[url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6100498.html]ZDNet[/url] just ran a story about Arimasa Naitoh, who created the ThinkPad and had some exerpts from a press conference from the other day and had his thoughts on where he feels the mobile computing market is heading.
The only remark about the UMPC market in the story were:
When asked about the future prospects of Microsoft’s “Origami” mini-tablet design, Naitoh was skeptical. “I’ll have a hard time to convince myself that Origami will be a primary device,” he said.
So though he obviously believes in notebooks and small form factor devices he feels the UMPC will never take over as the main mobile PC.
I tend to agree with this. I don’t think these devices are meant to eliminate other PCs. The PDA was never meant to eliminate the notebook. Unless the UMPC can get as much power in it as a laptop can fit, it is at a disadvantage.
One of the things that you get with larger screened devices is ease of use. I can use Photoshop and development IDEs on a laptop happily, though this isn’t as easy on a 7″ screen. The UMPC has it’s place but I don’t feel it is as a primary device.
