The Deep Blue H1 mini notebook had an early mover advantage in the UMPC market but it seems it wasn’t able to hold its ground against the newcomers. Let’s check out and see if this unit would have made a good competitor to the Asus Eee PC 701 series.
Blue Digital Systems went with a Via processor with the H1 — a 1.0GHz Via C7-M. It also has 1GB of RAM pre-installed and a 40GB HDD. In my 7-inch UMPC Rounds-Up last April, the Blue H1 came out on top as the cheapest and feature-packed among the four. (See unboxing pics here.)
Many claimed though that the Via C7-M processor was no match for the Celeron 900MHz. Of course, I had to test this myself. Using SuperPi, it took 48 secs. on the Celeron 900MHz and 7 mins. 26 secs. on the Via C7-M to run 1M digits. Either Via CPUs are too slow or they’re not built for floating point calculations (my guess is the latter).
The Blue H1 has a compact built though the battery pack is protruding from its back side. Like many other 7-inch laptops, the screen real estate is barely enough and with a body that’s 9.5″ wide, the screen’s 6″ horizontal width seems a bit small which made you think the space was under-utilized. It’s a little heavier than my Asus Eee PC but that’s because of the extra weight from the HDD (1.2kg).
The trackpad looks a bit small but after measuring, it’s actually the same size as that of the Asus Eee PC (1.75″ x 1.25″). The distinctive left and right click buttons helps for easier navigation. And while the keyboard size and orientation is the same, the Blue H1 has more space for palm rest which makes it easier to touch type.
The 0.3 MP webcam sits on top of the screen but it’s a little distracting to see the text that states “Digital Camera” beside it, in bold all-caps print.
The Blue H1 is cooler (less hot) too, maybe because of the low-power Via and the good ventilation at the bottom (there were 4 grill slots in there).
The default OS is Window XP and is quite responsive despite the low SuperPi results. It’s complete in connectivity too — 2 USB ports, 1 LAN, 1 modem, a 4-in-1 card reader and WiFi 802.11 b/g.
Over-all, this is a good 1st generation UMPC and could have easily surpassed the Eee PC 701 had it been marketed properly. It’s also 15% cheaper than most UMPCsd when it first came out. If Blue Systems can drop the current price down to Php9,995 today (compared to the 701’s Php13k curent price tag), I’m sure people will find it a good great bargain.
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I believe this one runs on Linpus Linux and Microsoft Windows XP Home is optional?
Ang Balasubas
Pinoy Life Hacker
http://pinoylifehacker.com
Yup, some units have been upgraded to Windows XP although the retail ones are running Linux.
Blue should re-release this model with an 8.9″ 1024*600 LCD, a VIA VX800 chipset (instead of the the ULV chipset - VX800u), and a VIA Nano 1.2/1.3 Ghz processor (which should be as powerful, if not more powerful, than Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz)
Oh, and check this out guys -> http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1540/intel_atom_vs_via_nano_platform_comparo/index.html
It’s another comparison between Intel Atom and Via Nano. And yes, I just love under dogs.
hi! I’m scouting for small, cheap, and very workable laptops…I might get myself one for my birthday December), and my only requirements are that they can work with the basic Office Suite, Play Multimedia files, etc. I teach/do seminars, and a portable laptop for basic grade computing, editing, and presentations would be nice. My bigger one can be the stay-at home and file storage. What would be your suggestion if my budget is 15K or lower? Where can I get one?
Thanks much!
Just curious Yuga, did you buy all this stuff just to test it?
Phaw
http://www.phawville.com/blog
@shing, this unit might fit you well for that budget.
@phaw, some of them I buy on my own if I can’t source it. Otherwise, companies regularly send me test units to review.
That’s cool. So after testing them, is it yours already? If yes, are you selling them for a discounted price?
No, I return them back. The review units are passed on to other journalists and bloggers. If someone is interested to buy them, maybe I can get them a discount from the manufacturer.
Hi yuga,
I have a blue h1 which I bought at PC Express, and to date, I’m loving it (I installed XP Home). Yes, it is slow at floating point calculations (as expected of a via), but nevertheless, if you don’t use applications for it extensively, you’ll get along pretty fine.
I sometimes use it as a secondary work laptop - when I don’t like to tug along my 12″ laptop. In fact, I installed Dreamweaver CS3 on it for my work and it works pretty fine (especially when I’m on the go and need to do emergency work). I use the generic via v800 graphics driver from via arena to get 800×600 (and even 1024×768) on the small LCD screen. As a side
@shing - you can play xvid/divx/mpeg/mpeg2 videos quite fine. H264 videos can play, but not really well (it stutters from time to time), which is expected as H264 videos require lots of CPU juice.
Also, if you’re into linux stuff, you may want to check this out. It even shows how to use the hardware encryption capabilities of the via processor - quite good info on the h1 capabilities.
http://www.a110wiki.de/wiki/Main_Page
I am very interested in a small device like this as a backup and side kick at work. Can anyone tell me how I can purchase one from here in the United States?
I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Love this Blue H1, very compact and lightweight. the performance is satisfying considering its size. The battery life is as truthful as published (4 - 4.5 hours). always watch movies on it. and i seldom turn it off. all in all its a UMPC that gives you value for your money.
wow this worth it planning on getting a new umpc would this be worth it?
I recently bought this cute UMPC with windows XP. However I can’t get my projector to work on it’s VGA out, tried pressing fn f3, but it won’t switch from H1 LCD to my projector, however if i restart it, while booting it’s view is on my projector, but before it logs on to windows, it’s view returns on my H1 LCD. I also tried using an ordinary VGA Monitor and I got same results. Can somebody help me?
@MPS, you might want to check your windows display setting first. Normally, if the display setting is not compatible with the software installed in the projector, it will not normally work. This also happen for laptops as well.
@yuga, in you opinion, which among H1 and Astone is better in terms of features given that both are priced the same at P9995.
Thanks.
Hi Yuga,
I’m planning to buy a UMPC.
Can u help me decide on choosing the right device for me. In terms of specs, affordability and reliability.
Where can i find the best deals and when is the right time to get one. Are there ones coming out w/ better specs i hope i can read it on your reviews before I purchase one.
Here are some devices from your reviews that im planning to chose from:
1.BLUE H1 vs
2.ASUS EEEPC 4G
3.NEO X1
4.ASTONE
Prices at 10k bracket.
Thanks! and More Power!