UMPCs aren’t at the $500 mark yet but hold on, have you seen the price of some smartphones that are around at the moment. The top-end HTC keyboard-equipped models cost well over $700 which makes a fully-equipped ultra mobile PC at $899 seem like very good value.
And now this. A 1Ghz Toshiba notebook at $2275.
Can I just compare the Dynabook SS S30 specs to an ASUS R2H for a second please. Differences in brackets.
1Ghz processor (ASUS - 900Mhz)
30Gb drive (ASUS - 40Gb)
512MB RAM (snap!)
Weight 1.2kg (ASUS - 1kg)
Fingerprint reader (snap!)
Vista capable - (My guess is that the Asus will uses the Intel 915 chipset which is vista capable.)
Bluetooth 2.0 (snap!)
No touchscreen (Asus has touch and tablet capabilities)
12″ screen (7″ screen)
Keyboard (no keyboard)
The processor, I admit, is a generation better than the Celeron-M and the graphics co-processor is a bit better but if Asus offered the R2H with a Core-solo and 945gm chipset, it wouldn’t be anywhere near $2000. The Sony UX50 (exactly the same CPU/GPU combo) is only $1500.
Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. Battery. 9 hours battery on the Tosh.
It sounds a lot but it’s not really. Lets take the usual 25% off for over-hyped marketing (the Q1 is still quoted as having a 4-hour battery, I haven’t heard of anyone who’s had much more than 2.5 hours) and you get to 6.75hours. Take into account that the 200gms extra weight is about the same as the extended battery for a UMPC ($100 for 5hours) and you have two devices that are capable of 7 hours (battery swap needed in the case of the UMPC)
Dynabook SS S30 - $2275.
High estimate ASUS R2H UMPC + 6-cell battery - $1200.
Save your money. Get a UMPC. And a docking station. And a big screen if you fancy. And a nice case. And another 6-cell battery. And a Bluetooth stowaway keyboard. And still have change left over for the bus home. In fact, take a taxi.
Steve / Chippy.
