Feature Articles

Smartphones Versus UMPCs: Mobility Meets Mobility

By Aloysius Low - 5 Apr 2008

Breakdown, Smackdown

Breakdown, Smackdown

It doesn't actually make sense to pit the hardware specifications of the smartphones against the UMPC, given the many different variations of the units, so we'll be looking at more of the standard features such as software functions and capabilities.

Smartphone Versus UMPC
Specifications Smartphone UMPC
Screen Type Mostly 240 x 320 pixels resolution 7-inch size and resolution of 800 x 480 pixels or higher
CPU ARM-class Processor 900MHz Intel Celeron M/Pentium M/Core Solo, VIA C7-M processor, AMD Geode LX800, or Transmeta Crusoe
Memory Most devices have 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM Most devices have 1GB to 2GB of RAM
HDD No HDD, but Flash storage available 30GB to160GB capacity
Ports Micro USB 2.0 Model dependent, but generally USB 2.0 available

While it's understood that smartphones do not have the full functionality of UMPCs, they should not be underestimated as they can cough up pleasant surprises. It is actually possible to run DOS-box on Windows Mobile based smartphones, thus allowing for some DOS games of yore to be played. This however can be rather processor intensive in nature, thus affecting battery life of the handheld.

UMPCs on the other hand offer a more familiar user interface partly thanks to their size as compared to smartphones, and partly because they use the full fledged Windows OS. However, they are often at the mercy of the 'heavy' OS and limited hardware specs as they end up being not responsive enough, thus giving users a nagging feel that the UMPC itself is not a properly finished product. Instead of tacking on an existing OS, a possible fix to the UMPC woes would be something similar to what Apple did for the iPhone: building a variant of their OS X from ground up for their handheld.

While UMPCs currently satisfy a very small niche market for those needing really small PCs on the move, general mobile computing is definitely on the rise as laptop sales in general is rising steadily. If the trend of miniaturization continues and people start clamoring for smaller devices, will the UMPC formula start gaining more interest among consumers?

Intel seems to think so and is all ready to hop on this bandwagon, coming out with new chips (the Atom) and platform (Centrino Atom) designed to power the devices and even coming up with a more specific classification for the newer devices envisioned by them. Under Intel's new classification scheme, current unclassified gadgets like Asus' Eee PC and Everex Cloudbook now all fall under the new Netbook category. As we've first introduced the term in this article , a netbook is described to be a much leaner notebook that's optimized for simplicity, affordability and is a very Internet-centric device. Intel has also added a Nettop category for very compact and affordable internet oriented desktops. Of course, Intel's not just doing all these for altruistic reasons; they have specially designed a new line of chips just for these 'new' breed of mobile devices. Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) are now envisioned to be a much smarter version of smartphones and UMPCs will still remain UMPCs, of course.

The Intel Atom family (which sounds remarkably like a bad pun on an old TV series) comprises of the Silverthorne and Diamondville chips for the newer generation of MIDs, UMPCs and Netbooks. The Silverthorne is optimized for lower power usage such as in MIDs and the Diamondville will be aimed at the more powerful Netbooks. Devices with these new chips are set to debut in the third quarter, so we'll be keeping an eager eye out for them to see how they propel the plethora mobility devices.  

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