UMPC: Revolutionary Gadget or Slipping through the Gaps?
All you want to know about UMPCs. Or perhaps not, after reading this.
Flooding our senses with new images and news about UMPCs, these “new” kinds of computers have certainly been a major feature of CeBIT 2006. Does all the excitement mark the beginning of the next generation of can’t-live-without consumer electronics product like the mobile phone, or the mp3 player, or is it a demonstration of the might of the Microsoft marketing machine? Here are the facts and you can decide for yourself.
So what’s this all about then?
An Ultra-Mobile PC is a new category of mobile device. Portable and lightweight with a long battery life, it intends on enjoying the mobility of a PDA but harnessing the functionality closer to a laptop. It sits quite neatly between a PDA and a laptop and is not intended to replace either. The major focus of UMPCs is to provide internet access for extended periods of time, have multiple wireless options so they can be connected at anytime, and also be location aware so it can provide local information. These devices are intended to enable work, play, and communication on the go.
OK, but what can it do?
• UMPCs run a variant of the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition OS so can run any full size Windows-compatible applications.
• Connect to the Internet with WiFi, and beyond WiFi hot spots by connecting a Bluetooth-enabled wireless phone.
• Through this connection use e-mail, instant messages, VOIP and accessing the Web.
• Microsoft has also developed the ‘Touch Pack’ for these new devices, an application quick-launcher that sits on top of the Tablet PC OS much like Media Center does on a Windows XP PC. The ‘Touch Pack’ enables UMPC users to browse through their installed programs via a simple touch screen menu, as an alternative to Start menu on the Windows desktop.
And if I want to buy one?
There are currently five products making up the first generation of UMPCs but I’m sure additional models will be brought out faster than a speeding bullet.
Asus R2H:
CPU: Intel ULV Celeron M
Memory: 512 MB Ram
Hard drive: 40Gb
Connectivity: WLAN and Bluetooth
Approx battery life: 2.5 hr
Dimensions: 234.2 x 133 x 28 mm
Weight: 960 g
Graphics: Intel Extreme 2
Display: 800x480 px
Fingerprint Sensor
Interfaces: 3x USB 2.0, 2x Audio (Headset + Mic), AV-Out
SD-Card Reader on the top of the Device
built-in GPS (in deluxe Version)
Samsung Q1:
CPU: Intel ULV Celeron M
Memory: 512 MB Ram
Hard drive: 40Gb
Connectivity: WLAN and Bluetooth
Approx battery life: 2.5 hr
Dimensions: 228.6 x 140 x 25.4 mm
Weight: 779 g
Graphics: Intel Extreme 2
Display: 800x480 px
Fingerprint Sensor
Interfaces: ?x USB 2.0, 2x Audio (Headset + Mic), AV-Out
SD-Card Reader on the top of the Device
Founder MiniNote:
CPU: Intel ULV Celeron M
Memory: 256/512 MB Ram
Hard drive: 30Gb
Connectivity: WLAN and Bluetooth
Approx battery life: 2.5 hr
Dimensions: 225.5 x 144 x 25 mm
Weight: 830 g
Graphics: Intel Extreme 2
Display: 800x480 px
Fingerprint Sensor
Interfaces: 2x USB 2.0, ?x Audio (Headset + Mic), AV-Out
SD-Card Reader on the top of the Device
PBJ Smart Caddie
CPU: VIA 1GHz C7-M
Chipset: VIA VN800 VT8237R
Memory: 1x SODIMM DDR2, 256MB - 1GB
Hard drive: 40 - 160 Gb
Connectivity: WLAN and Bluetooth
Approx battery life: 2.5hrs
Dimensions: 228x146x25mm
Weight: 900 g
Tablet Kiosk Tablet PC
CPU: VIA 1GHz C7-M
Chipset: VIA VN800 VT8237R
Memory: 1x SODIMM DDR2, 256MB - 1GB
Hard drive: 40 - 160 Gb
Connectivity: WLAN and Bluetooth
Approx battery life: 2.5hrs
Dimensions: 228x146x25mm
Weight: 900 g
Actually, not really sure I want one just yet.
Battery life:
With a battery life of 2.5 to 3 hrs this isn’t quite ‘all-day’ is it? Keeping it plugged in or even just having to charge it regularly, undermines the entire concept behind the device.
Portability:
Unlike the prototype devices shown in the UMPC promo video these pioneering devices lack an integrated keyboard. As a result, control is via a touch screen menu navigation, handwriting recognition or an onscreen keypad, and although these are familiar on other mobile devices, this limits the functionality of these UMPCs. Are you really going to be able to ‘work-on-the-go’ without a keyboard?
Styling:
In Microsoft’s promo video, the UMPC looks smaller and slicker. It also features a mobile phone-style casing, which can be swivelled to reveal a small thumb board for data entry. In comparison, these first generation devices are chunky and quite boring.
Early days or end of days for the UMPC?
Undoubtedly the issues raised above will be ironed out in future models however the main concern is; are there really people who want to carry something that is more cumbersome than a smart phone or PDA but not as functional as a laptop, which are continually getting smaller anyway? It’s hard not to feel a bit disappointed as the UMPC is clearly not the revolutionary mobile gadget we had hoped for.
For now, if I want mobile communications I’ll stick to my smart phone which has all the connectivity these UMPCs offer and a 2.0 mega-pixel camera, if I’m travelling and want mobile entertainment I’ll carry my Portable Media Player which has a larger hard drive and is smaller. If I need a portable PC to work on I’ll carry my laptop which is not that much bulkier. Am I being stubborn and missing the point, or is Microsoft in fantasy land declaring the UMPC as ‘the device that you’ll always want with you’.
Related links:
Origami video
Microsoft UMPC page
