Ian Grayson20 July 2007, 5:56 AM
The Ultra-Mobile PC has failed to entice users. Is it destined to go the way of Bill Gates' favourite innovation, the tablet PC?
 Samsung's Q1 |
Trumpeted as the next "must have" device for the techno-savvy traveller, the Ultra Mobile PC is still being shunned by major hardware vendors and virtually ignored by users.
Backed by heavyweights Microsoft and Intel, and launched last year amid an intense viral marketing campaign, the UMPC hasn't managed to rate even a blip on sales radars.
By establishing its Origami specification for the UMPC, Microsoft had hoped to kick-start activity in what is a new and untested product category. Sitting awkwardly between notebook PCs and PDAs, UMPCs are designed to give full PC power in a package that can be easily slung in a bag or jacket pocket.
But so far the big PC vendors have shown no interest in climbing aboard the UMPC bandwagon, preferring to focus their efforts on ultra-portable notebook PCs instead.
"The market is clearly dictating that this is not a product they are ready for," says Dell Australia's client computing strategist Jeff Morris. "You have to make a lot of trade offs in terms of screen size and performance."
HP Australia's market development manager for commercial notebooks Janet Bradburn says the new devices are coming up in conversations with customers, but these flickers of interest are a long way from translating into any sort of significant sales. Her company has no plans to add one to its product line-up.
Toshiba, too, is holding off on the whole UMPC category, claiming there is simply no demand in the market for them.
"The UMPC will fade as notebook PCs become more portable," says Toshiba product manager Justin White. "We are just not seeing a lot of demand for them."
Not to be deterred, Microsoft is still touting the concept as a viable alternative for those who don't want to carry a notebook PC, yet need more grunt than can be delivered by a PDA or smartphone. It's convinced people are happy to forego a keyboard and big screen for the benefits of portability.
One vendor which has nailed its colours to the UMPC mast is Samsung. It's latest, the Q1 Ultra, comes in a variety of models. One, aimed at business users, contains a 60GB hard drive and retails for $US1199.