HP UMPC coming this spring?
Darius Chang | Feb 18, 2008
Over a seafood dinner with HP management last Friday, the PC maker offered more than just aorta-clogging cuisine. In an informal chit-chat session, we learned that HP is readying its first UMPC which may hit the market in late spring.
Spec-wise, it disclosed... absolutely nothing. But digging deeper between the lines, we suspect the company's maiden voyage into this niche segment is likely to be competitively priced, much like the ASUS Eee PC. In fact, according to one HP staff, "you won't even need to consider this purchase. You'll buy it like a handphone without a thought". At this price range, we reckon it is unlikely to be a convertible tablet PC like the LifeBook U1010. Claiming that its UMPC will address several issues plaguing the current crop of pocketable portables, we were told that one of the key areas of improvement will be in battery life, though again no specific numbers were mentioned.
HP staffers also mentioned that this product has great potential as a lifestyle accessory, catering to professionals as well as youths. Again, we read between the lines that it is likely to be exceptionally portable and no larger than 10 inches. In the personalization department, the Palo Alto company mentioned laptop skins, so it may be possible that HP may offer custom skins for its first UMPC.
The only thing for certain is that HP is gearing for an official launch within the next few months. So for those of you contemplating a UMPC, you may want to wait just a little longer.
Talkback
mobilesalesman says...
I definately have been waiting years for a touch type keyboard UMPC and if HP creates a modern version of their old Jornada 720/728 I would buy one! What HP needs is to focus on making sure that it can fit into a jacket pocket which is limited to about no wider than 4.25" and no more than about 7.5" and thinner is better. so far UMPC are either too large and require a "man purse" and you can see that with UMPC's only selling 350K units worldwide as cited in 12/07 IDC in a Forbes article, that drawback to me is a clear reason why mainstream users will not buy the bulky 7" bible size devices. the other weakness of UMPC's thus far is the lack of a touch type keyboard and thumb keyboards are not much better than the weak pen only devices. Again another reason for failure of the weak 350K sales. How does mainstream users input full windows programs? definately not via a pen input and not thumb either Why is it so hard for UMPC designers to get a clue about mainstream? Make a simple pocket laptop that fits in a jacket pocket with a touch type keyboard, then we will buy them in the millions.
Feb 20, 2008 12:46
I definately have been waiting years for a touch type keyboard UMPC and if HP creates a modern version of their old Jornada 720/728 I would buy one! What HP needs is to focus on making sure that it can fit into a jacket pocket which is limited to about no wider than 4.25" and no more than about 7.5" and thinner is better. so far UMPC are either too large and require a "man purse" and you can see that with UMPC's only selling 350K units worldwide as cited in 12/07 IDC in a Forbes article, that drawback to me is a clear reason why mainstream users will not buy the bulky 7" bible size devices. the other weakness of UMPC's thus far is the lack of a touch type keyboard and thumb keyboards are not much better than the weak pen only devices. Again another reason for failure of the weak 350K sales. How does mainstream users input full windows programs? definately not via a pen input and not thumb either Why is it so hard for UMPC designers to get a clue about mainstream? Make a simple pocket laptop that fits in a jacket pocket with a touch type keyboard, then we will buy them in the millions.
Feb 20, 2008 12:46
phonecoder says...
Finally a real UMPC, well maybe a real one. To be successful HP should meet the original design goals: 7" screen, pen input, 6 hour battery life, and under $1K USD pricing. Obviously a replaceable battery is a must, as is a decent-sized drive (120GB at least). For pen input, I consider it important to provide full tablet capability--pressure and angle sensitivity, not just a resistive touch screen. Maybe a cheaper model can get along with resistive screen input, but a version with precision digitizer input is necessary as well, and without sending the price for the option way high into the tablet PC range. Remember this is a small screen that does not require a big digitizer. To qualify as a full-blown UMPC the box needs to run Vista and have all the communication functions, WiFi (Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n are a minimum), and an option for cellular (3G) connections. It would be really neat to have a SIM slot or perhaps a GSM accessory module that would permit quad-band capability in a Vista machine instead of a Windows Mobile platform. Of course this implies that the HP entry must run in the 2GHz range, and preferably support a Core 2 duo option. Why is Vista important to me for a UMPC? It's a portable machine! VIsta will let me run BitLocker against the day when the device is lost or compromised. Sure, with XP Pro I can use the EFS but that does not give me the level of security that is available with BitLocker. At the very least HP should offer their UMPC with an encrypting drive option. As far as keyboard input goes, I don't have a problem with using an external USB keyboard for the times I need to enter larger amounts of text. Ink recognition and the virtual keyboard are both adequate for on-the-road computing needs like PowerPoint, Excel, etc. It is important however that the UMPC be able to run desktop Windows applications, hence the Vista requirement. If HP can do all this for under $1K USD, $2K with options mentioned above, then they will indeed capture the market. If they cannot, then they will introduce yet another expensive notebook or tablet variant. I fully agree with the original UMPC concept of a pocket laptop--one that is much smaller than a notebook and that can be easily carried on one's person in a jacket pocket. It's the accessories--keyboard, DVD, etc. that fill up the luggage you carry along. The UMPC is intended to be a true personal computer--one that you carry with you like you do your phone today.
Feb 21, 2008 23:09
Finally a real UMPC, well maybe a real one. To be successful HP should meet the original design goals: 7" screen, pen input, 6 hour battery life, and under $1K USD pricing. Obviously a replaceable battery is a must, as is a decent-sized drive (120GB at least). For pen input, I consider it important to provide full tablet capability--pressure and angle sensitivity, not just a resistive touch screen. Maybe a cheaper model can get along with resistive screen input, but a version with precision digitizer input is necessary as well, and without sending the price for the option way high into the tablet PC range. Remember this is a small screen that does not require a big digitizer. To qualify as a full-blown UMPC the box needs to run Vista and have all the communication functions, WiFi (Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n are a minimum), and an option for cellular (3G) connections. It would be really neat to have a SIM slot or perhaps a GSM accessory module that would permit quad-band capability in a Vista machine instead of a Windows Mobile platform. Of course this implies that the HP entry must run in the 2GHz range, and preferably support a Core 2 duo option. Why is Vista important to me for a UMPC? It's a portable machine! VIsta will let me run BitLocker against the day when the device is lost or compromised. Sure, with XP Pro I can use the EFS but that does not give me the level of security that is available with BitLocker. At the very least HP should offer their UMPC with an encrypting drive option. As far as keyboard input goes, I don't have a problem with using an external USB keyboard for the times I need to enter larger amounts of text. Ink recognition and the virtual keyboard are both adequate for on-the-road computing needs like PowerPoint, Excel, etc. It is important however that the UMPC be able to run desktop Windows applications, hence the Vista requirement. If HP can do all this for under $1K USD, $2K with options mentioned above, then they will indeed capture the market. If they cannot, then they will introduce yet another expensive notebook or tablet variant. I fully agree with the original UMPC concept of a pocket laptop--one that is much smaller than a notebook and that can be easily carried on one's person in a jacket pocket. It's the accessories--keyboard, DVD, etc. that fill up the luggage you carry along. The UMPC is intended to be a true personal computer--one that you carry with you like you do your phone today.
Feb 21, 2008 23:09
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guynax
info is out at engadget: "www.engadget.com... hopefully have the choice for bigger ram and able to use office...
Feb 20, 2008 00:40
ApaiRyan
don't forget about HP's own Jornada PC series. Just wasn't called UMPC then.
Feb 20, 2008 10:30