It seems I'm asking way too much from a PVP, so I'm trying to explore the potental tiny PCs. I have a few models that may do the job, but I'm concerned about handling h.264 video. The three main options for CPUs in what I've found are all 1GHz CPUs. My options are a Pentium M, Via C7, and Transmeta chip. Hardware support for h.264 is not mentioned on the short feature lists for the things I have been looking over, but it doesn't rule it out. Still, assuming no hardware support, are any of these up to the task?
OK, maybe in the hopes of generating some discussion on the issue, let me tell my story. I have been spending a lot of time in airports and on airplanes lately. Flying from one cost of the US to the other is a long time to sit around. I have been eyeing some sort of portable media player, but I have had issues with reencoding and transcoding things in the past. So I was after something I could use the media files I have directly. Turn out that won't happen any time soon, but someone made the wisecrack of getting a UMPC or something similar. Well, I have put off buying a PVP for so long, the computer idea is starting to sound good. Because of my height, and the recline angle of airplane seats (even in the full upright position), the traditional laptop will not work, I simply can't open the screen up to where I can see it. A UMPC form factor looks to be much like a PVP though. A small tablet PC might also be good too. I went looking on ebay and the net for possibilities, and what I saw near what I thought I'd be willing to spend were all 1 GHz CPU systems using one of the three mentioned above. The video solutions are probably whatever is integrated into the chipsets, which leaves slim hope of any h.264 hardware, which is the most strenuous thing I'll be running on the system. So what does the crowd think? Any thoughts?
As you say, the main problem is going to be getting H.264 running on integrated graphics and low power CPUs, which I dont think will be a pleasant viewing experience. Is there not even a chance of an ultra portable laptop, like a Sony SZ? Models that have a discrete graphics solution should be up to the task, and being only a 13.3" screen it is quite tiny. Oh and dont get a UMPC, a lot of work needs to be done before they can be really useful. Underperforming and rubbish battery life with current technology.
I'm 6 foot 4 inches tall for starters. When I sit in an airplane, the headrest is at my shoulders. I'm not a rail either. I have room to put the tray table down, but I can't pull it towards me any. This means that the back of the laptop is pretty close to the seat back in front of me. There is simply no way to open the screen enough to allow me to see it from where my head is. Even a 12 inch Asus laptop was too large to allow me to open the screen enough. That's the problem with the traditional 'clamshell' arrangement. I figure a tablet PC would work as well as something with a UMPC type form factor. I think something about the size of a libretto would work as well. The original platforms I saw that prompted my CPU question were the Via based UMPC, the Libretto u100, the OQO, and the lifebook p1510 though it looks like it could be a tad large. But I've been trying to find more options as well as making sure whatever I look at can handle what I want it to.
h264? Forget anything VIA. You're looking at mid-high end Pentium M, for anything other than "ipod" sized encodes (320x240), otherwise anything will do. If you want full screen, you need some pretty hardcore processing power. You can get laptops that twist and fold back on themselves to form a tablet.
Think Bindi might be on to a winner here, the power and functionality of a laptop but with the option of the size of a tablet. Something like an Acer C200 or C310, or a Toshiba Portege or Tecra. Battery life might be a problem though, but it wont be any worse than a current UMPC and should have sufficient grunt to deal with H.264.
