Samsung, Asus, and Founder UMPC Devices at CeBIT (pics)

For those that have been in the dark for the past week, you might not have heard about the new Intel backed device that's being referred to as Origami. The "proper" name for the new style of device about to be released is actually UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer). Samsung, Asus and Founder are going to be the first three manufacturers to release UMPC devices. Founder already has a device shipping in China (yes, as in right now) while Samsung and Asus will have devices shipping in the next 2 - 3 months.

The Samsung device actually looks like a bigger version of the PMP player they have on the market. It's sleek looking, but a real fingerprint magnet. On the right side of the device is a VGA out port so you can display to a larger screen. USB ports will allow you use a keyboard on this device as it is a fully fledged Microsoft XP based OS with some added features on top that give it the Origami OS designation. Also note, this device has an integrated antenna for watching TV.

The Founder device is red and actually has a DVI port on it. This device is shipping in China right now.

The Asus device looks like a shrunken version of the popular Asus silver brushed metal notebook look. Asus put an antenna port on the side for those that want to tap into TV. It of course also has USB ports, mic, headphone and a unique 1.3MP camera. This was the nicest looking device in my opinion.

 

They look pretty cool, but I'm not sure where the market is for these. Too big for a PDA owner, too small for most Tablet buyers. I'm not convinced these are going anywhere other than to the hard core techie who can never support a market on his own. I hope I'm wrong, because I love gadgets of course.

 

The buttonless etched brushed aluminum, I love it

It'll be interesting to see who picks them up for actual uses! As Brian mentioned, it's right in between, with both sides of goodies...

 

They look sweat but will they be pratical. Probably not. I like the Asus one as well. How much are these things gonna cost?
Tim

 

This silly concept isn't new at all. Sony did basically the same thing with their U50 series, these just look like a slightly bigger version of them thats all, nothing innovative or revolutionary here.

 

Reminds me quite a bit of the Nokia 770 (not sure if thats available in the USA), but these ought to be a little more flexible. They showed an 'advertorial' of the samsung version on the BBC news [1], promoting it as a mobile internet terminal.

Awkward looking device, its as bulky as a normal ultraportable PC for all intents and purposes - that is, its really too big and heavy to be a serious prospect for slipping away into a pocket. The screen resolution on the one they showed was very low too, but that might not be representative of everyones.

Maybe with another generation or twos development..


[1] Which is a bit odd, the BBC are supposedly not allowed to engage in that kind of activity. Although they muddled themselves a bit by calling it a Microsoft product.

 

Cost?
I guess havign windows on there is 2 negatives at a time. 1- need to have good specs for it to run normal, and 2- windows costs a lot.

How about an open source version

 

Wow, what a letdown these things are. Has no real practical place in the market IMO. All the hype over this . . and now we get another version of the OQO.

Oh well, look who came up with the idea.

 

I have to agree, what's the point? It's like a PSP for execs. It's a little all in one device. But so is a pocket PC. Do they think they're is a market inbetween ultaportables, tablets, and PDAs?

 

I smell vaporware

 

That thing looks way big. I thought something like the Vulcan Flipstart looked like a better idea although who knows if that will ever be released.

 

i predict they will flop. appears to be a flavor of ms windows in a cumbersome sized device (do you use 1 hand or 2 to hold it?). the most popular devices in other form factors have a UI based upon the work interaction context. maybe i don't get it, but it looks like ms has a made an awful attempt to merge the tablet and the psp.

 

May be if they comeout with a slide out KB(like those sidekicks), they may be able to sell some.

 

i think price will be anywhere between $500-$1000 depending on options (GPS, DMB, hard drive etc)
but at those prices, it makes more sense to have a pocket pc from qtek or something at a lower price and still maintain your notebook/tablet
maybe they are targeting this to major corps with thousands of sales reps who constantly travel and have a need for the large screen to display products and be in touch with the home office.
either way, the asus looks **** good. almost like a keyboard-less w5f with that nifty webcam in there

 

planning on buying a sager 9750V. anybody had this for a while? + or -?