Rodfather Mobile

Sitting At The Beach
At Manresa State Beach on one of
the benches. It’s almost sunset. I’m connected w/ the Novatel U727 sticking
out of the Q1. Working out nice.

JKK of JKKmobile asked me to shoot some cleaner photos in of my set up without the ‘vegetable’ in the background.  Hey, it’s a fruit, not a vegetable. 

The photos above are the Novatel U727 EVDO USB modem, CradlePoint CTR350 EVDO router, and the Tekkeon MP3400 external lithium battery.

I missed a setting in the Sprint Mobile Broadband dialer.  There’s a  Display GPS Receiver checkbox to bring up the button to active the GPS receiver.  I also noticed you could change the mapping service.  So I chose Google Maps.

Once I got that going, I went outside and was able to pick  up a few satellites.  iGuidance worked right away and this is looking to be nice multi purpose device. 

I took a cruise with the Samsung Q1 with the Novatel U727 sticking out the side.  It fit in the front dash compartment perfectly.  I  was able to stream a new release album with Yahoo Music Jukebox through the Yahoo Unlimited plan.  It’s pretty sweet being able to stream internet radio and a 2 million song library, along with GPS navigation.  Don’t forget it’s a thumbdrive that can take up to 4GB microSD’s.  This is a nice little package.  

The package arrived today.

The Novatel U727 EVDO Rev.A USB modem, 1 GB microSD card,  and the CradlePoint CTR350 EVDO Router.

Both the modem and router are fairly small.  The router is even more surprising since it’s just a bit wider than a deck of cards.

Modem

The U727 came preactivated with Sprint Broadband from evdoinfo.com.  I installed the Sprint Mobile Broadband dialer and drivers into my Samsung Q1 with the included CD.  It gave a message to update the software but I was able to connect right away.  I slide in the 1GB microSD card into the U727 and copied the software and drivers from the included CD on to it.  The CD came with Mac drivers as well so having the software stuck in the modem’s microSD card may be handy in case I need to connect with other computers.  You can use up to a 4GB card in the U727.

Although it’s around the size of a thumbdrive, it does stick out quite a bit from the Q1.  It comes with a rubber cradle and small USB extension cord that’s designed to attach the modem to an LCD screen.  Unfortunately, the Q1 has so much depth, the cradle won’t attach easily.  I imagine I’ll use velcro or just plug the modem into the router when I need to get connected with the Q1.

Battery drain isn’t too bad.  With WiFi and Bluetooth off, NHC was showing the Q1’s battery drain was around -12W to -14W.  I’m imagining an average 1W drain from the modem but can probably peak to 5W.

The GPS seemed to work when using it with Sprint’s dialer.  It comes with a Location and Search Services feature for searching nearby point of interests, like the nearest restaurant.  After submitting a search, the results are brought up on a Sprint web page with a Microsoft Virtual Earth map showing where you are and icons displaying the search results.

I couldn’t get iGuidance GPS navigation software to find the GPS receiver though.  I will try again later.  I’m assuming it should work since a GPS COM port is showing up in the device manager.

Router

There’s not much to this router.  On the face, there’s 4 LED indicators.  Power, WLAN, WAN, and USB.

On the left side, there’s a single USB port.

On the right side, there’s a reset button, ethernet jack, and power.  The ethernet jack is only used for WAN connections for connecting to a DSL modem or a hotel network jack as another means to a source connection.   It cannot be used to share the USB EVDO connection to, let’s say, a desktop with an ethernet jack.

The package contains a sheet of instructions on how to update the firmware and a CD with the actual firmware.  It was suppose to come shipped with the latest firmware but it wasn’t.  Mine was installed with 1.4 and when plugging  the U727 into the router, nothing happened.

After updating the firmware to 1.6 through the web admin interface, it recognized the modem right away and started working.

It’s really that simple.  Just plug the USB modem into the router and it connects right away.  The router even allows hot swapping.  I can insert or unplug the U727 without restarting the router.

It comes with the default setting of entering a password to get online.  So anyone can’t hop on your network from the get go.  When you first connect, you are redirected to the router’s interface, similar to connecting to hotel or T-Mobile’s WiFi network.   You can however change to using WEP or other forms of security instead of using the web password form.

There are many options in the admin screen.  It’s definitely a full featured router which can easily run your home wireless network.  One thing it doesn’t show is the signal strength of the USB modem.

Battery Powered!

Luckily, one of the tips that comes included with the Tekkeon MP3400 battery fits into the router.  Since the router only uses 5V, it will last a very, very long while time while connected to the Tekkeon.  If it can power my Q1 for 3 hours, then there’s nothing to worry about in the battery life department. 

WiFi Devices

I pulled out other WiFi gadgets to see if they could connect.  But first I set the wireless security of the router to use WEP since not all of my devices have a web browser to type in a password.  All the devices connected to the network with ease.

iPhone -  Browsing was fast.  I could connect to the iTunes WiFi Music Store.  The music previews wouldn’t play for some reason.  I bought a song and it downloaded fine.

PSP - Browsed web sites fine.  Left a tweet.  Didn’t try multiplayer games.

Sansa Connect - Connected and streamed LaunchCast radio fine.  Didn’t try downloading tracks but I assumed it would work.

Speed Test

Test Setup

Samsung Q1 900Mhz Celeron 2GB Windows XP Tablet Edition. 

These tests are with the U727 directly connected to the Samsung Q1’s USB port using the Sprint Mobile Broadband dialer.

Tests

In my house.  The signal strength isn’t all that great.  I’m getting -88dBm for EVDO.

The speed is a lot faster than EDGE though.  Here’s two speed tests (below).  I’ll probably expect that range in my area.  Hopefully higher when I go outside and close to a tower.

I tested downloading a file from download.com (below).  I could live with this.

Connected through router

Here’s some tests with the U727 plugged into the EVDO router which was then plugged into the Tekkeon MP3400 battery.

Not sure why the difference but it fluctuates a lot. 

I’ll do more tests in a better location and compare the results.  Pages certainly come up fast so this is working out alright.  With EVDO Rev.A I should be able to get around 1.2Mbps in a good area.  My town isn’t particularly great in terms of high speed.  DSL and cable is slow and there’s no HSDPA coverage.  So I’m probably going to expect normal EVDO speeds here.

Conclusion

Hey it works.  I have a portable WiFi network that’s powered with an external battery in a compact package.  How freaking awesome is that?

I will continue to post my thoughts as I use this set up.

The modem sticking out does concern me when I want to connect quickly.  It seems plugging it into the router, then plugging the router into the battery pack is a lot faster solution though. When sticking the modem straight into a device, it first has be recognized by the computer, you then have turn off WiFi, and finally launch the Sprint dialer to get online.

Either way, it’s still a pretty darn convenient and fast way to get connected, with almost any device.

3gstore.com has processed and shipped my order.  I had it shipped Fedex 2-day so it should arrive on Thursday.  It’s noted in the order history that the modem is activated with a fresh ESN number.  If you didn’t know, I placed an order for the Novatel U727 USB EVDO Rev.A modem and CradlePoint CTR350 EVDO Router.

I may post an unboxing/review.  Live through Ustream/justin.tv?  Maybe if I get some beers in me.  We’ll see if I have the courage to do so.

Derek the lucky Australian dude who posted unboxing photos some time ago sent me an email today. It appears Derek really is lucky afterall. He posted in his moblog the result of an unplanned drop test of his Fujitsu U1010 UMPC.

That’s a nasty gash but works fine. Brownie points to Fujitsu for build quality.

Link
Mirrored Link (Original link seems to be down at the moment)

UPDATE 2: I emailed Dynamism to check if they had any Vye S37 demo units to compare the screen between it and the Kohjinsha. They don’t have any in yet but will let me know when they do.
I talked with Steve and the production units should have the same glossy screen. Vye is finding out why the pre-production units had different screens.

UPDATE: The S37 was set to ’silent mode’ which apparently throttles the CPU. Steve will post new results in the thread.

I’ve been following the Kohjinsha SH6/8 and Vye Mini-v S37 for quite some time now. It’s definitely one of top candidates for my next device. I was going to wait for the S37 to pan out since their US site says it will ship with a USA keyboard. I’m not so sure anymore.

Steve Paine of the UMPC Portal has posted a message in the forums comparing the Kohjinsha SH6 (Intel A100 600Mhz) and the Vye Mini-v S37 (Inte A110 800Mhz based on the SH8).

What’s interesting, in his test, the SH6 comes out slightly ahead in almost all the performance tests. This includes the Windows Vista Experience Index and CrystalMark. Could it be that the SH6 is running Vista Home and the S37 is running Vista Premium or are there other issues involved?

What’s worse, the S37’s screen is different than the SH6! WTF? That’s very disturbing. The S37’s screen has a matte finish and 30% dimmer than the SH6’s smoother finish.

I wonder if those differences are there between the SH6 and SH8. Did Vye swap the screen out?

I will closely monitor that thread.

Hi All.

UPDATE: There’s some problems with these tests so don’t take them as final yet. I’m speaking to Vye to try and find out what’s up!

I’ve finally got a chance to sit down and run the SH6 and S37 models I have side-by-side. Here are some observations.

SH6 bought from Conics.net. 2GB RAM. 40GB disk. 600Mhz processor. Vista Home. Black
S37 on loan from Vye. 1GB RAM. 100GB drive. 800Mhz processor. Vista home premium. Black

Both devices optimised:
Defender: OFF
INdexing: OFF
Screen candy set for best performance (No Aero)
Automatic updates: Notify but dont download.

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.

Keyboard: The S37 has a tidier UK keyboard without the japanese writing. I like it a lot better but I guess its not affecting my productivity.

Build quality: Apart from the screen buckle on the S37, bothe are the same. The S37 has a logo on the back of the screen which looks big in pictures but is actually quite small.

Tests done under mains power….

Boot speed
S37 much quicker. (By about 20 seconds to the desktop.)

Time to settle (After boot up. Disk activity stopped) SH6 (Vista Home) much quicker (by at least a minute)

Windows Experience Index (test performed after fresh boot. After pre-caching completed.)
SH6: 1.8 (CPU=1.8, Memory=4.5, Graphics=3.4, Gaming Graphics=2.6, Primary hard disk=4.3)
V37: 1.7 (CPU=1.7, Memory=4.1, Graphics=2.9, Gaming Graphics=2.6, Primary hard disk=4.5)

But wait……Let me swap the memory modules over and give the S37 2GB.
SH6: 1.8 (CPU=1.8, Memory=4.5, Graphics=3.4, Gaming Graphics=2.6, Primary hard disk=4.3)
V37: 1.7 (CPU=1.7, Memory=4.1, Graphics=2.9, Gaming Graphics=2.6, Primary hard disk=4.5)

Exactly the same. Thats something I don’t understand…..
Will check some more performance scores and update this.

Crystal mark tests show the SH6 to be faster in almost every test. So at this point i’m going to stop testing and contact Vye. Something is wrong…..unless Vista HOme Premium is killing the results. Could that be the case?

Further testing…..

BIOS: S37 has a newer BIOS that saves the BT and WIFI state between boots/hibernate/standby. Better but presumably the SH6 can be upgraded.

General speed. The SH6 with 2GB feels faster. (THis is obviously due to 2GB ram and VIsta Home basic.) after swapping th memory, the SH6 still feels faster. There’s pretty much nothing in it and the only thing I can summize is that the tablet features (5 processes and quite a bit of RAM) are slowing things down for the S37.

More later……after i’ve spoken to Vye. Suggestions greatfully received!

Steve

I just put in an order for a Novatel U727 USB EVDO Rev.A modem along with a CradlePoint CTR350 EVDO Router from evdoinfo’s 3gstore.

With the Novatel U727, I’m subscribing to 2 years of Sprint Broadband for $59.99/mo. It’ll come with a free 1GB microSD card.

I checked the option to have it preactivated for use with the router. I could activate myself with XP, but hey, if it works out of the box, then that’s one less step I have to do.

I’m basically going with the people at evdoinfo.com so I don’t have to deal with Sprint. They have a chock full of information on their sites which has helped me tremendously in deciding my future WWAN solution. I hope their level of support is just as great as the support they give in their forums.

I guess you can call it an impulse buy. Just look at it though.

The router is about the size of a deck of cards. It’s so tiny.

Someone in the evdo forums hooked it up to 4 AA batteries with an adapter and it ran for 3.5 hours. I’m sure it’ll last and lot, lot longer with my Tekkeon MP3400 battery. Anyway, the point is, hot damn, I’ll be able to have a portable on-the-go WiFi network soon.

I’m not sure if I will use the router all the time, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy for sharing a connection when needed. Otherwise, I imagine plugging the Novatel U727 directly into my UMPC or laptop’s USB port. Or not if I don’t want to have it sticking out the side. That’s the beauty and it’ll all fit easily in my bag. One thing is for sure, if I want to download music with my iPhone using the iTunes WiFi Music Store or Sansa Connect with Yahoo Unlimited, I will, from practically anywhere.  Or how about some multiplayer action with the PSP or Nintendo DS?  Both have WiFi builtin so it should be possible.

So now the question is, what happens if I get a device with internal Sprint EVDO? Will I do an ESN switch and render the Novatel USB modem and router useless? I don’t know. All I know, for the meantime, this setup will give a lot of flexibility. Not only will I be able to use the Sprint EVDO connection on multiple computers with USB, but with any device that supports WiFi, all within a compact package.

I did some more testing while bowling. It’s a fairly dark place besides the lanes themselves. It’s ever darker in the bar. I was somewhat surprised with the A-HD’s indoor quality since the MPVR is really in bad indoor, low light, situations. It’s not great, but ok. It’s essential to have it stable like on a tripod. You can tell it suffers when shooting handheld.

The raw files are 1280×720, 30FPS, h.264 quicktime .MOV files at around 4Mbps. I first had to run MP4Cam2AVI to get Sony Vegas to recognize the audio. It didn’t matter since all the audio was blown out. One cool thing I found out after shooting this. You can plug the A-HD into an Xbox 360’s USB port and it’ll play the video in full 720p. It thinks the A-HD is a normal USB drive/camera. It’s convenient since you don’t have to mess with component cables. You can use the Xbox 360 to view the video you just took.

I used Sony Vegas to edit the footage. At first I encoded to avi using the raw HDV 720P 30FPS profile. Quicktime didn’t like the .avi it produced though. I ended up encoding the file using the 6Mbps, 720p, WMVHD profile.
Quicktime wouldn’t read that either so I ended up encoding the WMVHD file with Nero Recode. I encoded it to a 480×272, 2Mbps, h.264, mpeg4 file. Not sure if it’ll play on an iPhone but we’ll see. UPDATE: Nope. iTunes didn’t want to copy it to the iPhone.

I uploaded the WMVHD file and h.264 file to blip.tv. Here’s the flash video they produced after uploading.

Click To Play

Layne Heiny recently fiddled around with google ads and search using ‘UMPC’ as the search term. It wasn’t pretty.

In response, he’s calling out for ‘ultra-plan’ and is going to start using a UMPC on a daily basis to help promote its use.

We need an ultra-plan. A plan to show people how to use the UMPC so that efficiency is improved. Therefore, I worked to clear up a TabletKiosk UMPC from my daughters and plan to carry the UMPC with me. I hope to write about the experience daily so that others can follow along and maybe get excited about why the UMPC is a great product.

Great move.

As for myself, I’ve been using my Samsung Q1 as my main device for over a year. I do all my blogging from this device whether connected through WiFi or tethered through a WWAN connection. As you may have noticed, I occasionally do ink blogging too.

When working away from the office, it does the job since it’s a full Windows device. I can run SQL server, remote desktop, SSH, VPN, and many other tools to get things done.

While at work, I take the Q1 to meetings and use Onenote to ink notes along with recording audio with its built-in mic.

It’s the perfect media player. I don’t have to worry whether a certain codec will work. I use VLC media player and it can play just about any format. I also use Miro as my video podcatcher and it’s great not worrying whether my device will play a WMV or Quicktime h.264 podcast. It just works.

It’s my GPS device. I have a car mount set up in my Subaru to stick my Q1 on the dash. I’m running iGuidance as my navigation software which is great since they include a UMPC specific version with nice big buttons to take advantage of the touchscreen. I have a bluetooth GPS receiver sitting in my car to which pairs with the Q1 automatically after running iGuidance.

I can go on and on. For me, the UMPC has been great and I will continue using it even after upgrading to a new device.

[UMPC Buzz : UMPC Search on Google]