Vye Computers in the UK have long had a relationship with KJS/Inventec who design and manufacture the Kohjinsha range of Ultra Mobile PCs and netbooks but they have now decided to tighten that relationship by becoming a direct distributor of the KJS devices in the UK.
We’ve spoken to Vye and picked up information on their first offerings under the Kohjinsha brand prior to their launch next week. The first devices will be the SC3 and SX4, 7″ and 9″ convertibles. While these might be known models (I have an SC3 myself and the SX4 is based on the existing SX3) there are a few important differences that make them more interesting than they were before.
- XP Home option
- Embedded 3g option
- Competitive pricing
- UK Keyboard
For example, the SC3 with Windows XP and embedded 3G will be selling for an RRP of 699 pounds making it a much cheaper option than the Sony Vaio P that it shares many specifications with.
- 7” WSVGA Touch Screen (1024 x 768)†[That probably should be 1024×600]
- Intel Atom 1.33ghz
- XP Home
- Embedded 3G
- 1gb Memory
- 80gb Hard Drive
- 1.3 Mega Pixel camera
- Built in Speakers/Built in Microphone
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- 2 x USB, RJ45, Multi Memory card Reader, Express Card Slot, Ethernet
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- Dimensions (WxDxH) 189mm x 155mm x 33mm
- Weight 820g with Standard Battery
- Standard Battery Life 2.5 3 Hours
- Suggested Retail Price Inc Vat From £699.99
Other models will include GPS and Vista options.
Having tested the SC3 extensively I can tell you it’s got a fantastic screen (bright, rich) and the convertible touch screen rotation gives one of the best reading experiences I’ve had yet on a UMPC. The device can handle 1080p H.264 given the correct drivers (Cyberlink PowerDVD works well) as the chipset has built-in video codecs. The build quality is very good and there’s a good range of expansion ports. Memory is easily upgradable too. On the downside, the battery life can drop down to the 2hr level (an extended battery is available) if you use the device hard and there’s very little 3D graphics power. We’re going to contact Vye to see if we can get an SC3 with XP and 3G because it could be a good alternative to the Everun Note and Sony Vaio P and with XP, a much leaner and faster-booting system.
Launch is planned for 26th Feb so we’ll have reseller/url details then but in the meantime, check out our SC3 and SX3 product pages, keep an eye on http://kjs-uk.co.uk/ and follow http://twitter.com/lwrigglesworth on Twitter for updates.
Update: In related news, JKKMobile reports on lower cost SC3 import options.
Vye to bring KJS/Kohjinsha to Europe with XP and 3G http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=5730
ich lese gerade: Vye to bring KJS/Kohjinsha to Europe with XP and 3G: Vye Computers in the UK ha.. http://tinyurl.com/bbv8fx
As I recall Vye had rebadged the older devices and sold those up until now. Presumably this move will save the rebadging costs and inventory risks which is a good idea at this point.
As they’ll be shipping XP-home (rather than Vista) this should mean a better set of drivers for XP and better battery life than with Vista.
Has there been any improvement in the instability you and others had originally? I seem to recall the forum had quite a few unhappy posts. Also is there any improvement in the use of the graphics chip to speed up video playback? Intel really seemed to drop the ball here as they chip appears to almost never get used properly.
It seems a good step to add 3G – will it be internal? Shame it puts the price up though – that and the weak pound.
I havent tried my SC3 in months but XP Home has definately got me interested in it again. Built-in 3g also a plus.
Steve
have you tried booting (or even installing) any version of Ubuntu on it?
Yeah but support for chipset, screen, wifi is tough under linux.
>7†WSVGA Touch Screen (1024 x 768)
There’s mast be mistake, resolution is WSVA witch means 1024×600.
Sorry, of course I meant to say “which means”. Strange mistake… :)
Yeah. Looks like a mistake. It was in the press info I got. I’ll put a note up.
Thanks
Oooh, intriguing!
Now if only someone would sell UMPC’s in Norway :/
conics has it for <$600 with GPS
http://conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=365
How’s the SX4 different from the SX3? I’d reconsidered buying the SX3 since the suppliers online all seemed to offer only the model with the Japanese International keyboard. But a full QWERTY UK keyboard could change that.
Dear all,
im a newbie to sc3 and also to this blog, im hoping to find some answers in here and hoping that everyone could help me out, i had been trying to install xp on my sc3 but failed numerously and im not sure why is that happening, im wondering if the xp drivers i found in the net are usable in sc3 xp or not, im hoping that someone could show me the path to download the correct sc3 xp drivers, thanks alot bros
Looks like they’re open for business.
http://kjs-uk.co.uk/kj/default.asp?title=Products&contentID=604
Yeah – the product info is up but the “where to buy” info all comes up blank. Sigh. So there clearly is longer to wait… Strangely the original vye website has gone to a holding page and “under reconstruction” which may explain were expansys recently got the older KJS models for discount sale.
Apologies for the ”where to buy” section not being up. They are currently available from http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
Our site will be updated soon..apologies!! :-)
This is the second time I visit your blog and find an interesting article perfectly matching what I was searching for so I decided to add your feed to my RSS Reader. Thanks for you work.
Is this anything compared to the SAMSUNG Q1
I wasnt expecting much from it but it is superb at only £366 at lavacomp
the samsung q1 does not have a qwerty keyboard and is more like a PSP
Available at portable universe