Taking stats from Google search keywords only (and not the mad number of hits that came from Engadget yesterday!) it looks like the HP UMPC is going to be an incredibly hot product. Expect it to climb to the number one position tomorrow. In the lifetime of the product portal only two other devices have made such an immediate impact. The HTC Shift and LG MID are still at the top of the tree so the future bodes very well for the HP UMPC as long as it lives up to expectations.
Based on the information I got yesterday it looks like the report from China about it being based on Intel was wrong. That also calls into question the release date (rumor: April) and the launch price (rumor: $600) which also came from this source. I haven’t received any information on these two points though so at the moment, it’s anyone’s guess. I can only imagine that if it’s VIA-based, pricing will be very competitive and as VIA keep talking about their CPU upgrade path (C7-M to Isaiah with a pin-compatible CPU) I guess it will appear in different forms with different CPU builds. 1.2ghz C7 to 2.0Ghz Isaiah (estimated four times the processing power of a 1.2Ghz C7) should be possible.
Personally I absolutely love the device and want one right now. It will be my expo-laptop and will partner the Everun and N82. Maybe I should pre-order [affiliate link] it now!
Update: Yes, it hit the top spot. Expect it to stay there for quite a while!
