My HP2710p tabletPC is docked most of the time, but occasionally is taken with me to meetigs, so that I can take notes in OneNote….however, since I have my little P1610 which can do the same thing at 2.2#’s instead of lugging around about 3.6#’s, I find myself wondering why bother taking the HP, which is a shame as the HP is a very nice tablet.

As for MacBook, until a few years ago, I had my own biz and used the MacBook for meetings and presentations out of the office and used a Mac desktop tower as my ‘daily driver’ in the office as it had more horsepower….but with my biz closed, I couldn’t justify getting another tower when it started to have problems, so, decided to just use the MacBook as it hardly been used…works OK…

The P1610 I got so that I’d have a more portable personal computing device…works well overall and use it both for personal and business use during the day at work….however, lately even lugging it around outside the office started to bother me, so, started looking for a smaller device, but not too small, as I’ve had a few already and each time realize that they’re just too small for my ol’ eyes and specific computing usage. It seems like the Vaio P might be OK for me, smaller/lighter than the P1610, but not too small, very light, and still reasonably large display and keyboard…only thing I’ll miss with P is touchscreen…

So it goes….will let you know how it goes after I receive P soon….

I can even start to guess how each quirk occurred but it shows the weakness and confusion in the market and on the desk. Smallest devices struggle to interface sensibly with big screens, mini-laptops and phone, personal phone, mini-phone and email-phone. They are all so busy defending their niche or leaving something out to protect their other niche, its all quite silly.

Let us know how the Vaio with big SSD works out.

-MacBook C2D (use it mainly at home now…have dock for it connected to 21″ CRT)
-Fujitsu P1610 (take it with me to work & mtgs…)
-Sony Vaio 90/1.86/64GB SSD (will be here in a few days,hope this was smart move)
-HP 2710p (provided at work, but using it mainly at desk in dock w/22″ LCD)
-Blackberry 8830 (provided at work, mainly email & some phone calls)
-Pantech PG-C300 (tiny cellphone, personal use, in my pocket)

Hmmm….seems like somethings wrong with this picture…maybe the 6 device ‘non-strategy’ is why I feel a bit confused about my device usage lately…

The UMID would replace the Aigo, yes although I know what you’re saying about tablets. To me, the slider would be the best compromise giving a nice tidy reader format and the keyboard too but when I compare battery life and processing power between the Aigo and UMID, there’s no competition. The UMID is ahead.

As for a ‘model’ describing the differences, it’s difficult. Recently the term ‘UMPC’ has gained more traction so you might find more marketing departments using it. The mix between the general press, technical press,.marketing teams and users is not going to sort itself out for a few years yet.

I’m starting to think even more that we need a more complex model for defining and describing what everything from a smartphone via MID/UMPC/tablet/netbook to a laptop/desktop can do (properly?!). And some devices have quirks and limitations which blur the simple use of the acronyms. A MID nows seems to be a smartphone that cannot make (native?) calls, although some MIDs do have better screens. Some devices can play and download video but not stream or fully browse for it – which seems a fairly arbitrary limitation affecting some/all Archos (eg. no web+MJPEG) and some smartphones. The newer tablets and netbooks push other distinctions. The main defining feature of a UMPC – as said in the OQO thread – is a high possibly excessive price.

Am I the only one confused and feeling this?

The early eee’s did something unique, definable, sellable: cheap, small, web, worked.
The early mid’s did the same: small, web, mobile, affordable when laptops were big and expensive or had no 3G.
Smartphones did enhanced SMS, contact management, email and then limited browsing.
Now all those lines have moved a long way. The eee gets bigger each release, some mids/viewers get more confused (archos) others become shrinkable netbooks or replacements for the discontinued eee’s. For £205 you can get a PAYG smartphone that does all the old MIDs did and more, limited only by a (say) 2.8″ VGA screen so it still fits a big-ish pocket.

No wonder the contents of your “power of three” keeps changing.

New article: While I Was Away (26 April 2009) http://cli.gs/4emX9a