- [Mr. Mobile] When I first heard about the Eve V,
I saw it as just another Microsoft Surface lookalike
and quickly forgot about it.
But then a couple weeks ago,
when I was offered a chance to review one,
I looked into it again.
And behind it, I found a company trying to do
in the PC space what OnePlus has done in smartphones.
Namely, build something powerful, price it affordably,
and give users a voice in the process.
I'm Mr. Mobile, and this is the first
crowdsourced computer I've ever used.
Join me for the Eve V review brought to you by Squarespace.
(upbeat electronic music)
If you've ever seen a Microsoft Surface,
you already know what the V looks like.
From the tablet body to the flip-out kickstand
to the snap-on keyboard, this is familiar territory.
But pick it up and you'll notice
that it's almost 20% heavier than the Surface Pro
and about 1/2 millimeter thicker, not counting the keyboard.
That makes the V a clunker of a tablet,
but Eve says that's the way the users wanted it.
You know how every time
a manufacturer makes a thinner phone,
people say they'd actually prefer
a thicker one if it lasted longer?
Well, same deal here.
The added depth of the V makes room
for a 48-watt-hour battery.
Still, that's just a hair bigger
than the 45 watt-hours on the new Surface Pro,
and in my couple weeks of testing,
I've found it lasts long enough to get me through a workday
but without much to spare after that.
The community also wanted a lot of I/O,
so the V packs two USB-C ports, one of them Thunderbolt 3;
a headphone jack; one USB-A port per side;
and a micro SD slot under the hinge.
There's a fingerprint sensor in the power key
that works well, and speakin' of keys,
every version of the V includes the keyboard in the box.
It's fully covered in Alcantara.
I last saw that on the Surface laptop,
but here it's even softer, more velvety,
which makes for comfy keystrokes
but also means it picks up every crumb
and speck on every table there is.
The keys themselves are great.
They have a ton of travel,
a backlight whose color you can change on the fly,
and there's even a little Easter egg on the backspace key.
I was surprised to see how many people
were criticizing this in the comments of other reviews.
Sure it's a little hokey, but to me,
it's also a refreshing dash
of personality that most machines lack.
Oh, and to further set it apart from the Surface,
the keyboard packs a built-in battery and Bluetooth,
so it doesn't need to stay attached
to the tablet to keep working.
Before we get to everyday usage, let's talk specs.
You've got your option of Intel Core i7, i5, and m3 CPUs,
but these are the Y-series processors.
They can only match the power
of the heavier U-series for short bursts,
and there's a trade-off in graphics power too.
But the Y-series was designed for power efficiency.
It has the benefit of not requiring a fan to keep it cool,
and even my Core i5 review unit
has little trouble keeping up
with the writing and research part of my workload.
If you wanna better understand the differences
between the Intel Y- and U-series,
I will link you to the Windows Central article
that helped me out.
(upbeat electronic music)
Using the V for a couple weeks has given enough time
for the honeymoon phase to wear off,
so, first, let's talk about what's held on it.
The color and brightness of the IGZO LCD are excellent,
the built-in speakers are loud,
the microphone array is elaborate,
the glass trackpad is one of the smoothest I've used,
and the absence of almost any branding is refreshing.
Now for the flip side.
The hinge design is not the most elegant,
and the end of the kickstand is quite sharp.
Neither of the cameras is very good,
the speakers are lacking in bass, the bezels are pretty big,
and there's a significant light-bleed problem too.
That's the kinda thing I'm not too surprised to see
on a device built to undercut the big guys.
Ditto for the loose USB-C connector
on both tablet and charging brick.
Oh, and you may have noticed this connection error
popping up on the video?
Oh, that's because my review device
consistently refused to connect with its keyboard,
even after I reinstalled Windows.
That was very frustrating, and problems like those
can turn into big annoyances if you feel like
you're not being heard when you report them.
But here, the V is an example of crowdfunding gone right.
Eve maintains a community in which its employees are active,
including the company's own CEO, who shares his phone number
with users to help pin down problems.
It's really kinda cool.
At least one of those problems, the loose USB connection,
is apparently being addressed
in the March 2018 production run,
and I haven't seen anyone else reporting
the kind of keyboard problems I've had.
Eve tells me my review device
is from a preproduction run, for what that's worth.
While good customer service won't completely
allay your fears when ordering a computer
from such a small company, the savings might.
Versus the Surface Pro, we're talkin' a difference
of up to nearly $900 at the high end.
Down at the entry level, which I frankly never recommend,
the prices are closer to parity.
But remember that the V includes the keyboard
and the pen right in the box,
which is a $230 savings over the Surface right there.
So the Eve V is a very good value,
and it gets a lot more right than I would have expected
from a crowdsourced PC developed by a small company.
But I probably wouldn't buy one for myself.
While my keyboard problem was quite uncommon,
and the support I received was topnotch,
it made me think about what would happen
if I were a regular customer having a similar problem.
I wouldn't be able to just walk into a Microsoft store
or Best Buy to get it repaired or replaced.
That's life when you buy from boutique companies; I get it.
And if that's worth the savings to you,
then by all means, get in on the next flash sale.
As for me, well, I'll bring it back to OnePlus again.
It wasn't until the third generation of that phone
that I really got onboard with the idea.
And back here with Eve,
I think I'll wait for the second generation of V
to see what this company can do
after a little more refinement.
(upbeat electronic music)
This video is brought to you by Squarespace.
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That's gonna do it for this one, folks.
For more reviews of laptops, smartphones, wearables,
and even an electric car from time to time,
be sure to subscribe to theMrMobile on YouTube.
Until next time, thanks for watching.
And stay mobile, my friends.
(upbeat electronic music)