C110 Upgrades

[AlexZiel]

I have an Acer C110 that I had been using for over 2 years. About 10 months ago I started using a Samsung Q1P UMPC. But I am finding I really miss the integrated keyboard and the 7" screen at the native resolution of 800 x 480 is just too small for many applications I use. So I am going back to the Acer but want to upgrade a few things. I'm starting by upgrading the hard drive to 160 gB and upgrading wireless to rev G. What have others done to improve the C110 series Tablet?

[bmhome1]

A 100GB 7200rpm Hitachi (last size) and MAX'D RAM are by far top two hardware upgrades for tablets.

[AlexZiel]

Thanks bmhome1 for the comment. I actually bought a 160GB 5200 rpm Samsung HDD which should arrive today from Newegg. I was surprised how inexpensive they are now, only $90. I actually upgraded to 1GB a few years ago. Longer battery life would be nice as well as a nicer screen. The screen on the Samsung Q1P is amazing.

[digitaldoc]

>>as well as a nicer screen.<<
My Acer C110 is still a great TPC but for the washed out screen. Comparing it with the Samsung is two different visual worlds. The difference is as striking as watching a black and white TV compared to a color TV :)
I'd love to buy another Acer with a longer battery life and good screen, with the same form factor and weight.

[AlexZiel]

Its too bad Chris that Acer didn't keep the C110 line and just improve it. I think its just the right size and form factor to carry around the office. The Q1 is very nice at just 2 lbs with the extended battery so if they could have lightened the C110 and improved battery life I would have bought a new one. Of course a great screen would have done the trick too!

[bmhome1]

My Motion M1300 was new when DDR2100 RAM specs limited to 1GB maximum. I was suprised seeing Sandra profile report showing 2GB RAM maximum using 2 512MB DDR2700 onboard. I tried 2 1GB DDR2700 Crucial chips and it WORKED! I have 2GB in both XP and Vista, fully recognized by Task Manager. Few believed me until I posted captures.

It may be a unique situation, but I would try running Sandra or Everest RAM profile on a C110 also. The added RAM really helped. Newegg has Crucial for under $70. Freeware Winaudit might also report RAM maximum, but Sandra did the job.

[AlexZiel]

I installed the new hard drive and network card and did a clean reinstall of XP tablet addition. The computer seems faster now, though it was never really slow, and having the rev G wireless speeds is great. Now I need to work on improving battery life.

[AlexZiel]

Tuesday was the first day I only used my improved Acer C110. I did power up the Q1P but only to get a file that I needed to transfer to the Acer. Overall it went well. The biggest plus is the larger screen. Compared to the 7" screen of the Q1P, the 10" screen is huge. I can easily work in all my applications, never having to go to full screen mode. While the screen quality and brightness are not even in the same league as the Q1P, it worked fine. I was actually impressed using it this morning to read the New York Times via their reader software. With the brightness set at only 17 (on a scale of 20) and sitting right next to a window the viewing experience was quite pleasant. I even read in portrait mode which I never used to do as the view tended to bother my eyes. While it initially did bother me I decided to try it for the duration of the train ride and apparently I got used to it. This is good news for me as its much easier to hold the Acer in one hand in portrait mode rather than landscape mode.

Battery life is decent at about 1 hour and 45 minutes with screen brightness set at 17 and WIFI on. However, this morning I used the device on the train with WIFI off and had 29% battery capacity left after using it for at least an 1 1/2 hours.

At the desktop I am using the same setup as I used for the Q1P. I do have the Acer port replicator but now that I only have three hookups (power, USB and external monitor) the desk just seems less cluttered without the replicator. However that may change if I connect external speakers. The Acer speaker is no where near the quality of the Q1P. However, since I don't listen to audio much at my desktop I will probably keep the desk less cluttered without the speakers.

As for using the Tablet screen as opposed to the Q1Ps touch screen, I think it will take some time to get used to. Its strange to see the cursor move all over the place as I move the pen across the screen. It also seems a bit sensitive since if I leave the pen hovering above an object such as the minimize or close buttons it will engage them after just a few seconds without my even touching the screen.

I also updated two drivers, the Wacom driver and Intel graphics driver. Lastly, I went to the advanced controls for the microphone and enabled "microphone boost' which improved the performance of the microphone.

I am blogging about this switch at my blog http://umpcsearch.blogspot.com/ so feel free to read more there.

[jim.hitch]

quote:Originally posted by bmhome1

A 100GB 7200rpm Hitachi (last size) and MAX'D RAM are by far top two hardware upgrades for tablets.


Yep. I'd completely agree with bmhome. I had an ailing C100. It was sick because of the lack of expandable memory. So I ebayed a C110 and stuck in 2GB RAM. A colossal difference. (btw I didn't get XP Tablet with the new machine and have gone down the linux road which is frankly amazing considering the lack of monetary clout, though the tablet - esp hand-writing capabilities - of Windows are superior).

What I haven't done is upgraded the HDD. I've been looking at the Hitachi. I see that the Travelstar comes as SATA or PATA, which I don't understand. Wikipedia seems to be pointing me in the direction of getting the PATA drive. Can someone confirm?

Thanks

Jim

[AlexZiel]

I uninstalled the new driver from Wacom that I had installed Monday. Whenever I hovered over a button, say the minimize button, the button would activate even though I did not tap on the screen. This problem went away after uninstalling the driver. Here is the description on the Wacom site.

Enhanced graphics driver Expand the capabilities of your Tablet PC with the enhanced graphics driver for Tablet PCs that use Wacom Penabled#174; technology! Please check with the manufacturer of your specific Tablet PC model to confirm that it was built using Wacom Penabled technology or read our FAQ to learn how you can check your Tablet PC yourself. Installing this driver will ensure that the same advanced pressure-sensitive features enjoyed by Wacom pen tablet users will also be fully supported on your Penabled Tablet PC.

[AlexZiel]

Jim,

I upgraded my hard drive to the one recommended by this Acer C110 user. This is what he says about SATA:

http://www.nber.org/sys-admin/upgrade_acer_c110_tablet.html


* Yes, your Acer does support 48-bit lba internally -- or at least it seems to -- I haven't yet filled up the HD to test. In simple language: lots of computers in the past couldn't use HDs over 128 actual GBs (=137GB as HD makers advertise them). So would my new 160GB Samsung work? Seems to say yes. I upgraded the 60GB Travelstar 4200RPM for a Samsung Spinpoint M Series HM160JC ATA-6 5400RPM drive ($99.99 at Newegg; 1 day delivery free) and it works great. The HD is the quietest thing I've ever (not) heard. And it runs a bit faster thanks to a bigger cache and 5400RPM speed. Other 160GB ATA drives were getting trashed in the Newegg reviews. Only the Samsung had high reviews. Note: you can't buy a SATA drive for the Acer C110, so at present 160GB is the biggest out there for internal use.

[jim.hitch]

AlexZiel,

Thanks for that, and the link. I'll get ordering.

Jim

[bmhome1]

Here's a link for C100 series batteries for $69 shipped from Meritline. I've ordered small items from them without issues recently:

http://www.meritline.com/acer-laptop-battery-527.html

[AlexZiel]

Next up is increasing the time away from a power outlet. I have been looking at two companies that sell external power supplies and batteries, The Battery Geeks and Tekkeon.

Lets start with The Battery Geeks offerings. First off, they offer a free battery audit. You fill out a simple form and they will email you with recommendations. For my Acer C110, they recommended their external battery and portable power supply. The external batteries come in two capacities, 118 and 130 WH. Since my Acer battery has a 27 WH capacity, theoretically these will increase battery time four or five fold. Since I get 2 hours with the Acer battery I should get about 10 hours with these models. The prices are $170 and $200 for these two batteries. They weight about 1.7 pounds and the dimensions are 7.75x4.5x.75(in).

The external power supply offered by The Battery Geeks also come in 118 and 130 WH as well as 200 WH. These power supplies are only a tad bigger (8.93x4.84x.87(in) 1.87 lbs) but offer more voltage outputs, 3 - 28 Vdc as opposed to only 15 - 21 Vdc for the batteries. The advantage is being able to power other devices other than the laptop. As you can guess, the prices are a bit more, $250 and $300 for the 118 and 130 WH versions.

Tekkeon offers the myPower All 3450 external battery which is rated at 50 WH which would theoretically last 4 hours when used with my Acer C110. Its a bit smaller than the battery geek devices (3.28 x 6.80 x .92) and much lighter weighing just under 1 lb. Also, with the smaller capacity its less expensive $120. And unlike the Battery Geeks external batteries the myPower All has a USB port so anything you can charge via your computer USB port you can charge with this device. The disadvantage is that the 3450 will not charge my Acer internal battery. The Acer C110 is rated for 20 Vdc and the 3450 only charges devices that are rated for 16V or less.

Currently I am leaning toward the myPower All 3450 mainly because of the lower price and smaller size but may hold off right now. In the two weeks I have been using the Acer I have not had a need for the extra juice. At home and at work I am mostly plugged in and at the end of my daily train commute I usually have 30% left on the internal battery. Where this device would be needed is when I travel for off site training or conferences.

I'll keep you posted.

[AlexZiel]

I went with the Tekkeon battery and also picked up a new messenger bag.

I purchased the Tekkeon myPower All MP3450 external battery and the Booq Mamba XS messenger bag and received both over the last two days. Initial impressions are favorable. In fact I am typing this post at a Starbucks with my Acer C110 connected to the MP3450 and I brought all of my gear in the Mamba XS.

When I was posting earlier about the MP3450, I was concerned that the battery would not charge my Acer internal battery. Fortunately that is not the case. Right now my Acer is indicating that it is 'plugged in' and has been at 100% battery level for the last 30 minutes that I have been 'plugged in'. So good news there. It was important to me because at times I know I won't want to have the MP3450 connected to the Acer any longer than needed. Right now its not a big deal. I am sitting at a table with the MP3450 placed on the table right next to the Acer. However if I am walking round and have the tablet in slate mode it would be easier to not have to be tethered to another device, even though it is small and lightweight (< 1 lb). And if the MP 3450 didn't recharge the internal battery I would be limited to the time without the MP3450 to the lifetime of the internal battery which is about 2 hours.

I also like that it has a 5V USB outlet which allows me to easily charge my phone (Moto Q) and my Ipod Nano. The power cord connecting the MP3450 to the Acer is coiled which I also like. Its easier to store and less clutter when in use. Nice touch Tekkeon! Its also a nice looking design. So nice that I would hate to scratch it up so its good that the battery comes with a protective pouch with a plastic window over the indicator lights and voltage selector button.

The Mamba XS seemed smaller than I thought when I took it out of the box. Which is nice since its a smaller foot print when carrying but my concern was that it wouldn't be big enough to carry all of my gear. So I emptied my Case Logic case that I have been using for 3 years now and packed the Mamba XS only to find I had room to spare. Which was good since for this trip I was also bringing the MP3450 battery and a notebook for the writing workshop I will be attending today.

I also like the easy access pouch at the top which is where I will keep my iPod and I like the 'pockets' under the flap which nicely fit items I want to easily get at without the concern of those items falling out. One thing I think I will miss is the zippered compartment in the back of my Case Logic bag It was only wide enough for documents or magazines but it was a good place for those items without cluttering the main compartments.

I'll write more after a few days of use.

[Ride wind]

Does your Tekkeon come with the extender to 120W? The reason I ask is most of the online sites are showing pic with the extender M3450-10. How much did u pay for it?
One peculiar thing I note on the myPower Userguide that it suggest using 14-16V for 19V powered devices. So what voltage settings are your using?

Actually, I have also found ACER overstated the voltage for C11x series. I have used other adapter of even 18v and it still seems work fine.

** I also totally agree with the 10.4" screen being just right. Tried 7", good for casual surfing and browsing but hard to do real work. I just bought a HP TX1200 with a good bright 12" screen but 500g heavier than my C112 and somehow has crossed that flexible/portable anywhere and any posture line.

As for the washed out screen. For people who managed to buy C111/C112 with the hynix screen, it is not true. The screen may not be as bright as the current batch of so called Bright lcd screens from Acer, HP, Lenovo but it has two very important benefits: very wide viewing angle so that you can treat it like a book in various position and true 32 bit colours as opposed to 18 bit or some 24 bit screens.
Unfortunately, not all Acer C11x come with these screens. It was the same case with the infamous 10.4" HP TC1100. 2 years ago many of us have already debated this issue on this forum.

[AlexZiel]

Ride wind,

I did not get the extender to 120W. I paid about $120 for the Tekkeon.

I use the 19 V setting. I noted the Acer charger is rated for 19 V bu the battery is 14V. So you can probably use the lower voltage setting to operate the Acer but need the higher voltage to charge the Acer battery.

I was aware of the different screens for the C11X series. I bought another C110 for my girlfriend at the time and that screen was quite a bit better than mine. But no major complaint from me.

Alex


quote:Originally posted by Ride wind

Does your Tekkeon come with the extender to 120W? The reason I ask is most of the online sites are showing pic with the extender M3450-10. How much did u pay for it?
One peculiar thing I note on the myPower Userguide that it suggest using 14-16V for 19V powered devices. So what voltage settings are your using?

Actually, I have also found ACER overstated the voltage for C11x series. I have used other adapter of even 18v and it still seems work fine.

** I also totally agree with the 10.4" screen being just right. Tried 7", good for casual surfing and browsing but hard to do real work. I just bought a HP TX1200 with a good bright 12" screen but 500g heavier than my C112 and somehow has crossed that flexible/portable anywhere and any posture line.

As for the washed out screen. For people who managed to buy C111/C112 with the hynix screen, it is not true. The screen may not be as bright as the current batch of so called Bright lcd screens from Acer, HP, Lenovo but it has two very important benefits: very wide viewing angle so that you can treat it like a book in various position and true 32 bit colours as opposed to 18 bit or some 24 bit screens.
Unfortunately, not all Acer C11x come with these screens. It was the same case with the infamous 10.4" HP TC1100. 2 years ago many of us have already debated this issue on this forum.

[rc211e]

Hi All

Any of you still using the C110? I travel each week and I use mine daily.

I too decided to freshen up my C113 so I have upgraded the memory and now I am looking at hard drives.

I ran into some issues with memory upgrades and ended up running memcheck32 from a boot disk for a couple of days until I found one 1gig stick failed. Supplier exchanged without any issue and all appears good now.

Back to hard drives. Reading the thread the Samsung Spinpoint M Series HM160JC ATA-6 5400RPM drive seemed to have the vote, is that still the case or is another model preferred?

I am using a usb TV so I tend to capture a lot of data quickly so I am prepared to invest in good disk.

I too struggle with my screen on battery power particularly in the afternoons on the train watching movies.

I found that good quality bud earphones made an amazing difference to the sound output and quality on the train.

At home I use a Samsung Syncmaster 226BW monitor - superb and 5.1 surround sound system set to stereo and a Microsoft remote when the Acer is doubling as my TV

Thanks for all the good advice.

ps I live in an area with poor power supply and I once ran my Acer for more than 2 days on the 65amp hour 12 volt portable power supply for my camping fridge and a 12 volt cigar lighter car adapter. Not very portable but amazing capacity

[jim.hitch]

Hi

I bought one of these

Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB 7200RPM IDE ATA/100 2,5"

a couple of months ago and it works like a dream. At 7200 it's considerably faster than the old one.

It's also given me space to put on several partitions.

I use my C110 as my main and only computer, my work is language training and I travel office to office. I don't know what I'd do without it.

btw Also moved over to linux about 12 months back... my life has changed! Windows still beats linux with tablet-specific functions, but the customisability (sic) of the KDE desktop is generally excellent (and of course, free).

Good luck shopping.

[rc211e]

Thanks Jim. Now I have a dilemma. 160gb @ 5400 or 100gb @ 7200, do faster drives use more battery? Hmmm?

[lozmatic]

(btw I didn't get XP Tablet with the new machine and have gone down the linux road which is frankly amazing considering the lack of monetary clout, though the tablet - esp hand-writing capabilities - of Windows are superior).

I had to go down the Linux road too.

What software do you use for handwriting recognition?

[jim.hitch]

I had to go down the Linux road too.

What software do you use for handwriting recognition?

Frankly, I don't. That's perhaps the only big drawback. I had a look at some, but can't find anything that's worth the effort, so have had to resort to improving my typing and using Xournal for (xournal.sourceforge.net) Windows Journal type stuff, though Xournal also has a pdf annotation capability which I find really useful.


do faster drives use more battery? Hmmm?

I expect so, but not that I've noticed (sorry for taking so long to relpy)


Jim