The Atom-based UMID mbook M1 clamshell MID that was launched in Korea a few months ago will soon become officially available through Australia-based Justek (whose prices are in AUD, not USD) and distributed to other importers. The folks at Justek are in the final stages of preparing for the launch right now but were kind enough to send me a non-HSDPA unit (Windows XP, 1.3GHz Atom, 512MB RAM, 16GB SSD, webcam) to review in the meantime.
I haven't had a chance to put the mbook through its paces yet, but I did document the unboxing and take some size comparison pictures. Have a look below.
I'll have a lot to say in my full review, so I'll keep (mostly) quiet here.
Packaging
The units that Justek will sell come with the English manual and a stock installation of Hancom Linux that can be upgraded to Windows XP.
Contents
Additional bonus accessories may be included when the mbook M1 begins shipping, but this is what's included in the standard non-Korean retail box.
In addition to the battery, there's an AC adapter with UK power plug, earphones with proprietary connection (TTA 20-pin), miniUSB adapter, proprietary connection adapter, handstrap, drawstring carrying pouch, and stylus (not shown).
The most interesting (not to mention unwieldy) of the accessories are the adapters, so here's a better look at them:
You may recall having seen a large VGA adapter accessory at CES 2009. Though not included in the retail box, it is pictured in the user's manual as an option that could be supplied.
Quick Look
UPDATE: Full review now available! :: Visit the UMID mbook M1 forum to connect with users and potential buyers, ask questions, and share tips ::
Justek simply import from Hong Kong, the front label marks Hong Kong dealer infos -.-
Holy crap that thing is smaller than I had imagined!
Hi Galileo,
Justek is sole distributor for Australia and New Zealand.
That sticker is on there for the Hong Kong market and if it is Australian Markets, will be replaced by Justek’s sticker.
Hope you like the UMID M1
Best Regards,
Justek
I enjoy the picture next to the HTC a lot
Hey Justek,
price seems a bit steap dont you think? $1425 AUD is $1013 USD. I can get the hi-spec model with win xp pro and the 32gb SSD for $749 USD on ebay with free worldwide shipping. Why should I buy from you?
Not being confrontational, just honestly want to know why I shouldn’t save nearly $300 USD and get mine from ebay when the only difference between your models and the ones on ebay is the “Justek” sticker on the box? Is it the fact that I’d be getting an A/NZ warranty? Are you guys doing free shipping? Throwing in any extra goodies with the purchase?
Cheers,
A UMID lover in Auckland
No extras or special Australian-exclusive features — just the regular plain ol’ exorbitant Australian mark-up.
When you question companies on this, they will spin the “Import taxes and duties”, “Small market compared to other parts of the world” or “Higher wholesale prices” etc.
Don’t believe a word of it. I work in importing/exporting, and none of these excuses are true.
Australians pay more because importers put on a huge mark-up, for no other reason than they can and want to.
Please tell me this only costs 200 dollars. No mouse pointer, no USB, no headphone/mic jack, broken hinge (doesn’t open up properly), mono speaker, 512MB RAM, Fisher-Price plastic etc.
I look forward to your review (yes, I know I always do) because I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
This is one of those devices that, had it been released when it was announced, I would have bought it on the spot.
Now, the more I see it, the less useful it looks, to me. Having to use adapters for, virtually, everything is the straw that broke the camel’s back. This thing is getting less and less pocketable.
Why pay such outrageous prices when eBay is full of sellers who has them available right away (no pre-order) for $699-$749 USD (Free shipping worldwide!) there are 21 ads right now:
http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZumidQ20m1QQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ
These prices on Justek’s site are actually giving UMID a bad name, as they clearly indicated that the price would be UNDER $1000 at CES, and they have lived up to that. Yes I spoke to UMID directly on the price at CES: http://www.mevio.com/episode/139043/Podcast+CES09+%2310
I wonder if ol’ fixup will be chiming in on this soon, if he sees these comments….
Where have YOU been??
http://forum.pocketables.com/showthread.php?t=2415
http://forum.pocketables.com/search.php?searchid=317455
There’s been a few live sessions and somewhat reviews already by JKK and Chippy:
http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/search/label/UMID
http://www.umpcportal.com/?s=umid&=Search
Are you saying you’d be better off not knowing the facts before buying it?
Yes it has limitations and some build quality issues but it seems one can live with most of these. What are you looking to hook up to the UMID?
I wonder how many of those small companies that keep pumping out these useless umpc’s will still be alive in a 2-3 year time frame… (no trolling intended :])
Yes. They had me with the pictures, but as they say, the Devil’s in the details.
I don’t think a regular headphone jack and USB port is asking too much. When you have a device that’s supposed to be a highly portable solution, having to carry extra items defeats the purpose.
@John: “Fisher Price plastic,” pretty funny! Actually, I’m a fan of the plastic (definite article out of respect), but in a $100 device. Okay, $200, tops, as was suggested. Afterall, it runs XP (though some might dock it for that). Actually, the form-factor and styling are pretty good for this dictionary look-alike. Too bad about the price. I’d much rather buy three netbooks, even if they don’t fit within a pocket. Anyway, this company can pave the way for others.
I guess most everyone missed the whole thing that this is
AUD not USD as in Australian dollars not US Dollars, there is a slight difference!!!
929 Australian dollars = 654.8521 U.S. dollars
to
1425 Australian dollars = 1 004.4825 U.S. dollars
@John
“useless” eh? so far most everyone whose used the Umid has very positive things to say about it i.e. it’s very “useful.” They are selling like hotcakes on ebay even at the $749 USD price point. Seems like if a lot of people are willing to pay a decent chunk of change, even in a recession, for a device like this it must be fairly “useful.”
Hey Fixup, how “useless” have you found your mbook to be?
@EC
What gave you the idea that people missed the fact that Justek’s prices are in AUD? My Comment specifically lists the exchange rate between AUD & USD and Matt specifically mentions the outrageous markups present in the Australian Market. I think most people got the fact that these prices were listed in aussie dollars.
Either way Justek’s prices are way over the top and unless there’s a really compelling reason to pay that premium, which they haven’t chimed in about yet, I’ll be going to ebay for mine.
For the USB all you need is one of these:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31FRdhAN70L._SL500_AA273_.jpg
Then just take a USB headset
How is that any different than the USB adapter that ships with the device?
About half if not less in size
The one included is most def a big “box” so to speak whereas this smaller one could be on the end of a USB cable and not even noticed much. Small enough to loose in your pocket
We’re just not going to see eye-to-eye on this one.
I don’t like having to carry adapters, period.
You don’t seem to mind it.
I’ve used my OQO 02 for a year as my only computer. The only thing missed was to be able to use it on tabletop without having to hook up to external keyboard. I could only use it on only one table that had the dock, defeating hugely the portability. It was also a little heavy to carry and battery ran out in the middle of a day trip. And no way to add an external power pack because of the stupid properiotary DC port.
Now with UMID M1 everything is perfect.
M1 has a microSD slot, why people still need a USB port on road? If they need to transfer photos then just use microSD in their cameras. If you don”t want to carry any adapter, then why would you carry any USB device in the first place as they all should be much larger?
We have been waiting for 10 years for something like this, and people still complain, I have no more to say to them. It’ll be even more perfect if UMID add a standard USB and headphone port on the left side (yes there are lots of room there), but those people will still complain about ports on both sides. For what it is, this M1 is already too perfect to be true.
To me, the Sony P is useless because I cannot put it into my pocket. The OQO is useless because too tired of holding 16 oz on my hands all the time even when I have a table. The Viliv S5 is useless because no keyboard. This M1 is by far the only truly usable.
EC, where have YOU been??? …I was referring to fixup’s reaction to the various negative comments about the M1 posted HERE…not over at the forum section….it is precisely because of fixup’s forum posts proclaiming how good the M1 is that I thought he’d have a cow if he saw some of the comments HERE….now, you get it???
Amen, fixup!
I’m very sad to see that all the stupid bloggers are pricing UMID M1 as $1000+ USD. Even more sad, most of them got that false price here.
I wish Jenn would say it loud and clear: $1000+ USD is Justek’s price. Justek’s price is nothing close to the $500 – $650 USD (shipping included) we’ve been paying. UMID’s website lits M1 as 649,000 to 799,000 won, which is $484 to $596 USD.
UMID should remove such companies from its distributors list, because they are simply damaging this great product with outrages price tags.
As others have noted above, Justek’s pricing is in AUD, not USD. Their low spec model, according to today’s exchange rates, comes out to about $665 USD.
Great points…think you summed up situation very well, fixup….
I knew, but those bloggers, e.g. jkontherun, are saying $1000+ USD not AUD and they got that from here. You should tell them that’s justek’s price, not UMID’s.
@ Dirtyredsoxhat. Doesn’t matter if they sell on Ebay. The question you should ask yourself is whether they will successfully penetrate any market or they will remain the toy gadgets for the few enthusiasts. If they did indeed satisfy real needs of a substantial portion of global demand they would sell via proper retail channels and not Ebay.
I do not doubt that such a device is an engineering marvel. Heck, even if someone would show me a clamshell umpc the size and weight of a credit card that runs Vista with aero, I would still find it useless even while admiring the ingenuity of its engineers. You simply cannot do any serious work for any serious amount of time on this! The OS is simply not optimized for its size!
If I ever want to check this site while on the go I would never fire up XP on the M1 and use the desktop browser! I would switch on my smartphone and use the smart zooming capabilities of its mobile browser. This is why machines like M1 will keep coming and going, selling through Ebay and noone but the few enthusiasts would care… Until one day the company starts seeking for buyers or decides to sit down and design hardware that suits the OS
“they got that from here”
That’s really strange considering I never said that! I would think that since Justek is based in Australia (which I mention in the post), their website has a .com.au URL, and they say on their site that the prices are in AUD that no one could mistake the currency for USD.
I don’t think the 3G unit’s price is finalized since it hasn’t been released anywhere yet. Justek is working very closely with UMID on all of this, though, and is one of the only official distributors, so they’re pricing isn’t outrageous.
$1K USD for the low spec model would be outrageous, I agree, but that’s not Justek’s pricing. Depending on the exchange rates, their low spec model is about $650 USD. This may not include shipping, true, but even $650 + s/h isn’t too far off from UMID’s original estimates.
Oh I mind, you don’t seem to have read my inputs over the years
It’s just until we have MIDs/UMPCs that are as suitable and decent battery times for it’s purpose as we see mobile phones (& smartphones) we just have to live with the fact that there will be some compromise. Now if a miniUSB vs. full size USB is one of those compromises, no it’s not going to bother me UNLESS my needs require a USB device, whereby I’d look into the smallest adapter or BT solution options.
This is why I asked what you are looking to do with USB on the go to understand what options could be suitable for you.
You know bottom line is if you want to have something to plug into that USB port, *IT* too would be an additional thing to carry around, no? So if an adapater is small enough to plug onto to the end of the cable/device you want to plug it in, why not?
Looks like the best umpc design I have seen to date (caviet that I am not at all happy about the lack of mouse button)
Jenn – I look forward to the main review.
A number of bloggers and blogsites including Engadget never stated AUD (or edited it later) wasn’t talking about you specifically
I think he is in love right now and you know then you don’t see the faults at all
Dear all pocketable members,
This is Justek here, and would like to notify you all that prices on the website are in AUD and in Australia there is a GST Tax which is 10%. If Buyers out of Australia are purchasing, then the GST 10% is taken off.
We are still in the process of negotiating a discount for all pocketable members, whether it be freeshipping or not, it is unsure at this point in time. If the discount would be in place, it be 10% off the website price and a further discount.
Thank you all
Justek Online
Hello. Tell me how to display the image on a TV or monitor via hdmi? Is there a solution other than what that http://www.pocketables.com/2009/01/umid-m1-gets-un.html#comment-115020 ?