Are UMPCs an overhyped trend?
PC World seems to think they are, along with Microblogging and Kitchen PCs. I’ll side with them on the kitchen choice, but that’s about it. Here’s something right out of the November print issue:
"…by delivering a platform that’s too small for true productivity and too large for genuine mobility, Microsoft ensured that the UMPC was pretty much dead on arrival, and new designs have done little to around consumer interest…"
You can argue for or against the statement of course, and because personal computing is personal, the only right answer is the one that suits you best. As it applies to me, I disagree with PC World in general on this topic. I’m quite productive with a UMPC as it meets my relatively meager needs. It’s genuinely mobile and easy for me to tote around wherever I go: I haven’t once left it behind because I thought it would be too bulky for my destination or journey. Quite a bit of the rationale that PC World uses here pins the problem on Microsoft as well, and while I agree there’s merit in that approach, it’s not Microsoft that develops the hardware. Sure, a lighter OS that retains legacy Windows application compatibility would go a long way here, but you can’t pin the entire blame on Microsoft in this case. In fact, I think the entire "Origami 1.0" platform spurred hardware and software design for the small device class, so "overhyped"? I don’t think so…
That’s my take on the statement as it applies to me. How about you?
I don’t see a point of that article.. and I disagree with every point.
Microblogging w/ Twitter. Love it. Can’t get enough. There’s a lot of great links that pop up in tweets.
UMPC’s overhyped? Quite the opposite. Not hyped enough. Microsoft has been asleep for some time now.
Kitchen PC’s. When were they ever hyped up in the first place?
I too am a big fan of UMPCs… I think the article assumes erroneously that people only own one PC… while certainly true in some cases it is certainly not the case all the time… many of us are MCF-ers (Multi Computer Homes) I would truly hate to program on my p1610 8″ tablet but by the same token its the bet machine I ever had for taking notes. I have other machines for programming tasks.
I read it yesterday and I ignored. The person that wrote that does not know anything about UMPC. How can be dead when Sony have been selling them already for around 3 years. That´s a long way to die!
June 2004:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops-pcs/sony-vaio-u50-review-awful-laptop-great-pda-016941.php
the concept has been dying for 3 years already.
another unoriginal reporter repeating the same old tripe that has been said for several years now.
the argument i find funniest is when they say “too small to be productive, too big to be portable” then shortly afterwards claim that you should just buy a subnote/ultraportable instead.
well as the actual owner of a subnote & UMPC, let me tell u that there is a HUGE difference in portability between a 7″ 1.5lbs device & 10″ – 12″ 2.5lbs-4.5lb device. as much as i love my subnote, there is just no comparison. and i wont even get into the most critical aspect of all, a UMPC’s ability to be used in a *truly mobile* vertical-market.
I’m sure I’ll still find a use for mine when I move on to a new device.
Low-power foldershare/file/web server? Firewall?
Extra PC to record audio in meetings.
Portable live video streamer..
Desktop that’s smaller than a Mac Mini.
Permanant CarPC.
Home security remote.
It won’t die unless it actually dies.
that paragraph really does not say anything not heard a thousand times before. However, it did get me to thinking. Why do I not have an Ultra Mobile device yet? I have been evaluating them for almost a year. It is not like me to hold off when the gadget bug hits. Is it the money? Well, maybe, but not more than a 5% factor I think.
If not the money, it must be the devices. The more I thought, the more I believe that is the issue for me. There is not a single one that I have read about that I want as a companion device. I can not spend hours tweaking the system to get it to operate. I do not have the technical ability to even know where to start. If it does not work as advertised – game over.
My fear is that I will end up with an expensive etch-a-sketch. OK, maybe the money is a 10% factor.
I do not think the UMPC is dying, I just believe the present devices are not “quite” right. I can not even state exactly why they do not seem quite right to me. But, when the device appears that removes that feeling, I will know it.
I just want something where I can make notes in OneNote, synch to my tablet, capture billable time and expenses, have access to all docs on my tablet, and get my email. For now my BlackBerry is able to accomplish about 75% of that list.
Maybe a digital pen? Talk about a step back!
Kevin,
I have to agree with you that “the only right answer is the one that suits you best”. And that seems to be what all the reviewers seem to be missing.
We’ve all talked about this before, but I’ll repeat them:
First, we don’t need the full OS implementation. An OS lite would do fine.
Second, we need software that comes as part of the OS that synchs up to something, whether it be web-based or our own network-based, so our files are always available to us no matter where we are. This would be useful for anything we might tens to want to use in multiple places or on lultiple devices, and current solutions do not work very well and/or are not very user-friendly.
Also, I feel that the handwriting recognition needs to be a little more cognizant of what is being typed. I don’t mind it guessing a word when I’m typing in the body of an email message or a word document. When I’m typing in an email address or password field, or a URL, I want it to take what I type down exactly, no matter how much it would otherwise seem like gobbledeegook. The only way to use it now is to either turn the word-guessing off completely, or have it full on. Something in between would be both more more friendly, and more useful.
Yes, having a fingerprint reader is nice, and can alleviate that problem, but inplementing it for all your accounts can be time-consuming, too, so improvements there as well. (I have also discovered with my Motion LE1600 that I routinely need to update the fingerprint scans, so it isn’t a complete fix in my experience.)
UMPCs are nice if used in addition to another device.
One final thought: The article referenced the Palm Foleo, stating: “But by delivering a platform that’s too small for true productivity and too large for genuine mobility, Microsoft ensured that the UMPC was pretty much dead on arrival, and new designs have done little to arouse consumer interest–Palm recently scrapped plans for the Foleo, a device with similar dimensions”.
As I understood it, the Foleo was an adjunct device intended for its Treo users. I don’t think it was a true UMPC even if it could be used on its own or with a Treo/other smartphone. This proves the author is talking into his hat.
Woadan
Professional Curmudgeon
UMPC Fan
I find the suggestion of Vista Lite interesting. A lightweight OS that does a few core things very well. Didn’t we try that with Windows CE a few years back?
Just for grins, I pulled out my old Mobilepro 790. Sure enough, it still does all of the core office apps, surfs the web and does email. It can also play music and video files. It meets the specs of Vista Lite that have been suggested. The OS is light weight and runs from flash. It is instant on. It has an office suite, surfs the web and you can check your email. It even does wireless networking. IT synchs to another computer and keeps any file you want up to date. If a Vista Lite is what people really want, we had it 10 years ago.
I think what we really want is for Windows Vista to work, boot up fast, operate fast, go to sleep and resume quickly while on a mobile device. Instead of a new or modified os, let’s hope M$ and the OEMs fix the one we have. I’m gonna give Vista a little more time.
Before the UMPC & Origami hype I was looking for an ultra compact PC similiar to one of the original small Toshiba Portege’ that ran real Windows, not the Castrated Edition, and very interested in the Tablet style PC.
I’m not interested in another regurgitated “pocket” or mobile version of Windows, I wanted to be able to install pretty much any Windows software I might use at the office or other home PC. Instant on and all day battery life were nice to haves for me but not a deal breaker, & some of the workarounds were fine for now like swapping batteries & sleep/hibernate, as long as it was real Windows.
The new class of UMPC brought out tings I never thought about with the WiFi/BT/WWAN wireless connectivity because at the time I always plugged in, & now with my OQO 02 I take it for granted.
The hype is not over, like some said it opened the door for many other devices. I just hope there are still plenty of the chip & PC makers that did not forget the original interest, an ultra mobile PC capable of running “real” Windows, the PDA has already been invented.
Agreed. There hasn’t been any real hype since the roll out, which arguably was overblown but only for that moment. Calling it an overhyped trend is highly inaccurate.
Furthermore, the size of the form factor is not nearly as detrimental as the lack of a great interface. The Origami UI is good, but not good enough and it only applies to select apps (it also adds more application overhead on a necessarily slower device). Increased battery life and lower prices are also needed, but those will come in time, while a better UI is possible now.
C’mon TateJ: “I find the suggestion of Vista Lite interesting. A lightweight OS that does a few core things very well. Didn’t we try that with Windows CE a few years back?”
I don’t think Kevin was suggestingthat he wanted a new CE, and I know I wasn’t, either. I think what he _IS_ suggesting is that there are some things that should not be a part of the OS when you install it on a tablet, especially a UMPC.
In addition, I think there are also some things that should be default configured another way for workstations or “normal” laptops, but another way for tablets.
I won’t go so far as to ask for a special version of the OS, because Media Center and Home in XP hampered many things that shouldn’t have been, among them sharing folders on PCs in a home network. But let’s leave out what isn’t necessary and in fact may be more harmful than helpful in a tablet/UMPC.
Woadan
I live in Silicon Valley. I work in high tech. I own a Thinkpad x60t and a bazillion other other gadgets (more than I care to admit). I don’t own a UMPC. I have yet to see one that I would want to own. And maybe more importantly, I have yet to see even just one “in the wild” (used by someone in a coffee shop, conference, office, on the street, …).
Right now I sit in a coffee shop (with free WiFi). I look around and there are 14 tables in use. Five have laptops on them. Two are Macs. Two are small, lightweight laptops (my x60t and a Panasonic Toughbook something-or-the-other). No UMPC in sight.
You won’t find me at the local Starbucks or barista typically because I chug 2 self-made 3 triple shot mocha’s at home before I go out the door, and maybe a recharge in the afternoon at the corporate cafeteria if I’m in withdrawal.
Seriously though, I agree that I’ve yet to bump into a fellow UMPC’er, but then I don’t hang out at the local WiFi hot spots. Once I activate my Sprint WWAN, I won’t need to but might be in the area when in travel & need a java fix.