Despite my definition of a UMPC reaching up to 10″ devices, I never call the netbooks UMPCs! Maybe it’s because the term ‘netbook’ say something about the low-end features rather than the size. In the podcasts, we’ve been talking a lot about how small the 701, 900 and 901 are compared to the other netbooks but it’s not until you see an image like this that you realise the real difference. To most people it’s nothing. Both require a bag. But if you’re on a plane, in a train or the back of an automobile, those mm’s could make an important difference.
The other problem with all this sizing talk is that if you really need to be ultra mobile, then wait a while. MIDs are coming and could be an even better solution for you. Granted, with 3G, GPS and miniature keyboard mechanisms on board, they won’t be as cheap but it might pay to be able to use the device in even more locations, without any sort of bag.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Hi,
FYI – Just ran into a very good article about the 901 with battery life testing, etc. Price point wise it seems that if they instead offered just a 8GB base 901 model that it could compete with the projected price of the Acer Aspire One (but as we can see above, the Acer Aspire One is a bit bigger than the 901). Oh – I will put in the url for that article if interested:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/17/review_eee_pc_901/
Enjoy.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Are there any pictures of the MSI wind next to the 901 because that would be a nice comparison.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:47 am
As a reminder, the Eee also “features” a non-standard disk drive slot, a keyboard heatsink, a smaller keyboard, and higher price tag compared to the Acer. Of course, the Acer has its own problems of being a little chunky and lacking the Splashtop OS. I think the Eee is fantastic, but certainly not the end all netbook.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:08 am
i totally agree with chippy…
a netbook is not a UMPC…maybe it’s a mobile PC, but it’s not Ultra Mobile…UMPC to me means handheld (for example when i’m standing in the subway etc.) – a real on-the-go-solution…in terms of size (and form factor), MIDs are actually the real UMPCs to me
June 20th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
important point to consider when looking at pictures as a definition of size; look at the volume too.
Acer Aspire One = 1,222,640 mm cubed
HP Mininote = 1,393,920 mm cubed
MSI Wind = 1,450,800 mm cubed
Asus Eeepc 901 = 1,485,000 mm cubed
MSI 12″ notebook = 2,069,262 mm cubed
That picture does not tell the whole story.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
SO the Aspire One is actually the smallest….interesting.
Steve.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
and the asus is actually one of the biggest!
June 20th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
225 x 170 x 20.0~33.8mm
thats the Eee PC 900. which makes him still the smallest one when it comes to the volume. the 901 might be 10mm deeper
June 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
You don’t need to wait for MIDs (although for many people they may represent sufficient computing power). UMPCs are available and are usable. I think volume is a good measure. Looking at what used be called thin and light notebooks:
Acer Aspire One = 1,222,640 mm cubed
HP Mininote = 1,393,920 mm cubed
MSI Wind = 1,450,800 mm cubed
Asus Eeepc 901 = 1,485,000 mm cubed
MSI 12″ notebook = 2,069,262 mm cubed
Versus a real UMPC:
OQO 02 = 298,200 mm cubed
I think we can see the difference. I’d say anything over 500,000 cubic mm looses the right to the “ultra” designation.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I’m just going to keep mentioning it in comments here, since it’s pretty small and has been around forever. Let’s not forget the (more expensive) Panasonic R-series of laptops (R7 right now). It’s the width of an Eee, but taller and a bit deeper.
Not sure how much connectivity the latest iterations have (I have an R3), and, of course, you have to import it (that’s what places like Dynamism and ebay are for, though). But they manage to cram a 10″ screen and good keyboard into something with a smaller footprint than a lot of these netbooks (it helps that the bezel is so narrow). And they get great battery life.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
REMF, I think your volume calculations are too simplistic to allow a comparison like the one you have shown and you have to go from the pictures if you dont have the actual devices to hand. I suspect you have done a simple HxWxD to get the volume. The problem with this is that devices like the eee 901 are not a uniform depth and therefore the volume you state is inaccurate. Maybe someone with some pythagoros skills can help. The dimensions of the 901 I beleive are 225mm(W) x 175.5mm(D) x 22.7mm~ 39mm (H)
If the Aspire One is of uniform depth then I suspect that the 901 may actually have less volume.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Dave P, based on your criteria of 500,000 m3 max. for the UMPC designation, that means my Fujitsu U810 would be disqualified since its volume is 783,437 mm3. The EEE PC 900 however is 1,028,925 mm3, and many like me already consider it just a bit too big to be considered a true UMPC.
It might be better if your UMPC limits were set to one million for the “Large” UMPC category, and half a million for the “Small” category.
I just purchased the Linux version of the EEE PC 900 today, and will do a video review of it like I did for the Fujitsu U810. Only this time, I plan to install different operating systems in order to test out the general performance and ease of use of each of them. Already, I can say that the default Xandros Linux OS is a bit of a pain to use mainly because I’ve yet to find a proper “Advanced” option that will allow me to perform some fine tuning on the configuration.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:26 am
netbooks are not UMPC’s if they do not run full Windows.
What is funny to me is that if you look those netbooks are gaining a lot more interest and to me that just proves the world wants a touch type keyboard. What UMPC’s need to do is just make models with a touch type keyboard built in like a Psion 5mx or HP Jornada 720. There will always be a small niche for the slates but they have yet to sell now going on what two years? It has nothing to do with price and everything to do with functionality or the lack there of. The world would embrace UMPC’s if they were handheld with a touch type keyboard and small enough to carry in a jacket pocket; otherwise they will remain toys for techno geeks.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
To Ian:
“REMF, I think your volume calculations are too simplistic to allow a comparison like the one you have shown and you have to go from the pictures if you dont have the actual devices to hand”
You are absolutely correct, i am aware they are not accurate.
From the point of view of how big a bag you need to be able to stuff it in the maximum dimension does matter so i wasn’t too fussed.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:45 am
But you do raise a good point, having a reasonably accurate volume dimension added to the database would be really handy. how about it chippy……….?