WiBrain M1 UMPC gets more real, but still not completely real
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 31st 2009 4:42PM
posted March 31st 2009 4:42PM
WiBrain's M1 has seen a pretty rocky road to launch since it first arrived on the scene way back last summer, but it looks like the company is finally moving forward with it, and reportedly kicking the UMPC into production. Despite its extended stay in prototype form, however, there doesn't appear to be too many changes to the device, with it still packing a 4.8-inch 1,024 x 600 touchscreen, along with an Atom Z520 processor, up to 1GB of RAM, a max 16GB SSD, and all the connectivity options you'd expect, plus some (presumably optional) HSDPA. The one big change from the early prototype is the slide-out QWERTY keypad, which now opts for some membrane-style keys that could make an already difficult typing situation even tougher. No word on a price or expected release date just yet, but it seems likely that it'll remain a Korean exclusive, at least initially.
[Via jkkmobile]
[Via jkkmobile]
who are they trying to sell this to? 16gb max hd? thats terrible. membrane keys? you serious. typing on this looks to be god awful.
But look how portable it is...
Peter Szijarto is RIGHT. Just thinking about typing on that gives me wrist cramps.
Looks a hell lot like the Sony UX.
A Sony UX with the Keyboard from a Sinclair ZX81!
I was thinking Atari 400 but I think we're on the same wavelength.
Membrane keyboard? NEVER AGAIN!!!!
With the rising capabilities of smartphones, UMPCs seem so antique and bulky now. I don't see the purpose of them. If I need a small computer, a netbook seems like the next logical step from a smartphone.
Just what I was thinking. Who would buy this when you can get a slightly larger netbook with much better features, and probably pay a lot less $$$?
Good to see that some people share my opinion on this point. Last time I made a negative comment on UMPCs I got flamed.
They looked mighty attractive 2-3 years ago but are over-expensive dinosaurs now when netbooks are cheap as milk and iPod Touch will in the near future be packing any applications you would ever want to run on device without a proper keyboard.
Yes the device is smaller than a netbook but it's not small enough to fit inside a pocket which means that you might as well carry a small netbook with you instead. I just can't see the benefits in buying an UMPC.
That's a sweet XPS m1210... wish I still had mine.
yuck
forget the UMPC, nice lappy underneath! go m1210!!!