rotation.
3) no WWAN
I wish it had a better performance. However, it is a great piece of hardware for corporate presentations – such small device is prepared for any guest bringing CD/DVD to meeting or to give your party recorded CD/DVD copy instantly.
There is a pretty good full video review on youtube http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=u0XRKufSJAk Its 9 minutes long! Anyway, it weights 1.25kg but they say its not heavy. They also take off the access panels on the back so you can see the HDD, RAM, and WiFi stuff.
We have 5 of the SX3 on order but DFJ has advised that when they received the SX3s and began installing english software on them they found an issue with the operating software. We are waiting for a further update from Acher at DFJ, which we hope we will receive today.
If anybody else has info on the problem please advise!
The display is glossy, which is a bit unfortunate.
I don’t know what Kohjinsha has done with the default install, but as I got it from DFJ after POST there was some sort of linux-looking bootloader, and then it loaded Windows. GUI performance was terrible. I also didn’t like the two partition layout. I reformatted and installed a fresh copy. Performance is MUCH better–generally quite nice, honestly.
The device doesn’t feel terribly heavy but I suppose it is probably heavier than its size might lead on. I don’t mind it–I comfortably cradle it in my left hand in portrait mode for tabletting often.
Video performance for anything non-high definition is quite fine. My 720p videos aren’t playing smoothly in MPC with the ffdshow and haali. Anything lower is smooth, though. I haven’t tried any games, but I’m going to be aiming for old games, like Planescape: Torment and maybe Giants.
Vista Aero Glass is probably not acceptable, performance-wise. It’s just a bit too laggy for my tastes. Again, I’m hoping this improves with drivers. Vista Aero, minus glass, is perfectly responsive.
I installed 2GB of RAM in it immediately. Given my memory utilisation figures, this is 100% necessary with Vista. Don’t run Vista with 1GB of RAM on anything. If you have to, get a memory card and use ReadyBoost. It will help.
I certainly hope that Intel fixes the drivers. Menlow sounded so good on paper. Even if they don’t I’ll be able to do most everything I want with this.
Battery life is surprisingly good: non-official tests give me about 3 hours with wireless on and half brightness with the standard battery, and about 2.5 hours streaming and playing a movie over wireless. Double those figures for the extended battery. With wireless off the projections have been in the 8-9 hour range with the extended battery.
The extended battery sticks out about an inch and adds another 5 ounces. It makes a fantastic handhold for portrait tablet mode though.
The device itself feels solidly built, and the access panels on the back for all of the components is most appreciated.
I’ve had a few instances of the BIOS not finishing POST–it hangs on detecting devices. It has happened twice in the week I’ve had it over many, many boots. I’m not certain what it’s about, but hard power off and power on again seems to get past it.
The keyboard is small but I’m able to adapt to it easily enough. The trackpad is surprisingly nice to use. The touchscreen is passive, but very accurate after calibration. The screen and resolution are *gorgeous* though vertical viewing angles could be better, primarily looking at it from below. It’s not an issue.
I appreciate the hotkey utilities that come with it: they’re small and non-resource intensive. A little strange is that there’s a hotkey for GPS and what appears to be the slot for the same GPS unit as is in the SC3. I haven’t fiddled with it, though.
This wasn’t intended to be a cohesive mini-review, just a list of bullet points from an owner. It’s a nice unit and while there are things I’d wish for (faster Atom, GPS included, active touchpad, matte screen, improved video drivers) I’m very happy with the purchase.
Direct from Japan cheated me. They sold me a computer they said was a Englich version of a Kohjinsha, but it was just an Japanese version with some English on it temporarily.