This is becoming a recurring theme in my UMPC discussions lately. I keep referring to the Full Internet Experience (usually while defending my decision to sideline ARM devices in the portal here) and its time I actually explained, in detail, what I mean.

Let me first separate ‘productivity’ UMPCs from the consumer UMPCs I’m going to talk about. I believe that for productivity, you need 7″, keyboard, mouse-pointer/pad, a desktop-oriented processor platform and a full desktop operating system. Consumer UMPCs are different. Mini keyboards, low-power ‘just enough’ CPU’s and GPUs, small solid-state disk drives and 4-6″ screens bring real challenges and the operating systems that drive them need to be efficient, small-screen friendly and need to contain tailored versions of all the applications a consumer is likely to need, just as you would find on a PMP or consumer navigation device. Take the PepperPad concept as an example. Its a consumer-focused device at a low price with a tightly controlled operating system build, a tailored set of apps and it works quite well. Just like the PepperPad focuses on the Internet as its core feature, so too will the consumer UMPCs, MIDs, Carrypads and Webpads. There will, or course, be specialist applications that will differentiate different devices but through reasons of technology and marketing, UMPC’s will remain fairly thin Internet-focused devices.

Before that can happens, someone needs to develop an Ultra Mobile, finger and Internet-oriented operating system. Windows XP is OK for UMPC’s but Vista is taking over and its far too heavy-weight, un-optimized and finger-unfriendly for a consumer UMPC device. Apart from Vista, there really isn’t any other OS out there yet. Before a new OS is developed we need to lay some ground rules down about the FIE. Without some sort of agreement between the members of a dev team, how can we expect to reach the goal of an Ultra Mobile OS and how can we hope to see the success of UMPC’s in the mainstream? Read on…definition follows.

I have to run out the door in a minute but just want to alert you all of an 800Mhz Intel Kohjinsha that’s being reported at MyKohjinsha.com.

$799 sounds nice but there’s only an 800×480 screen. (Which means its possibly not the new high brightness power-saving LED-backlit module from Samsung)

Check out MyKohjinsha.com for info.

I’ll be back later!

Don’t you love leaked information on yet to be released devices?

This linked PDF of HTC’s new lineup reveals a ton of info about the Shift UMPC.
Codenamed “Shangri-La” (Model number X9500) this one will run on Intel’s 800mhz processor and have 1GB of Ram as well as 30 or 40GB of HDD depending on the model.

What the big news is, it will run both Windows Vista and Windows Mobile 6 Professional! This will allow for instant on in HTC’s newest device, which is starting to look a lot like the cPC that was never released… It will include 128mb of ROM and 64mb of RAM for WM6.

Another positive aspect is that along with the built in GPS, there is a VGA cam, MiniSD slot and a Fingerprint reader. Bluetooth and WiFi are also standard. Now the disappointing things: the screen is only 800×480 and the built in radio is only EDGE capable [EDIT: That Qualcomm chip is fully capable of HSUPA and HSDPA!]. Stay tuned for more info – it will leak out sooner or later.

[EDIT: Note that this is unconfirmed info, but since the details on the other devices appear to be correct this one looks quite legitimate.]

Check out this strappy little number.

Yes its a strap that turns your Kohjinsha K600 into a handbag look-alike. Is that how they do it in Japan? I can’t wait to see what Camineet says about this on his next ‘How to carry a UMPC’ video.

Edit: Icura spotted some more specs and model details. These have now been added to the product portal.

VIA Aving.

Its clear to see that at least the key caps are new so what are they saying about the keyboard? Is it better than the old one? Well its a little difficult to work out to be honest…

the keyboard also completely is not but the improvement petal which improves a little is employed.

I’m none the wiser from that translation. If you can read Korean I’d be interested to hear your translation. If not, just go over and enjoy the great images.

Translated version here. Original version here. Our specifications page here.

Ctitanic just gave us a heads-up that Dynamism have the Everun so I just took a quick visit to see what’s new and if they had pricing up already. They do! There’s also a new 5-model line up.

Click to view in a live comparison window.

You’ll see that Windows XP Embedded is listed for the 6S-E. I’m double checking this because I have a feeling that the 6S should also come with XPe. XPe is probably there to reduce the memory footprint of XP down so I if they’re doing it for one of the SSD-only devices, why not the other. In fact, my favorite device in this line-up is the LX900 SSD-only version. I’d rather pay for processing power than hard drive space. Looking at both of my UMPCs I see that I don’t use more than a few Gb on either of them. Try doing that with Vista! Availability for all models is ‘Mid July.’ I’m double-checking on availability.

Now I’m in a bit of a quandary. I’m losing interest in the Q1 Ultra because its not available (and the lack of mouse pointer is annoying me more and more every day) and the other desirable device for me, the Kohjinsha K600 is not available anywhere yet. Do I drop my Q1 Ultra order and go for the Everun? I’m going to give it a few more hours and a couple of coffees and then make my decision. I have a feeling that I might buy a notebook format 7″er later in the year anyway so it will be nice to have both a productivity UMPC and a MID-style UMPC.

Oh BTW, my Q1P will be up for sale if I put an order in for the Everun. With organizer pack and extended battery. If anyone is interested, drop me a line.

Here’s a second video we got of the U560 at Computex. You get a good view of the backlit sunken keyboard. I’m guessing, from this video, that its a similar speed to the Sony UX. Any UX owners out there care to comment?

Amtek U560 specifications, images and further news links are in the database.

I absolutely adore the Sharp EM-One. Its everything  that I want in an ultra mobile device design. The screen size and res are good, the keyboard, mouse pointer, style, weight. I liked it so much I did a full analysis of the device and nearly all the specs matched up to my ideal carry-able Internet device. Here’s the summary from my analysis:

After analysing the WM One I still love it. I think I can call this the ‘Carrypad’ that I’ve been looking for for over a year although I really should hold back until I’ve had some hands-on. Its got all the elements of design and capability that allow it to sit comfortably between the mobile phone and notebook PC as a Personal Ultra Mobile computing device. My only worries are the browser functionality, flash capability and 3rd party applications on an 800×480 screen.

The EM One makes me wonder whether we will start to see the re-invention of the Pocket PC as a low end ultra mobile computing device that can function as a navigation unit, PMP, mobile browser and Internet communicator. If consumers can buy these devices at $330 with an Internet access contract from their local mobile provider its going look like a very compelling package when compared to UMPC’s that are bigger, heavier, more expensive and have half the battery life.

That analysis was done back in Feb and you can see that I already had reservations about the browser. Since then I’ve discovered that the ARM-based browsing experience just isn’t up to scratch. Its a sweeping statement, I’ve made it many times and no-one, nor any device has been able  to prove me wrong yet so I’ll make the statement again. ARM based devices can’t yet bring you what I believe is the Full Internet Experience. When you don’t get the best Internet experience possible, you’re limiting your online possibilities. For me, someone that lives a very thin-client online life, that’s a critical failure. It was also a critical failure for the blogger who recently had the opportunity to test it out in Japan. I quote from Kevin Hsu’s blog:

First thing, it has exactly the form factor that a UMPC should have. It has an 800×480 screen, and a slide-out keyboard that actually slides out in two different directions. When you slide it sideways, it slides out only a few command buttons and the D-Pad, which is very useful if you’re trying to just navigate around, say, Google Maps.

So as I said, the form factor is good.

More images in the Gallery.

But here’s the software issue rearing its ugly head:

There is only one downside (other than the fact that it’s not in the US) – the OS. I have to say, Microsoft really comes up short on the UMPC OS side of things. The unit uses Windows Mobile 5, and though it’s ok for most things, browsing on it is a nightmare.

So  is  there anything that can be done for this gorgeous $800 device? No. Its a ROM-based operating system so there’s only a slim chance that Sharp will change it in the future and as for the hardware, it just not possible to cram an x86-based processing  engine in there. And even if you could, there’s no X86 software that’s really optimised for  this  sort of device. Forget 8Gb of Vista and even 1GB of Windows XP. On this sort of screen size you need an optimized operating system and there’s nothing readily available yet.

We really can’t blame Sharp.  They’ve taken a  great design and done  the best  they can with the processing platform and software. The problem is a software one  that could plague UMPCs for along time unless someone does a really focused job within the next 12 months.  Midinux and Ubuntu Mobile teams, I think you have the con. Make it so.

Thanks to Kevin for his feedback on the Sharp Em-One. Specifications and links here.