2. A Keyboard You Can Type On

The first generation of UMPCs kept their weight down by leaving out the keyboard, but with a passive touch screen, writing or typing on the screen can be frustrating. The mini-v has all the keys you’d expect on a standard notebook keyboard; they are just rather smaller. The QWERTY keys are about two thirds the size of the keys on a 12" notebook, but the beveled edges on each key mean you can actually hit the right keys every time, once you get used to the spacing. This review was written on the mini-v itself, with very few typing errors made after a short time getting used to the size.

If you’re a fast typist, the small keys will slow you down, and if you have large hands and fingers you will have issues with any small keyboard. However, even though the keyboard and keys are almost exactly the same size as those on the Eee PC-which many people find uncomfortably cramped-the deeper bevel on the edge of each key means that you can type faster and more accurately on the mini-v.

The mini-v keyboard takes up the same space as the Asus Eee PC keyboard, but the beveled edges of the keys make typing more accurate.

Some keys (Tab, Caps Lock and the punctuation keys) are a little smaller, and the backslash is relegated to a Function key combination, but they’re all usable, and where you’d expect to find them, so you don’t have to learn a new keyboard layout. The other Function key combinations give you quick access to change the screen resolution-you can switch to 800x600 if applications give you problems at 1024x600-turn on and off the Webcam, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth independently, change the fan speed (which affects performance as well as how noisy the fan is) and launch favorite applications.

The mini trackpad at the front of the keyboard has tiny mouse buttons (the left is sensibly larger than the right button). Small as it is, the trackpad is responsive and comfortable to use.