I have got quite a few requests to make a video of how Facebook lite works with the Xpress. Those who saw our previous video of the Xpress running normal Facebook, saw that it could take a bit of time for pages to load, mainly due to normal facebook having such heavy scripts and apps.
Facebook lite has none of these heavy scripts or apps and for the most part is very snappy on the Xpress. Just to note our own net connection at the time of the video was not that fast, however in the video you can see that pages generally load very fast, even facebook chat works. What you see when the pages load slower or the website cuts out, is not a result of the xpress but a combination of slow internet connection and the facebook website also being slow (at the time of videoing).
I use the xpre
Well its not good news, some of you probably already assumed that there was some sort of delay when the presale was not removed and no update was givien on the shipping notification.
I have been talking with the factory since Monday and they said there was an issue with production and that they can only ship out the players on the 15th, which would mean we would get them on the 16th and earliest we could have them packed and shipped to all of you is the 18th.
Now for those that have purchased in presale and wishing to keep your order you will get the following freebies:
- 2GB microsd card free (Kingston original class 4),
- Car charger
- 4XL black Mofi Case.
Those that have placed an order as of December 8th and want their items sent by EMS we can offer a reduce EMS shipping
Well we have to thank Coldsun for making such a nice program. His custom UI runs atop of the normal WinCE UI and make accessing program very easy. The UI is very easily customized and additional apps can be added.
We also have ColdSun permission to have this program preloaded on the Nationite MIDNite Xpress, but just to clarify, the player will not startup with this UI, just the program will be on the player for you to use.
You can find out more about this UI at Coldsuns website http://www.coldsuncreations.com
Discuss on the forums
Well i took a few minutes to record the Nationite MIDNite Xpress using Nitrogen player, this little gem of an app really adds another layer of functionality to the Xpress. Although already a good audio player, there wasn't a player, that we had found, which was good and had a nice looking user interface, till we came across the Nitrogen Player.
I think the description from the makers of Nitrogen really summerize well just what the point of this player is:
Nitrogen was build due to the lack of finger-friendly players for Pocket PC (you have to use stylus even for simple tasks). It features large buttons and you can browse among your playlist by drawing circles on the screen (tapping in the appropriate space). In future releases the program will be expected to have an equalizer and oth
They say variety is the spice of life so without further ado we look at a third choice of media software for the Nationite MIDNite Xpress, the audio-only Nitrogen.
After the exhaustive user options of The Core Pocket Media Player software you'd think it'd be hard to top it but see how the graphically impressive, bold and spacious Nitrogen fares after the jump.
Interface
Of the three programs we've trialed so far, Nitrogen wins the beauty contest.
Its large text and icons, intuitive design and smooth 'push' scrolling has been expertly crafted to work perfectly with the touchscreen capability with the screen in portrait mode.
Once opened you're greeted with the main screen which is also the playback screen.
Everything can be found from here and it displays, from top to bottom
MediaCenter is the pre-loaded basic media player on the Nationite MIDNite Xpress MID.
It will be reviewed here and will be followed by a look at another separate media player program, TCPMP, which will also come with the MIDNite Xpress.
See how it performs after the jump.
Interface
Once the program's been launched from the desktop you're presented with a nice big, bold and colourful array of icons which display the capabilities of the program, namely Camera, Music, Video, Photo, Ebook, Radio, Record and Setup.
Let's take a look at each.
Camera
The camera changes the screen to a viewfinder and pictures are taken using a top right shoulder button.
Along the bottom of the screen is the picture quality options which can be changed at a tap from 320 x 240 to 800 x 600 to 1
We've picked some popular websites to test the loading times via WiFi connection.
The WiFi connection was on 3 out of 5 bars signal strength and connected to a router 5 or 6 meters away through a wall.
For each site the cache was cleared beforehand to make sure it was loading from scratch and not using any residual site elements from previous visits.
Also, although site elements appeared and were selectable long before the whole page was loaded, the timer was stopped when the entire page had been opened and the progress bar had reached 100%.
See the times after the jump.
engadget.com
Clocking in at 35 seconds, the text and graphic heavy Engadget site took a while to settle but once it was loaded it browsed a breeze.
espn.go.com
Another hugely picture and plug-in heavy
In the first of our looks at the pre-loaded software that comes with the Nationite MIDNite Xpress MID we'll focus on the office tools available.
Using the Internet on an MID is a vital task but if there's any other software that can assist while you're out the office it more than doubles the devices usefulness and essentiality.
Luckily the MIDNite Xpress comes with 'Textmaker' and 'Planmaker', a word processing app and a spreadsheet app respectively.
Running on the tried, tested and ultra-reliable Windows CE they should be smooth as silk. Let's take a look...
Textmaker
Essential Microsoft Word without the huge fees, Textmaker is a crisp and clear parallel that outshines OpenOffice's version of Word in terms of looks and useability.
It starts off with a 'Tip of the Day' whic
In a very exciting preview of the forthcoming Nationite MIDNite Xpress touchscreen MID it's going to be put through its paces against the SmartDevices SmartQ 5 MID.
Let the games begin...after the jump.
Build
MIDNite Xpress
With a solid plastic frame that feels thick but looks slim, the MIDNite Xpress is a sturdy beast indeed.
In terms of looks there's a nice subtle streaked finish to the front casing and a strip of silver detailing along the left and right sides that, in the case of the right, also houses the power button.
The back is again plastic and houses the 1.3 megapixel camera.
SmartQ 5
This is a standard rounded edged PMP-style affair with no frills or detailing, just a screen and surrounding casing.
It's slightly lighter than the MIDNite Xpress and th
It's hard to find a good MID these days that can just simply work well, many times an MID that can be used for internet surfing, multimedia playback and with apps, normally cost well above $250.00, well Nationite now has a more than affordable MID that is well rounded and stylish, the new MIDNite Xpress.
The Nationite MIDNite Xpress with a Telechips TCC7901 ARM processor (dual channel 480mHz), 128mb ram, 4.1" capacitive touch panel with a 800 x 480 resolution (QVGA), 4GB of internal NAND flash (samsung) memory, wince 5.0, WiFi, 1.3 CMOS Camera and video out, is only USD$169.50 - however those looking to preorder can purchase it for just $149.50.
The Xpress will use Windows CE 5.0, however it will be slightly customized to run better than standard WinCE 5.0 does on similar other p
