Feature Articles

Smartphones Versus UMPCs: Mobility Meets Mobility

By Aloysius Low - 5 Apr 2008

UMPC - Mini Computing

UMPC - Mini Computing

Smarter than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop, the UMPC leaped into our awareness in early 2006, splattering our collective consciousness with a viral marketing piece before finally being announced at CeBit. And unlike the smartphone, the history of the UMPC is much shorter and more controversial.

Originally code-named Project Origami, the UMPC project was backed by Microsoft, Intel and other partners like Samsung. Although the specifications for UMPCs are clearly defined and mapped out, some variants have emerged that are evidently not UMPCs (but more on that later). Because the guidelines are pretty much set down, manufacturers are able to let their creativity reign free in terms of design, as long as they adhere to aforesaid guidelines.

UMPC Specifications Guideline
Screen 7-inch, 800x480 pixels resolution
CPU 900MHz Intel Celeron M/Pentium M/Core Solo, VIA C7-M processor, AMD Geode LX800, or Transmeta Crusoe
RAM 256 -1024MB
HDD 30 -160GB
Ports USB 2.0
Price ~ US$500 (as of 09-12-2007)

Of course, the motivation for making and selling such devices was not without cause, for manufacturers had hoped to target the segment of smartphone users that needed a faster, more powerful and yet still portable device. Unlike the plethora of powerful smartphone devices that exist today, the smartphones in 2005/6 were just starting to come into their own as a device and while they were definitely serviceable, they still lacked the processing power and storage of today's devices.

The Project Origami group therefore intended to attract the power users by coming up with a full fledged mobile computer smaller and lighter than current notebooks, but slightly larger than a smartphone, all the while keeping to a low price point of about US$500 in order to attract new users. However, as the odd lovechild between the smartphone and a normal laptop, UMPCs have been finding their reception mixed as industry experts too are unsure of the device itself. Some UMPCs, they feel, are more like an advanced and portable navigational system, which does not really fit in with the whole concept of the UMPC. Although the adoption rate for the UMPC has not been high (no thanks in part to their high prices), the buzz generated over the concept of a portable and miniature PC was beginning to take hold in the minds of the public.

Till this date, the concept of a UMPC continues to draw attention from both media and public, though the actual UMPC definition has been muddied somewhat with all the different machines currently available in the market. While these machines may not conform to the official UMPC specifications, most technology media have taken to grouping such devices as UMPCs.

For example, while gadgets like the Nokia N810 are termed under Mobile Internet Device (MID) and are hence separate from the UMPC classification, the ASUS Eee PC or the Everex Cloud PC are currently counted as a form of UMPCs even though they do not meet the specifications as such. Both devices are small, but they lack certain features that would classify them as true UMPCs, such as the non pocket-able form factor, the lack of a touch screen interface or large built-in storage. They do however, meet the set price point and are small, cute and attractive. If our non-technical research holds, guys using one tend to draw plenty of attention from the opposite sex. So if you're looking for a chick magnet...

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