One of the distributors of the Wibrain i1 has got hold of a Wibrain i1, snapped a few pics and made some comments in the forum here. If you’re looking the the ultimate Windows XP mobility device with the best battery life and best connectivity for, potentially, a very interesting price, keep reading.
The 1.3Ghz Atom-based device is based on the old Wibrain B1 design which was, quite frankly, an ugly brick to most people. There are some styling improvements which help it a little but don’t expect young geeks to be fainting at your feet when you whip it out. However, this is an action UMPC, not a flowery style-icon. It has the same easy-to-learn control layout (the touchpad is the best I’ve ever tried on a ultra mobile PC for example) and the same extremely high quality and brightness screen in a package that weighs 500gm. That’s 1.1lbs. It runs XP, has a 60GB hard drive, new SD card slot and re-positioned USB port. The real kicker is three-pronged though. 6hrs+ battery life on the standard 30wh battery, a 3G module and what looks like it could be an amazingly good price for such a setup.
Wibrain claim 7hrs on the standard battery. I’ve seen 6+ on the battery meter in hands-on testing and ‘Digital’, is now reporting 6.5hrs with wifi or 3G on. In marketing terms, this is an all-day UMPC in 500gms.
Final availability is still not 100% clear but early pricing indications at Mobilx look positive. 467 Euros ($600) pre tax without 3G and 532 Euros ($712) pre-tax with the 3G module. We’ll keep you updated on availability when we hear anything.
More links, news, details in the Wibrain i1 information page.
Oh, it’s so tempting to swap my Everun for this – more CPU, a ‘keyboard’, very tempting. Have you tried running a movie in a loop to see how the battery lasts if you stress it?
Very interesting indeed.
If only they weren’t so ugly!
My biggest question is noise. The original was very noisy, but I have silent Atom based devices here. Could this possibly go the same way?
Marc. This is not silent but a lot lot quieter and cooler than the B1. I suspect the fan will be off mostof the time.
Tony. Running a movie through the processor is going to add about 2W of drain which will give you a good 4 hours. Running it through the Poulsble decoding hardware will be even better.
Steve
can you post some pics with the 5mm thick key/wallet storage compartment that is inside this unit ?
I am assuming that is what they are doing with the extra thickness, since this device is roughly _double_ the thickness that a:
– screen
– chipset
– soldered on SSD [1]
device needs to be.[2]
[1] I know it’s not an SSD. But it should be.
[2] 10 (ten!) years later, this device is the same thickness as my toshiba libretto 110ct. And that had two pcmcia slots…
You know how big a 30wh battery is right?
Its about 30% of the volume of your libretto and half the weight and will turn in around twice the battery life… and you dont think that’s progress?
Steve
heh, i would not mind seeing a i1 with linux ;)
Wibrain B1 –
http://techvesti.ru/node/313