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It's hard being a new kid on the block, especially in the world of Tech. Apart from having to prove that your brand is as good as the next, your product has to also look good and come in at a value option that isn't off-putting.
The Everun by Raon Digital looks good and definitely comes in at a pretty reasonable price tag of S$1,288 (inclusive of sales tax). But of course, you're not sure since the name's unfamiliar.
The Everun is the creation of a company that's just two-years old, Raon Digital.But don't write it off just like that.
Consider the fact that this is a product made in South Korea. That means, in terms of technology, you're not looking at any compromises since the company has to keep its edge in the midst of some of the best high-tech brains and cultures.
It also helps that the firm is focused on ultra mobile computing with two devices, the Everun and Vega in its portfolio so far.
The attractiveness of the UMPC is really in its size and the potential to do so much, whenever and wherever.
The Everun caught my eye as I walked past a shop window.
Looking like a larger version of the Treo 750 mobile phone, it sat next to a flat screen monitor some five times larger than it and was running a movie on the screen, I was intrigued.
The Everun is compact as there is no need to flip open a cover to get to the keyboard.
The 170(W)x83(H)x25(D) device which can easily fit onto one hand has a full QWERTY keyboard laid out next to the TFT screen, so all you have to do is press the button to turn it on and start working.
As opposed to other affordable UMPCs, the Everun operates on Microsoft Windows and runs off an AMD 600MHZ Geode LX900 processor. This chip is reputed to provide some of the best power output per watt in its class and with better performance than some full-sized CPUs or power-saving notebooks.
The screen which is about five inches can be used in either portrait or landscape mode, and will align itself accordingly when it is turned.
This is also a touch-sensitive screen, which means with the right software you can choose to use the Everun with handwriting input for even greater ease of use.
You might also want to choose handwriting input if you can't get used to the keys which are small, raised buttons that are very much like those on a mobile phone.
They are also placed at an angle for typing either in landscape or portrait mode, and take some amount of practising to use comfortably.
The Everun also offers a tiny mousepad, arrow and shortcut keys along with a host of buttons - the most important of which is the discreet power switch which can be easily missed.
There are also several useful ports such as USB (two), microphone, earphone and VGA out to run on a larger screen which the Everun does very capably.
Users can also choose to slide in a SIM card and use the Everun to surf rather than talk. But since it is rather large, this option is better for when you want to use the internet but you're caught in a zone where there is no WiFi to take advantage of the 802.11b/g WLAN available on the UMPC.
The Everun is a good option if you always need to be connected or a sturdy device to work on.
The standard battery runs for a good seven hours and adds to an overall weight of 500 grams, which isn't too much of bulk to bear.
It also offers storage that's comparable to what other UMPC on the market offer, with a 60GB HDD or 6GB SDD. What aces it for the Everun over competition is that you can choose to have a combination of both HDD and SDD on board.
If you can stretch your budget and get used to the odd keyboard, the Everun is value for money for the technology that you'll be investing in.
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