Creating my umTX (ultra mobile TX)

So here I am, with my self-made ultra mobile, how should I call it? PC?
My answer to the Foleo?

This is where the inspiration from this project came from: Allen Wong's Makezine article. In comparison, the Palm Foleo is a lame duck and with a little skill, a Palm TX, a keyboard and a book you'd be able to make a mod that's a cheap Foleo-ersatz. Since I'm on the road quite a bit and hate having to wait 3 mint for my Dell schlepptop to boot up I gave it a try andfailed miserabyl. The book cutting and gluing was a mess.

But I got intrigued and started looking around for better 'containers'. Found one, put a the TX, a keyboard and batteries inside, et voila here it is, my ultra mobile TX:

Size: 26.3 (W) x 15.5 (D) x 3 cm (T)
with a weight of ca. 450 g

I can type for more than 12 hours straight (estimated battery life) and have all the functionality that comes with a TX.

Here's how I made it:
1. I bought a plastic (polypropylene?) case in a drugstore (Rite Aid), cut it apart and used double sided tape to settle in the keyboard. The Keyboard is an original Palm keyboard where I removed that TX stand and isolated the infra red transmitter. Then I disassembled a USB charger that I bought online. Since the USB charger case did not fit into my computer case I took it apart and taped it in as well as the batteries that I welded together in order to get 6 V oout of them. As a bonus, the charger came with 3 LEDs, 2 of which are still working, that I could use to illuminate the keyboard when I use this computer at night. I haven't yet opened the TX, just stuck it into the cover of the case with double-sided tape and placed it next to the IR transmitter.

Yes, I know it is ugly. But who said that this is the last incarnation of the umTX?

Here are a few ideas for improvement:

• If I find a thinner case I would place the TX at a position wherer it would not fold onto the keyboard. This would make the overall dimensions a little larger but thinner. I like thinner better.
• The polypropylene material is too slick on the bottom. Putting on some rubbery material would prevent it from sliding on my lap.
• The weightbalance is off. The entire thing flops around a little too much which I think has to do with the fact that the TX center of gravity is up too high. Another good reason to get a larger but thinner case. Somehow all the ugly parts should be covered up. That'll help utility (I don't have to watch out getting stuck with the loose cables) and appearance.

List of things that I like about my ultra mobile TX:
1. instant on
2. no heating up my lap
3. small and light
4. goes and goes and goes (battery life, of course depending screen brightness and whether WIFI and bluetooth are on and used, is 2-5 h straight out of the TX and an additional ca. 3-18 with the battery pack. Anybody beating this?)

More pictures:

This is the closed case ultramobile TX. You can see the innards.

2. Opened up with the TX on. See all the cables and the Batteries?

The red flexible rubber houses the infra-red transponder.

















The wire holds the top case cover in place.



3. Oh well, the cable that connects the extra batteries with the TX.
See the earplugs for my TX?
What a sore spot. But it's working, and gives fantastic up-time.
I have to admit that for most of the time I'm running the TX on it's
own rechargable batteries. The Ikea batteries are there to recharge
when I can't get near a PC or when the TX is running low.