The UMPC - Ultra Mobile PC | Little Laptop

What is UMPC?

Little Laptops – that’s what they call it. More and more people are opting to buy a UMPC nowadays, and that prompted me to search more for the specifications of these Ultra Mobile PC, UMPC for short and also known as Project Origami.

Google Search tells me that a UMPC:

- runs on Windows OSs including while others run on specially adapted versions of Linux.

- and low-voltage Intel Pentium or VIA C7-M processors in the 1 GHz range.

- The touch screen is sized 8 inches. (so small)

- Suitable for use of stylus as well as hand

- The Project Origami Ultra-Mobile PC is just a platform for which manufacturers can design any model they want, provided they meet or exceed the baseline specifications laid down by Intel and Microsoft. However, UMPC’s are capable of running a full version of most PC operating systems.

- UMPCs with Windows XP installed are able to run any software that has been written for the Windows XP platform, though the small form factor often mandates some changes to the interface.

- The standard Windows XP interface is the default, though a choice of having an interface more suited for the small form factor is available with the Touch Pack Interface.

- As the units are so small, many UMPCs do not feature a physical keyboard, but an on-screen virtual keyboard provided in the Touch Pack Interface. Also, since the device has standard USB 2.0 connectivity, external keyboards and mice can be attached.

- UMPCs have enough processing power to support audio, video, and gaming, in addition to having rich support for browsing the internet as well as for other communication and networking applications. Windows Media Player is included, with a special skin designed to provide a better experience on the small screen. The devices also feature DirectX 9–class graphics, and all applications available for standard Tablet PCs are expected to be compatible.

- Battery life is expected to increase from the initial 2½ hours to 8 hours.

How about the Price?

Surprisingly, the price ranges from P17,000 to P70,000, it just depends on the brand.

How it Looks

Some brands also features sim slots for HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, is a new protocol for mobile telephone data transmission. It is known as a 3.5G (G stands for generation) technology. Essentially, the standard will provide download speeds on a mobile phone equivalent to an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line in a home, removing any limitations placed on the use of your phone by a slow connection.)

As I understand, it functions more like a regular PC or laptop, the size is the only big difference. You can install programs, connect with the internet, use webcams, wifi, bluetooth, sim, memory cards… what else? Uh - the battery life… more or less a full charge battery can last up to 2 hours only. Unless you are using 6-cell battery. There are also a variety of colors to choose from - black to pink!

But, as of this time I am still confused how to classify a UMDC from netbooks and so many other names that are appearing now. For now, I’ll just leave it to that. Let us just see what the future brings, computing devices really runs fast, it is hard to catch up with the latest!

I am not sure what brands has the most reliable product now… If you have one now, maybe you could share its performance, so you might help us decide what to purchase if times comes we decide to change our laptop and desktop PC.