Are We Ready for Ultra-Mobile PCs?

PCWORLD.COM: With the first Origami-based handhelds coming next month, some are wondering if these devices are ready for us.

On May 1, Samsung Electronics will start selling its Q1 ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), the first of a new breed of handheld device that Microsoft and Intel hope will change the way people use computers.

However, don't look for a revolution to happen overnight. "The opportunities are big but I think the turning point is still in the future, not tomorrow," said Dadi Perlmutter, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobility Group.

"We are now playing with the first wave of something," he said.

Based on the Origami platform developed by Microsoft and Intel, Samsung's Q1 runs the Tablet PC version of Windows XP and boasts a seven-inch touch-screen LCD panel and a 900-MHz Celeron M processor. With a price tag of around $1200, Samsung expects to sell 400,000 of the devices over the next year.

For UMPCs to be a success, they must be more than a slimmed-down notebook or large PDA. "If it is going to end up that way, I don't think it will succeed. It has to be something beyond just an 'in-between,'" Perlmutter said.

Samsung's version of the UMPC, which measures about 10.5 by 9 by 5.5 inches and weighs in at 1.7 pounds, is generally typical of what first-generation UMPCs will look like.

Room for Improvement

As with any new type of device, these designs will inevitably go through several rounds of revision and improvement, Perlmutter said. "We ultimately want to get [the UMPC] lighter, smaller," he said, noting that these versions of the device will likely be available in two years.

Eight hours of battery life and Wimax connectivity will also be important features of future UMPCs, providing a constant high-speed Internet connection, Perlmutter said. This combination of high-speed connectivity and the relatively large LCD screen, will allow users to access information on the Web that's not viewable on the small screen of a cell phone or PDA, he said.

Combined with technology that can tailor this information to a user's location, future UMPCs offer the prospect of interesting new applications, Perlmutter said. "I have a restaurant chain. You log into my Web site and I know your location. You get the map on top of Google Earth, you could even get my menu," he said.

Of course, this can also be done using a notebook PC. "But it's not realistic that I'm going to take my notebook out of my bag each time I want to look for something," Perlmutter said. "But if I have device like [the UMPC] with instant-on, it's useful."

UMPCs to get special Media Extender software

For those of you still scratching your heads over what exactly you might use a $700 UMPC for, Microsoft is working on a version of Media Center Extender software to allow you to touchscreen your way through TV, music, home automation, or whatever you use your Media Center PC for. So far there's no date for when we might see this software, but Todd Rutherford, Microsoft's program manager for eHome Control, says it's a sure thing. We guess it depends on your style if you'll use this thing as a glorified remote control, or as a primary viewing device, but at least now it'll do you a lot more good than just some oddly shaped Frisbee with a touchscreen.

Fujitsu exhibits fold-out keyboard UMPC

Fujitsu has put on show a pair of conceptual PC designs, one intended to show how an "ultra-mobile" machine might operate, the other a home computer system which looks funky enough but probably won't give Apple's industrial designers any sleepless nights.

The UMPC concept is certainly topical, what with the launch of Microsoft's Origami Project and the announcement of real-world products from the likes of Samsung based on the design, co-engineered with Intel. Devices like Samsung's expensive Q1 are keyboard-free kit on the assumption that ordinary folk would prefer to use a stylus.

No, we're not convinced either, not now that world+dog has had 30-odd years to grow accustomed to computers with keyboards. Fujitsu's UMPC cleverly squares the circle by providing a small form-factor clamshell chassis with a fold out keyboard. The computer would be the size of a CD case, the company said.

Fujitsu's "flexbile-use PC" is less inspiring. It's essentially a three-way system: keyboard, display and computer. These three components connect wirelessly, so you can lift off the screen and carry it around, interacting with the computer unit using a stylus, tablet fashion.

Fujitsu's machine is, perhaps, a step toward Asus' concept system, revealed by Reg Hardware in February 2006. Asus' machine uses wireless to link all the system's components, from memory and hard drives to the CPU and so on.

Fujitsu's concept machines are on show this week in Milan's Triennale di Milano as part of an Japanese Design exhibition.