Graphics processors (GPU)

Ultra Mobile computers are generally not built to support graphics-intensive applications such as games and video post-processing and if you need a device that will run the latest windows games, you will need to look for a high-end notebook PC. Mid-market UMPCs and netbooks do include 2D/3D graphics acceleration support and are powerful enough to run most types of video playback and even some low-end games.

In netbooks with the Diamondville (Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor) you’ll find an Intel GMA950 GPU core. This is good enough for most desktop 3D effects and basic 3D application requirements such as those found in the iTunes software or in Google Earth. Gaming with 2002-2004 games is also possible. Some high-end netbooks are starting to use third party processors from Nvidia or ATI. Assess these on a case-by-case basis but expect performance 2  to 3 times better than the standard offerings.

The Intel Silverthorne CPU (Again an Atom core) is coupled with a chipset known as Poulsbo or SCH. This combined chipset includes a Power VR 3D core from Imagination technologies. In high-end versions of the chipset it also includes dedicated video decoding hardware for WMV, H.264, MPEG4 and MPEG2 compression standards. At the time of writing, the drivers for these devices don’t appear to be fully developed and many applications wont use the capabilities so some performance limitations should be expected. As more OEMs start to use the devices then we should see faster development of drivers and applications for Vista, XP and Linux variants. Intel have committed to producing drivers for Linux and will make XP and Vista drivers available as OEMs require them.

VIA C7-M based devices are still using VX700 chipsets with older DX7-capable hardware and some video decoding acceleration. The newer VX800 chipset is largely untested at this stage but, like the Intel SCH, will require mature drivers before the capability is fully exposed. It includes a new graphics engine and hardware decoding support for common video encoding standards.

Note that video content relies purely on the CPU to do the decoding unless specific hardware is available in the chipset. (VX700, VX800 and SCH) AND if the drivers or application are built to use it. Youtube and other flash-based video content is always reliant on a relatively fast processor for good quality playback.

Memory.

Memory required is largely dependant on the operating system you want to run. Devices based on Windows CE use very little memory. Windows XP-based devices generally require 512Mb to be efficient with 1GB recommended for multitasking. Vista devices require a minimum of 1GB (2GB recommended) and Linux-based devices can run in as little as 256MB but again, if used as full desktop PCs, will require 1GB or more depending on applications. Be aware that memory is not often a user-unreadable item so an extra $100 to double the memory at purchase-time could be a wise move. Extra memory can positively affect the speed and battery life of a device and is highly recommended in a UMPC.

Battery.

We would all like to have 8 hour battery life on our mobile PC’s. Unfortunately, this is not available in 2008. The balance that the manufacturers have made between hardware design, weight and battery life results in 2-3hrs run-time for 7-10″ devices that use batteries in the 25-35Wh capacity range. Extended batteries will obviously improve this it at the expense of weight and cost. For the smaller devices using the latest technology, drain rates drop down but battery sizes drop too. Smaller devices with batteries in the 10Wh to 20Wh range are also providing between 2 and 3hrs run time.

Our predictions on battery life over the 5 years from 2006 are as follows:

Real-use battery life predictions. (30wh battery, wireless network connected, 50% screen brightness, web usage, 7″ screen)

• 2006 – Average UMPC life 2.5 hours
• 2007 – Average UMPC life 3 hours
• 2008 – Average UMPC life 3.6 hours
• 2009 – Average UMPC life 4.3 hours
• 2010 – Average UMPC life 5 hours.

Maximum battery predictions (idle device, often used in marketing)

• 2006 – Average UMPC life 4 hours
• 2007 – Average UMPC life 4.8 hours
• 2008 – Average UMPC life 5.75 hours
• 2009 – Average UMPC life 6.9 hours
• 2010 – Average UMPC life 8.3 hours.

Most users look for over 3 hours in-use battery life for mobile scenarios and currently, only the best devices with the highest density batteries can achieve this.

Be aware of manufacturers claims as industry figures are generally 30% more than what might be achieved under normal use conditions. WiFi, 3G and screen brightness have a huge effect on battery life and so if you expect to use the device outside, connected to a 3G network, you should expect a battery life at the low end of the scale.

Be aware that even smartphones only return 2-4hrs of Internet-use battery life due to radio considerations and the extremely small batteries used in them.

• More Intel ULV news. Core 2 Duos
• D2PO and UMPC power-saving predictions.
• Dedicated Intel UMPC architecture in 2008.

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