Hands-on with ASUS and Founder UMPCs
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Mar 9th 2006 7:00AM
posted Mar 9th 2006 7:00AM
Now that the cat's out of the bag, we got a chance to lay flesh to gadget and conduct a quick hands-on with both the new ASUS and Founder UMPCs. As opposed to the Samsung Q1, these devices look and feel solid wtih the ASUS throwing down a sleek, brushed alluminum case and 1.3-megapixel front mounted cam for WiFi video conferencing. Oh, and the UMPC from Founder also slaps in a 1GHz Pentium M processor compared to the 900MHz Celeron M in the Samsung and ASUS. Expect these to sport optional, built-in GPS and mobile digital TV adapters too once they hit the streets, with premium price tags to match. Mums the word on exact pricing or availability but at least one of these three will drop this month for consumption. Lots more pics of the ASUS and Founder after the break.
First up, the ASUS. Note front mounted camera. That's brushed metal, folks though it's tough to tell in the moody Intel booth lighting.
SDIO up top.
Spec'd just like the Samsung Q1.
Next up, the UMPC from Founder sporting the Touch Pack.
Ahh, those new DialKeys, er, keys feel good. It's actually an effective way to enter text.
There's the Pentium M pushing 1GHz. Half the RAM of the others though.
Ok, so the Asus at least shows some promise, and some hope that the devices won't always be friggin' ugly... Anyone know if Sony is going to be joining this party, or have they given up after their own handtop computer kinda flopped?
I'm still irked that we fell for the hype; unless the pricing on these is truly astounding there's no way it can justify the multi-week teaser extravaganza.
And that prototype/mock-up/whatever it was, with the woman holding it, looked way cooler than these do... These could be pretty kickass when they hit Generation 2 or 3
I like how all the pictures are under that red glow, really adds an air of excitement to them. :-)
Oh and if you would please "TAKE THE UMPC AND RUN, ENGADGET, RUN!!!"
I bet cops will gobble thease up as battery life isnt a factor when hardwired into a car.
Getting better, the vid cam is a great idea. But there is no way theses things will take off until battery life is better. I heard initial versions will only get 2hrs.
Those are really cool! But why would I buy those when I already have a laptop and a treo that do the same stuff. Laptop prices have dropped to the $1000 and under, unless you go big time. Laptop are not that small/portable, but my treo can do most of what they can do. I don't see a mass market. Again, they are waaay cool though.
AWESOME!! THis is the future indeed. I want one. The Asus is sleek, great! Unlike Apple, there is competition within this segment here, so the consumer wins.
Man, Intel has done more to hurt the PC games industry than any console.
I can only dream that Vista requires hardware T&L so the next UMPCs can actually run a modern RTS.
Fujitsu P1510D, what can I say? Same weight, faster processor, convertible with an actual keyboard at that weight. Available docking station. Finger print scanner. Touchscreen.
I don't get it. I was expecting built-in EVDO or something of that sort.
Yeah, but anyone who has used a PDA or touchscreen piece of kit knows that putting your fingers (or thumbs) on the screen leaves greasy smudges. So if you type with your thumbs then the bottom corners are going to be seen through a haze of sweat, grease, bogus, you name it...
I hope Sony just uses the same tech to give a nice tiny VAIO like this:
Samsung Q1 UMPC: 779g 230mm x 140mm 7-inch touchscreen LCD
VAIO PCG-C1MSX: 998g 249mm x 152mm 8.9" LCD
http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/03/samsung_q1.jpg
http://www.transmetazone.com/articleimages/transvaioc1msx_perpspec2.jpg
More on the VAIO form factor.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1058
Put the same processor in each, which would you rather have, tablet or submini notebook?
Hmmmm.. I'm in the market for a laptop. I think I'm still in the market for a laptop.
I'm pretty curious about the distinction between these and a mini-tablet like the Fujitsu or Flybook, too. The price does make a difference, and I do think this hurts the OQO, which is smaller but vastly slower. If anyone puts together a spec comparison between these intial offerings and comparable tablets I'd love to see it. I'm in the market some something in this niche.
If the Asus is sub 500 in the UK and available before then end of April then I'll get one. Now just have to wait around to find out if that's likely or not, a little annoying they're being so tight lipped on the price and availability, it makes me think that neither will be that great otherwise they'd already be telling you how cheap it will be and trying to market it to you.
Not too sure if these would be that great for law enforcement work. Ideally, quite a few departments in the country (or world for that matter) alread have some kind of detachable computer in squad cars that can be used for recording a traffic stop, incident and arrest reports, so on and so forth. Why go to a completely new platform?
I'm curious though. Why is Microsoft pushing these now when Vista is due in November?
It's everything a laptop is and less. Blech!!! I'd rather have a 10" or 12" laptop over this. If I had to choose between that and a PSP I'd take the PSP. It has better games and the hacked apps will make it do everything I would ant it to do.
"Yeah, but anyone who has used a PDA or touchscreen piece of kit knows that putting your fingers (or thumbs) on the screen leaves greasy smudges"
Not all screens or the covers on said screens are created equal. Have you ever messed around with a touchscreen inside a Prius? It hardly ever needs cleaning.
As for the device itself. I question a 1Ghz chip. Maybe a 1.5 ULV but 1Ghz is going to be pretty dang slow. Yes its an obvious tradeoff for battery life but all I'm thinking at this point is Vista is going to be virtually useless on this thing. Remember kiddies. Vista is less then a year away at this point. You need to be keeping that OS in mind when you buy any hardware at this point.
My opinion is that UMPC is similar to my PSP - but with better promises. I want my PSP to have Internet (done), GPS (still waiting), and GSM services (probably never going to happen).
With these UMPC, I think it's getting better excpet maybe for the GSM services. But I wouldn't mind lugging around this tablet on the road/train/travel to do most of what I'd do on a "real" machine; ability to play (music, video); and also have it as my mobile phone (not sure if Cingular or T-Mo would offer up SDIO card similar to Verizon EVDO data PCMCIA card)
So I think this is actually promising from the MSFT and et al industries. I might actually buy some stocks in these guys
Check out the Duaphin DTR. I still have one.
http://popcorn.cx/computers/dauphin/dtr-1/
Same thing but older. These aren't new.
What I love about the UMPC is the possibility to replace my laptop AND desktop with one device.
Sure, it goes without saying that I would need hot plug&play keyboard and mouse, plus maybe a slightly smaller (foldable) keyboard for on-the-road.
However, I guess the only way I can connect a 17" TFT to a UMPC - wirelessly, without any extra stuff being plugged into the UMPC - would be via a rather costly device like the austrian WiJET G from Air Access Koller:
http://www.airaccess.at/products/wireless/otc-wijet.html
On the other hand, I guess I'd need to plug-in the UMPC anyhow when I'm at home... a cradle with both power-supply and VGA connector could do the trick.
The UMPC should cost 600 EUR tops!
approx. 750 $... after applying the US vs. Europe "social-cost-factor" (=VAT): 600 $ ;-)
Cue nimrods who think the design is ugly.
Someone hurry up and make a white one so they will STFU.
Oh wait, then it would just be an apple ripoff... Nevermind.
2 areas where I thing this will have an impact :
- Digital photography : uploading RAW images on standalone devices with a screen costs around 500 USD and they can't do anything else !
- Home Media server : This is much more user friendly for large libraries especially if combined with wireless-USB (thats coming). I currently use a desktop in my living room for all my FLAC files connected optically to my home cinema receiver.
Between the ergonomics, photo uploading/editing/viewing when travelling and media serving at home I find it a compelling solution at a price of 600-800 USD.
So how is this really different from the sony U50 and U70 that were around 2 years ago? Google them - they were very slick looking...
nobody has rebooted any of these yet....will they have 'instant on' capability?
the form factor and usage is just begging for PDA style instant on with XP loaded in RAM (or just the important bits)
didn't the samsung image yesterday say something about 'multimedia instant on'?
it would push me over to the 'will buy' crowd if i could simply take this out of my briefcase at a customer's office and istantly boot up to go over some autocad drawings! (instead of waiting 2 mintues for my laptop to turn on and boot up!)
Pricing: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/03/09/umpc/index.php
"Samsung plans to put the Q1 on sale in Europe before the end of June. The device will cost around 1,000 (US$1,190), it said."
Again, what can you do with this that makes it better than a subnotebook??
Good pics guys. I'm feeling this product. I'm gonna cop the one with the 1.3 meg camera. If they market this right i can see it doing well.
the specs are actually quite impressive for the size and form...the asus is the looker of the bunch tho
if they are reasonable in price I might put some thought into buying one
decent (=all day) battery life + $1000 price point = i'm hooked!
I hate the news in the area its so off...
"Microsoft plans on giving the iPod a run for its money, there going to release a device called, The Oragami. Microsoft has not given word if the device will support video, and what types of music it will support."
-Fox 12 Oregon
It's basicly a tablet
If the price is right this is the perfect device to bridge everything i would like portable. Mobile phone doesnt have the functionality I would like especially when it comes to meetings and notes in class.
I still see a major flaw in most PMPs being rather large and low rez. (i really dont feel like recompressing what i record for ~Qvga) Large storage full OS makes it easy to play any format.
GPS add-on for my PDA works pretty well but that makes it attached to the car. having it built in works well.
And if this can get wireless web. (not just hot spots) It would replace my phone as well.
Gaming should be easy dont need much extra development just lean in more towards emulation that already exists.
Price shouldnt be a problem much if youre looking at portability vs. functionality.
pmp ~300
PDA/gps ~350
Gaming 150^
I can only see 2 down sides.
2-3 hr battery life & price if its over $700.
both due to improve with a gen or two
I would think that its primarily aimed at business and corporate use. Hard to see a market outside a few people looking to consolidate devices.
Anyone know anything about boot times on those?
I should hope it is faster than laptops.
Can anyone finaly publish the resolution of the screen for al those UMPC? is that 800 x 600 or 1024 x 600 ?????
This is crucial information that is suprisingly missing from all the news???
#20... Why can't you put your machine on standby? It only takes me 10 secs to wait for my machine to start back up.
Within 3 years every kid in highschool will have one of these in their bags.
Okay, so it's an OQO competitor that isn't an OQO competitor. Wait, it's a sub-tablet that's not as powerful. Or is it, a HUGE FREAKIN Ipod Video competitor. Either way, it's just a FREAKIN PALMTOP COMPUTER. WHO CARES!!! My PDA and Laptop are just fine, and they fit into their respective places in my backpack. What am I gonna do with one of these, put it in some HUGE belt hung carrying case monstrosity? No thanks!
Josh W.
Any word on display specifications outside of resolution? Such as what video controller they use, or amount of dedicated video RAM?
If they can increase battery life and get resolution to at least 800x600 (hopefully more) it could be very successful.
http://forums.umpcdeals.com
Of course it'll run iTunes...
2006 will be a market building year for this device. Generation 2 that runs Vista available for the Christmas shopping season could really be hot, hot.
Raises the bar for expectations for a similar Apple device, that's for sure.
these things look huge. did I see they're like an inch thick? I want something that will fit in my pocket, everything else is a luggable. a luggable that's 3 inches smaller from an ultra portable notebook, without keyboard? I'm missing the purpose of this...
Id like to see this device as something between my laptop and universal remote. Give me IR learning functions to control AV and home automation and you have me sold. A good color universal remote it in the same price range so why not.
If this costs more than 800 it will never take off.
I'm not paying 1200 for a glorified PDA.
Some of these should use pure NAND for non-volatile storage (increasing battery life and performance while simultaneously reducing size [versus 1.8" drive]). Who could get by just fine with 4 or 8GB of NAND rather than hard drive if this was auxilliary PC?
I guess this occurs naturally with the 2nd generation as the NAND cost/capacity curve moves with time.
These things are great. Can't wait to get one in my car. I was going to get the Pioneer AVIC D1 but this thing blows that idea out of the water. The only thing that remains to be seen is its 3D capability, and the only reason I bring that up is because of the video that showed a prototype origami device running Halo. If this thing can run World of Warcraft then I'll be hooked.
These would have a good place in the classroom, I would think. Bigger screen than a PDA, cheaper than a tablet PC, small enough to pop into a backpack. Wireless and the ability to take handwritten notes on them are great. The battery life is a big downside, though.
I want one, i am a mac user and the only thing microsoft i own is office, but how cool are these. i want one!!!
expect to see these in hummers and escalades the month after they're released.
you will no longer need to purchase gps and stereo from dealers. all you need is a place in your dash where these will go.
Question 1.
How many 1GHz 512MB+ PDAs are on the market?
Question 2.
How many 1GHz 512MB+ PDAs with wi-fi and bluetooth are on the market.
Question 3.
How many 1GHz 512MB+ PDAs with wi-fi and bluetooth, running full blown XP are on the market?
If you want something that does all of the above AND fits into your pocket, then keep waiting.
I hear people talking about Fujitsu, aside from being larger, those things don't even have bluetooth and start at $1399.
This device is NOT designed for 'serious' gaming.
(MS would much rather sell you a 360, or another yet to be announced portable specific to gaming).
If you want/need something larger that meets your needs graphics wise, then buy a tablet or small notebook.
If you want something smaller, and don't care about being able to play EVERY game in the world, this is it.
All I can think of is what Apple did so long ago. Microsoft did it again... they imitated and embellished someone else's idea. Can you saw "Newton"?
http://members.aol.com/stevenw9/mp2000.jpg
More coverage, including models not shown on engadget:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/08/eveningnews/main1384694.shtml
I can't figure out why so many people get so worked up about this crap. If you don't like it, don't buy one. Pretty simple concept actually.
Besides, once these really hit the street, somebody will Port the Penguin to it, and then we won't have too worry about Vista. Or Vista SP-2.
Anyway, depending on the price point and actual battery life, one of these would be a very worthy replacement to my iPaq hx4700 when the time comes.
I don't think this is really a site for people that dig gadgets. It seems to be more of a site for people that like to make snide comments about gadgets.
This is a real slick concept. I'll admit that the industrial design and the form factor (size) aren't quite there yet but they've done what they can with current technology.
The gadget designer wannabes that bitch about every new product that comes out don't seem to quite get it. I crack up when I read comments like "if only it had a bigger screen and was smaller" or "if only it was lighter but had 6 times the battery life." For those of you that don't understand why that cracks me up, please think about it.
This is a great move for microsoft and intel. It's also a great development for consumers because if someone doesn't rip the keys to portable music and video world out of Apple's hands, we're all going to continue to get screwed on content (I love my iPod fanboys so chill).
In my opinion, these devices are a play for the nascent (but burgeoning) portable video market. Instead of comparing this to a small laptop, compare it to a large PMP like an Archos AV700. You get relatively similar size and price, but about a zillion times the functionality with the availability of the XP OS (and soon, Vista).
On form factor, you're about 1.5 to 2 years away from the following: a device like this that is about the size of a checkbook and sports a 5 inch or so OLED widescreen, a keyboard, every type of wireless connection you can think of, NAND Flash for onboard storage AND (the really cool part in my opinion) the ability to link to a wireless USB hardrive that stays in your backpack/briefcase.
So . . . if I was in the market for a PMP and/or a PDA right now, I'd give one of these things serious consideration.
In general, though, I'm holding off on all my computing purchases right now because there's too much change in the works and I'm giving the manufacturers a little time to catch up and stabilize stuff (and it always gets cheaper -- bonus!!!)
This device is a great development. Can't wait to see round 2 or 3. By this time next year with Vista and these new Core Duo chips and shrinking (and wireless) storage and OLED and EVDO and all the new content deals that come out every day. . . this stuff's all going to be real cool!!
And somebody pointed out above that this will push Apple to get its own small tablet out. I agree and competition is really great for us consumers. It would be really bad for us if Apple corners the portable video market the way it has cornered music downloads/mp3 devices.
"brushed metal" - but only some thin front cover? thick? color coded audio connectors? windows? no GSM built in?
well, this is typical for MS pushing something in the market by defining new need for "features". will "take off" like tablets (means: being used for specialty applications and by pseudo geeks who realize that their 19in athlon laptop is not really luggable...).
so can these be used as a phone with bluetooth headset?
The ASUS is pretty. The rest... meh----
#48, I agree completely with everything you have to say.
I'll probably hold out for a second or third generation version, but so far this thing is looking great. I'll gladly trade in my Archos for one.
to those saying these are useless to professionals, judging by that 'origami' promo video aren't these being positioned more as lifestyle devices... or has that changed.
for a launch it seems they are being a bit vague on their intent.
I smile whenever I read "1 Ghz is way too slow!"
What I'm reading is: "What! This can't play teh Counter-strike!!? What a useless pile of junk!"
1 Ghz, is plenty fast for almost every single day to day task you'll participate in. And with millions of applications which can run on it right now, plus an almost inifite number which could be written, the question should be what can't this thing do? People always cheer when they get linux booted on a toaster, well here you go, a full functional x86 pc ready to boot linux out of the box. With a 1ghz processor and 512 MBs of RAM, make it do whatever you want.
I've been sort of shopping around for a laptop, but there is never any that I want. If I bought a laptop, it would be essentially a desktop replacement for me. However, if that's the case I need a laptop which offers me the punch of my desktop for my 3D and Video workstation apps. Maybe a boxx laptop coming in at 3,000 would fill that role, but I don't want to carry around something that heavy, but still underpowered in comparison to my desktop.
These aren't designed as desktop replacements for people who use high performance applications (3d modeling, video editing, number crunching, games.) This is something different all together, a little computer which can do 99% of the day to day tasks I do on the computer, only now, anywhere. If they can eventually bring down the price point to about $800, it'll be the missing link in computing, what do you do on the street when you want to run "XYZ application".
The brilliance of this little device is people don't have to develop new applications for it. "What you want to run that old dos application which has never let you down? No problem. What you want to use some piece of freeware which you use every day? No problem."
Microsoft has always built its reputation (for better or for worse) on building platforms for developers. They recognize that the strength of the platform is in the available content, and with windows XP installed, and linux optional, that available content comprises almost the entire library of software known to man. All in the palm of your hand. Now that's a cool gadget.
Not sure what the big deal is.
OQO model 01+ products which have been around for a while and are much cooler than these.
Pricey but a lot better and smaller than any of these.
http://www.oqo.com/hardware/photos/photo01.html
I am amazed that these products got made. What market
are they aiming this for?
It's too small and not powerful enough to be a laptop. No keyboard or vga adaptor. And it's too big to be a PDA or phone. This niche product will be the biggest flop for Microsoft in recent years and the small pda/phone/camera is where the market will eventually go.
I think everyone is missing who is the real target are for these devices:
Corporate Middle Management
It's a corporate meeting machine.
It's small enough to carry from meeting to meeting (nobody wants to lug a laptop around, even a Vaio).
It can run Outlook (welcome to the corporation!).
It has a screen large enough so that all these 45 year old guys with Presbyopia can still read their email.
It can run Excel (corporate!).
It runs Windows. This means the corporate IT staff already has business processes in place to handle licensing, help desk, upgrades, patches, etc. (This is important in the corp.)
The corporate managers for whom I consult would trade a junior minion for one of these gadgets.
I`m ready to buy the next generation of this device that will have VISTA pre-installed and have more power-efficient processors on board.This device really can do it all...wifi,bluetooth,GPS ,dual mics and speakers,VOIP and on and on.I`m sure they will also eventually be flash-based storage since SAMSUNG is the world leader in FLASH output.And the lowly JOBS-POD can only support compressed music and low-rez video!
Bah, those are total rip-offs of Sony VAIO U50/U70...
They had a 1 GHz Pentium M, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB HD, 800x600 touchscreen, Wireless 802.11b and battery life of 2.5h / 4h with extended battery.
So this is 3-year old tech.
#60 -
And that U70 cost how much? $1800? Now $500 - $1000? Yeah, three-year-old tech, and the only benefit is they save you $1000+ bucks.
There was also a school of thought that said people will buy a music enclosure for a 10gig 1.8" drive, once it cost just a few hundred bucks.
You prob said at the time "How stupid, I've had a 10gig drive in my home machine for three years!"
I teach at a University and I forsee 75% of my students buying the first or second generation.
OK.... Where the devil are these?
For everyone who is complaining about the form of these devices, go to here:
http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/platform/umpc.htm
And look under "product information" -- Click on "watch the video of possible useages"
They show some pretty AMAZING forms -- I can't believe that they aren't showing those -- Although it would KILL the sales of the Samsung and Asus units coming out.
It has become quite obvious that most people that read Engadget do not have the ability to think outside their own experiences. And it seems they don't leave the house very often either.
That said, I like these new products. I use my Axim X50 at work as a PDA, organizer and other general computing tasks (holds passwords, etc...), then go to grad school at night and take all my notes, including voice recording, on it using a folding keyboard. When I travel, it is my MP3 player and video player. I can walk through the airport and stand in line at the gate while holding and watching it.
Now, my laptop is overkill for PDA work. I can take notes at school with the laptop, but some classrooms have very small desks the laptop is too big. And with the Axim, I can also draw out sketchs and graphs in my notes. And a laptop is basically useless to pull out in an airport. Too much time to boot, burnt legs, and try to stand in line with your boarding pass while still watching your movie!
So what would be the perfect device for me? Something smaller and quicker booting than a laptop, something I can take hand written notes on, but also attach a keyboard to take full notes. Something that can act as my media device. To date, the PPC was my perfect device, but the screen size is still a little too small.
This is the perfect device for me. How many people actually carry their PPCs on their person anyway? I know mine is always in my laptop case, but gets pulled out way more often then my laptop. And a fully loaded Axim will cost you $500+ now!
Oh, one more thing I do with with my Axim is pair it to a bluetooth GPS reciever and run Intelligolf - A golfer's best friend! Now you couldn't carry this in your back pocket when you are walking the course, like I sometimes do with my Axim. But it would definitly be great in the cart and allow the software makers to improve the graphics on the maps.
And I am sure there are thousands of people that could use these things in thousands of different ways.
Oragmi was a good codename - take a blank piece of paper and make it into whatever you want. Take the basic hardware and software package and use it however you want.
I think many people are missing the point. (Which is Microsoft's fault for not getting it across well enough)
Microsoft has actually surprised me here. Way back when the buzz and speculation started (a full two weeks ago), my concern was that the user interface would be completely over-looked.
To my surprise, Microsoft has done exactly what I think they should.
First, they have (apparently) addressed the major issue of making a full featured OS function as quickly and easily as a PDA. Depending of course on boot-up time.
What I mean by that, is the Touch Pack gives the ability to turn it on and get directly to the application you need, based on a functionality decision, similar to the way you can quickly pull up the email or calendar functions on a PDA.
That way, you can load as many apps as you like, but when you first turn it on, you will have direct access to the things you use most often. This, all with the touch of a finger. No need to reach for a stylus, mouse or keyboard. Yes, I know you could accomplish a similar feat by placing big icons for your favorite apps on the desktop. But.. in reality, if it's going to take off in a consumer environment, the default setup has to already do it for you. Not to mention the Touch Pack user interface provides a much nicer look and feel.
It also appears that the on-screen thumb keyboard will be a huge user adoption win. The user gets a decent way to type, navigate and hold the unit without having to move their hands from the position they used to pick it up. Seems like that may be a better system than the keyboard/mouse combination I have on my desktop. Yup, I'm used to it, but I still hate having to take my hand off the keyboard to reach for the mouse.
Second, they are sticking to being (primarily) a software company. It's what they know, and also where the profit margins are the best. Not to mention the huge consumer advantage of having competition at the hardware level. Just look at how much power you can get for your dollar in the PC world vs. the Apple world. Yes, I know Apple is getting closer price wise, and you get much more refined design, but ultimately the consumer benefits from competition. Not only will there be price competition, there will also be big competition based on functionality and the variety of form factors that can be crammed into this niche computing platform.
There is already talk about the second generation having full day battery power, and a much lower price, within about a year. So. I know Ill be waiting for the second or third generation when these things will also likely be running the new Vista OS.
At that point we wont have to worry about the current complaints regarding battery life, connectivity options, input options or hopefully even price.
So, thanks Microsoft, Intel, Asus, Samsung, Founder et al, for helping push the mobile computing platform in the right direction.
The best is yet to come.
There is a market for this device, but it's not just one demographic: corporate, educational, medical, commercial sales, shipping and warehousing, databasing and record keeping, automotive, entertainment. Many of these markets are going to do absolutely nothing interesting with these: specialized database entry, usb scanner hardware and software, processing sales on the floor, GPS tracking of employees or for real-time re-routing of shipments, VOIP with the main office from the warehouse or with a dictation fileserver, etc. Sorry it's dull, but it's a big big big market.
Also, it would work well for pre-teens (you can load it with Disney child-complacency-generating content, block all but a few websites, and get some educational software going). The utility for groups of people packing wireless networked battery-powered tablets is going to depend on the software. Sure all of this stuff can be done on tablet pc's, and a lot of it is already done on tablets pc's (since the UPMC is a tablet PC), but they have been very expensive for an enterprise solution. You can buy twice to three times as many UPMCs as tablet PCs at current pricing.
I think of Intel announcing the UPMC as being similar to Intel announcing the Centrino platform, which was really just a collection of components that would go into a laptop, or Microsoft placing hardware requirements around MCE, and keeping MCE OEM to ensure that consumer MCE systems would meet the hardware requirements. I don't know if anyone was really really disappointed with the Centrino announcement, but the Centrino platform was Intel's saving grace when AMD beat them to 64 bit computing. Also, if you want real tech news, the new Intel CPU is it, not the UPMC.
For those who are underwhelmed by the UPMC and are fans of tablet PCs, small laptops, and devices like the oqo, the best part about the UPMC will be the competition it will bring to product design and the effect on prices for all of these devices. The oqo was updated with slightly better hardware and Tablet OS and the price dropped $200 around the time the dualcor cPc was announced to come in at $1500 running both Tablet OS and WM5.0. The $500 retail price goal set out by this project will be the best thing for anyone who hates the UPMC but wants to get what is now a $2500 tablet PC.
This is the PC side of the market taking the lead, instead of following Apple's lead as with the iPod. I expect that it will yield a lot of crap, but it will be cheaper and cheaper crap. And that's why we can now get a crap laptop for $500 at Walmart. Yay.
@29 There is a video on Channel 9: http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=169962
They showed 1Ghz CPU and 800x480 native resolution. But you can plug in external that goes as high as the driver will allow (up to manufacturer).
I'd like to modify a comment I made in my earlier post. I said "most people that read Engadget". That was wrong. It should say "most people that post comments on Engadget."
I apologize to all readers I may have offended with that blanket statement about them.
New UMPC form factor:
http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Telephones/US-West_Old-School_Cell_Phone_Horiz_Tan_web.jpg
"Why would anybody want that thing?"
"It's such a terrible size! It's too big to fit in your pocket, and if I really wanted to make a call, I could just go to one of a billion phone booths."
"Once again, they've created a product that looks like ass."
"Please... change my life? It's just a phone, talk about over hyped."
"The quality is so much worse than a land line."
"The battery life is terrible!"
"Maybe it if it was a lot cheaper, but at that price range, come on."
"The interface is terrible."
"Looks like it'll only really appeal to a niche market."
"Anyone who has used buttons will know that you'll be constantly breaking that keypad."
"Just another example of a company trying to jump in and create a need that doesn't exist."
Apple is so risk averse now, they haven't even released a cell phone. I wouldn't expect Apple to touch the tablet, let alone UMPC, market for a couple years, until they can learn from everyone elses mistakes and release a mainstream product. So all of you waiting for the great fruit response, are going to be waiting a while. This is still front lines, cutting edge gadgetry here, which is going to create a whole new market, not just exploit an existing one.
What kinds and numbers of ports do these guys have?
With these small screened devices, Windows really needs to re-address the whole UI/text size/screen resolution thing. They scale up in size okay but they scale down terribly.
They've come up with the perfect device for what *I* have a laptop for, that is, an ability to be at the computer when I don't want to be at the computer. If you haven't noticed, even the smallest most convenient laptops are an incredibly non-ideal form factor for having on the couch, laying in bed with, and so on. Also, it's usability as a portable notepad computer is limitless.
This is something that you can keep everywhere, for all of the eight million things we rely on computers and the web for nowadays. I will buy one of these models at launch as long as the price isn't outrageous, and I'm sure I won't be the only one.
#61 - The 10gb drive isn't a fair comparison. The U70 and "UMPCs" have the same form factor.
VAIO U70 had the price handicap (but cheaper than OQO!), 'cause it wasn't backed by Wintel... and the ULV Pentium-M was a pricey novelty back then.
The question is, these devices don't deserve all this hype.
Oh, for the record, VAIO U50/70 failed because 2.5h of battery life is **it. And the extended battery (4h) was bulky & heavy.
This may sound funny but I want to be able to enjoy my time on a porcelain thrown... FOrge newspapers and magazines...
This is the answer!
Why all the fuss? Really.
It seems that Motion Computing has had this figured out in their LS800 for quite a while.
Check it out:
http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_ls.asp
I love all you folks saying oqo is already here, whats all the fuss!
oqo cost 2 grand!
these will cost one grand or less
Hello??????
come on apple, make with the MacBook Mini!
if only....
--neg
Anyone know if the stylus input is pressure sensitive at all? As an artist, that would sell this device to me no questions asked.
Hmmm... looks just like the Dauphin I had over 10 years ago. Maybe they slapped a few new chips inside the old shells that they couldn't sell back then...
>> Ahh, those new DialKeys, er, keys feel good.
>> It's actually an effective way to enter text.
You gotta be kidding. How many characters did you enter? More than 5?
At CeBIT, using the Samsung Q1, I logged on to Gmail and "typed" an message containing 285 characters. Took me 9 minutes, i.e 30 characters/minute. Now, I'm not saying that you cannot significally increase that speed. But entering that same text on my laptop keyboard takes me 65 seconds, so we're talking factor 9 here -- way to climb on the learning curve. Plus, you need to shift the DialKeys to get to the komma and other important keys which cannot be compensated by experience, I guess.
Details and 22 shots of all DialKeys aspects at
http://neuerdings.com/2006/03/10/origami-umpc-q1-touchpack-dialkeys-usability/ (text German, pics international).
Why am I the only one who gets it? Tablet PC's will never succeed. The only thing that will happen is that laptops will gradually get some of the features that tablet PC's are touting (touch screens and alternate input).
WHAT WE NEED IS JUST A TABLET! Forget the PC part.
That's not to say that we don't need CPU or an OS but it needs to be much more directed. We learned this 10 years ago with newton vs Palm. The device needs to be larger than current PDA's an about a third of the size of these bricks. We are talking iPod thickness and far less border around the screen. It needs to sync with my desktop for email, calendar, contacts, photos, music, movies and key documents (I'm not talking about Word or Excel I'm more talking RTF or PDF).
I should be able to handwrite notes on it, receive email and surf the net. There may be room for some gaming on these devices but I'm still skeptical about the viability because this device with a 7 inch screen needs to sell for about $500 with a min 60-80GB HD and enough memory to run the applications I already mentioned. Battery life should be around 6 hours so you can use it through out the work day and just charge it at night.
It should not try to be a general PC, it should try to be a peripheral with some PC abilities.
Regarding 'Wah! It doesn't have Vista!':
According to the MS website, *all* devices running Tablet XP 2003 and 2005 (this includes UMPCs) will get a free upgrade to Vista Home Premium Edition when Vista is released.
Just like how Tablet XP 2003 users got a free upgrade to 2005 (and still can get said upgrade).
Also, Re: #57
"No keyboard and no VGA"? Huh-what?
Erm. I suppose that means the DVI/VGA (depending on manufacturer) ports and the two USB2.0 ports on the current UMPCs are just for show...
The first manufacturer to bulid in an international cell phone and give instant on with at least 24 hour standby will be able to see a bunch of these. Personally, I would consider to replace my cell phone and my laptop with one of these for traveling, but not if I cannot eliminate a device and all the extra cables, chargers, etc. that go with that one device. What are the specs for external monitor support on these?
First off I want one. Ties into my needs perfectly in both functionality and form factor. If they were available today I would already own one, waiting patiently for someone to put them up for ordering.
Not from early adopter fever, simply that it will meet my needs. From portable PC at work for note taking (OneNote and TexNotesPro), keeping reference works handy (quick and easy .pdf viewing). For home ebook reading via Ubook and comic reading with Cdisply. Using Maxvista to connect with main pc and use as an auxillary display or control of my pc. And as a carputer between to two.
Would like to see one using 1.5 mhz processor (via?) a GB of memory and the largest notebook hard drive available. Sounds like several are going to be customizable. Would not bat an eyelash to have those specs and spend maybe 1500 still cheaper than most full sized tablets, OQO, and other form factors giving me something that would truly incorporate itself into my lifestyle not the other way around.
Think someone will use a flash drive to boot from with the operating system on it leaving the hard drive for data and media.
At last a replacement for my HP200lx. It only took 20 years.
Jake in comment #50 I think your spot on with your line of thought. I have laptops, desktops and Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC with Verizon that gives me access anywhere, no hotspot needed and it's great. Some tasks are better served on each and each has it's purpose for sure in my life at least. Going from ultra small, to medium portable to big and stationary and having these basis covered I don't directly see a need for an inbetween ultra small and medium portable yet as a priority in my list of needs.
Functionality is certainly going to seem to be the reasoning for such a device. So the key is going to be up to software and hardware development that supports this for it to be able to live or die. It's a catch 22 though, no one is going to take the time to develop anything for it if it doesn't sell.
Myself, I may be very interested in buying one say 2 years from now. I do see it as a device that would be very handy tossed in the car. It would be perfect for that. Add in some GPS functionality to it and it would be perfect for finding directions or weather info while traveling across country or just in town. Battery life wouldn't be a big issue plugged into a car charger. My Pocket PC device is currently too small to realisticly use for this purpose, and my smallest laptop is still a little too cumbersome to use as a in car practical device. The stupid steering wheel always seems to get in the way.
A device this size would however be just perfect, development 2 years from now could lead it into being a built in feature on new cars. There's a definate potential for it in thought of that market place. No more 8 track player in the dash. Instead it's replaced by a UMPC built into the steering wheel, and integrated into your cars onboard computer system. From this angle of marketing for such a device the possibilities could certainly take it's "need" over the top. Dump the 8 track tape player for a device instead operating Windows Media Player with WiFi so when you pull in the garage you can auto sync all your mp3's to download into the car and be stored for your listening enjoyment while on the road.
Mounting it in the steering wheel may not be the best location, but that spot in your dash where the current car audio system is located could be a good location.
It has a huge potential in the automotive industry. Levers and buttons for car climate control could be replaced by a touch screen with changeable and customizeable skins. Just touch a menu button and go from the Windows Media Player car audio system to climate control options or automotive diagnostics telling you your next oil change is due or the amperage output of your alternator is low and needs to be serviced. "OnStar" is currently trying to do this with email notifications to your home PC, why not just email them directly to you in your car?
If it had GPS functionality built into it the benefits there would be obvious enough for mapping and location information, as well as real time traffic information, you could also use that functionality for other Satellite types of functionality like satellite radio broadcasts or even connecting to dish network to be able to watch all your favorite TV shows on it anytime anywhere.
Pull into airport long term parking and just detach the UMPC out of your dash and take it on the plane with you to complete or update that presentation your flying out to present to your clients.
Some people have said, this is an idea that's been tried before, and with obvious little success or there would be no need to mention these past attempts, we'd all already know about them wiothout mention.
Marketing is certainly going to be the key and clearly without a good reason to need such a device marketing is going to struggle.
So why not tie in with all the other markets already trying to struggle and get their product out there, or markets that have already spent millions getting their products known.
This one device could tie in everything alot of other markets are already attempting to do on their own, and by pooling in all these other markets this could certainly be a concept to do it with. There's a huge potential for a device of this exact size and portability and it's not currently being marketed in a way to aim at any of this potential. Instead it's being marketed towards persons like myself who have a Pocket PC and a Laptop and little need for this device as a stand alone unit.
There's a huge potential to make a device like this the one size fits all device everyone will have to have if they market it to fit everyones needs that way. With WiFi functionality and fingerprint recognition it could change the world as we know it and do everything. Pull up to your house and change screens to your garage door opener remote screen and have the option to through WiFi open garage door operator 1, 2, or 3. Unlock the door to your house, warm up the oven, turn on the AC, turn the front lights on, arm disarm your security system. Carry it into the house and use it to control your home audio video system replacing the current 10 remotes all just by changing to a different "window" or application. Program your sprinkler system, order a pizza.
This one device in everything I see isn't even considering all these other marketing possibilities, yet it is the one size fits all perfect device to handle all of this and if it did, people not only would buy it, they'd see a need to have to have it.
So Dave, gadgets are way cool, but they are even cooler when they actually serve a true purpose. The marketing department for this device needs to all be fired before they even half heartedly get started in their failed attempts and they need to get some real thinkers in there that can look at all the potential a device of this potential and size could carry. The list I can think of for manufacturers that you could easily bring into this market is almost endless. The more of those manufacturers you bring in the better the functionality goes, the more features everyone has to sell to their customers (with an ability to have a new edge on all the markets). For us the gadget consumers we could finally get a true latest and greatest gadget with massive potential, the true "Arch of the Covenant" of all gadgets ever known to man.
Myself, I've been around since long before even the 386's and Commadore 64's were the hot items to have. I use Windows, Linux and BSD and when I purchase new major hardware items I do so when Microsoft comes out with a new major operating system and only after that. Buying new hardware between Microsoft OS's is foolish and stupid, you always end up with something that won't run the latest and greatest others try to follow. Let the new Microsoft OS come out, let the hardware manufacturers catch up to it (which also means the initial cost comes down for us the consumers), then buy.
The delivery of this device was a poor planned, poorly researched marketing disaster. The development came either too late or too early depending on how you want to look at it. Aimed to handle XP I'd say the marketing and development came too late. Sure, some fool will buy this, but there aren't enough fools to make it just storm the market like it could if the development would have aimed towards a better potential and future adaptability towards the newest Windows OS.
When these devices will become commercially available there will be a ready market of software available to these machines. Users of these mobile PCs will be able to run whatever Windows applications they're using today on their desktop PC.
The most common objection I've seen to this new type of PC is that it's too big to be a PDA. I'd agree. It is too big to be a PDA.
But it's not supposed to be a PDA.
Don't get me wrong, it can certainly do everything a PDA can... in fact it'd do it better - no more "pocket" versions of Outlook, Word, IE, Excel, and so on! If you want a PDA, go buy a PDA. If you want a device that's a little bigger than a PDA, but can do so much more... get one of these UMPCs!
It won't be popular until it can play good video games. They won't sell many of these by simply slapping crappy unichrome video chips inside.
These are all old technologies. Matthew Artero User Interface has a new top secret hand-operated-user interface that makes it possible for one hand to enter AND EDIT text in a cell phone faster than typing with two hands on a full size desktop keyboard. The same hand that holds the cell phone operates the interface so only one hand is required. The company states the cell phone will replace the desktop keyboard. When the qwerty keyboard hit the market it displaced the alphabetical keyboard and put over 50 typewriter companies out of business. This new interface holds the same threat for smartphones, PDAs, notebooks, ultra portables, and so on. Handheld and mobile devices that do not offer Mobile Users this new level of productivity will sit on store shelves remaining unsold, while manufacturers and service providers who are first to offer this new technology to Mobile Users will become market leaders. http://www.matthewarterouserinterface.com
doesn't anybody notice that neither of these devices can even display the system properties dialog completely? the ok/cancel buttons at the bottom are cropped... even this tiny dialog is already too big for this display.
that's already a good reason _not_ to get one. would be even worse with word/excel etc...
I want something that fits into my pocket / belt pouch, runs vista well, has at least 8 hours battery life. Works like a normal phone an feels like a normal phone yet is also useable as a laptop with all the modern chips (quad band, edge, 3g, HDSD card slot, bluetooth, wifi n/g/b/i, GPS, multi-touch, 3.0 pixel camera, 60gb hd, usb).
Realistically it would probably have a 3.5" screen and have all the buttons on the side, back and slide out keyboard to make maximum use of the space.
I don't want to carry a laptop everywhere but I do always carry my phone on my belt. It will be particularly useful for long commutes. It would simply make sense to create this universal device.
Now ARM has a 1ghz processor for mobile phone, I think phone companies are almost here but not quite, it so frustrating because I know I'm going to buy a new phone soon and 2 months later this ultimate device will appear.