(Credit:
Crave Asia)
It's not often that we see an interesting non-mobile phone-related device at CommunicAsia, but at the Garmin booth, where the Nuvifone was showcased, we spied a unique UMPC.
The Noahpad was used as a device to showcase Garmin's navigation software, but our eyes kept straying to the keyboard. Resembling two large buttons, the touch-sensitive panels allowed typing and doubled as a touchpad as well. However, the lack of tactile feedback made using the keyboard harder than even the smaller keypad on the ASUS Eee PC. (Get more CommunicAsia 2008 coverage here.)
(Source: Crave Asia)
Fujitsu LOOX U series: small but not svelte.
(Credit: Fujitsu)Before the Intel Atom processor, there was the A110. This chip spawned the 2007 UMPC (Ultramobile PC) category which in turn spawned some unsightly designs.
The Intel A110 and its lower-performance sibling the A100 were launched in 2007 with the intention of jump-starting the UMPC market. But that market stalled. Intel is still promoting the UMPC as a broad, somewhat amorphous category for business, while pushing the Mobile Internet Device, or MID, for fit-in-your-pocket consumer-centric designs and the Netbook for small, inexpensive, Internet-centric notebook form factors (both of which, as I will discuss below, have a better chance of success).
Kohjinsha SH Series: that's not a docking station, that's the bottom one inch of the computer.
(Credit: Kohjinsha)Why were first-generation UMPC devices seen at trade shows and on gadget enthusiast blogs but rarely at airports (i.e., people actually using the devices)? Some were simply too expensive (the OQO PC and Samsung Q1 Ultra). Others, like the General Dynamics MR-1 discussed below, had a limited market to begin with. More generally, however, they were also slow and, for their size, disproportionately thick. For anyone considering one of these devices, these last two factors would tip the scale against a purchase.
I will focus on the last point. I submit that the design is inherently flawed. Thickness, no matter how compact, does not translate into mass appeal or even limited appeal. (Tiny keyboards don't help the cause either.)
First up, the 2007 Fujitsu LOOX U series UMPC. This UMPC uses the Intel A110. Yes, beauty is subjective but an ultramobile PC shouldn't be thicker than a brick. Fujitsu, like other UMPC vendors, adheres--doggedly--to the small-but-thick form factor.
Next, the Kohjinsha SH series. It comes with the A110 processor and a TV tuner--thus the 70s-style hinged antenna. Not surprisingly, being so thick (no, the bottom photo is not a docking station, it's the bottom one inch of the computer), it comes with almost everything a standard notebook PC offers, including a 120GB hard disk drive, Ethernet, Bluetooth, media slots, stereo speakers, and Windows Vista Home Premium.
General Dynamics MR-1
(Credit: General Dynamics)The General Dynamics MR-1 needs some qualification: it uses an Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processor, not an A100 or A110, and it's built specifically as a rugged UMPC for the military. Still, it represents why UMPCs are used in the military and not in civilian life. It's one tough PC but would you buy one of these at Best Buy?
Finally, the OQO PC. This is probably one of the better UMPC-like designs but it's still too thick. It does, however, pack a 1.6-GHz VIA C7M processor, a good low-power alternative to an Intel chip.
I think consumers expect small designs to be slim. Though vendors will argue a design like this is impractical because it precludes crucial features that make it a personal computer, I would submit, again, that the original UMPC concept is flawed. Consumers don't expect to get a full-fledged PC in a tiny form factor. Some businesses may want this for very limited applications but I see little market opportunity beyond this. The MID concept--arguably, the iPhone is a MID--has much more potential because it doesn't try to be all things to all people. The user gets a limited number of features that do a limited number of things pretty well.
OQO PC
(Credit: OQO)One final thought: The ECS G10IL, though technically a Netbook, is a good example of a riveting design that is both compact and relatively slim. This is what some UMPCs, at the very least, should try to emulate. Asus's Eee PC--also a Netbook--is also more along the lines of what will appeal to consumers and even to businesses. Of course, some high-end mobile phones from Nokia, Motorola, and others may also fall into this category.
ECS's G10IL is a good example of what a compact design should look like
(Credit: Elitegroup Computer Systems)
(Credit:
Samsung Electronics)
Its gangly, mutant appearance frightened fellow Craver Mike Yamamoto last year when he spied Samsung's ultramobile PC with a fold-out keyboard, but I've been pining for this odd duck of a UMPC to reach the U.S.
I'm not sure I'd buy one (pricing is still unknown, for one thing), but I'd certainly like the chance to review it to get a sense of its overall operation. Folding and unfolding it may become cumbersome while on the go, but I still like the idea of pairing a tiny, 5-inch UMPC with a full-size keyboard. UMPCs like the Vulcan FlipStart, the OQO model 02, and Samsung's own Q1 Ultra feature smartphone-like keyboards that are good for little else than banging out an e-mail or a Web address by thumb, and their method of inputting text is preferable to using an onscreen keyboard like the one on the Asus RH2.
Unfortunately, I still have no idea when I might be able to get my hands on Samsung's UMPC. What is now known--if a leaked manual in Korean and those translating it to English are to be believed--are its specs. The Samsung SPH-P9200 will use a Via C7-M processor, which is the same chip found in the OQO (we weren't blown away by its performance). And like the OQO, the Samsung uses Windows XP instead of Vista since big, bad Vista would likely bring this little UMPC to its knees. Its 512MB of memory and 30GB hard drive are at the low end of the range for UMPCs, but hopefully that will translate to a price that's closer to $1,000 than $2,000.
(Credit:
UMPC Portal)
Other extras include a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, an optical joystick and mouse buttons;a SIM card slot; and networking by way of Wi-Fi, WiBro (Korean WiMAX), and HSDPA. The 5-inch display is touch sensitive and features 800x480 resolution. The touch-sensitive screen would make browsing the Web possible without having to unfold the keyboard. A 15-pin accessory port is also listed in the manual, but it's unknown what it might be used for. The number of USB ports on the UMPC is also unknown, but a port replicator provides a pair along with LAN and VGA ports. The manual suggests that the standard battery will last 2 to 2.5 hours and the extended battery will run up to 5 hours--weak on both accounts. It would also appear that the SPH-P9200 lacks Bluetooth.
Hopefully the next time Samsung's UMPC is in the news, we'll find out how much it'll cost and where it'll be sold.
(Credit:
Recordcup)
If you think the Raon Digital Everun was the smallest, think again. Ultramobilelife was given a glimpse of an ultra-mobile PC that is almost the same size as portable media players.
Based on the VIA Mobile ITX chassis, the MTube holds a 1GHz VIA processor, 2.8-inch VGA screen and 8GB of storage. All in a body that measures a mere 85 x 85 x 20mm and weighs 150g. Though it runs Linux and not Windows' power-hogging Vista OS, battery life is none too impressive at four hours. The MTube will hopefully hit stores in 2009.
(Source: Crave Asia)
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