Mid-day storm at the Office.

Today has been a nightmare. I am working through a number of articles and video reviews/presentations and I just can’t get anything finished. Every time I look at my screen I’m reading confusing messages about UMPCs. Or is it the post writers themselves that are confused?

Firstly, James is saying ‘We Need a Real Handheld Computer.’ so I read through the post and get incredibly confused. James, I think you do some wonderful work. I listen to all your podcasts, you make me laugh and you have some good ideas but this one has thrown me. Who is ‘we’ and what is a ‘handheld computer’? What do you mean by ‘surf the web’ and ‘work with documents’? You say that most handheld pcs are “based on Windows, and that’s a dead-end road.” Why? You mention ‘consumers’ wanting all-day battery life but since when did consumers (as opposed to businesses) need to work with documents? And then you say that the only way to do this is via an embedded OS but you want to be able to work with all document types and be able to have the full web experience. There’s only one processing architecture that lets you do all that and keep ahead of the market. Unless you’re a visionary and started work on it three years ago that is.

I don’t understand this bit either…

So maybe Intel will do this, right? They can’t because they do not make the hardware. This has been Microsoft’s problem forever with both Windows and Windows Mobile and it will be Intel’s problem too. They can build the OS kernel as good as they can but since most of the hardware will be built, installed and sold by someone else we’ll have the same mish-mash of hardware support and driver instability and all of the other bad things we’ve become all too familiar with.

There an Intel initiative called MIDIA in which Intel pulls together suppliers so that they keep some control on the platform builds. In addition to that, Intel are actually building the prototypes and licensing them out. They ARE building the hardware. They are building the silicon, controlling the core software and I suspect they are even controlling who can get hold of Menlow. This is very much an in-house job. Apple don’t do everything themselves, they just manage it well and that’s what Intel are trying to do. I admit, there’s room for problems and that Apple are extremely good at this but considering how wide the x86 space is, Intel appear to be keeping a good control on things. Please explain more James. Before my head explodes! I thought I was nearly at my Carrypad mobile-PC dream with the Everun. What’s wrong with that? Or an N800? Or the OQO? You really don’t want a Windows-based PC and yet you want to work with all document types? XP embedded? Help me!

And then, just as I’m having trouble with a video I’m making of some mobile Internet devices, Layne Heiny lays into Microsoft and Intel for lack of marketing focus. Where do I start with this one…

MID vs UMPCs, according to the generally understood definition are totally different devices targeting totally different customers. The ideas came from two different companies and are being driven in two different ways. What people seem to forget is that there was never really any agreed definition of a UMPC. Microsoft put a few proposals out there but they were largely ignored as technology and customer requirements knowledge advanced. Intel never had anything to do with UMPCs apart from being a, thank-you-very-much, supplier of their old CPUs. If you ask me, what they did was to sit back and watch the show, pull in the market research from partners and then make their own strategy – create a new market that doesn’t clash with the notebook market. Sell even more UMPCs, but call them something else because the term ultra mobile PC was already tainted by the mainstream press. Perfect. And I don’t think customers are confused because at the moment, its an early adopters market. They are all willing to teach themselves. Its the commentators that are confused (lord knows, I have BIG problems sometimes!) There never could have been a unified approach to marketing because no one knew what to market. It was a market research exercise that people where doing, not trying to hit sales targets.

At this stage in the market, who gives a toss? Lets just call it a UMPC, get the customer through the door to take a look at the wide range of variants and then help them choose. If we stand at the door arguing like a bunch of arrogant bouncers, the customers wont even go near us. (assuming we’re all pro-mobility?)

Microsoft competed with most webmasters to build a site about the UMPC.

The Origamiproject site has been a great resource during the last 18 months. How on earth can that be competition? Whatever a website’s promotes, if its positive and helps customers get the device they want then its good. Not competitive. Its an early market. We can’t be choosers right now. Keep all the doors open I say.

Microsoft abandoned the Tablet PC and ultra mobile PC teams

As far as I was concerned, project Origami was over on the day they announced the products. Job done. They did a lot of research and provided OEMs with some good guidance. The team continued to help OEMs and then focused on the Origami software as they do today. We all know that we’re in a middle ground at the moment. Microsoft have a new OS that needs maturing, battery tech hasn’t advanced and there even some catching up that flash drives, led screens and silicon has to do before its ready for prime time. Is it really Microsoft’s job to be the primary promoter of a set of hardware specs? The one thing I always remember is that the people paying for the marketing of the devices are the OEMs. Whatever we, Microsoft or anyone else says about the definition of a UMPC, if someone wants to come along and call a RISC-based Linux tablet a UMPC, they will. The ultra mobile PC term will go where the marketing manager wants it.

Here’s my final thought. Microsoft did their thing from 2004 to 2006 and called it Origami. They came up with a mini-tablet. Its already found a niche and will probably build as the hardware matures. Intel announced their ‘project’ in 2007 and its slightly different. It will start to bring devices to the market in mid-late 2008. In the meantime, everyone else is free to do what they bloody well want. People will make mistakes and learn. It will bring better devices next time round. Marketing will continue to develop the terms UMPC, MID, UMD and others and it will be confusing and frustrating for those that thought they had a handle on it but don’t worry, the market hasn’t even started yet. Besides, the deivces will probably end up being called something else in the long run. Whoever thought of ‘notebook’ for example!

Enough. Stop Steve! (But you get my point reader?)

And then things started to pick up again. My upgrade of Windows Vista to Windows XP on the SH6 was producing some fast results. The baby is flying now. But then I looked at the battery life and nearly cried when I saw it at sub 2-hour levels after just 10% battery drain. However good a device is, if its not connected to the Internet or the battery has run out, its no use to me!

And then, to top it all off, Jenn takes all the pink away from her site. Booo hooo. At least the logo is cool. Can you make my mobile pad logo all shiny Jenn? What do you mean you thought it was Pacman eating a crazy-pill?

Until tommorrow…