Manufacturers unwrap first ultramobile PCs

HANNOVER, Germany--Intel lifted the lid on Microsoft's Origami project on Thursday by showing off three ultramobile PC devices at the CeBit trade show here.

As expected, one of the UMPCs was manufactured by Samsung Electronics. The others were built by Asus and Founder Group, a Chinese technology company.

But it appears that significantly more work will have to be done before UMPCs are ready for the mass market. Pankaj Kedia, Intel's manager for low-power Internet access marketing, told ZDNet UK that these first devices have a battery life of between two and three hours, depending on whether they are used to play video.

And while the Samsung and Founder devices were operational and being used to play video at CeBit, the Asus UMPC--the R2H--appeared to have run out of power.

Intel's general manager for Europe, Christian Morales, told a crowded press conference at CeBit that UMPC devices represented the start of a new form factor for the PC industry. He also promised that Intel would help make UMPCs much more efficient over the next few years. "We have plans over the next five years to deliver a 10fold improvement in power usage," he said.

All three UMPCs on show had touch-sensitive color screens, measuring 7 inches across diagonally. They support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and have two USB ports. They weigh just less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds), with hard drives of 30GB to 60GB, and run on Intel's existing ultralow-power Pentium and Celeron chips.

Samsung's device, called the Q1, is scheduled to launch in May this year, costing about $1,190 (1,000 euros).

Bill Mitchell, Microsoft's vice president for mobile platforms, joined Morales on stage and demonstrated that the UMPCs ran Windows XP Tablet PC edition, with the addition of a piece of software called the Touch Pack, providing an innovative on-screen keyboard that lets people type with their thumbs.

"We've been working very hard for five years to leverage the full power of the Windows XP Tablet (PC platform)," said Mitchell. He showed that UMPCs would include modified versions of Internet Explorer, OneNote and Windows Media Player.

Graeme Wearden of ZDNet UK reported from Hannover, Germany. ZDNet UK's Charles McLellan contributed to this report.

[Hep Cat]

I'm sure these will be a hit...

(rolls eyes)

Talk about a device looking for something to do.

I've seen handhelds with all this stuff glommed on that work
well.

I've seen ultraportables that do more, better.

It's nice to see my pet theory confirmed - Microsoft just plain
has no idea what people want, do they? I mean, I can just hear
the meeting in Redmond now: "Hey, let's come up with a new
platform! That'll get Windows' market penetration up another
couple of points!"

[plaidpjs]

What the...?????

So, first, why do these all seem to look like something I've seeen
sitting in on the CompUSA handheld electronics aisle for the last
two years?

Second, who are these supposed to appeal to? I can possibly see
some manufaturing use, perhaps in a hospital context, but
mainstream? It just isn't appealing, in my opinion.

They're all too bulky. The reported battery lives are, for lack of a
better word, crap given the form factor. And, it's only jump over
smartphones and PDAs seems to be that it runs a full form
version of Windows... whooopppeeee... NOT!

I'm just not seeing what everyone is so EXCITED about regarding
Origami.

Ciao!

PS - I almost forgot, the car set-up picture... that is so
astoundingly ridiculous as a setup anyone would use.

[rsx10]

Really Not Anything New

The OQO (OQO.com) is a 4x6" device that runs Windows XP and has full PC functionality. It has probably been on the market for about 2 years, and seems to be absolutely everything that these ultramobile PC's claim to be.
Does anyone know what makes them new or different?

[pmfjoe]

What I want in a UMPC

I want something that is ultra-mobile and as functional as my current notebook, not a souped up PDA which is what this sounds like.

So here is what I would need:

1. Processor capable of a decent speed.
2. 512-1gb RAM
3. 60-80GB Hard Drive
4. External CD-rw or DVD-rw, internal would work too but because of the formfactor doubtful.
5. XP Tablet Edition
6. VGA or DVI output (I cannot beleive neither has this, cause I cant connect my monitor via usb!)

Fantastic!!

I want one :-)the Asus one looks nice.

[morbidsaint]

Whats So cool About it

Well , Nokia 770 is much cooler in looks and functionality compared to the UMPC. only thing is it runs on WinXp and has PC Architecture, we we dont care about what it runs on or what architechture it has, if it has functionalites well then thats all the customer needs.

[dotmike]

Does "modified" programs mean crippled, extra development?

I thought the whole advantage of an Origami / UMPC (there's an
acronym no one will love) was that it ran all your standard XP
programs.

If it seems they have to be enhanced to work effectively on the
tablet, then why not just go with a PDA or smart phone which
has the software built from the ground up for the device?

Even at best, it's a case of "IE for UMPC: a whole new set of
security holes, which will be patched as quickly as we patched
the Tablet PC's pen digitizer memory leak."

[vunny]

It's all about the battery life!

It doesnt matter how whiz bang minaturised the UMPC is, it counts for nought if it doesn't have long battery life. How many of us are constantly watching the battery meter when we do our jobs? Rushing to get things done before the system shutsdown. MS and co should pour more $$$ into battery development to produce day (week?) long battery life.

[J.G.]

Did you see the price tag?

"Samsung's device, called the Q1, is scheduled to launch in May
this year, costing about $1,190 (1,000 euros)."

That's the main deal breaker. The highest estimate of price
Microsoft leaked was $899. No way are most people going to pay
nearly $1,200 for a glorified PDA.

[Mendz]

How I wish FlipStart...

... just goes commercial with:

- Windows Vista + Windows Tablet + Windows Mobile
- Colored LID (perfect for digi-cam previews)
- Auxilliary memory drives
- TV/radio tuner/reception
- Better battery life

Sigh...

[debH]

All UMPCs need an interactive speech interface

I can imagine this portable computer with a talkingdesktop interface software and a headset.

This would allow me to leave my regular desktop behind and let me control a mobile computer with speech recognition and then listen to it talk back as I am walking around.

Maybe this device will really show the benefit of an interactive software interface.
www.talkingdesktop.com
Deb

[debH]

Perhaps...but you would be surprised

Its true that speech recognition has had a long and difficult road, waiting for computer power to catch up to speech software's need for CPU power.

Microsoft's engines were not very good several years ago but they have continued to improve and are quite good now. Fortunately MS continues pushing development in this area.

Recent interactive software programs like the one I mentioned are based on Microsoft engines and
taking avantage of MS improvements. The speech recognition is actually quite good and the talking back features make your computer alot more fun than just having your computer sit on your desk like a lump of metal.

Deb

[stansoft]

I LIKE THE IDEA, HOPEFULLY IT WILL TAKE OFF!

I think that's it's time, but we will see... computers will be mobile eventually and why not now?

--

Everybody knows about Google, now it's time for everybody to know about http://www.enthem.com"

[Peter Bonte]

Its not a iPod killer

The price is to high and it runs XP so itunes runs just fine on it, its
the only way for MS to have a portable player that is iTunes
compatible.