Amtek T770 UMPC. Video. Hands on review. Gallery.

Thanks to PocketPCSolutions, I have the Amtek T770 here, the fist Vista on VIA device to ship and I’ve just posted a gallery and intro video below. Thanks to everyone who took part in the live unboxing (jkk grabbed a video of it here) and Q&A. It sounds like it was useful for everyone and was a good chance for me to hear/read peoples thoughts as we went through it. I’ll definitely keep the studio on standby for another session soon.

Back to the Amtek T770 though, its a nice solid ultra mobile PC with a good specification and its a very nice improvement over the original T700 (TabletKiosk V7110, IT’s, AGOPC branded.) The 1.2Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, SD card slot, Web cam, stereo speakers and design are worth having and the pricing in Europe is very competitive. Buttons are all dual-programmable (long/short press) and very high quality as are the plastics.

[read on for video overview and hands-on review.]

Screen quality is very nice with a good color balance and contrast – on par with the Q1b/P screen and VIA have finally sorted out the video drivers too. There are no problems with Windows Media player with any of the demo WMV files. Origami Experience works smoothly and Divx files at 2mbps play with CPU to spare. In fact, the video quality (visuals, not performance) is better than the Q1. There is much less pixelation in full-screen mode. 1024×600 mode is definitely useable too.

Amtek T770 Gallery available.

Amtek have chosen to use the same capacity battery which sits at the top of the device like the T700. Battery life is, unfortunately, not improved over the T700 with 2-2.25hr useable battery life.

Other features worth mentioning:

• Stereo speakers – average quality but not as loud as the Samsung Q1.
• The two-way, removable stand.
• Synaptics Touch pointer
• Docking port
• Yellow dust cover (eek!)
• 2.5″ drive

Here’s an overview video of the T770 going over the main features and demonstrating the video performance and Origami Experience.

There’s a problem with the fan on this model that I hope doesn’t affect all production models. Its loud and it kicks in very quickly. It really needs to be fixed, especially as the device doesn’t seem to get hot at all. Pocket PC Solutions are speaking to Amtek about this.

Overall I like the T770. Its got a quality build, enough performance and a great price but I don’t think its got the battery life to impress consumers. Battery life averages are slowly moving up and for consumers, this is one of the most important aspects. 2hrs won’t impress anyone. There’s a big BUT though, the entry price for the T770 is extremely nice in Europe. Up until yesterday, the cheapest available ultra mobile PC was the ASUS R2H which has a similar specification. Today, you can save yourself at least 150 Euros on that price buy buying an XP-Tablet Edition version of the T770. The T770 is very very good value. As for North America, there’s the good-value Q1b to contend with which makes it a hard sell unless you really want Vista and the touch pointer.

The T770 could also make a very nice, good value, low-end grab-n-go desk PC or even media center. If the docking station is available soon, looks nice and has good connectivity features then the T770 will be far better value than the i7210 or i7209. The mounting point on the back, soft touch screen and good quality programmable buttons, also gives rebuilders the option to make a nice in-car, on-desk UMPC. The 2.5″ drive also makes an SSD-swapout possible for modders.

The base model of the T770 is available with 40GB hard drive and Windows Tablet XP for 499 pounds in the UK with delivery across Europe (available June.) but the Vista versions are shipping now for a starting price of 549 pounds. Latest pricing for Europe via Pocket PC Solutions.

For more specifications and links, see our product page and feel free to ask questions in this thread in the forum. I will have the T770 for a few more days so can try and do specific tests or answer questions. UMPCPortal Live studio will be open again soon for more ultra mobile PC chit-chat and Q&A. Keep an eye on the (members-only) page at www.umpcportal.com/live