I can read what I type better than what I write on a piece of paper (or in ink).

Even at 95% accuracy, using WM5 or XP Tablet 2005 I still need to proof and edit a lot of what I ink.

When I type, it’s right the first time and I’m at fault for spelling and punctuation mistakes, not the HWR engine.

Typing is better most of the time when input is required.

Tablet only mode is mostly fine if you’re just surfing or drawing, but when you add some complexity typing is the way to go.

My $0.02

And actually, yes, I can redraft a stage play on a Pocket PC. I’d need a keyboard to do it – just like I would with the UMPC. But with Pocket Word – which of course, costs me nothing (compared to the $$$’s that adding Word to your UMPC costs) I’ll probably have a better writing experience than with Word on a UMPC.

Suddenly $1100 doesn’t seem so big a ticket for a general utility device.

— Steve

Of course they are getting compared to existing devices, it’s rather hard to not do a review where you compare it to something. The way I see these devices, they are stuck in the middle between Laptops and PDA’s. Don’t know how else to put it. Perhaps you forget the Epod (got one), the Vadem Clio (got one), the Newton (didn’t get one), so this whole market isn’t that new. The cool part is that it’s running a better OS which means potential for more apps.

I’ll probably buy one when they get cheap (if they get cheap), I’m hoping that it will make couch surfing easier, that’s about the only place I see a good fit.

In the first gen, I’m not asking them to be perfect. I’m not asking them to be blazing fast, but I am expecting them to be mobile, and at least have a realistic battery life of 3 hours.

An 8″ convertable isn’t available for $1100. That’s one of the key differences; UMPCs are affordable tablets, if you want to view them that way. But the other key difference is its portability.

Take the Acer Travelmate as a comparison; it’s the closest tablet in price ($1300) to the UMPCs out there. It’s more than twice the bulk (9.4″x12.4″x1.4″), nearly three times the weight (5.5lbs), and has roughly the same battery life (quoted as 3.9 hours). It’s slightly more powerful than the Q1 in its specs, but it’s just not as easy to carry. And, as such, it doesn’t really suit my portability needs.

I’m not looking for clipboard portability; I find that form-factor awkward as a commuter. Clipboards are short-carry instruments that are otherwise packed away in my briefcase or left in a drawer. Yet I carry trade paperbacks with me all the time; I do have jackets and coats that can take one and leave my hands free.

It’s that small difference in bulk and weight that can make *all* the difference in utility… and for that I will (and shall, having just ordered a Q1 from CDW tonight) pay the premium.

— Steve

While being Tablet enthusiast I don’t see why I would buy an UMPC in its current price range. When UMPC will reach the $600 price level, they will compete with powerful eBook readers such as iLiade (in fact, they will leave iLiade no chances because of additional features), but until then I think it will be a dead end.

It would have been less convenient to lug around a larger computer. At no point did I crave having a keyboard or a CD-ROM drive. I didn’t even run down one three-hour battery the whole day since my power settings went into standby very quickly, though I had a second battery in my other pocket just in case.

This makes the same “use case” as people will experience with a UMPC: although the LS800 is a bit bigger than the UMPCs, my jacket pocket is a bit bigger than standard jacket pockets. As UMPCs evolve to have 800 x 600 screens (or as other people’s jacket pockets get big enough for LS800s) and as wireless access becomes ubiquitous, the number of people for whom this use case will be compelling will rise dramatically.

The UMPC reviewers have not thought through the use case well enough.