I’ve written  lot of reports about ultra mobile computing, netbooks, segmentation, X86 vs ARM and other mobile computing topics over the 4 -year life of Carrypad/UMPCPortal and after doing some categorization and tagging today I thought I’d take the chance to highlight 10 reports that I recommend reading and, even better, commenting on.

First there’s the buyers guide. The most recent full buyers guide is from late 2008 (I’m working on a big 2010 update) and it’s the biggest report I’ve published. 28 pages of mobile computing information and tips.

• Mobile Computing Guide Now Available as Free PDF

After you’ve digested that, here are a bunch of other interesting reports. All free and open for comments. All produced in the last 12 months.

• Social Netbooks and ARM’s Lock-In Netbook Opportunity.
• The ‘Full Internet Experience’ of 2010
• Ultra-Mobile Computing Predictions for 2010.
• Mobile Computing Segmentation and Capabilities.
• ARM Products and Platforms Primer and Resource List for Mobile Internet Devices in 2010.
• What would you want in a Microblogging-Pad?
• Analysis: The Smartbook Challenges.
• Screen Size Analysis. September 2009.

And finally, one that I published over at Carrypad which is relevant if you’re thinking about ordering the iPad this week.

• Things to Consider when Designing or Buying a Tablet-Style Device

All the UMPCPortal reports are here (and you can track future reports via RSS) If you have any suggestions for future reports, please let me know and I’ll consider your requests. Bear in mind that I’m still working on the 2010 Mobile Computing Guide and I want to get that finished before I take on any more projects.

I had hoped to get a big big updated version of the mobile computing guide out before the end of 2009 but time was definitely not on my side. I’ve done a lot of work on it but it’s going to take many more hours before it’s finished. In the meantime, the late 2008 version is still available as a re-flowable PDF and is still worth reading if you’re thinking about buying a mobile computer, tablet, MID or other mobile computing device this year.

Click on the image to download the free 28-page PDF.

If you want to view it online, use the links below.

Part One: ‘What is an Ultra Mobile PC.’ We give you a history of Ultra Mobile computing, show you how the devices break down into segments and show you what each segment is capable of.

Part Two: ‘Details and Choices.’ It covers the form factors, the keyboard, storage, the screen and connectivity elements of an Ultra Mobile PC. You’ll find a good overview and a lot of tips that will help you refine your choice.

Part Three ‘Details and Choices continued‘ continues the details about the components and covers CPU (including a detailed overview of the currently available solutions) GPU, memory, battery, weight and cost.

Part Four: ‘Additional Information and further reading.‘ In this section we cover some of the less commonly found features on Ultra Mobile computers and give you information and links to further reading resources.

If you find the buyers guide useful, think about donating. It all goes back into making UMPCPortal a better place.

Thanks to the great crowd at DevMob2010 in London last week, I’ve had some good feedback to my scenarios and segmentation diagram which was originally created in 2006 and is now updated and re-published under CC license. It should help as a stimulus for software developers thinking about the possibilities in the space between smartphones and netbooks and can help device designers to think about usage scenarios. Customers will also find it useful to pick out their own usage scenarios and to see what type of device fits with their requirements.

FEEDBACK IS ENCOURAGED. If you have thoughts, please add them to the comments section below.

During my session at DevMob I had a set of suggestions which I’ve added to the diagram. It was interesting to hear suggestions for the 8-10 segment which included Multi-touch/User gaming (many players, one device) and multi-person video viewing. Those are two models that the iPad is targeting very closely. We also added ‘Media Overview / Chooser’ to the 8-10 segment based on the need for screen space for an overview of images, album cover art or video’s.

Many thanks to all that took part in the sessions at DevMob and thanks to all of you that took the time to present and talk about your ideas in this space. I hope to see you all again at the next DevMob2010 and at other events in Europe.

The diagram (V2.0) is available here (PDF)

Notes are shared in a Google Document here.

Update: I’m experimenting with a slightly different layout based on feedback below.  The segments have been re-drawn to represent a more fluid crossover point.

V2.1 diagrams are here.

PDF: http://www.umpcportal.com/downloads/devicesegments-V21.pdf
JPG: http://www.umpcportal.com/downloads/devicesegments-V21.jpg

Click for full size jpg image.

Thanks to Intel for sponsoring my trip to London for DevMob and to the Soft Talk Blog team [twitter] for their assistance.

Mobile Scenarios and Segmentation by Carrypad is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany License.

From the Nokia N82 to the Medion Akoya Mini Netbook. Its hard to imagine you can fit 6 more computing devices in the middle. Here’s the line-up of devices at UMPCPortal at the moment and in this 10 minute video I give you a lightning overview of how I use them at the moment.

Also available on YouTubeand in WMVand H.264 (choose on page) formats. Again, this is how I use the devices at the moment and of course, no normal person would have this many devices at one time! More details on the spcification pages: Nokia N82. Nokia N810. Compal MID (thanks Intel). Wibrain i1 (thanks Mobilx) Raon Digital Everun Note. Kohjinsha SC3. Medion Akoya Mini.

About 3,000 of you have already downloaded the Ultra Mobile Computing Guide that we published last month and the links have long-gone from the front page so here’s a quick ‘highlight’ article, just in case you missed it.

Click on the image to download the free 28-page PDF. If you want to view it online, use the links below.

Part One: ‘What is an Ultra Mobile PC.’ We give you a history of Ultra Mobile computing, show you how the devices break down into segments and show you what each segment is capable of.

Part Two: ‘Details and Choices.’  It covers the form factors, the keyboard, storage, the screen and connectivity elements of an Ultra Mobile PC. You’ll find a good overview and a lot of tips that will help you refine your choice.

Part Three ‘Details and Choices continued‘ continues the details about the components and covers CPU (including a detailed overview of the currently available solutions) GPU, memory, battery, weight and cost.

Part Four: ‘Additional Information and further reading.‘ In this section we cover some of the less commonly found features on Ultra Mobile computers and give you information and links to further reading resources.

I was just reading Kevin’s article about how big the netbook market has gotten in just a year. It’s really amazing to me how the category evolved and expanded. I have maybe once seen a UMPC in use in the wild. That was someone using a UX in a coffee shop. But that’s it. Now however, netbooks seem to be all over the place. In school I regularly see people typing away on Eees. Just last week when going through Airport security a woman behind me pulled an Eee 900 out of her handbag. What surprised me the most though, is my visit to the mall here in Italy. I went into a small electronics store and looked at the laptops on display. There were two Acer 15′ notebooks which looked pretty old and as if they were sitting in the store for a long time. In a big display cabinet however where 3 Olidata JumPCs proudly displaying their 299 Euro price. The JumPC is an Italian Eee-like device that runs on the 900mhz celeron and is marketed at children. I think it might actually be the Classmate design. Definitely not what I expected to find in such a small store! I might have bought if only it wasn’t slightly bulky and err… orange

The pricing game in the cheap notebook category getting rather silly. I’m seeing a lot of ‘tricks’ being used that will make it very difficult for consumers to sort the wheat from the chaff. The low-end Alpha 400 from Bestlink, a RISC-based Eee-a-like is another example. I’m not going to spend any time reporting details of the device (see LinuxDevices for that) or discuss whether it’s a good choice or not but I will report exactly what came into my mind when I read the news about it. Devices like these are nothing much more than smartphones running Linux and placed in notebook casings. I sound very negative when saying that but it shouldn’t be taken that way because while current solutions don’t provide enough oomph to give most users a serious alternative to a full notebook PC, they do show that we are moving to a point where the smartphone could be the only processing device you need. The idea of a smartphone running inside a notebook form factor really is a trick that needs to be observed. [Analysis after the break.]

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