Author Archive: Matt

Gigabyte M528 review

MID – Mobile Internet Device. Small pocket-sized computers running desktop-type applications and with a full suite of connectivity options. The M528 is a MID. Intel seems to be very keen about MIDs at the moment, and it seems that they are the next great thing. Mind you, Nokia has been quietly punting them out for a few years now in the shape of the N770, N800 and N810 internet tablets (all Linux devices). I was keen to see how the M528 compared against the venerable Nokia’s because it terms of specification it blows them away.

What’s in the box?

• Gigabyte M528 MID
• Li-ion rechargeable battery
• Charger
• USB cable

General

Before I delve into reviewing the M528 in any depth I think it’s important to highlight the fact that this would appear to be a pre-production release model. Why do I think this? The unit came without any manual, documentation, software CD or indeed a retail box. I will also confess to being a fan and user of Nokias internet tablet so, it was natural that I judge the M528 against them.

My first reaction upon opening the box was “It’s just like a Nokia N810”. It could easily be mistaken for one such is the close resemblance. The M528 is a bit bigger all round and a fair bit heavier, but nevertheless it screams N810. It’s an exceedingly well specified and good looking device. In terms of hardware it presses all the buttons: large, bright and sharp display; proper USB ports; fast cpu; plenty of memory; a slide-out keyboard; memory slot; a sim card slot for 3G connectivity; big battery…… Portable computing heaven – if this is the way forward then count me in.

For a flavour of what the device is like see Matt’s recent unboxing:

https://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php?blog=2&paged=2

Like the Nokia internet tablets it runs a form of Linux – in this case Midinux. Linux is eminently suitable for MIDs with its low overheads and hardware requirements. Linux is also highly customisable and has wonderful community support, so I was somewhat perturbed to discover that this particular flavour is crippled and lacking in functionality – more later.

Controls

The M528 has been thoughtfully provided with a number of connection options and some sensibly positioned controls

Top: Camera shutter release, 3.5mm headphone jack, std USB port, volume up/down switch, microSD card slot, mini USB port.

Gigabyte M528 Top View

Bottom: Power jack, Power switch

Gigabyte M528 bottom View

Front: TFT screen, slide-out keyboard, smart key for quick access to certain applications

Gigabyte M528 front view

Back: Speaker, battery/SIM cover, camera lens, reset hole. Stylus slot (on the top right when viewed from the back)

Gigabyte M528 back view

Left & Right: Nothing to speak of on either side of the M528 apart from the stylus which sits on the left side of the device.

Gigabyte M528 side view

Gigabyte M528 Specification:

• CPU – Intel Menlow 800MHz
• OS – Linux with Merry-Go-Round i-CON interface
• Core Logic – Poulsbo
• System Memory – 512MB on board
• LCD – 4.8” LCD panel 800×480 with touch panel
• Hard Disk Drive – 4GB Intel Solid State Disk
• Input Device – 47 key keyboard/Pointing button/Volume +/-
• I/O Port:
• 1 x Std. USB Host,
• 1 x mini-USB Client,
• 1 x micro SD,
• 1 x 3.5mm Earphone-mic,
• 1 x GPS RF switching connector,
• DC-in,
• SIM card slot
• Audio Earphone out/Mic
• built-in/Speaker x 1
• Bluetooth – Bluetooth 2.0 via USB I/F
• Camera – 300KP CMOS Web Cam,3MP CMOS AF Camera
• LAN/Wireless LAN – 802.11b/g via SDIO I/F, HSDPA capability
• Keyboard – QWERTY keyboard w/ EL backlight
• Protection – Kensington lock
• Battery – 3.7V 3060mAh
• Dimension – 152 x 80 x 22.5mm
• Weight – 300g

Highlights:

• Hardware spec
• Design

Lowlights:

• Buggy operating system
• Limited software suite
• Limited usability
• Unreliable wi-fi connection

Review

As I have already said, I do not believe the review unit to be a production or final release product, therefore my comments should be regarded in this light. The version of Linux installed does not seem to correspond with the published spec’s and the review unit carried no statutory approval stamps or markings.

The M528 is a compact unit with a dense feel to it in the hand. Although not much bigger than a Nokia N800, it is substantially heavier and trying to carry this in your trouser pocket will result in one’s trousers trying to make a break for freedom. Like the N810 I recently reviewed, the M528 has a slide out keyboard. It’s a little bit creaky when being handled and when the keyboard slides out it feels a bit loose. The keyboard itself is a membrane type which, although lacking in good tactile feedback (they’re all like that) makes entering text much easier than relying on a stylus. Therefore, it is surprising to find that the bundled software includes very little that can make use of the keyboard. There is no word processor or e-mail client.

Connecting to a wireless network proved to be very frustrating. Despite entering the correct credentials of my network it would not connect until I made my network visible. “Ah-ha!”, I thought….”now we have a connection let’s make it invisible again for security purposes”. The M528 had other ideas. As soon as I did that the M528 dropped the connection. Once the connection had been dropped then the unit promptly forgot the connection details! In order to connect again it was necessary to make my network visible and then go through the entire process of entering the connection info again. The unit would also sporadically drop connection. Now I am an exponent and a user of Linux, but I was fairly unimpressed that getting a connection was so difficult – normally it’s child’s play and my Nokian N800 is simply leagues ahead in this respect.

Once I had got a connection I fired up the Coolfox web browser. This appeared to be a cut down version of Firefox. In use it proved to be speedy and smooth – it was a delight to use and quite a revelation on the beautiful 4.8” screen. Certainly, the user experience blew my N800 away when it came to browsing – in fact it felt just like using Firefox on a good laptop. Until it crashed that is. As intimated, the suite of applications installed is very limited. There was a media player, but it would not run whilst Coolfox was running for some unfathomable reason – a pop-up dialogue appears telling you so when you try.

The battery was a 3.7v/2700mAh Li-Polymer item (the spec’ claims 3060mAh). This capacity seemed to be plentiful even with the screen backlighting set to near maximum. The battery itself is a monster. Given the discrepancy between the published specification and the actual item in use it would be unfair to draw any conclusions regarding battery life, but I can say it never actually bothered me. So that must be good and the bigger specced item must be even better, right?

Conclusion:

The M528 has a lot of promise as does the entire class of MIDs. I’ve long been an advocate of the MID form factor (or internet tablet). Unfortunately, the M528 as reviewed was highly buggy, devoid of any means of software updates, it was not possible to add extra software, configure it or indeed do very much with it. For this reason it is difficult to draw any conclusions about it. At the time of writing non of the usual retailers actually list the machine as available and in stock so, I am really hoping that devices customers purchase are much more functional and complete. For the time being though, I cannot recommend the device in its current state. Work in progress I would say.

Review by: Nigel

[ Post Tags: Gigabyte, UMPC, Laptop, tablet pc, M528, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

Camcorder group test (Part 5) Canon FS100 Review

Canon FS100 review

These days hi-def videocams are all the rage so, you could be forgiven for thinking that standard definition cameras are on their way out. Odd choice then the FS100 – it’s a new budget-priced standard definition model that competes with some low end HD videocams on price and which is not all that far away from the likes of the Sanyo Xacti on price.

I confess that I am a Canon man – I use Canon slrs, a Canon digital compact and a Canon DV-cam. I like the quality of Canon glass too. So, I was looking forward to getting my hands on the FS100 because I am considering moving to solid state media for video. How does it compare?

The Canon FS100 camcorder

What’s in the box?

• Canon FS100
• Li-ion rechargeable battery
• Charger
• Remote control
• AV cable
• USB cable
• Wrist strap
• Printed instruction manual
• Software CD

General

The FS100 is one of a range of three cameras, being at the bottom end of that range with no built-in memory and relying solely upon SDHC cards for recording. It is very definitely aimed at the casual user rather than the demanding amateur.

In the hand it looks smart with its two-tone brushed aluminium and polished chrome finish. It’s light and well-balanced with a conventional videocam format that we’re all familiar with. It’s not particularly compact and is more suited to handbag than the pocket, but it’s not overly bulky either.

Controls

Controls: there’s lots of them and they are liberally strewn around the chassis. I would go so far as to say that the design is a bit fussy when it comes to controls and not as elegant as it could be.

The Canon FS100 controls

Left: Easy mode select, battery info/display info, USB2.0 port, external mic’ input, AV out

Rear: Mode select rotary switch (stills record, video record, stills review, video review), video record

Top: Power ON/OFF switch, still capture, zoom control

Screen: 5-way menu navigator switch, “Func” (Menu activate), video play/pause, video fast forward, video rewind

Below: Battery/SDHC card slot cover, tripod socket

Front: Built-in stereo microphones, video light/led

Canon FS100 Specification:

• Effective pixel count: Stills: 800k pixels. Movies: 710k pixels
• CCD: 1/6^th"
• Recording media: SD or SDHC Memory Card (Up to 8GB)
• Still resolution (pixels): 1152 x 864, 1152 x 648, 640 x 480
• Focal length: 2.6mm – 96.2mm
• Movie: 41 – 1877 mm (on a 35 mm camera), stills: 41.5 – 1536mm, f/2.5 (W) – 5.2 (T)
• Focus range: 10mm – infinity
• Shutter speed: 1/2000^th – 1/6^th sec’
• Still: 1/2 sec ~ 1/2000 sec. (Flash: 1/30 ~ 1/2000 sec., Lamp mode: max 4 secs)
• Optical zoom: 37x
• Digital zoom: 45x (known as advanced), 2000x
• Focus: TTL auto focus, manual focus
• Scene Selector: Auto, Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks
• Self timer: 2sec – 10 sec
• White balance: Full Auto TTL
• Manual: Fine/Cloud/Fluorescent/Incandescent
• Flash: None
• Audio microphone: Built-in stereo
• Monitor: 2.7-inch TFT Colour Widescreen LCD display. Approximately 123,000-pixels
• Video output interface: Component Video
• Power source: Lithium-ion battery BP-808, charging AC adapter included)
• Dimensions: 58mm x 124mm x 60mm (W x D x H)
• Weight: 260g

Highlights:

• Light
• Uses SDHC cards
• Good battery life
• Feels solid

Lowlights:

• Standard definition – not much cheaper than high-definition
• Average image quality
• No flash
• No conventional viewfinder
• Poor low-medium light picture quality

REVIEW

Positioned on top of and at the rear of the camera, the power switch is not immediately obvious as it blends into the chrome finish facia. There’s no colouring to it at all. Power on is very quick with the camera being ready to film in less than 3 seconds. Powering on also opens the noisy shutter protecting the lens with a satisfying click (no separate lens cap required). Depending upon the mode-selector switch position you will find yourself in one of 4 modes: stills capture, video capture, stills review or video review. Shooting video is simply a case of then pressing the big shiny button with a red dot on it at the rear of the body.

Taking stills is done by pressing a chrome button on the top of the camera just below the zoom control. It didn’t fall to hand readily for me and I think it’s too close to the zoom which could result in the zoom being actuated instead. If you are shooting from the hip then this is not a problem. Generally the ergonomics are not as polished as some other cameras and coming from the Sanyo Xacti I have been spoilt.

The menu system is one of the simpler ones I have come across. Navigation of the menus is done by a fairly typical 5-way navigator switch mounted to the left of the screen. Setting some oft-used and basic parameters took too long and too much navigation to achieve. If this frightens you off then take comfort in the fact that there’s an Easy mode to simplify everything and this is where I mostly found myself anyway and where I suspect most users of this type of camera would be too.

A good touch is the placement of function keys around the screen. This makes a lot of sense when everything is done via the screen interface. However, being of the membrane type, the keys lacked tactile feedback and looked cheap.

Picture quality by day in good light is adequate. In medium to low lighting levels and particularly indoors there is a noticeable coarseness that is also very apparent on the display – the performance under such conditions can best be described as mediocre to poor. This is disappointing because I have always rated Canon performance and I have no complaints whatsoever about the image quality I get from my Canon cameras.

The FS100 has three video recording options. It’s possible to record up to 2½ hrs of MPEG2 video onto a single 4GB SDHC card in LP mode. The higher quality SP mode gives about 1¼ hrs of capacity, and in XP mode it’s about 1 hr. I always used the XP high-quality mode to try to maximise the quality of footage.

There’s three modes of zoom: optical, digital and advanced with 37x, 200x and 45x zoom being available respectively. The 37x optical zoom is generous in comparison to the opposition and the zoom function itself was very speedy and accurate with the control located on the top of the body. The 2000x digital zoom is frankly ridiculous and would destroy image quality totally. I didn’t bother using it. Using the large optical zoom magnified the graininess in images to the point where it became intrusive although, this is not as big a deal as you might imagine because I can’t ever recall using anything like the full 22x optical zoom on my own camcorder.

Image stabilisation is of the inferior digital variety rather than optical that I am used to. For general uses though it is good enough, but it won’t be able to cope with wobble at the long end of the zoom.

As a stills camera don’t expect too much from the FS100 – it has a small CCD sensor with only a limited pixel count of 800k pixels which is nowhere near adequate for anything but modest uses such as web use or display on a monitor. There is no flash and overall it is best reserved for emergency use.

Battery life was excellent and better than all camcorders I have tested so far. I managed about 2¾ hrs in general use which means for a day out it’s not necessary to carry the charger.

You can download a sample video – taken straight from the FS100 memory card with this link.

Conclusion:

The FS100 looks good and feels good, but lets the side down a bit and I would expect more from the likes of Canon. The decent quality does not rescue the Canon from lacklustre filming performance and compared against high-def models costing not much more it suffers. The Canon is not a bad camera, it’s just that there’s quite a few better and more flexible offerings around for not much more money.

Although this is the last camera review in the Camcorder Group Test please come back again soon for my summary of the reviewed devices or head over and look at Part 1 to see which cameras were included or have a look at my Panasonic SDR-S7 review or Sanyo Xacti HD700 review.

Review by: Nigel

[ Post Tags: Canon FS100, camcorder, video cameras, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]