Ultramobile PC claims eight hour battery life -- and it even runs Windows

Angus Kidman
Saturday, 06 January 2007 20:24

Opinion and Analysis

Battery life is always the first feature to get compromised in most ultra-portable PCs -- as soon as you add either a hard drive or a wireless connection, your available power evaporates like clothes from a stripper. Can Seamless Internet's S-XGen ultramobile break the curse?

Seamless claims that the S-XGen, which makes its official debut at CES this weekend, can run for up to eight hours. Even if you apply traditional cynicism and halve that figure, that still well and truly beats most models on the market.

Surprisingly, the device runs Windows CE, rather than the custom Linux variations often preferred on super-portable devices for power management reasons. It also includes Microsoft's Office Mobile suite. Built-in connection options include WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet and tri-band mobile, so you can effectively use the S-XGen as a phone and personal organiser, as well as a stripped-down PC.

The specs aren't exactly grunty -- a 520MHz Xscale processor and 256MB of RAM -- but the 20GB hard drive is a reasonable inclusion. To achieve its relatively cut-down size (6.5 by 3.8 inches, about three conventional BlackBerry models laid side to side), the S-XGen uses a fold-out keyboard, which is potentially either a genius idea or a recipe for disaster.

All that apparent convenience isn't cheap. The S-XGen is priced at $US1,400, which is pretty pricey for a machine running a sub-1GHz processor.

Transit will be testing out the product at CES Unveiled, the first major press event of CES, and we'll get back to you with our thoughts.