Rodfather Mobile

Kevin Tofel over at jkOnTheRun just received the US model of the Vye Mini-v S37 Convertible UMPC.  He does a quick unboxing of the device while his Samsung Q1P is nearby for size comparisons.  I can’t wait for a followup and hopefully Kevin will address some of the issues I will explain below.

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The main difference between the S37 and the Kohjinsha SH6/8 is the S37 comes standard with a 6-cell extended battery and USA keyboard layout.

One thing I’m curious about is the screen.  There have been reports the S37 screen has a matte finish and is not as bright as the Kohjinsha’s as noted here and here.

From UMPC Portal forums:

Firstly, let me tell you something important. The screens on these two devices are DIFFERENT. I didnt notice it at first but now they are side by side I can see it. The S37 is dimmer and has a matt finish (you can hear your nail scraping on it.) The SH6 is brighter and has a smooth finish. Both are 1024×600 and both are soft touch. The screen brightness on the S37 is 30% dimmer (at full) than the SH6 (as measured with a light meter) The frame on the S37 is also slightly buckled. I have emailed Vye about this and am trying to find out if I have some sort of prototype or wether the OEM has done a screen swap.

Dynamism IS carrying the 800MHz. They also just confirmed the screen type on the S37: “The screen is more of a matte screen but does have a slight reflective finish on it.” (They also won’t supply a UK plug. Boo. Considering the prices, you’d think they’d chuck one in )

Another is battery life.  From this review, the 3-cell battery on the Kohjinsha SH6, bought straight from a store in Japan, is getting 3.5 hours with heavy use.  This is odd since that range of battery life is normally only experienced with the 6-cell battery.

Battery

The battery is so small, once again you have to see it to believe it. I’m surprised the amount of power this thing can dish out and it’s only a 3 cell battery. While running 720p video, wireless off and full brightness, I got around 3.5 hours of battery. Another example is when I was in class for 5 hours straight, I had wireless off, 2 notches down from full brightness, was playing iTunes, sometimes typing and playing a little video every once and a while, I got 5 hours of battery. Not bad, but if you want more time, you should go for the more powerful battery.

I’m hoping the battery life issues have been resolved, but I’m doubting it.  Hopefully the reviewer can be contacted and reconfirm that statement.