HP's New UMPC Unveiled

In the past few days it has been rumored that HP is going to enter the UMPC market, alongside Fujitsu, Asus, and others. This new device was hinted at being a lifestyle accessory that consumers would buy without a thought, like an iPod, cellphone or other frequently used item. Today, images of a new "HP Compaq 2133" and a vague spec sheet leaked bringing more truth to this rumored device, as well as many questions.

Image courtesy of Engadget. (view large image)

Link to Engadget Article

Rumored HP Compaq 2133 Specifications:

• Windows Vista or Linux Operating System
• 8.9" 1366 x 766 WXGA display with scratch resistant screen cover
• 95% of fullsize QWERTY Keyboard
• 1Gb Ethernet Jack
• 1.8" HD with SSD Optional
• Webcam
• Wireless Lan
• Expresscard/54 slot
• HP 3D DriveGuard
• HP Fast Charge
• HP Smart AC Adapter
• Anodized aluminum casing
• Tamper Proof Case (?)
• Visible Ports and Connections: Two USB 2.0, one Firewire, one VGA, SD(HC) Card reader, Headphone/Mic, Expresscard/54 Slot, Kensington Lock slot
• Weight starting at 2.5lbs

While many of these specifications put it a step or two above other low cost options like the Asus EEE PC or Everex Cloudbook, it will be interesting to see how HP prices themselves in this market. One of the more curious specifications that has raised a few eyebrows around this office is the mentioning of the tamper proof case, which might mean no upgrades or user servicing. Considering the amount of backlash Apple has received over similar designs, this notebook better have an extremely low price or some other incredible features not yet mentioned if they want to enter this already fierce market.

 

Very interesting! I can't wait to see the price and more detailed specs on this baby! (pun intended; after all, it is a UMPC).

The anodized aluminum case and the 1.8" HD/SSD already give the Compaq 2133 an advantage over the eee and the CloudBook. But still, it would be interesting to see how HP prices this thing. It'll probably be a bit more expensive than the eee or the Cloudbook, but not too much more, hopefully.

EDIT: As I was browsing the engadget page, I came across a promotional flyer for the Compaq 2133. In regards to the tamper-proof case, it states: "Tamper-proof case; no visible screws".

Here's the link to the flyer: http://www.engadget.com/photos/hps-umpc-2133-revealed/649702/

So maybe this thing can't be upgraded after all.

 

I would think $1000 is probably going to be the starting price. Anodized Aluminum shell? That demands a premium in the market (even though in mass quantities it isn't too expensive to manufacture).


EDIT: I think my post needs justification.

-Add an undetermined amount for the aluminum shell + the premium for being 'elite' and Apple like.
-1.8" drive. It has to cost more than a few GB soldered on board. Probably by a bit. Since I can't find any on newegg or ZZF on quick glance, I found a 40gb on cdw.com for ~95. I realize industry pays a LOT less, but you can't compare that to a few bucks for a few gb of flash
-Screen. That small of a screen running that resolution is probably going to demand a bit of a premium.
-Expresscard slot
-Running Vista? I use Vista, I have nothing against it, but to run vista requires a certain level of hardware. Something substantially more than the grunt behind the Asus EEE.

These reasons lead me to believe it is going to be a hefty price MORE than the EEE (like, double). If you think otherwise, please chime in or rip my thinking apart. Criticism welcome

 

Interesting. The "tamper proof" case is kind of a mystery, as you stated, though.

I think the thing is that with the EEE PC priced as low as it is, and with low-end "full sized" notebooks being as inexpensive as they are, UMPC makers are going to have a tough time hitting the right price/performance/features point.

 

Sweet, now that HP is entering this market that will force Dell to soon as well. Which mean competition will rise and prices should fall, these things need to be in the $800 range (and preferably less) to find a market I think.

 

Honestly, I think $800 is still too expensive ... if HP was serious when they said they want this product to be something that consumers will purchase without a second thought like an iPod or a set of headphones. This type of notebook needs to cost $400 or less for most consumer to "buy it without a second thought."

 

looks great.. what kind of processors do they use.. does this form factor support intel core2 duo and/or a dedicated graphics. (hope i doesnt seem stupid!)

 

Looks like a very good alternative to the EEE and Cloudbook. Can't wait for the other manufacturers to get on to this.

 

Doesn't that resolution look too high on such small screen...?

But yeah, very impressive in term of spec and i can't wait for them to unveil the price.

 

I would seriously doubt this laptop would be priced at around the 400 dollar range as much as we all want it to be.

I'd guess it to be more around 1k or so. Smaller laptops have been falling in price considerably these days.

 

Dedicated graphics would be a no. I doubt it will be a Core 2 Duo either; I think it is rumored to be using Intel's upcoming low power platform. It's the same thing the next generation EEE will be using.

 

What does it mean? Does it mean Function Keys won't be there?

 

Except that it will cost at least double. I can't see HP pricing it under $800, though I'd love to be proven wrong and see it come in at $400 or even $500. If they did that, I might be in for one....

It looks pretty nice though, other than that tamper proof bit....

 

your choice of vista or linux?

No way this thing will run vista acceptably.

at least give us a choice linux or xp.

 

Blame Microsoft for that one. All notebook manufacturers/OEMs ... and I mean ALL of them realize that Vista isn't fully mature yet and that most customers would be happier with XP.

The problem is that Microsoft is making it increasingly more difficult to release new computers with XP. It can still be done, it takes effort and in some cases a little extra cash on the side of the OEMs.

Right now your best bet is to buy your own copy of XP or wait until SP1 (and probably SP2) for Vista goes public.

 

this will most likely be more the price of upper level umpcs, e.g. oqo or htc shift, so i would expect it to be priced probably between 1000-2000. i would be really surprised if it ends up being less than $1000.

 

I bet it is >1000$!

 

If this thing isn't priced like the Eee or Cloudbook, HP may as well not even bother.

The bar has been set. If this thing is priced at a grand, no one will buy it.

 

Around $700 would be ideal, IMHO. But we'll have to wait and see what HP has to say to that.

 

From reading the comments, HP says something to the effect of: you won't even need to think about buying this UMPC. It'll be like picking up a new 'handphone'. Soooooo, what price does that mean? $6-700?

 

Is it fanless and is the screen LED? I like it, now just have to wait for 2nd Gen EEE, MSI, Acer, Dell, and Gigabytes challengers!

 

maybe 100$?

 

if they develop a lite version of vista to distribute with UMPC and HP preloads it on this new little thing it would be nice.

The price of this UMPC will be determining on the market acceptation of it...however...since its HP it would easily reach the common electronic consumer like the home user..and that's something other pricey or complicated UMPC haven't accomplished yet.

 

This is going to be the year for ultraportables, subnotebooks and UMPCs, very exciting for me especially.

This looks quite nice, though the resolution may be a little too high for the screen size. Can't wait to see the innards and battery life. We'll be seeing a lot more 7 to 11" notebooks coming out this year, especially with the Montevina SFF chips.

 

I think this will be more like $1300. (Although id never pay that)

 

I think its more likely that the screen res is 1024x600, since most of the other 8.9" screens are that size. However, I wouldn't complain with having a screen that high res, since having the option to run WXGA is nice, even though I'd probably run it at a lower res.

 

$1300-tooo much for umpc,maybe 999.99$?

 

And, if it is a 1.8" hard drive, later on you could move to an SSD if cheaper (that is if the SSD is soldiered on).

 

Only .6 pounds lighter than a D430. I think I go with the D430 with the larger screen.

 

I'd love to have an E3 right now, but I'm gonna' wait a few more months to see how some of these competitors shake out. I've been looking at the Fujitsu P7230 with the 10.6" screen for a while, since a friend of mine has one and they are such a sweet package. But at $1,800, I'm gonna' wait a little longer now!

I don't see the HP selling at a price point similar to the E3. One person's idea of 'buying without even thinking about it' is totally different from another's. I do however welcome all the competition. 2008...the Year of the UMPC!!!

 

No way this will be close to the EEE's price, judging by the screen and its resolution alone. Though I don't think thats a bad thing, I would like to get a higher end EEE-type notebook, don't mind paying the extra, I just want the portability and great battery life. The EEE may suit me, but I really would like just a wee bit bigger screen and not a Celeron processor.

When can we expect more details of this and its release? Need more details now!

 

I think this is going to be at least $1K, more like $1300. The spec of this is just way better than E3. There is no comparison here.

If this is indeed like the MBA, with no user replaceable component, then I would like to have at least a removable battery.

If this UMPC has the following features at $1K, I will consider it. If it is $700, I will buy it without thinking too much.
1GB RAM
80GB 1.8" HD
Vista Home Premium
Replaceable battery (not necessarily easy removable type)
a/g/n WiFi
Multi-card reader with fast read/write capability (for this small computer with small hard drive, flash card is a very important storage alternative)
No modem, add HDMI
Two USB ports
1 Firewire, or 1 eSATA, or both
2MP webcam with built in mic
$50 upgrade option for LED screen

 

Looks like its going to have a DVI out port but no HDMI, still impressive.

I wouldn't count on a 2MP cam, probably 0.3, 1.3 if we're lucky. I do see a Firewire port on it, on the right side.

The Japanese import Kohjinsha SH models (7" screen) have a 2.5" HDD and the SR models (same 7" form factor) have a 1.8" HDD and built in DVD drive. Both have a swivel-touchscreen. I would really like to get these with the HP's 8.9" screen and have them available here. I would instantly it.

Sigh, there's never the perfect notebook. : (

 

Actually, for me, the Sony TZ series is the NEAR perfect notebook, IF the price is at least $1K cheaper

 

Thats what I have, but I think I still would like just a little smaller notebook. I thought I would use the DVD drive, but I don't, so won't be missed, I am quite interested in this HP and right when I think about buying it, there'll be more ultraportables and UMPCs announced. We'll see a lot of new ones coming this year.

 

Even though I'm not planning to purchase a notebook computer anytime soon, I'm just glad that the industry is moving towards affordable ultraportables.

I hope this one is customizable so that the price is more affordable.

 

We have similar taste, but probably different purchasing power

If this HP has a larger screen, and move the speakers to the keyboard area, that will be a hack of a UMPC.

For me, optical drive is for installation of software. I seldom watch DVD on notebook or desktop. However, when I need an optical drive, I need it desperately.

 

pff...tamper-poof, we'll see about that.

 

True. HP sold something like this in the past, the Jornada (clamshell PDA with keyboard + touchscreen) which was also around the $1000 range. But if HP's recent coupons have been any indication, I'd imagine the price will be around $700-800, a price premium I would be willing to pay over the EEE.

 

You do love to compare everything with the superior D430, don't you? This is a different class device.

 

I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything with a decent sized screen and smaller than the TZ. Even looking at the size of the bezel on the HP here, I'd imagine the footprint won't be any smaller than the TZ - not to mention the weight difference is negligible between the two (2.7lb for the TZ versus 2.5lb for the HP).

 

I still don't get the thing with the speakers on the sides of the screen. It is not in any way a pretty looking setup. Give it a larger screen and put the speakers somewhere else (bottom?) and there you have something eye pleasing and functional.

 

Its the exact same with the Asus EEE. Screens are expensive and my bet is that they stuck to that size screen, but expanded the bezel (and put the speakers there) and so also expanded the case to make room for a larger keyboard, which many may argue is more important than a larger screen.

 

I've wondered if it was a strength thing. Maybe they want more structure around the screen to beef it up a bit? Just a thought.

 

Oh wow, words cannot describe how much I like this. I was always thinking about buying an EEE but I just felt that it didn't have enough storage and thought a hard drive option should be available. I also like the screen on this, and even if the 1366x766 resolution doesn't pan out, it should be a higher resolution than on the EEE. Plus, look at all the connectivity on that thing! It has more ports than the Macbook Air. Personally, this thing reminds me of a smaller version of my 12" Powerbook, not running OS X of course, and that is a wonderful thing! There truly is nothing like an all-metal case. I'd have no hesitation to pay in the 600-700 dollar range for this as long as it ran Vista fluidly, though if HP hopes to make it an iPod-like product, they had better come up with a better name than "HP Compaq 2133".

 

I (finally!!!) got to try out the Asus EEE at my local Microcenter, last night. It was quite nice. The keyboard and screen were not as bad as I thought, I had only a little problem typing on the keyboard, when my brother said it was barely usable when using his friend's. The size really was nice.

Just a little bigger screen and keyboard and I would really enjoy using it and buy it, which this HP can deliver. We just need all the crucial details like the innards, release date, price and battery life of course.

I don't like the placement of the mouse buttons though, maybe a trackpoint would have been better? Since its labeled "HP Compaq", it will be business oriented instead of consumer.

 

EVERYTHING has more connectivity than a MBA. I'm sure there are people running around with 4 or 5 year old Dell's with more connectivity than the Air.

 

Price is tentatively 'more than' $630. It will include a 'high end' Penryn processor as well and ship in April.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080220PB201.html

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has recently outsourced a business use UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) order to Inventec with the device expected to be launched around April, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.

The UMPC features the high-end Intel 45nm Penryn processor, Windows XP operating system and an 8.9-inch panel, and will be targeting the second notebook market for business users. The device will cost more than NT$20,000 (US$630) and will be considered a high-end model, added the paper.

 

This morning, Engadget is reporting that the price will start at $630.00.

That's not bad, but I don't know that it falls into the "purchase without thinking" category... at least for me.

 

That tamper-proof design is what concerns me, tampering is party of the EEEs beauty. I haven't purchased one yet, I'm waiting for the 8" screen, though I doubt I can wait much longer. Side note, does anyone know is Asus has given a ballpark park figure on the 2nd generation EEEs release date? Everything else about this HP though is fantastic, oh yeah except for Vista, just give me XP or Ubuntu.