4. Conclusion: Portable, with Some Power

The 800 MHz processor means the mini-v isn’t a powerful performer, and with integrated graphics it couldn’t run some of the 3Dmark tests at all, although it does support Aero Glass, which gives you semi-translucent controls in Media Center. The small screen size limits what you’ll want to do on the mini-v as well. It’s perfectly happy running several Office applications at once, along with email and Web browsing, but you can slow the system to a crawl if you ask it to download and install multiple applications, play video and edit images all at the same time. Taking the memory up to 2 GB would certainly help with this. Video performance is good for watching files streamed over a wireless network or from a Slingbox, but video editing quickly slows the system down as well.

The 800 MHz A110 processor is less powerful than those found in larger tablets and the slower FSB affects performance, but in exchange you get unusually low price and long battery life.

Unlike many sub-notebooks and small tablet PCs, the mini-v has a 5400 rpm hard drive - which definitely helps performance.

Integrated graphics means you won’t want to use the mini-v for 3D gaming, but the screen quality is excellent for viewing photos and videos.

The S37 ships with a 6-cell extended battery rather than a standard 3-cell battery. This means the battery sticks out quite a bit at the back, but it also gives it very respectable battery life for such a small device. With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, running on Vista’s Balanced power plan with screen brightness on full and the fan in silent mode, we measured 5 hours 20 minutes of actual use. This involved intermittent Web browsing, playing music, looking at photos over the local network, downloading files, installing software and writing documents. Switching to Power saver mode, dimming the screen and turning the wireless radios off will stretch the battery out even longer, but you don’t have to turn off useful features just to make it worthwhile taking the mini-V with you if you’re going to be out all day.

The Vye mini-v S37 is smaller than a 12.1” notebook like the Toshiba R400, and it has better battery life.

Not only is the Vye mini-v S37 one of the cheapest sub-notebooks you can get, it also features a low price for a tablet PC. The passive touchscreen and inferior stylus mean you can’t take full advantage of Vista’s handwriting recognition, but the scroll buttons make it easy to read Web pages and documents, or enjoy music or video without pulling out the pen.

The mini-v isn’t powerful enough to be your only PC. It also isn’t the lightest ultraportable you can get-Toshiba’s R500 weighs in at just 1.7lbs with an optical drive (although Vye will add a DVD burner in the similar S41 model later this spring). The case is sturdy and a little chunky rather than stylish. The extended battery adds bulk, but it delivers better battery life than many small PCs.

The price means it’s not an impulse purchase like the Asus Eee PC. But to dismiss the mini-v just because it’s more expensive than the Eee is missing the point. The mini-v sits between UMPCs and pricier sub-notebooks with smaller screens like the Sony TX range or an OQO, at the price you’d usually pay for a less portable 12” notebook. This is a far more capable PC, with a better keyboard, plenty of storage for music, videos and photos, Bluetooth for connecting more peripherals-and unlike the MacBook Air it has an Ethernet port. If you want to run Windows and familiar applications on the move, you can now get a supremely portable PC on a budget.

The Vye mini-v S37 offers a balance of price, power and size; if you need Windows and full applications in a lightweight package, it’s a reasonable compromise.