How to Save your Tablet PC or UMPC battery – 5 Tips for making a Lithium Ion Last

Most computers and electronic devices like Tablet PCs and UMPCs use Lithium Ion batteries. Lithium Ion (LiIon) batteries have some really compelling advantages that make the kind of small and lightweight gadgets that we have today possible. Lithium Ion batteries:

• Have a low weight to energy ratio
• Can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes
• Do not exhibit a memory effect (you don’t need to discharge them or run them down before charging again)

However, there are some disadvantages to having all this power…

What you should be aware of with Lithium Ion batteries:

• They have a minimum charge threshold - usually protected by the electronic controller on the battery-  and if they go below it they may be unrecoverable (i.e. dead).
• They lose capacity over time - A full battery will lose about 20% of its total capacity every year if stored at 25 degrees C. If fully charged it will lose 35% per year at 40 degrees C (laptops often get hotter than this!).
• They have a limited number of charge cycles* – usually between 500 – 1000.
• You should expect to replace them at some stage.

Tips for saving your Tablet PC or UMPC battery

The following tips will help you to keep your Lithium Ion battery running as long as possible. You might find that some of these tips are not that practical, but being aware of them will help you.

1. Store it at 30% – 40% charge (I.e. not full) - For example, if you’re heading away for a month and your not going to take your tablet, charge it to about half and put it somewhere cool.
2. Never leave your Tablet PC in your car, especially on a hot day – As detailed above, heat will greatly diminish the capacity of your lithium ion battery to hold a charge. Keep them cool as much as practically possible.
3. Remove the battery from the Tablet PC when you’re running on power constantly (I.e. if you’re mainly deskbound).
4. Unplug it! Let your Tablet PC run on battery as much as possible rather than keeping the battery in the unit fully charged.
5. Don’t leave a battery flat for long periods of time – If you do, it may discharge below the voltage threshold, and they don’t come back from that. The typical storage loss is 10% per month, so if you left a battery flat for a month or two or three, it may not recover.

Battery power is a critical component of your Tablet PC. Without your Lithium Ion you simply won’t be mobile anymore! So when choosing a Tablet PC you want to consider a couple of things about it’s batteries:

• How much do they cost? – Any decent Tablet PC or UMPC will outlive its battery! You absolutely will need to replace them at some stage
• How fast do they charge? – Some charge much faster than others
• How many will I need to keep? – If they charge faster you will probably need fewer batteries
• Will they continue to make the batteries? – Lithium Ion batteries do not store well as outlined above, so it is not a good idea to buy some for now with the intent of using them in future. You will want to be able to buy fresh new batteries in future.

* Charge cycle = 100% full discharge and recharge. So, if you discharge and recharge to say 60%, then back to full, then another 40%, then back to full you have reached 1 cycle.

BBC Reporter Breaks ‘Unbreakable’ Rugged Phone – Needs Gorilla Glass!

The Sonim XP1 is a rugged, IP54 rated, MIL-810F drop tested mobile phone that is pretty close to unbreakable… That is until this BBC reporter got hold of it (Click on the screenshot to watch the video):

As you can see, the weak point of this phone is its glass screen. We find that the glass screen is the weak point on many of the Tablet PCs on the market too – even the rugged ones. Even though standard screens are made from chemically hardened glass, they are still prone to break when a little force is applied.

Corning turned this problem on its head when they released Gorilla Glass last year – Gorilla Glass is strengthened with a process that achieves a much deeper level of strengthening. You can see a demonstration of Gorilla Glass by Andrew Moore-Crispin of butterscotch.com here at CES in Las Vegas last week.

Motion Computing were the first Tablet PC manufacturer with Corning Gorilla Glass on the rugged F5 and C5 tablets last year. Gorilla Glass is up to four times stronger than other glass used in Tablet PCs and as yet, Motion are still the only Tablet manufacturer using the technology.

Having used Tablet PCs for nearly 10 years (and broken at least 4 screens), I can attest to the value of this glass. It should be an essential component on all Tablet PCs along with a low power Hydis AFFS+ outdoor viewable display – another Motion Computing first.

Sonim should plan a visit to Corning to make their rugged phone even tougher (so that this doesn’t happen in future)!

HP comes back to the Slate Tablet PC

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced a new HP slate Tablet PC at this weeks CES Show in Las Vegas USA. HP have published a little teaser video, but not much more information just yet:

Welcome HP and others back into the real Tablet PC market! This year you will be spoilt for choice in buying a Tablet PC.

2009 Was The year of the Tablet PC

After a huge run up to the end of 2009, we took some time to think about all of the “2010 – Year of the Tablet PC” rumours. There is no doubt that 2010 is going to be an exciting year for Microsoft Windows based Tablet PCs and UMPCs, and maybe even some Apple and Google ones too.

We’ve already had some very interesting hardware shown this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

However, here at TabletPC.com.au, we think that the year of the Tablet PC was 2009!

Sure, the consumer devices from the like of HP, Lenovo, Viliv and Apple will make some waves this year. On the Windows front we have already seen a wave of pen and multi-touch devices like the Lenovo X200t and Fujitsu T4310 with capacitive touch screens.

But the serious Tablet PC business really kicked off last year. 2009 saw many large and small Australian organizations deploy mobile computing solutions with Tablet PCs.

What happened in 2009 for Tablet PCs?

1. Windows 7 – Mobile computing  took a huge stride forward in 2009 on the back of improvements in Windows 7.
2. Outdoor Screen Technology – The introduction of the Hydis AFFS+ display by Motion Computing was a technical breakthrough for Tablet PCs (currently on Motion Computing F5, C5 and J3400) – Most Tablets are used outdoors at some stage, so this technology is essential.
    
3. Mobile Broadband Access – We now have Tablet PCs with 21mbps mobile broadband access with GPS onboard.
4. Applications – Software developers are continuing to embrace mobile applications in areas like building and construction management, building and pest inspections, sales force automation, digital forms, GIS and mapping.

Who started using Tablet PCs in 2009?

Hundreds of Australian  organisations deployed Tablet PCs in 2009 because of advancements in hardware and software that make field computing solutions now practical. Here’s a taste of the types of companies that we helped deploy Tablet PCs with in 2009:

• Defence and Police Forces around Australia
• Local Governments from North Queensland to Tasmania and across to WA. 
• Distribution businesses
• Manufacturing businesses
• Nurseries, Farms,
• Building, engineering, architecture and construction companies
• Physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, Nurses, Doctors, Clinics,  Aged Care Facilities and Hospitals
• Restaurants, Hotels, Bars and Pubs

And many more from small “Mum and Dad” businesses through to multinational companies.

Why did they choose Tablet PCs in 2009?

Our customers have many reasons for choosing Windows based Tablet PCs for their jobs and projects. They generally boil down to the following:

• You gain true computing mobility without sacrificing power
• You can now read the screen without effort
  • Outside reading is comfortable with good battery life
  • Screens are much bigger than PDA (PDA screens are too poky for many jobs)
• They can run their existing Windows programs without having to learn a new system or pay to develop a completely new one
• They were surprised to find that handwriting recognition really works, particularly in windows 7
• You can now work all day away from a power source.

Why did they buy from TabletPC.com.au in 2009?

The largest to the smallest Australian companies called on tabletpc.com.au for advice in 2009 because we are still the only independent Australian company that employs real Tablet PC and UMPC experts.

• We sell all of the Tablet PC brands that are available in Australia to independent resellers, including:
• HP, Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu Convertibles
• Panasonic Toughbook Rugged Tablets
• Motion Computing
• Xplore Rugged Tablet PCs
• Tablet Kiosk, Logipad, Getac
• Viliv, Gigabyte, Asus and Samsung UMPCs
• And if it’s not on the list, we can source it for you…
• We are able to give you advice on your specific needs – We don’t have allegiances to any brand, we will only sell you the best device for your job!
• Our staff have all been involved with Windows Tablet PCs since the launch of Windows XP Tablet PC edition in 2001 – in real world use.
• We have a worldwide network of software solution providers to make sure that your Tablet PC is not just a piece of hardware, but a solution that will work for you.
• We supply training and support with all of our Tablet PCs that cheap web sellers and even the manufacturers just can’t offer (because their staff have no idea about Tablet PCs!) – We make sure that you know how to use your Tablet PC effectively.

eBook Reading with Amazon Kindle for PC

Steve Chippy of UMPC Portal shows the Amazon Kindle for PC software in a bit more depth that we did in our videos here. Chippy is using a Viliv X70 for the review which is larger than the Viliv S5 that we used. We have both the Viliv X70 and S5 available here in Melbourne for demonstrations.

From Chippy’s video we learnt that the grey sidebars in the reading pane can actually be used for page turning – a handy feature for a touch screen UMPC. We also learnt a simple way to control the screen brightness on the Viliv X70. Wonder if it works the same on the S5? Off to test…

eBook reading on the Viliv S5 UMPC

With the release of the Amazon Kindle software for PC as well as the Barnes & Noble eBook software, there has never been a better time to get into creating a digital library. On top of that, we now have good, practical, affordable UMPCs like the Viliv S5 to read eBooks on.

Of course eBooks have been around for years now and there are many titles available, but the addition of Amazon and Barnes & Noble to the market mean that there are many more quality current titles available.

In the following video we take a look at the S5 as an eBook Reader. Then in part 2 we compare the Amazon Kindle software to the Barnes & Noble software.

eBook Reading on UMPC – Part 1

eBook Reading on UMPC – Part 2

Anti-Virus Recommendation for Tablet PCs and UMPCs

Resource management is especially important on Tablet PCs where performance is balanced against weight and battery life. Many Tablet PC and UMPC users are left with a particularly poor experience when it comes to anti-virus software.

Over time Anti-Virus software has generally become bloated with features like link and search scanning, email filtering and anti-spam. Ultimately your Tablet PC can be come so weighted down performing all of these security functions that it runs like a snail…

Finally there is a decent solution direct from Microsoft called Microsoft Security Essentials. It is a simple, free anti-virus client that just does anti-virus. We have found that it adds very little overhead to your Tablet PC so everything runs much faster.

If you need features like anti-spam and email scanning we recommend that use a hosted service like MailGuard. With a service like MailGuard, the filtering of spam and viruses is done before it gets to your server or Tablet PC. It is much more reliable and it has many other benefits like increased security. That means that your Tablet PC is not bogged down performing those tasks.

You can download Microsoft Security Essentials for a faster Tablet PC here. If you have an alternate solution, tell us about it in the comments below.

Viliv S5 Video Review – Tiny 5” UMPC

The Viliv S5 is a tiny UMPC with a 5” screen that runs Windows XP. The S5 includes GPS, Solid State drive and optional 3G – and it fits in your pocket.

We use the Viliv S5 with a bluetooth keyboard to write blogs on the go. It also makes a great eBook reader!

For a demonstration of the Viliv S5 contact us on 03 9012 6602 or get in touch via our website.

Using RFID on Motion F5 and C5

The Motion F5 and C5 can be equipped with an RFID reader. For want of a better analogy, RFID is a smarter barcode system. It is often used for inventory tracking and identification.

Unlike a barcode which is read only, information can be written to RFID tags on the fly with a device like the Motion F5. Software applications that run on the Windows based F5 will allow you to read and manipulate the tags.

Motion Computing have published the following demonstration video showing how to use the RFID reader.

The F5 and C5 are also tagged with a passive RFID tag so that you can track them too. The video shows the location of the passive RFID tag (We knew it was in there, but now we know where!).

For more information about using RFID give us a call on 03 9012 6602 or contact us via our website. We can assist you to source RFID tags and equipment to use with the F5 and C5 through some local suppliers here in Australia.

Viliv S5 Tablet PC for Home, Car and Work

We came across a Viliv S5 UMPC user who posted a series of Videos on YouTube showing how he uses the S5.

Note that he has Windows XP Tablet PC edition installed on the system. The Viliv comes out of the box with the Windows XP Home and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is not available direct to the general public. If you like the idea of using the Tablet Input Panel (TIP) on the Viliv S5 you can run Windows 7 on it. It is tricky to install windows 7 on the S5, so if you aren’t an advanced user we recommend using professionals (like us).

This series of videos will give you some ideas of how you can use the S5.

Viliv S5 showing Tablet PC Edition Features (Not part of standard package)

Viliv S5 showing Tablet PC Edition Features (Not part of standard package) – Part II

Viliv S5 hooked up to home theatre system

Viliv S5 hooked up to car stereo

In Australia we have 2 models of the S5 available. One with inbuilt HSPA Mobile Broadband / 3G (Next G compatible at 7.2mbps) for $1459 inc GST, one without Mobile Broadband for $1289 Inc GST.

All Viliv S5 models include:

• Windows XP Home Edition (No Tablet PC Input Panel as shown in video above)
• On board SirfStar III GPS (You will need software for in car navigation)
• Intel Atom Processor
• 1Gb RAM
• 32Gb SSD

Full range of accessories available including Car Kit (12V charger and mount), leather case, VGA connector, composite connector, spare batteries and styli.

We can upgrade these to Windows 7 for you. We can also ship with software such as Microsoft Office 2007 pre-installed. Contact us for an all inclusive quote.

We carry only Australian stock with an Australian warranty. Whilst you will find that some companies will in ship direct from overseas, there is no local warranty support available for them. The cost of shipping the unit back and forth overseas if you have any issues will soon suck up any savings that you might make. So do yourself a favour and buy locally from us.

To order, fill out the contact form on the Viliv S5 page of our website here and we will get in touch.