If you’re a regular to UMPCPortal you’re probably a fan of mobile computing. Maybe you’re interested in mobile computing with a desktop operating system. And why not! You get full functionality on a PC architecture which gives you the ability to do exactly what you do, the way you do it on the desk, just a little slower, with different input methods and for shorter periods of time, while mobile!

You’re probably also aware that there is an up-coming category of consumer-focused devices that center around internet communications, video, location and social networking. The consumer tablet, MID, smart-book or whatever you want to call is definitely going to happen and someone is going to get it right very very soon but until we get there, there are going to be some devices that really fall short.

For UMPC fans, we have the additional problem of weeding out all the stuff that might be good for consumers but not good for productivity too so when devices like the Camangi Webstation turn up at $400 offering a ‘resistive touch panel with hard glass’ and ‘Android’ operating system with specs that include GPS and accelerometer, you have to be careful to work out what the device is really intended for.

The SmartQ7 was a similar device. Offering a full Linux build with 7” touchscreen for just $200 it seemed like a bargain for mobile computing fans but it was a device aimed at the sofa for very simple web and reading work. The Camangi WebStation doesn’t appear to be any different.

As reviews come in (see here, here and here) we’re hearing about slow, incomplete web experience, bad video support and surprises that ‘Android’ is, of course, not the Android you were looking for. There’s rather a lot missing from the open-source version compared to the commercial versions you see on phones!

I’ve written quite a bit about the Camangi over at Carrypad and fired a few warning shots in the process but I just get the feeling that there’s a snowball effect building up here and that there will be many more like this in 2010.

P.S. A ‘resistive touch panel with hard glass’ is nothing new!

Full specs, links, videos: Camangi Webstation

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