Crafty modder adds full-size USB port to UMID mbook M1
For those of our readers who usually just visit our front page for the latest news bits, there's a whole other layer below the surface, the Pocketables Forum. You can find helpful tips on just about anything relating to your favorite device in the forum, and here's a perfect example of how one user decided to take matters into his own hands and shoehorned a full-size USB port into the side of his UMID mbook M1.
Forum regular johnjtaylor had been waiting for someone else to be the guinea pig, but finally decided to take the plunge himself and found out the process was fairly easy and straightforward. Of course, it's easy for me to say that, considering I have no skill in this area and probably would have turned my device into a blob of plasticky goo.
While the UMID mbook BZ may be getting all the attention right now as the new kid in town, there are still plenty of M1 owners out there squeezing as much use as they can out of the diminutive clamshell that started this 4.8-inch madness last year.
Continue past the break for some pictures showing the whole process, and just maybe a few of the other M1 owners out there will work up the courage to ditch their USB dongle and take this route too.
One downside to this USB mod is that it sacrifices the webcam, but since John rarely used his, it was an easy decision. The internal webcam is actually mounted to its own board, and the pinouts are all labeled. The USB port only delivers 3.3V instead of the usual 5.0V, so no bus-powered hard drives will be working here, but flash drives and other low-powered devices should work just fine. Also, once the mod is complete, ULauncher must be used to turn the port on or off.
I'm not sure if I even need to say this, but if you decide to try this on your own M1, you accept all responsibility for anything that may go wrong. For those of you with the right amount of technical and soldering skills, this should be something right up your alley.
:: Visit the UMID mbook M1 forum to connect with users and potential buyers, ask questions, and share tips ::
Congrats on your mod, John, and thanks for the contributions to the forum!
