Ok, here we go folks, a UMPC with an
announced price, ready to order. First from the gates is the
TabletKiosk V-700 or rather,
"eo" UMPC v7110. Now, forget what you heard about these pups dropping for around $500 to help position them
between the handheld and laptop market, mkay? This UMPC sportin' a VIA C7 NaNo 1.0GHz processor, XP Tablet PC edition,
30GB disk, 7-inch 800 x 480 TFT touch LCD, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, and 256MB RAM will hit the last week of April for, get
this, $900 freakin' dollars! Now consider for comparison, that you can get a
Dell XPS
M140 laptop which also won't fit in your pocket but has twice the screen size, double the processing power, double
the RAM, and double the disk for $50 bucks less and we just gotta wonder... why TabletKiosk, why? Sure, prices will go
down with time, but that's not exactly the most auspicious start.
[Via
GottaBeMobile]
posted Mar 28th 2006 9:01AM
Why?
Because size matters. The early adopters are gonna make this one an instant sell-out.
Once there are five or six companies selling them, and the supply details get ironed out, prices will plunge.
BTW -- You can get that Dell notebook for a whole lot less... Look for coupons.
No thanks :)
I don't know anyone who would be interested in this thing for $900. It doesn't look like it fits in your pocket, it probably has crap for a graphics processor inside which means I wouldn't be able to play any decent games.
The only positive I see is that I'd be able to keep playing a game even when I gotta go to the bathroom, but the thing probably doesn't run any game I play in the first place.
This is crazy, specs are not that impressive. I just bought a used gateway cx200x for the same price. More hard drive, more memory, much much better processor (centrino vs. via), these computers unless either the specs get better or the price gets lower will be as big of a flop as any. I am a firm supporter of tablet pcs and frankly I prefer pen input to finger input. Keeps the screen looking nice
i smell a history repeat episode a la those crappy ms outlook fossil watches.
How will Engadget backtrack if Apple releases a 7 inch screen tablet for $900?
Will they quote themseleves and recommend a Dell?
Tethered to a 3G phone in a car would make this more attractive (at least to me).
like I said before it will take a few generations of the thing before its worth getting
UMPC is a form-factor solution looking for a problem to solve. After being excited by "Origami" only to be let down by reality, I checked out eBay to see what tablet pcs are selling for. I picked up a beautiful Fujitsu 3500 Stylistic 3500 for $250. 500Mhz Intel Celeron, 256MB RAM (surprisingly it is enough), Windows 2000 w/PenX extensions, 15GB harddrive, USB, PCMCIA, IR, etc.
I just popped in a PCMCIA WiFi card and I have a wireless web device. USB keyboard works just fine in a pinch.
I'm getting 3+ hours on the battery as an ebookreader, 2+ hours of heavy use on the battery. (1.5 hrs with WiFi usage).
There's plenty of drive space left on that 15GB to put videos on. (obviously not at DVD quality, but very watchable!)
It's a great little device to tinker around with. Most of us never had access to a tablet PC, and these older but affordable devices can give us a hands-on idea of what using a tablet is like.
The UMPC will need to be the price of a PSP for me to be interested. YMMV.
Aguish look at the other pricing options slow 512 ms, 40 GB harddrive Carl faster for only $100 more. compared to the othe "slates" on the market, (LS800) the price is real attractive. They will get better and lower. Wasn't Samsung's coming out at around $1100
Who gave JC a negative star? He makes a good point. Watch, Apple will soon release another iProduct at a 30% premium and the Jobs Legion will waive their credit cards high in the air. $300 for a minimalist boombox anyone? (disclaimer: I own an iMac G5)
The first generation UMPCs are for early adopters who are willing to shell out a little for something new. I also keep thinking this would be a good computer for a kid or teenager.
I just don't get it! Either MS is looking to the industry sector to push these or there just completely missing the mark. That commerical that surfaced a month ago was just totally unrealistic.
I can think of hundreds of workflows using different devices that would come in at a lot cheaper. People may be gadget mad but they aren't going to just throw money at this.
and by the way what happened to the rumored Apple event on April 1st? has engadget given up hope? and if apple rolls out a new tablet surely all hell will break loose.
Ouch! But then again, people pay for size (or lack of), and size (or lack of) isn't always cheap.
256mb? I am waiting for this to tank like a dog so I can pick up one for cheap. :)
This device is not the one to buy.
It lacks several of the features found in the asus UMPC. we'll all see a jump in battery performance over the next year. not to mention the product has the touch and feel of a playschool toy.
How does one get or receive stars?! Who gives out stars?! I can't seem to find a help section on them.
Ugh, and to think I was really excited about the UMPC.
Thanks for the tip about the the Stylistic 3500, sracer. I was leaning toward the Nokia 770, but it looks like the Stylistic is capable of more. Best part is there's plenty of 3500s on eBay with "Buy it now"s around $250.
http://www.mobilityguru.com/2006/01/31/fujitsus_tiny_laptop_gets_microsofts_tablet_pc_os/page11.html
not much better specs, for 500 more, but upgradable.
I think Microsoft is feeling the pinch money wise. With the flop they produced called ME, the Tablet OS flopping probably would of been hard on them.
To bad it looks like crap, doesn't have a cell phone, cannot fit in your pocket, and has some really horrid specs to boot. Oh and 900 bucks? I wouldn't pay more then $100 if it had everything I said above.
If they want to make something people will like and use, go to an Asian country. For some unknown damn reason they have some nice stuff that is multifunction (i.e. cell phones, ladies, etc). We get the same old thing with a new paint job, upgraded wireless, and some slightly better specs then the tablet computers were two years ago.
(twirls his finger in the air) Yaaaay.
When these were officially released I thought they were crap, but now that I am planning a year-long vacation they are looking better and better. Small device, good for browsing, email, and storing digital photos and video. And cheaper than the Dell Latitude X1 too. I just hope prices drop between now and this time next year.
Glad to help, tiuk. I bought mine from the seller with a bunch of Buy-it-now auctions @ $259. The guy is straight-up and I was impressed with the quality of the unit.
I'm really impressed with how lean Win2K is on this machine. Only 256MB of RAM and I can surf, play music, video, etc... all with a surprising snappiness.
I installed MobiPocket Reader PC on it and it makes a FANTASTIC eBook reader. I could never get into reading ebooks before, but on this tablet, it is pretty neat.
TwistedPaint is a great draw/paint program for the tablet too. Just draw/paint with the stylus and create some amazing artwork.
I try to keep Engadget honest about their Apple bias and I get a negative star as a consequence. Who knows how I was awarded this distinction but I'm proud of it.
I would LOVE one of these, if I was in the market. Comparing it to a PDA is ridiculous because it is a fully functional computer, running all the Windows apps and able to be a laptop replacement if you don't mind the pen input method (which I don't mind at all).
This is NOT an oversized (and overpriced PDA), but a small form-factor LAPTOP with a touchscreen, half the weight, half the size and all the power and capability.
I also noticed the negative stars today (with this post) Bad idea, as there are those that will be negative just to get a negative star.
I have an iPod and I like it...will that get me back to zero star status?
:)
What JC said.
Does anyone know of a site reporting this sort of news without their subjective BS propaganda in every blurb?
Why is the concept of size and weight in portable devices so alien to the staff? If this was an Apple product running OS X, you'd be trampling each other to death to make it to the local Apple Store.
I'd like to replace Engadget.
Well, I sort of agree that this is a solution looking for a problem. I can think of a whole lot of things I do routinely with my Treo 650 (talk on the phone, manage my shopping and errands lists, keep track of my finances), as well as what I do with my ipod (listen to music), and I can't imagine buying a full computer that's somewhat large to do all that with.
Then again, think about all the science fiction stories with portable computers or little notepad-sized PC's. We want that, right? If we didn't want it, we wouldn't write speculative fiction about it.
[wwaaah, I hate engadget, i hate it I hate it i hate it I hate it...
but I'm still going to read it and complain!]
$900 dollars is way TOO much for something 2 steps bigger than a Palm Pilot, I don't care if it comes from MS or from Apple. $450 maybe, on the outside. For $900 bucks it better be running XP not Tablet.
I want one of these. But $900. No chance.
It's utterly pointless to compare these to similarly priced laptops, though. Of course you get less for the money. Different products, different needs, different prices.
No one says "oh man, you spent $900 on that laptop? You could have gotten a desktop with twice the RAM for that money!"
Still, I won't get one of these with less than 512MB, and I won't spend over $500.
I totally agree with the comments here that if the eo had an apple logo on it, the praises wouldn't stop.
Also: you can not compare these types of devices to a low priced laptop - the functionality and needs being addressed are not the same. In addition, doing so is very irresponsible. They are trying to solve a different problem. Do those low end laptops have touch screens? No. Can you write on them? No. They are also 6" bigger, which tends be introduce mobility issues.
Granted, I'd love to see this device priced at $500 and we will get there eventually. But to see that a $1000 unit with 512mb ram, 40gb 5400rpm harddrive, 1ghz system is aggresively priced, you only need to look at other slates on the market, primarily the LS800 - an 8" slate which is priced at $1699 for 256mb, 20gb harddrive.
What are you guys talking about, Apple bias? If Apple made one of these devices and priced it at $900 we'd balk just the same. I don't own anything -- ANYTHING -- Apple (I believe only one person on our writing staff has a Mac, I don't think anyone has an iPod). To say we're biased is absurd, we just call stuff like we see it. Seems like every time we make a criticism -- which is what we do, look at the consumer electronics world with a critical eye -- about a company or product someone likes, we get called biased from people trying to "keep us honest." The funny thing is, when we write negative things about Apple, which we do a lot, people say we're Apple haters. The fact of the matter is we provided the most comprehensive coverage of the UMPC / Origami launch in the world, and we're among the most qualified to discuss whether those prices are appropriate. What it comes down to is that it's impossible to please everyone all the time, though; so if one wants gadget news without opinion or criticism or just doesn't like what we have to say, they've got plenty of options for tech news.
Best, Ryan
Its interesting that so many people are bashing this device.
There are obviously people that are interested in this. I mean theres the official Microsoft communtiy at http://origamiproject.com/default.aspx
A pretty active community communtiy at http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/
and a whole list of sites over at http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Jan/bpd20060313035273.htm
So if people are interested enough to go to communities like origamiportal.com and umpc.com and post stuff even thought they aren't the official site they must want to buy one and believe others will too.
It may take a while for it to really catch on, but in the long run I'll bet it becomes a device that lots of people have.
#31: Tablet is XP. That's why its called "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition"
Ryan, what are the qualifications of Engadget staff? Degrees? Journalism school? Maybe R&D experience at a major electronics manufacturer? Computer hardware/software development, design, engineering? What are your qualifications to discuss appropriate prices? Manufacturing experience or management experience with an electronics manufacturer?
Just curious...
Ryan Block: "(I believe only one person on our writing staff has a Mac, I don't think anyone has an iPod)"
I find that hard to believe that the Engadget staff is without iPods.
So... if no one except one staff person owns an Apple product, where does the Apple fanboy like enthusiasm come from?
----------------------------------------------------
Oh yeah, drop the UMPCs to sub $500 and I'm buying.
@nabil shahid - # 36 -- Oops, my bad!
Dell: 5.5 pounds.
TabletKiosk: 2 pounds.
End of Story.
Yes, some of our staff have degrees in Journalism, though not all of us. Some just degrees in English. But there isn't exactly a school you can go to for consumer electrics industry analysis (though I'm sure one might say "business school"). We all do this 10-14 hours a day, some of us have been for years. We talk to engineers, PR, CxOs day in and day out, I'd like think we have a pretty good idea of what the deal is, and to know when we're not qualified to discuss certain things (which is why we don't do high end home audio, for example). So as a publication whose staff have personally spoken with the head of the Origami project, Bill Gates, management within Microsoft's mobile devices division, and the founders of OQO (the competition), I'd like to think we get this stuff. But if you want to question our qualifications or disagree we have the right to make judgments, that's cool, I just don't understand why you're wasting your time here trying to bag on us. There are lots of other sites out there. I value everyone's readership, but the constant negativity and player hating is wearing thin. So as long as you can't please everyone, we can only go on trying to please our harshest critics: ourselves. And oshean, I can guarantee you no regular staff writer at Engadget has an iPod.
I think you guys do a great job, Ryan, and that's why I read the site every day.
If some of you don't like it, why read it and then bitch about it? Life is too short.
you can get a Dell XPS M140 laptop which also won't fit in your pocket....why TabletKiosk, why?
Is this a rhetorical question? You just gave the two biggest reasons: 1) it fits in your pocket (it's not meant to be your 100% PC and 2) it's not a Dell. #2 being the biggest reason for thinking people.
Thanks! I appreciate the sentiment!
Ryan its a good job u guys do at engadget. you cant please everyone just try to please yourselves.. do the best you can and you can only be judged by your works.
Right now the price is unappealing to consumers, but this will likely appeal to businesses more. We can't wait to get our hands on these units for a wireless application that requires portability, where a PDA is too small but a laptop is too large.
Sweet! Can't wait to get one of these! Perfect for train commute, getting tired of my MDA's tiny screen to watch movies or work or just browsing the web...
The UMPC bashing by people who neither bother to see videos of the devices in action nor apparently have used PDAs to their highest-end uses has got to stop.
The comparison to laptops is not appropriate. The form factor is essential here. There is an apt video of a lady walking down the street looking for an address holding her UMPC with GPS until she finds the right place. A bit silly, but are you going to walk down the street as easily with an open laptop? Or being in a store and considering a product: getting online, checking prices, and then making a purchase decision -- much easier with a hand-held device since there are no desks around.
On my Dell Axim PocketPC -- a PDA -- I watch TV shows and movies that I record myself. I read books. I play simple but fun games. I use a couple essential spreadsheets. Of these particular uses, a larger screen and more storage would provide a much more enjoyable experience. One could pay $600+ for a PDA with a 3.5-inch-screen for these purposes and ample processing capability and I would say maybe you could have gotten a better price but it was worth it.
To get a UMPC for 50% more that is a little less convenient to transport than a PDA but much easier to transport than a laptop is also well worth the money. Assuredly the smart shopper will wait a while for capabilities to go up and prices to come down. But I don't see curling up in bed with a laptop, turning from side to side every so often while reading a book or watching a movie. I can imagine doing this with a UMPC and there's the rub -- the form factor makes the device convenient and easy to use where such things like laptops cannot easily be used.
There is more utility for these UMPCs then there is for a laptop. Everywhere you want to use a computer with no place to set something down is an example. Walking, waiting in line, sitting in a cramped space, etc. I don't see the UMPC as a solution in search of a problem so much as I see the UMPC as all the computer most people need (and more) but with no one one realizing it.
I Think the Staff at Engadget does a great job. This is the most informative tech site on the web. If you ever take the time to listen to a podcast you will know these guys are super busy and take their job very seriously in reporting the tech news to us. Give them a break. UMPC's ROCK!!!!!
"A bit silly, but are you going to walk down the street as easily with an open laptop?"
Huh? I've seen people walking down the street with GPS enabled (or not) PDAs, it did not seem to me that they were begging for a larger device for that purpose actually.
Solution looking for a problem indeed...
"Huh? I've seen people walking down the street with GPS enabled (or not) PDAs, it did not seem to me that they were begging for a larger device for that purpose actually."
You are ignoring my overall point that a 7-inch screen would make such things that can be done on a PDA easier and more enjoyable to view. It would make the GPS easier to view if it were on a larger screen -- think driving a car rather than walking. It would make it so reading a book or watching a movie would be easier to focus on for longer periods of time if they were a bit larger than a PDA screen.
You can read a text file of War and Peace on a tiny cell phone window but, dammit, the screen is just too small. The same book can be read on a PDA and you're getting there but the form factor is not quite good enough when balancing font size and how much is before you at one time.
I've spent a great deal of time dealing with PDAs and various kinds of media and I absolutely love both the portability and the utility of my Dell Axim. But the screen is too small to truly enjoy the media itself -- particularly reading books -- and the UMPC fits the niche between pocketable portability and the relative unwieldiness of a laptop.
Personally I don't care if the UMPC succeeds or not. But the screen size and resolution are an ideal compromise across a great many uses for things I already do both on a PDA and my home machines.
If that 7-inch screen were the entire face of the unit with any obligatory buttons on the side and it were a bit thinner and cheaper and lighter then I think more people would understandably jump on board.
Size factor : agreed. I for one have been dreaming of a larger screen, more powerful PDA for years, and i've had the feeling that my dream was coming true when Sony released the Vaio U "pre UMPC" tablets.
The Vaio U did get a warm welcome form early adopters actually; despite the pretty high price tag.
Now, my point is : the UMPC niche is not as obvious as microsoft and manufacturers execs would like us to believe.
Here's how i feel :
- e-book reader? yeah, well... by the time there's an actual market for e-books (and e-book readers mostly), people will most likely turn to dedicated, cheaper devices with a focus on "readability". E-books reader have existed in Japan for years, now there's pionneering new displays with reading comfort and power consumption in mind. I don't think regular multi-purpose screens will match once e-book has become a reality
- portable GPS (for pedestrians) : i don't see the large screen as an actual selling point. Or if it is, then maybe dedicated (cheaper) products will do the job. If it's not, then i expect to see GPS or other positionning systems growing in PDAs and cellphones (as they already do in Japan)
- portable GPS for cars. Larger screens make perfect sense. Using a GPS PDA in a car already is a reality, and having a larger screen would be nice. However, larger screen for the GPS also means a larger PDA than won't fit in the pocket, there. That's not actually a new market for UMPC, it's a change in user's habit (could happen, could not)
- video viewer : i see more people watching movies on their laptops in transports than on dedicated devices (excepted for a few portable DVDs). If those people are ready to part with their built-in keyboard, power, and everything that make their laptop more than just a video player, then maybe UMPC has a part to play here, if it proves as efficient as a laptop in other uses.
- home uses : i can think of plenty of uses. I would love having such a device at home, actually. There again, for $900, no way. Not even for half the cost actually, and it would not replace my laptop either, i'd only by on top of what i already use for various uses.
Unlike many, i like having a laptop keyboard for stability when browsing the web in bed, for instance. Maybe that's just me!
I really think UMPC is a solution looking for a problem, and i do not think it will change anything in our way of using/seeing computers.
I'm just waiting to be proven wrong, tho, since, as i've said, i liked the idea since the VAIO U came out, and even before. But at second thought, i really think it will take more than just form factor and touch screen to change the way we use computers.
(and i have not even mentionned software yet!)
"- e-book reader? yeah, well... by the time there's an actual market for e-books (and e-book readers mostly), people will most likely turn to dedicated, cheaper devices with a focus on "readability". E-books reader have existed in Japan for years, now there's pionneering new displays with reading comfort and power consumption in mind. I don't think regular multi-purpose screens will match once e-book has become a reality"
E-books have been a reality for myself and many others for a number of years now. For the curious, there are tens of thousands of free public domain e-books at places like Project Gutenberg, and these e-books are simply text files -- tons of classics for the downloading.
The price of the new generation of e-books is going to kill the concept once again as $700 one-trick ponies hit the stage. For a couple hundred more you can get a fully functioning portable computer of some kind albeit with much less battery-charge life. People seem happy to be regularly charging their cell phones which is important to realize all by itself.
Anyway, we're obviously all different in exactly what we want and the market will impose reason on the marketers and the dreamers. That's always fun to watch.
Yup, i'm aware e-books are already a reality for some people, i'm just a little skeptikal UMPC will ever make this tiny niche a mass market. Also, marketting the UMPC as highly suitable for e-books will only appeal to those who already know/read e-books.
As you say, $700 for a dedicated e-book reader is a joke; but then again $900 for a UMPC also is. Competition will be different when prices will drop to $100-200 for e-book readers (and once DRM issues will be overcome) and $300-400 for UMPCs (if this day ever come!).
Anyway, e-book is not the point here...
> Anyway, we're obviously all different in exactly
> what we want and the market will impose reason on
> the marketers and the dreamers. That's always fun to > watch.
It is!
Also, as we're all different in our expectations, maybe that's also why it's so difficult to create a multi purpose product that will suit the masses.
You're right people seem happy to be regularly charging their cell phones. Interesting, i'll think about it... Maybe this has to do with the fact that the cellphone is a social tool and direct human contact is involved.
Well, i'd be even happier to charge it less regularly, by the way. But the thing is, i'm totally unhappy to have to charge my MP3 player regularly (and i would hate it if my cellphone doubled as my MP3 player)
But we're leaving UMPC talks here...
(hm, now that i think of it, i can think of many possible reasons why people charge their cellphone more happily than other chargeable devices... thanks for mentionning, this will keep me awake for a while! :D )
I love the idea of the UMPC. Either for PC or even if MAC decides to put one on the market. Within the next few generations of this, I do see more people getting into without a doubt. Now realistically the price is high for this type of machine to hit a wide market, but if you look at the Palm Lifedrive and its pricetag, you have to wonder if $500 for a mini tablet PC is too low a price.
To compare this thing to an Ipod or a PDA or a phone or a blackberry, that I have heard some people do, is not valid. Ipod for the most part serves one fucntion, now two if you count video, but I'm not going to pay extra to watch a small screen of movies on a device with poor battery life (I do own an Ipod nano though). Now comparing it to a laptop is also a hard sell, this is something more portable so that you don't have to walk around with your laptop open or a larger tablet PC in hand. It is meant for ease of use. Now that being said, it's size is an enigma. And this will play a huge role in how consumers decide if they want this or not. Do you get a PDA, small, compact, full of things you need, fits in your pocket, can double as a phone and music player, as well as video and pictures and is "unobtrusive". They don't get in the way. This thing no matter where you go, what you do, you need something to carry it in. IT will never replace the phone, or the Ipod, and unless the specs get better, the PSP, or Nintendo DS. If consumers want bigger screens, get a laptop. If they want smaller and easy to grab and leave the house without the hassle of a billion things, get the Palm PDA's. This is missing the mark right now. They should have done all this to a device the size of the LifeDrive or the blackberry etc. Increase the screensize if necessary (3.5" to 4" is enough for a mobile device.)
Needless to say, when the 4th or 5th gen are out and the price is down and the bugs fixed, I will buy one for those occasions when I decide to pull out the manpurse and lug this thing around.
Say what you like about the people who won't buy for more than $500 and are criticizing the price.
They are the MARKET.
You can't dictate to the market what the price will be, you can ask and see if they bid.
Looks like they're not bidding.
Why?
They don't see VALUE.
That's what it's all about.
Personally I would absolutely buy one of these devices and I am very interested. But my personal bid is no more than $700. I WILL NOT pay $900 or $1100 for one of these devices and I don't give a damn about the poor shareholders of samsung and asus who can't find a way to reduce the price to where I will buy it and evil ungrateful me asking them to sell for below cost.
Produce it for the price at which the market will bear. Do not do that and you will struggle to sell them. That's how markets work.
Next flop please.
I'm an auto technician looking for a PC smaller than a laptop (with no lid/screen) to run a windows based diagnostic program and come with a fairly high resolution display. Is this the answer or do I wait for the next great innovation?
Interesting, I checked out these on my own and I noticed that it is a very good idea, those naysayers who complain of "no gaming" and "not enough power" don't seem to have considered all the options.
1. It is running full XP, Tablet XP.
2. It is fully ready for retro-gaming, or emulation gaming, a PSX or N64 emulator, SNES, Genesis, etc.
3. It needs to be @1Ghz for power savings, I would even like to be able to clock it slower, many programs run fine at 533mhz.
4. If you follow the VIA Mini-ITX you will see that this is basically a Pico-ITX with the latest generation of the VIA processor, with a full-speed FPU(finally) and a power draw of a ridiculous 3.5watt max. (see how your precious Celeron/Centrino stacks up, naysayers please have facts at your disposal)
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/v-series/vx700/
5. I have of late been subjected to a 800mhz Duron on an nForce2 IGP, at 256MB of ram, it performs flawlessly in XP, I have no doubt that this handheld will best it in performance.
6. The Video is called a 200mhz, 128-bit data paths, 3D engine with AGP8x bandwidth, I suggest we give it a try on some retro games.
7. I want one, it is a product thats time has come.
I love the idea of UMPC's. I have an HP hx4705 PDA. King of the hill of PDA's w/ a 4" VGA screen. It cost me over $600 brand new, and it was worth every penny over the cheaper competition w/ smaller 3"-3.5" QVGA screens. Many of my colleagues own the same device and completely feel the same way. Now I don't know what PDA fits into a guys pocket, or who would want to put an expensive PDA in their pocket, as mine goes in my briefcase, one of wife's big purses, or if I'm feeling really adventurous on my waist w/ belt clip (it really weighs down the pants, though). I am also one of the MANY who have plunked down another $130 to have the memory upgraded to 128MB of RAM from 64MB.
Would I pay a couple hundred more to move to 7" higher res screen, with nearly full pc funtionality? Heck Yeh!!! The PDA has not completely replaced my notebook, so I still carry a notebook and PDA together when on business, and on vacation. Its seems the UMPC could replace both at only 1.7 lbs. BTW the new Tabletkiosk models will be 22% smaller. Most of the negative comments about the UMPC seems to be from kids with little spending money. At this time, these are VERY GOOD price points.
Since PDA's are going the convergence devices route, there are little options for those who want a large screen, with good functionality (the new convergence devices have neither compared to the hx4705). The UMPC seems the next logical step up, then.
The author of this article most certainly does not have a journalism degree, and it reads very much like he is one of those kids with the little spending money, and would rather have a PSP to play his video games. Its amazing anyone would compare this to a laptop, when its 1/4 the weight and 1/4 the size. People were willing to spend $300 on a really thin RAZR when they first came out, though for $0.01 they could get a larger phone with the same features. People PAY for size, period.