Battery Life: I did make sure that the battery is fully charged before doing this test. As anyone of you might have, I was actively using the device, testing all the features, playing around with the programs, playing some videos and stuff with the wireless & bluetooth powered on at highest brightness possible and volume. Guess what: it lasted for about 2 hours and 12 minutes. I did get warnings when the battery reached the 10% but it lasted for about 16 minutes after that and just hibernated on me.
Now with the wireless & bluetooth off and the other options to the power saving modes, I was able to go on an amazing 3 hours & 26 minutes of battery life. I was still using the device but not the memory hungry ones, most of the times just browsing. I would imagine that this number would vary depending on the type of application and the usage too.
This is really good for an UMPC. I’m not sure what’s the life of those extended batteries for the Q1 and the Tabletkiosk eo
The Verdict:
The Good: Clean design, great bundle of hardware & software, GPS, Extended battery & Finger Print Reader
The Bad: The finger print reader keeps prompting even if you touched it by mistake (and believe me it’s hard not to touch it, because of it placement). Not for those who think this is going to replace their main PC (this being Celeron M 900 MHz)
i am wondering how this compares to the new pentium m based samsung q1. has anyone heard how that performs (with the new pentium m and 1gb memory)? it is already available at frys (http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4967871?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG)
Just a quick question in regards to the ram. Does the R2H you ordered come with the user-upgradeable ram included? that is, are you running at 256mb ram or 778? If you only have the 256, any idea where we can get out hands on the ram for the user-upgradeable portion?
Regards,
Brock
I bought my unit from a webshop in Holland, and this package included 2 more items: an ASUS branded Digital TV tuner USB stick with antenna and a foldable Targus USB keyboard. Also the USB 2.0 Netlink looks quite different.
It came with 2 x 256 MB Ram, but I upgrade to 256 MB (Fixed) 1024 MB to have some more speed.
The R2H didn’t have WPA or WPA2 out of the box, but the Asus faq discribes how to upgrade.
pbw
pbw,
I am a little confused, so can you explain it to me clearly? Are you saying it came with 768mb ram (256 onboard and 512 upgradeable) and you upgraded it? What size of ram did you put in exactly? two 512’s? Is your total ram now 1.2? or 1 gb total? I want to order my ram for when my r2h arrives, so I need to know which ones you threw in.
Regards,
Brock
The 256mb ram is permanent, its soldered onto the mobo to save space. In the second slot I’m guessing he bought it with a 512mb stick, I think thats what they’re selling it with.
The max you can get the device to is 1.25gb I do believe.
This UMPC seems the ideal platform for StreetDeck since it has onboard GPS. Will there be a test upcoming? I’m curious to see how it performs in combination with StreetDeck
@bigdoofus- yes It’s in the plan, I was trying out the Street & Trips this weekend and NO it’s not great with the UMPC, may it does the job but as for as interacting with the device you need a passenger. So will be trying out the Streetdeck soon.
Awesome, I am looking forward to your review.
What’s the maximum compatible resolution on the vga out?
How well does it play Divx movies? Is it smooth or jerky?
well…looks like ill be waiting on the OQO Model 2 in January. The Asus really had me going with the on-board GPS, but if the OQO doesnt have it, they always have the BT SiRFStar III that could be linked to it anyways. Also, i was shocked at the paltry 2.5 hour battery life with the extended battery…would hate to see what the regular one gets… Still looks like a good “overall” unit though. Thanks for the review.
@ Brock,
sorry to be so confusing, but my unit came with 256 MB soldered and 256 MB on SO-DIMM DDR2. I’ve bought a 1024 MB SO-DIMM 667 MHz so now I have 1280 MB in total, what seems to be the maximum. In the USA the unit seems to be sold with 256 (fixed) 512 MB (removable) out of the box. It’s very easy to replace the DIMM: under the battery there is a small lid fixed with one screw. Some people report that in the USA the unit is sold with a double capacity battery.
The system comes with lots of startup prgms and services, so it needs some tweaking to make it faster. The TV tuner works well near a window or in open air.
GPS reception is OK but the MS Autoroute 2006 prgm is difficult to use compared to PDA solutions like I-Go or TomTom.
Some prgms / tools are ASUS branded, configuring WLAN settings or screen resolutions and processor speed. The ASUS WLAN tool does not work if you upgrade to WPA(2), only WEP is supported. Many prgms don’t like you to change screen resolution while they are running. Close the application, change resolution and restart the application to have a better result.
I used a prgm called Proshow Gold to make a photo slideshow with special effects when changing slides (480 x 600 no music .exe file), but the movement is not smooth.
Ciao,
pbw
Sorry, the slideshow is 800×600, not 480×600. This show starts great, but after a few minutes the screen is only updated partly, effects become slow and jerky. It works better when powered by the mains adapter because only then you can select the highest speed for the R2H. This highest setting is disabled when powered by battery only.
pbw
I’m going to be buying a R2H in Hong Kong in a few weeks when I am there but I think they only have the standard battery there. Anyone know what the battery life is like with the standard?
Thanks.
Just a couple of questions guys..
Can someone tell me if the device also works in Portrait mode and if so how easy is it to change screen orientation. Is it by button (as on tabletpc’s) or by software?
Other question is reference to Streetdeck…
I thought this device was not compatible with the SD program due to the sceeen not being fully ‘Touchscreen’.
Mike
@ Mikey,
yes, you can rotate the screen in 90° steps, but only by software. I use it to play “Sudoku Rules Extreme!”, very nice on a UMPC. There is a “one button and screen click” system to switch screen resolutions, processor speeds and color gamma settings but orientation is not included.
pbw
Hi pbw,
Many thanks for the reply.
My apologies but unfortunately I’m a little confused with the answer.
You mention there is a “one button and screen click� system to switch screen resolutions, processor speeds and color gamma settings but orientation is not included.
Could you explain please where is the ‘one button and the screen click’ and the difference between the ‘one button screen click’ for processor speed resolution etc. and how the orientation software works.
Again my sincere gratitude.
Mike
I have to admit I took it back to the store. Partly because I was getting really disappointing battery times (fine for GPS use in the car thanks to the 12V DC requirement, not not much use when hiking the hills), but mainly because, despite the pictures in the manual, I did not manage to get the screen into portrait mode, which I reckon is a necessary tablet feature.
Adrian…
You say you could not get the device into portrait mode!!!!!
This is interesting (in a negative way I mean), as only the post above yours is a conversation between ‘pbw’ and myself discussing the use of portait mode.
@ Mickey,
Portrait mode IS possible!
The hardware button I meant is on the right, with a [...] symbol (the symbol actually has 6 dots), just under the up and down arrows. It brings up a screen where you can select overall speed, screen size and other things. This screen stays only, a bit transparent, on top of whatever you were doing for a few secs, and then fades out. The actual functions are, from top to bottom:
Brightness (slider)
Volume (slider)
Resolution: 800×480 - 800×600 - 1024×600
Color mode: Normal - Gamma - Vivid - Theater - Soft - My Profile
Power mode: Super ( this one is only available when powered by an adapter) - High - Game - DVD - … - Battery Saving (8 selections possible in total)
No screen turrning here!
To turn the display in portrait mode you simply touch the screen desktop and hold, or right hand click on the background, to bring up a menu where you can select “Graphic Options” and then a sub menu “Rotation” with 4 options: Normal - 90 - 180 - 270 degrees.
Hope I made myself clear this time
pbw
Hi pbw,
Perfect….. absolutely perfect sence now.
This should also answer Adrian’s post as well.
Boy am I so much looking forward to adding this device to my arsenal of ‘toys for boys’…. all 53yrs of me
Thanks again pbw for straightening things out, appreciated.
Mike
Hello Mike,
to complete my answer there is also a key combination possible in the software to make screen rotations or other video settings. The key combinations are like CTRL-ALT- or ALT-SHIFT-somebutton, but unfortunately the mouse pointer doesn’t act accordingly. The external USB mouse however works correct. There is also a separate calibration routine for portrait use of the touchscreen.
BTW, there is also an issue with the keyboard; it doesn’t work if the keyboard is already connected at startup of the R2H. Unplug the mini USB2 and reconnect to make it work.
Just found out what the power settings are doing: only the two least performing settings cause the processor to work at 50%, all other settings are more HD sleep, video brightness, screen saver and standby time related. This is part of ASUS “Power4 Gear” software.
My main purpose for this device is to control my Homeseer domotica using MainLobby. On trips around the world I will use it as backup device for digital pictures (SD card!) and to check my mail and camera security system (HuperLab).
Hope you will like this nice toy for boys. Or girls, they can use the integrated webcam to powder their face
I’m confused. is the R2H out in the UK. I’m not finding anywhere that has it i.e. expansys or dabs.com.
Is the UK release date later than elsewhere
If I had the $$ I’d probably be all over getting one of these devices.
First thing after removing the extra software junk would be removing the streets software and installing Iguidance 3 - it has a umpc version now thats great.
@ pbw
Hi, could you please tell me if the keyboard has US layout and possibly the link to the online shop where you bought your RH2?
Thanks a lot!
Martin
@ Martin:
http://www.mycom.nl in Breda (NL), http://www.pdashop.nl also has stock.
The keyboard is a Targus branded foldable QWERTY (wired mini USB) of good quality considering the dimensions. In Belgium we use a different layout (AZERTY), so I will replace that.
Sorry, but I will not return to this page as it is not ment to be used as a forum. Hope you will like the R2H!
BRGDS,
pbw
friends, i bought an rh2, and i have problems with making the gps work. I’ve installed microsoft autoroute 2007 and push the gps tracking button, nothing happend. it sais receaving data. it does so for about 14 minutes, than sais ” the software tries to connect…but there are not enough data…”. I try to connect even in a plain field outdoor, but the same.I have uninstalled some asus software, but the gps drivers are. Tha processes that I think are related to the gps receaver are atk media and gps watch. those are on too. I have no ideea what,s hapenning, but it’s understandable, it,s the first time i,ve seen a gps.
please let me know if you can help.
thanks
Hi Traian
Well, I would first check the if the GPS switch is set to “ON” you could do that by running the application from the launcher (touch pack) and go in to GPS and select the switch to see if its on if not switch it on and apply it.
Second thing to make sure if Autoroute (Maps & Streets in US) is able to find your device, you could do that by clicking on the Configure button on the left pane of the GPS and select the COM port that has the device (it’s usually COM2 in Asus R2H)
Hope this helps
I just purchased an ASUS R2H Ultraportable notebook computer. I am trying to connect it to our wireless network, which is WPA security enabled. When WPA is not enabled, the R2H connects without any problem, however as soon as I enable WPA, the R2H cannot connect, even if I have entered the correct security key word. It’s status is listed as “automatic,” but it will not connect. I have tried everything I can think of, including completely resetting our wireless router and disconnecting all PCs except for the R2H. I have two to three other computers connected to the network at any one time, and have not had any problem with them. Any idea about what’s going on or how it can be fixed?
@ Steve…
How are you connecting to the wireless? Are you using the Asus utility or the Windows?
If it’s Asus utility then you can click on the network link on the left panel and it lets you add security keys and save them.
If you are still not able to connect, just use the windows wireless wizard.
It is a while back in the comments, but woould like to ask a question about the RAM for the R2H. I see on the Kingston site (www.kingston.com) that there are 2 GB DDR2-667 modules available. I can not find the size o them. IS this possible? and what are the specifications for the R2H memory bank?
thanx
Please help me with info on the below.
1. is it possible to put a single 2 GB DDR2 stick in the empty slot of R2H?
2. How is handwriting recognition working on R2H?
3. Can we put contents of XP CD in a 2gb USB memory stick and then install on to the machine? I mean, will R2H boot from USB drive?
4. Are the drivers from ausus website latest or the one supplied with the machine ?
5. Can we replace hard disk with 32gb ssd cards?
6. Standard packing of R2H has the battery?
Thanks…….
Please help me with info on the below.
1. is it possible to put a single 2 GB DDR2 stick in the empty slot of R2H?
2. How is handwriting recognition working on R2H?
3. Can we put contents of XP CD in a 2gb USB memory stick and then install on to the machine? I mean, will R2H boot from USB drive?
4. Are the drivers from ausus website latest or the one supplied with the machine ?
5. Can we replace hard disk with 32gb ssd cards?
6. Standard packing of R2H has the battery?
Thanks…….
Has anyone gotten the A/V out to work? I have the right cable but when I hook it up to the my analog TV it does not show up.
I ‘ve got the unit a few weeks now but came to the conclusion to put it away and to ban it out of the office;
It cost so much time to figure out everything. TV doesn’t do anything. Wireless, cannot get it working; memory, insufficient and who is selling the upgrade sticks? Need to run to a store AGAIN; Navigation, not practical; Installation of programs without having a cdrom drive, how? batterylife 1 hour…; for me without glasses the screen is too small.
It is a toy but I do not see me using it really in a business situation were time is valuable.
Also you need to be very familiar with drivers stuff and fiddling around with settings of all kind.
You, nerds will all smile about me but I am gonna give this R2H away to some student here.
AV out - using a zune cable works fine, but color coded wrong, trying to remember think on the zune cable the red is video.
hi
i am frm india. bought asus r2h a few days back…
it did not come with the gps software . can i down load it? frm whr?
the notebook is quite sluggish during autocad operations also same is the case during movie playbacks..?
i am very much confused ..how much RAM the m/c really has.
thnx.
The on-screen keyboard no longer displays. When I try to bring it up it is just a blue box. It almost looks like it is so far up that I can only see the bottom of it. Is there any way to reposition it so I can see it again?
I’m surprised the R2 comes with a AV out plug and then no cable is supplied and no attempt is made to explain what type of cable might be needed. There are all kinds of frustrating things like this about this unit. It is not supplied with GPS software in Australia and there is no documentation on how to get it to work or even what package might work with it. There seem to be few packages around designed to run from laptops too.