[Nurhisham Hussein]

Originally Posted by spacerace

what's that white blob at the top ? it looks annoyingly large...

From the press release:

The incorporated GPS antenna with a foldable mechanism allows convenient storage when not in use.

Sounds like the GPS antenna.

I agree with Damion though - Celeron 900MHz/256MB RAM might be pushing the low cost factor a bit too much. It's doable, but you have to learn to optimise your usage which isn't something calculated to attract a big audience.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Originally Posted by spacerace

what's that white blob at the top ? it looks annoyingly large...

From the press release:

The incorporated GPS antenna with a foldable mechanism allows convenient storage when not in use.

Sounds like the GPS antenna.

I agree with Damion though - Celeron 900MHz/256MB RAM might be pushing the low cost factor a bit too much. It's doable, but you have to learn to optimise your usage which isn't something calculated to attract a big audience.

[mcsouth]

It's hard to say without pricing information readily available, but other than built in GPS functionality, I'm not sure why I would be interested in this over, say, the Motion Computing LS800 Tablet.

I've been looking at used tablet pc's lately, thinking that would satisfy my need for a portable, lightweight PC that I could use for casual PC work. The Motion tablets are really starting to tickle my fancy - lightweight, long battery life, WiFi, Bluetooth, and touchscreen functions with the Tablet PC OS - great for illustration software usage.

These new UMPC's just seem in the middle ground of "too big to carry everywhere" and "too small to be of any real use". Maybe this Asus would work well as a combo PC and GPS in-your-car navigation, but I'm not sure that I can see reasonable uses for it otherwise...

[JesterMania]

Originally Posted by mcsouth

These new UMPC's just seem in the middle ground of "too big to carry everywhere" and "too small to be of any real use".

I totally agree. It certainly can't fit it into my pocket like my Pocket PC so there goes some of the mobility right there. For serious use of non-office applications such as Photoshop, the screen size is once again too limiting. This leaves the UMPC good for Office work, web surfing, etc. which my Pocket PC can perform perfectly and at a smaller form factor.

I'd certainly like to try out a UMPC just for fun, but seriously buying one isn't on my agenda. I'd see some attraction if the specs were beefed up and a 3D accelerator installed (so I can play some full-blown PC games on there) but then the unit would probably be unaffordable to everyone.

[SteveHoward999]

I want to see some devices with specs that actually live up to the promise of the Microsoft videos released earlier this year. So far the specs make these machines no better than my wifes cast-off 5-year-old PC.

[JesterMania]

Originally Posted by SteveHoward999

I want to see some devices with specs that actually live up to the promise of the Microsoft videos released earlier this year. So far the specs make these machines no better than my wifes cast-off 5-year-old PC.

I'm interested, what sorts of specs were shown in these videos?

[SteveHoward999]

Originally Posted by JesterMania

I'm interested, what sorts of specs were shown in these videos?

I should have been more clear. Actual specs were not shown, but a series of videos showed how the UMPC devices could be used. That suggested a certain amount of power which, so far as I can tell, represents a machine significantly more powerful than the ones currently available to us.

[isajoo]

it is soooo amazing to see people complaint about these things everytime another company brings it to the market.

i would think that they would not sell as many units as to compare a laptop or even ppc for that matter.

lots of people want something like this....but are u ready to dish out $1500-2000 for a UMPC.... :lol: what a joke. the name does not even suit it.

for 699.99 CANADIAN dollars wouldn't u rather have this...



# Intel Celeron Mobile 373 (ULV) and 1.0GHz Processor Speed
# 10.6" AveraBrite Type Display with 1280 x 768 Resolution
# 60GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
# 512MB DDR memory for multitasking power.
# Combo DVD+ CDRW Drive
# Networking: WLAN 802.11g
# Weighs only 1.6 kg and measures just 2.95 cm thin for easy portability.
# Media Launch Player, Battery Saver
# I/O Ports: 3 x USB 2.0, 15-Pin VGA, Audio Out, Mic-In, RJ-11, RJ-45, 3-in-1 Media Reader

link
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...on=&langid=EN#

[ricksfiona]

I put in my order for the 2nd generation Tabletkiosk EO i7210 UMPC which comes with a Pentium M 1.0GHZ and 1GB RAM. For web surfing and Word, it should work out completely well. If it had Bluetooth 2.0, it would be PERFECT! It comes with all the ports and card readers I could need. It even comes bundled with a docking station! It should receive it right after the Labor Day weekend.

I thought about the Motion Computing LS800 long and hard and didn't feel that an extra 200MHZ in CPU and 1" screen increase was worth the $500 price increase. Plus the EO is less that 2lbs and the LS800 is about 2.2lbs. But, it was mostly a price/value issue.

The ASUS unit looks pretty cool. What got me interested was the GPS and BT 2.0. But since I would only use GPS in the car, an external BT equipped GPS receiver would probably be better anyway. With BT 2.0, I doubt I would miss the advantages that much over BT 1.2. Even with EVDO, BT 1.2 will handle the speed just fine.

[Jason Dunn]

(pulls the thread off topic even more)

Originally Posted by isajoo

for 699.99 CANADIAN dollars wouldn't u rather have this...

$699?!! Holy crap. I'm actually considering buying this, just to leave it in my TV room as a "room laptop". A bit crazy? Perhaps, but $699 isn't a bad price at all. Hrm...(goes off to ponder)

[spacerace]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

$699?!! Holy crap. I'm actually considering buying this, just to leave it in my TV room as a "room laptop". A bit crazy? Perhaps, but $699 isn't a bad price at all. Hrm...(goes off to ponder)

It's very good spec for very little money. Shame it doesn't exist in the u.k. otherwise I'd have one...