Are small, cheap notebooks poking holes in “sails” of UMPCs, MIDs?
Last night during our podcast recording, James brought up a good point worth sharing before the show is published. I had asked Matt and James if they felt as I did: I’ve been completely underwhelmed with the UMPC and MID developments coming out of CeBIT. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but at this point, I figured we’d have a slew of Menlow-powered devices, many in a more affordable price range and with a noticeable increase in run-time. So far, none of my expectations have been met.That’s when James made the insight: small, inexpensive notebooks like the Eee PC and its peers have taken the spotlight… and the sales dollar. Come to think of it: more folks seem excited about the larger-screen Eee PC than any handheld I’ve heard about from CeBIT. Mainstream consumers definitely equate more with a traditional notebook form factor and the corresponding functionality it brings them. When you can provide that feature set in a reasonably priced package, it’s sure to capture attention.2008 is still young, just like the UMPC and MID markets, so there’s time yet. Meanwhile, how are you feeling about developments so far? We’ve been waiting for the new Intel chipset for some time. Now that it’s here, was it worth the wait?
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Menlow, schmenlow….. yawn……………….
Agree with you 110% Kevin, underwhelmed right now….
James’s and your point is right on regarding the eeePC, cheap notebook segment being a hit right now…most people probably still wouldn’t know a TPC or a UMPC if it came up and bit them in the *&$…
but one good thing I guess is that this probably means that I’ll actually keep my U810 for quite a while compared to the past several purchases….so, my wallet will be happy….
;-)
The Gigabyte M528 looks good:
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/cebit-2008-an-exciting-mid-shown/
But if its rumored price will be $700, forget it! MIDs are competing in an EeePC/CloudBook World now. (At least hp recognizes that with the 2133 — oh where oh where is it, hp? droooooool!)
Mike, that 700 figure is Euros, not dollars! Although a straight conversion isn’t always accurate, that comes out to over a $1,000. For a MID. That kind of price point won’t compete with small, less expensive notebooks. Instead of driving adoption, it will continue to keep these devices in a niche market.
I don’t think its so much that people aren’t interested in UMPCs is just that they still haven’t seen them in the real world. I use my Samsung q1p with a logitech webcam to video record my lectures while taking notes/inking on the powerpoint slides. I always get a lot of comments and people asking me what is that device? how can you do that? People my age, early 20s, that are technology savy, have no idea what an UMPC is or how it can affect the way we work in school (yes I consider school to be work). When I get home I study the lecture videos on one screen, powerpoint slides with ink notes on my laptop, my samsung q1p to take notes on what I miss (using onenote), and a book to double check information. No Asus, HP, everex, etc budget laptop is currently going to give me as much flexibility as a UMPC does. These budget laptops are nice and very useful to accomplish 70% of what I do, but I definitely need the other 30%. Thats just me thought, I’m pretty sure that most people don’t need the power or diversity that a “real” pc or UMPC can give you. I really would like to upgrade my Q1P but I’m still waiting on the concept that Otto Berkes and Bill gates were talking about http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=169962 Where the device is just the screen without the added bulk. Oh well when that comes out I would be upgrading. Until then my Samsung q1p, which after this semester I would be upgrading to Vista, still my favorite computer. Keep up the good work as James and Kevin.
To my mind, MIDs are a new market segment. Just as the PDA started out as a productivity tool that eventually merged with mobile phones and became the smart phone, I would see MIDs as an entertainment tool and I would not be surprised to see them also merge with mobile phones and become the fun phone (TM?).
UMPCs are the true competitors to the small laptops. The question will be whether or not their form factor can capture the imagination of the mobile user who finds laptops too big and heavy.
Your own post “A non-geek and the Fujitsu P1620″ highlights the problem. People who are used to laptops with keyboards do not necessarily appreciate the possibilities of touch screens. I think this will gradually change as iTouch users enter the workforce but it’s going to be an uphill battle.
The major problem is the OS. Vista is too resource hungry, Linux is not yet an office desktop solution, and Intel’s new chipset is too feeble. Perhaps the new Via processor can achieve something or maybe the fabled trimmed down Vista will appear. Until then, I’m happy with my OQO and I pity the fools who think three pounds is lightweight.
The main problem I have with UMPCs is the form factor. A keyboard is nice to have and given the choice I would take the one with the keyboard but that’s because of the protection it offers as well as the ability to type. Something as expensive as a UMPC can’t just be thrown into a bag full of pens, keys, coins, etc. without a case and that tends to mean that you will end up carrying something much larger and possibly heavier.
Price matters. It will be interesting to see how well the new Eee sells. Was it the small size that excited people or the fact that they could buy one for $300? I bought an Eee and the decision to do so was the based largly on price. I think the $600 price is going to be too high either for the new Eee or the new HP.
One can buy a full-blown notebook for little more than $600 and the size is not going to make up for the difference. Asus needs to find a way to bring out newer generations but keep the price at around $400 tops.
Most of us still really do want the $100 PC.
It’s still early and nothing is ready yet. So far, we haven’t seen much, but the Gigabyte M528 looks impressive. At that form factor, it blows the N810 away. Not sure how you think it’ll be $1000. The point of MID’s is to be around $500.
I’m surprised no one has pointed out that the specs for the EEEPC are virtually the same as the original Q1.
That’s why the price difference is so shockingly attractive to consumers. Why can Asus build an EEEPC for US$300 and yet UMPCs have a newer processor that is not that much better than the old celeron and is nowhere near the EEE price range.
I have no problem buying a full featured UMPC for US$1,000.00 but what the mass market wants is a barebones version selling for US$400.00
Speaking of which – anyone interested in a brand new Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. The latest and greatest – and it really is a sweet and very fast machine. I’ve had it less then 10 days, but have decided that it is not for me. It’s flawless and selling for $1497 on buy.com this moment. I’m willing to part with it for $1200 even, I’ll pay for shipping. If not, then it is going back to buy.com on Monday. I haven’t even unpacked everything from the box.
Feel free to email me at ljmjag@gmail.com
Thanks!