How does the Pandora compare to this UMPC?

[Bosbeetle]

I've got an N5 (as well as my Pandora).


I very much agree that the Pandora is far superior for gaming especially because the controls mimic the controls of the machine being emulated (eg psx) which makes it much easier to remember what to press! The N5 requires keyboard combinations that are not pretty and the keyboard is 'mushy' so not designed for accurate pressure. The Atom is also slow with emulation because of the horrible GMA500 drivers - I don't want to EVER buy intel graphics again! They always have theoretical DX11[edit DX10] compatibility but that would require intel to source or create proper drivers - they just haven't delivered (do a google search at how many people hate the GMA500). Also, GMABooster doesn't yet support the GMA500 chipset. Finally, the viewing angle of the N5 is not great when you hold it and the keyboard is much wider than the Pandora's so it's very uncomfortable trying to hit keys in the middle of the keyboard.


Having said this, if you want x86 compatibility and a full browser experience, the N5 can't be beaten. Win 7 is actually very quick and so is the built in SSD (unfortunately can't be swapped for a bigger ssd because it's soldered on to the motherboard!!!!). I even ran OS X Snow Leopard on it using virtual box (it's on youtube) just to see if it would work. Yes, it was like trying to box under water but it wasn't as bad as I expected!


The battery life is fine. The battery is ultra slim and you get two in the box. The N5 easily fits into a jeans pocket and you can carry the other battery in your other pocket for 10+ hours battery life.


In conclusion, get a Pandora for gaming (the N5 absolutely sucks at emulation and don't expect to play any modern games with it) and get the N5 is you want full browsing and x86 compatibility - you can run any office software on it etc, do skype calls with the built in webcam etc etc.


As to expandability (eg microphone) the N5's usb port and win 7 (ie drivers) means you can always get usb peripherals including a usb microphone. This would be in addition to the Microphone the N5 already has built in.


Edit: the N5 is also great at multitasking and I need it because Pandora doesn't have a dropbox app and I use dropbox extensively. (I know you can use dropbox via their web interface but there's no automatic syncing etc)

How is the temprature does it get hot?

 

[marovada]

How is the temprature does it get hot?

Its fanless & gets a bit warm but nothing unpleasant. Sleep and wake are very well implemented and very fast. Has 150hrs standby time.

 

[obiwan22]

1. Where can you buy one and what is the price? How much is is for a 3g option built in?


2. So you would say that the n5 beats the Pandora hands down in web browsing expereince? for example youtube, facebook etc etc


3. Which one would you say is a better music/video player?


4. What kind of case do you use with yours?


5. If Im not too interested in gaming then would the n5 be better for me? I want a umpc that could skype and do basic office and surf the web and do basic gaming but also fit in a pocket etc etc.


Thanks

 

[Caine]

but forget gaming, how are you playing with no controls?

That is a bit of an exaggeration I think. I've played many games for years using only a keyboard.


The main missing input is either a mouse or analogue joystick. It shouldn't be too hard to bring along a small mouse or trackball.

 

[Caine]

by the looks of it, better buy a netbook.


anyway, i think the N5 is a great buy if proprietary Windows-compatible software is mandatory. Overall, for the non gamer, a qwerty android smartphone would be a better choice, imo, lighter, smaller, more features.

Which basically shows that you cannot compare two different devices as long as your requirements aren't explicitly mentioned.


For me, size, gaming controls and battery life are major reasons to prefer to Pandora over this UMPC, but not everyone assigns the same value to that.

 

[marovada]

1. Where can you buy one and what is the price? How much is is for a 3g option built in?


2. So you would say that the n5 beats the Pandora hands down in web browsing expereince? for example youtube, facebook etc etc


3. Which one would you say is a better music/video player?


4. What kind of case do you use with yours?


5. If Im not too interested in gaming then would the n5 be better for me? I want a umpc that could skype and do basic office and surf the web and do basic gaming but also fit in a pocket etc etc.


Thanks

1. Dynamism - $649 no 3g (no listing for 3g unit). Ebay - prices vary (quite expensive). You could ask Dynamism to source a 3g unit or get a portable wifi router such as a mifi.


2. Yes - full web including flash. Excellent wifi.


3. Don't know - don't use it for these things. I would guess Pandora is better because of better battery life esp for music


4. Web, word processing (MS office), work (citrix), programming on the go, dropbox, some games (eg plants vs zombies, fallout 1 and 2, half life), directions (built in GPS)


5. For skype, basic office and web, the N5 is great. Despite the other comments here, the N5 easily fits into a pocket - I carried it in my front jeans pocket yesterday and it did not stick out! It's slimmer than the Pandora.

 

[obiwan22]

1. Where can you buy one and what is the price? How much is is for a 3g option built in?


2. So you would say that the n5 beats the Pandora hands down in web browsing expereince? for example youtube, facebook etc etc


3. Which one would you say is a better music/video player?


4. What kind of case do you use with yours?


5. If Im not too interested in gaming then would the n5 be better for me? I want a umpc that could skype and do basic office and surf the web and do basic gaming but also fit in a pocket etc etc.


Thanks

1. Dynamism - $649 no 3g (no listing for 3g unit). Ebay - prices vary (quite expensive). You could ask Dynamism to source a 3g unit or get a portable wifi router such as a mifi.


2. Yes - full web including flash. Excellent wifi.


3. Don't know - don't use it for these things. I would guess Pandora is better because of better battery life esp for music


4. Web, word processing (MS office), work (citrix), programming on the go, dropbox, some games (eg plants vs zombies, fallout 1 and 2, half life), directions (built in GPS)


5. For skype, basic office and web, the N5 is great. Despite the other comments here, the N5 easily fits into a pocket - I carried it in my front jeans pocket yesterday and it did not stick out! It's slimmer than the Pandora.

What kind of carrying case did you buy for yours?


Thanks

 

[marovada]

What kind of carrying case did you buy for yours?


Thanks

I don't have one. The build is so solid that I'm not fearful of it breaking when closed. You have to feel it in your hands to know what I mean. It always goes in my pocket, otherwise it would be of no use to me.

 

[Nintendo]

Speaking of UMPCs and MIDs...I'll be getting a Samsung Q1 Ultra next month, but I'm not sure which variant I'll end up getting though.


{spoiled images}

 

[marovada]

Speaking of UMPCs and MIDs...I'll be getting a Samsung Q1 Ultra next month, but I'm not sure which variant I'll end up getting though.

Spoiler

At least you'll get the benefit of the GMA950 graphics - use gmabooster so double the speed!

 

[Nintendo]

Thank you, I didn't know that. Thanks again for the tip.

 

[marovada]

Thank you, I didn't know that. Thanks again for the tip.

The only thing to warn you about is that the A110 processor in the Q1 ultra is actually worse than an atom processor. My only experience with the A110 is on a Fujitsu U1010 and it was pretty sluggish.

 

[Exophase]

The more mainstream Intel graphics technology on Sandy Bridge is fixed function and thus about the farthest thing from having DirectX 11 capability possible. It also cuts corners in multiple respects causing problems that having nothing to do with software. nVidia wasn't and isn't stupid enough to simply hand over CUDA core technology to Intel.

I do agree with the sentiment against Intel graphics especially with AMD APUs coming online combined with a massive move towards better Linux support by AMD, but you're giving that hardware too much credit.

Sandy Bridge's HD 2000 and HD 3000 series GPUs are DirectX 10.1 class, not "fixed function" by any definition I've seen. Meanwhile, I'm not aware of any existing deployment of an IMG GPU that supports DirectX 10; SGX 535 is limited to DirectX 9. SGX 545 does have DirectX 10.1 support but I don't think you'll see it in anything until Cedar Trail (and likely Medfield). And while IMG bills SGX as supporting OpenCL this isn't something that I've seen materialize, and I'm not so certain that there's a hard limit preventing it from happening in SB's graphics, outside of Intel not wanting to invest the resources (which are probably not worth it.. and for that matter it seems questionable to use it on SGX too).. Don't see what CUDA has to do with it.


Yeah HD 2000/3000 has gotten bad press in its cutting of corners in anisotropic filtering, but SGX Series5 don't even support anisotropic filtering. I don't know about Series5XT for sure but I doubt they do.

 

[obiwan22]

1. how would you say the skype video call quality is, or the camera quality etc


2. Would it be possible to install itunes on it?

 

[skeezix]

The N5 is a sexy beast, I keep wanting to get one, but have no real justification


I keep thinking its the ideal DosBox and Civ IV platform though, despite the screen res issues (1024x600 is an oddball rez, can screw up a lot of things.)


jeff


Or for some .. N5 + iCP ..

 

[marovada]

1. how would you say the skype video call quality is, or the camera quality etc


2. Would it be possible to install itunes on it?

I haven't used it for Skype so best to google other people's experience. I haven't installed itunes - it will definitely install, the only question is speed. I might try it out later.


Edit: see Forum


I read a review saying skype works fine but camera image quality isn't great.

 

[elinscheid]

Could you please post a picture of the Viliv next to the Pandora? Please?

 

[obiwan22]

Could you please post a picture of the Viliv next to the Pandora? Please?

that would be cool