Asus R3 UMPC gets a little more real

We caught a peek of Asus' R3 UMPC / MID yesterday, but it got shown off in a little more detail today during a presentation on Adobe's AIR platform. No word on which variation of Intel's Menlow platform it'll be sporting, but it looks like the device will have a 4.8-inch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution, a fingerprint reader, webcam, and built-in GPS. That's it in the way of hard specs, but click on to see a clip of the R3 in action.

[Arno @ Sep 21st 2007 8:54AM]

Looks pretty sexy. I want.

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 21st 2007 8:58AM]

Not bad.

Not bad.

[Alex @ Sep 21st 2007 8:58AM]

If it's below the $1k mark, I'm getting it. Oh, it also needs to last over 3 hours. I'm not asking for too much. xD

[Richard @ Sep 21st 2007 9:00AM]

And it runs Linux :-)

[Muu @ Sep 21st 2007 9:17AM]

If it can come at around 250grams max, it's replacing my PSP.

[Owen V @ Sep 21st 2007 9:19AM]

can I tether it to my phone for 3G?

[bruckwine @ Sep 21st 2007 9:39AM]

"I'm pretty torn up between Y&R and cartoons so I'll have to get back to you guys" - A bit lame & unprofessional wasn't that?

[aron @ Sep 21st 2007 10:43AM]

Sounds great, but I prefer the form factor of the R2H though. This one seems a little too busy. What's up with all those buttons? Looks like there's a directional pad, then an analog stick or circular touchpad, then a few shortcut keys here and there...but I'm sure it's still freaking awesome. Can't wait for more specs on battery life etc.

[enzo @ Sep 21st 2007 11:03AM]

Is there a digitizer w/ that stylus, like a regular umpc?

[roc ingersol @ Sep 21st 2007 11:16AM]

Ugh. Yet another touch-screen device with a shite GUI.

Here's a hint device-makers: No-one wants to break out the stylus every time they want to scroll, fill in a form or hit a button.

Try making finger-friendly interfaces.

[Brandon L @ Sep 21st 2007 12:52PM]

My girlfriend has a finger friendly interface, yet she likes when I break out the stylus now and then.

Please don't dumb down all the interfaces so fat fingered Bob can play too.

What douchebaggery!

[Christopher McCrum @ Sep 21st 2007 1:32PM]

@Brandon L..
lol... totally off topic but my boss walked by and took a glance at the screen and only read, "My girlfriend has a finger friendly interface, yet she likes when I break out the stylus now and then."

thank god she laughed about it

[Mark @ Sep 21st 2007 1:36PM]

Actually, the best way for fat-fingered Bob to play would be with a stylus, which levels the playing field for everyone. A finger-operated touchscreen favors thin-fingered people.

[Brandon L @ Sep 21st 2007 2:49PM]

Hey Roc and Mark-

You guys can't use your finger with Windows Mobile? What are you Barney pawed?

We're dealing with small screen for portability, when you make the buttons huge you limit what else can be shown on the screen. I'm all for user friendly interfaces, but there should be a common ground compromise where both (finger and stylus) can be used for what each do best.

[lolec @ Sep 21st 2007 11:38PM]

iPhone Ripoff

[Raymond @ Sep 21st 2007 9:47AM]

You suck fanboi.

[Kozzi @ Sep 21st 2007 9:59AM]

troll ?
Hah, good one.

[Alex @ Sep 21st 2007 10:12AM]

Hang on... you're joking right? Please tell me you are.

[lolec @ Sep 21st 2007 10:15AM]

lowrank... people here isn't very smart ha!?

[fobunited @ Sep 21st 2007 10:41AM]

It's too bad Asus makes alot of Apples' products.

[octoberasian @ Sep 21st 2007 11:08AM]

And, in what way is this an iPhone ripoff? >.>

The last time I checked, the iPhone is NOT an UMPC (ultra-mobile PC)/MID.

These are meant for those that don't want to carry a laptop (even ultraportables) with them, but wants more functionality than a mere PDA that probably runs something like Palm OS or Windows Mobile. These would sit between the PDA and an ultraportable laptop. You gain the small footprint of a PDA, but the equivalent functionality of a laptop. Hopefully, and I'm crossing my fingers on this, that this has improved battery life over the first generation of UMPCs and more functions.

[lolec @ Sep 21st 2007 12:07PM]

you realy dont get it.