Intel Unveils Latest Mobile PC Concept

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=4147' target='_blank'>http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.a...?ContentId=4147</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Intel Corporation has unveiled its latest concept mobile PCs during the Intel Developer Forum Spring 2005. The new designs demonstrate how future Intel Centrino mobile technology platforms could be used to provide 'on-the-go' entertainment for consumers and enhanced innovation for 'digital office' users. &lt;...> Small enough to fit in the user's hands, its touch screen doubles as a flat surface speaker, eliminating the need for a keyboard. The unit is designed to aid easy communications for on-the-go consumers. It comes equipped with a wired or wireless keyboard, detachable DVD player, GPS navigation system, a built-in camera and array microphones."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/IntelOntheGoConcept.JPG" /> <br /><br />A very noticeable trend has emerged over the past year with the OQO, Sony's U-series VAIO PCs, and even the <a href=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36238&highlight=u750>Modular PC</a>, which Pat Logsdon reported on recently. Certainly the innovation behind both the OQO and Sony's U-series VAIO has sparked everyone's imagination and caused all of us to drool at the possibilities. However, as seems to be the case with all 1st generation devices, the reviews on those pioneers have been unflattering. So will Intel's latest Mobile PC concept finally lead to the first ultra-portable PC that delivers? And what impact would this have on PocketPCs? We all know these Mobile PCs will be in much higher price bracket from PocketPC / WM devices. For that reason alone at least, PocketPCs will still draw a distinct market, but for how long?

[jlp]

"Intel Corporation has unveiled its latest concept mobile PCs during the Intel Developer Forum Spring 2005. The new designs demonstrate how future Intel Centrino mobile technology platforms could be used to provide 'on-the-go' entertainment for consumers and enhanced innovation for 'digital office' users. &lt;...> Small enough to fit in the user's hands, its touch screen doubles as a flat surface speaker, eliminating the need for a keyboard. The unit is designed to aid easy communications for on-the-go consumers. It comes equipped with a wired or wireless keyboard, detachable DVD player, GPS navigation system, a built-in camera and array microphones."

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/IntelOntheGoConcept.JPG

A very noticeable trend has emerged over the past year with the OQO, Sony's U-series VAIO PCs, and even the <a href=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36238&highlight=u750>Modular PC</a>, which Pat Logsdon reported on recently. Certainly the innovation behind both the OQO and Sony's U-series VAIO has sparked everyone's imagination and caused all of us to drool at the possibilities. However, as seems to be the case with all 1st generation devices, the reviews on those pioneers have been unflattering. So will Intel's latest Mobile PC concept finally lead to the first ultra-portable PC that delivers? And what impact would this have on PocketPCs? We all know these Mobile PCs will be in much higher price bracket from PocketPC / WM devices. For that reason alone at least, PocketPCs will still draw a distinct market, but for how long?

1) at first I thougt about an April's fool, but quickly realized it quite too early
2) I don't see how "a flat surface speaker" can eliminate "the need for a keyboard." 8O
3) given the tiny size of the tray icons, I can picture the approximate size of the whole unit, in which case you could hardly call it "Small enough to fit in the user's hands" unless you have Gargantuan hands or imply that if you can grab the device with your two hands that qualifies to be dubbed "Small enough to fit in the user's hands" :roll:

Edit: 4) me thinks they put the wrong image with the text (or vice versa :lol:)

[Sven Johannsen]

My reaction is OOOOOHHHHH, AAAAAHHHHH. I think it's pretty.

I don't think the icons indicate it is big. Look at the system tray and start menu on a 4700 or X50v in true 800x600. Throw a 1200x900 screen on a 4 to 5 LCD and the icons would be tiny, but likely legible.

[twalk]

I said several times on this site that this is the future of handhelds.

However it's going to take intel's/amd's new super low power processors, more integration, and work by MS to optimize XP for these size devices. That will take about 2 more years to hit a PPC sized device, IF MS decides that they want these kind of devices to succeed. (They have financial incentive to do so, but this is MS...)

IF these come out in a couple of years at &lt;$800, I would expect Symbian to still succeed (because Nokia will ship it out in practically everything they make...), I would expect that Palm would survive in a diminished role (because they're not MS..., unless P1 continues to do stupid things...), and I would expect WM/PPC to dissappear after 4-5 years (most are bought by businesses, it's far enough into the future for PPC owners to not worry about it for right now).

[jimski]

As soon as it does not fit in your pocket it is no longer a PPC. So there will always be a niche for the PPC as we know it today. Sure this is nice, but as I walk around our offices and someone pages me to a phone to ask if next Thursday at 2:00pm is good for a conference call, I don't expect to have this tucked under my arm to answer the question but my PPC will still be in my pocket ready to book the time. Nor do I expect to have this with me (in a protective case for sure) when I am out with friends to show them some recent photos or video clips or other neat W?BIC stuff.

Give me some form of very rugged and stable memory storage (other than a fragile hard drive) that I can pop out of my mega-workstation and plug it into a device like this so I can have EVERYTHING with me without skipping a beat to take to a vendor or client visit, or pop it into the mega-workstation at home so I can work from there a couple days a week :lol: and I will call that progress.

But even with this dream device, I will still need my PPC to book that conference call. And please don't tell me to use my phone. They are good for chatting with people and not much more.

[AzrealJG]

Small enough to fit in the user's hands, its touch screen doubles as a flat surface speaker, eliminating the need for a keyboard.


2) I don't see how "a flat surface speaker" can eliminate "the need for a keyboard." 8O

The touch screen (which doubles as a flat surface speaker) eliminates the need for a keyboard.

[Felix Torres]

Edit: 4) me thinks they put the wrong image with the text (or vice versa :lol:)

Possible.
But since the thing they're describing is basically a small form-factor tablet PC which is something various vendors have been exploring for a while its equally likely accurate.

Scaling off a photo is hard but It looks to be about a 7 inch screen and a DVD-sized device to me.
Definitely *not* a PPC or an OQO, but a tweener device sitting below the 10 inch slate tablets like the HP TC1xxx series and the OQO devices.

The context being that the Developer Forun has been strongly focused on Centrino follow-ups, so what Intel is showing is a full function PC.

I just hope somebody builds the thing in a year or so; I'll be needing a replacement for my tablet and a one pound slate like this would suit me just fine.

[jlp]

My reaction is OOOOOHHHHH, AAAAAHHHHH. I think it's pretty.

I don't think the icons indicate it is big. Look at the system tray and start menu on a 4700 or X50v in true 800x600. Throw a 1200x900 screen on a 4 to 5 LCD and the icons would be tiny, but likely legible.

The 4700's rez is 640x480 NOT 800x600; and it's already on a 4" screen, so if you squeeze 4 times that fine rez (likely 1280x960), the screen WON'T be ligible at that native rez, showing (comparatively) tiny icons like you can see on the pix. Only solution is to do the "enhanced QVGA" trick again, this time as "enhanced VGA", but the icons would NOT look that tiny.

So either that pix is the wrong one or the device is much too big to qualify for a handheld or pocket PC as we know -and love- them !

[jlp]

Furthermore if you look at the numerous soft touch buttons on the frame, that's another sure indication that this is a fullsize TPC, not a handheld/handtop device :!:

Look especially at the right side and count 'em: 10 rows of buttons!!

Then look at the tiny tray icons, they are half as tall as the smallest of these frame buttons.

Definitely not a small device :!:

[Sven Johannsen]

The 4700's rez is 640x480 NOT 800x600; and it's already on a 4" screen, so if you squeeze 4 times that fine rez (likely 1280x960), the screen WON'T be ligible at that native rez, showing (comparatively) tiny icons like you can see on the pix. Only solution is to do the "enhanced QVGA" trick again, this time as "enhanced VGA", but the icons would NOT look that tiny.
Whoops, guess I was dreaming. yea the x50v is 640x480, but I still think 800x600 would be ligible on a 5" screen...with my reading glasses ;)

I agree this wouldn't replace the pocketable PC, but I do think a smaller form factor tablet does have a place in the market. My current tablet is too big, and my PPC is too small for many things I would like to do with it. Mostly entertainment based things, video, books, etc, on something like a commute or air travel. Gotta do something about longevity though.

[conflagrare]

why does this thing resemble a Mac G5?

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Furthermore if you look at the numerous soft touch buttons on the frame, that's another sure indication that this is a fullsize TPC, not a handheld/handtop device :!:

Look especially at the right side and count 'em: 10 rows of buttons!!

Then look at the tiny tray icons, they are half as tall as the smallest of these frame buttons.

Definitely not a small device :!:
Right. This does not appear to be as small as either the OQO or the Sony U VAIO devices, but it does appear to be smaller than current Tablet PCs. Hard to say for sure without actual specs or something else in the image to give us some perspective.

What I'm wondering is if this concept just might be a 1st step in an evolutionary chain. We've already seen vendors like OQO and Sony aim for a small handheld-like device with full-blown XP installed. This concept from Intel appears to be moving in that direction as well (though perhaps not completely there just yet).

[Perry Reed]

Personally, I've been saying for sometime now that I love this form factor. I want something a bit bigger than my Pocket PC, but not as big as current Tablet PCs or laptops; perhaps something between a 6 and 8 inch screen.

Such a device would certainly squeeze the Pocket PC market ever closer to the mobile phone market, where it's already been going. I think the Pocket PC platform, in a smaller package than most of the current PDAs (and certainly my old Jornada 568 which is HUGE in comparison to the new gadgets) would make for an excellent mobile phone platform. And I think the recent details of Magneto, with the new Pocket PC UI looking an awful lot like the Smartphone UI means Microsoft thinks so, too.

So give me a small Pocket PC as my phone and a mini-tablet to replace both my laptop and my PDA, and I'm a happy guy.

[Typhoon]

Is this really that thin? Or is that an optical illusion...