Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"What a shame. One of the companies at the core of the UMPC movement and with a history that goes back beyond my first blogs about the topic has gone under. The confirmation came through GottaBeMobile and all we’re left with is the thought about what could have been with the OQO 2+ Atom-based UMPC that we first spotted on stage at Intel’s IDF Sept 2009."

I remember when the OQO was first introduced, suddenly several companies jumped on the super-ultra-mega-pocketable-portable-and-light PC bandwagon. Vulcan had the Flipstart and Sony had the Vaio UX but OQO's design was really catching and smaller than its competitors. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be much of a market for UMPCs at the time, and the OQO's price kept it out of the reach of most people. Then the iPhone, smartphones and netbooks come along along and pretty much dash any hope of the OQO finding a sizable enough niche to survive. I never had a chance to own an OQO, though I do have a UX280p, and the portability combined with the power of these munchkins is great. Sure, UMPCs are definitely not for everyone, but they definitely helped push the boundaries of technology and having a full fledged PC in your pocket helped give some people geek cred. Did any you covet the lilliputian device or actually have one?

"I owned a couple UMPC devices in the past (Samsung Q1 and Fujitsu U810), but then decided to stick with a MSI Wind netbook for my mobile computing needs. James has me actually considering a new slate ultra-portable computer though with his extensive posts on the upcoming Viliv S5 device. This computer is quite compact and has some great specs such as the 1.33 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB hard drive, 4.8 inch 1024×600 resolution touch screen display, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated GPS receiver, and Windows XP."

Looks pretty cool. Size-wise, about the length and width of the Nokia N800, but quite a bit thicker. $599 seems to be a pretty good price for what you get. This looks ideal for those that want everything in one package, but I'm going to stick with my combo of an Aspire One and iPod touch for my mobile computing needs.

"The keyboard-free Q1EX-71G UMPC was first showcased at CES 2009 for all to drool over, but the company has finally gotten around to posting a product page for the device. The Q1EX-71G will retail for $749.99 and provide users with a 7-inch 1024×600 pixel touchscreen, 1.2Ghz VIA Nano processor, VIA Chrome9 HC graphics, 2GB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, and SD card slot."

Getting close to what I'm looking for from a tablet form netbook. Add an inch or so to the screen and get the price to at least the sub $600 level and we can talk. Other than that, the form factor looks about right.