Comments on: Bob Russell asks: why do we want a UMPC?

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:21:26 +0000

There’s an episode of Sex In The City where the gals are busy analysing their sex lives, thinking up excuses to justify their lack of success and the only guy present says “He’s just not into you”.
People have an intuitive and emotional response to a lot of technology; that’s why the wheel caught on. The UMPC just doesn’t grab folk even if (and it’s a big if) it’s on their radar. There’s no denying it’s a neat idea but so is the personal jet-pack and the flying car.

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:57:55 +0000

For a lot of people out there, buying a computer is like buying a washing machine. They recognize that they need one and they may be willing to pay extra for added features or power or capacity, but after they buy one they don’t expect to buy another one for a long time. Then, there are others like me, who just flat out enjoy technology and can see value in owning more than one device. Heck, in my little one person office, I might be running applications on 3 different machines at the same time. For me, buying an UMPC as a companion device seems natural because I can understand how it can fulfill specific roles in my workflow and daily life. But, if you are a washing machine person, spending $1000+ for an “underpowered” computer with a 7″ screen is just “crazy talk”.

By: fil

fil — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:57:24 +0000

Just commenting on Bob Russell's first scenario point: "Communicate: Wifi at the airport, connect through a Bluetooth phone, e-mail and IM, photo sharing before the vacation is even over. Now we're talking! That sounds pretty cool doesn't it? But somehow, I think that even that looks abstract on the web page if you aren't a techie." Didn't Microsoft use that scenario when they revealed Origami in the Spring? Best one, was at that leaked marketing site, DigitalKitchen (click Work and then BrandTheatre): http://kevintwodotoh.com/2006/02/25/hardware/origami-video-the-real-deal.html Here's the Origami pre-site: http://www.origamiproject.com/3/ http://www.origamiproject.com/1/ http://www.origamiproject.com/2/ Bottom line is that I've shown the Sony U and the OQO to no techies and older people (cough...my parents) and none of them get why I like such a small device running XP even if I can look stuff up while on the road through my cellphone. I tried showing my folks some land we were buying and my Dad asked that I stick the pictures on a USB drive and show it to him on his Thinkpad, which has a much larger screen. My school teacher friend tried using my OQO to surf the Net, and she immediately got frustrated, telling me that the thumboard was too difficult to input text with. She's on the far-end of the spectrum in user. She's definitely a novice and uncommitted user. But these are the rest of the world users to me, so if they say that they don't get it, I have to listen. The Handtop/UMPC is a niche. I wish that it weren't, but it's another geek toy in the same vein the PocketPC became a geek toy and obsolete. Lucky for the PocketPC that it morphed into a Smartphone. I hope some more visionaries in the industry can emerge that can help guide the UMPC/Handtop market.

By: medah4rick

medah4rick — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:10:19 +0000

i would like to see a umpc marketed more as a media player. adding more powerful speakers could help. more colors to chose from would be nice too. but another killer concept would be to add video game controller like buttons so we can play games.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:36:33 +0000

I wonder if I’m the “public” or if I’m the “mainstream” media, because I still don’t get it. ;)