http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/ Engadget Comments for Hands-on with ASUS and Founder UMPCs http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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]]>Mar 9th 2006 7:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
Oh and if you would please "TAKE THE UMPC AND RUN, ENGADGET, RUN!!!"]]>Mar 9th 2006 7:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
I can only dream that Vista requires hardware T&L so the next UMPCs can actually run a modern RTS.]]>Mar 9th 2006 7:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/I don't get it. I was expecting built-in EVDO or something of that sort.]]>Mar 9th 2006 7:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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?]]>Mar 9th 2006 7:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 7:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 8:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 8:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
I'm curious though. Why is Microsoft pushing these now when Vista is due in November? ]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 8:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/

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.
]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
http://popcorn.cx/computers/dauphin/dtr-1/

Same thing but older. These aren't new.

]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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 $ ;-)]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
Someone hurry up and make a white one so they will STFU.

Oh wait, then it would just be an apple ripoff... Nevermind.]]>Mar 9th 2006 8:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
- 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.
]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 9:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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!)]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/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??]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
if they are reasonable in price I might put some thought into buying one]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
"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]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/I still see a major flaw in most PMPs being rather large and low rez. (i really don’t 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 don’t need much extra development just lean in more towards emulation that already exists.
Price shouldn’t be a problem much if you’re 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.
]]>Mar 9th 2006 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
This is crucial information that is suprisingly missing from all the news???]]>Mar 9th 2006 10:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 10:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 10:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
Josh W.]]>Mar 9th 2006 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 10:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
http://forums.umpcdeals.com]]>Mar 9th 2006 10:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 10:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Raises the bar for expectations for a similar Apple device, that's for sure.
]]>Mar 9th 2006 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 10:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
I'm not paying 1200 for a glorified PDA.]]>Mar 9th 2006 11:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
I guess this occurs naturally with the 2nd generation as the NAND cost/capacity curve moves with time.]]>Mar 9th 2006 11:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 11:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 11:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/Mar 9th 2006 11:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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.]]>Mar 9th 2006 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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.
]]>Mar 9th 2006 12:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
http://members.aol.com/stevenw9/mp2000.jpg]]>Mar 9th 2006 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/08/eveningnews/main1384694.shtml]]>Mar 9th 2006 1:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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.]]>Mar 9th 2006 1:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-asus-and-founder-umpcs/
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.]]>Mar 9th 2006 1:38PM