Netbooks Have Killed Off UMPCs

August 30, 2008 - Tom Greer
Filed Under Site-related, ULPC Market |

DeviceGuru has published an article titled “The UMPC is dead; long live the netbook!”

They do a great job of summarizing the origins and the unfulfilled promises of the UMPC. Concieved by Microsoft and Intel as part of Project Origami, these Ultra Mobile PCs never got much traction in the marketplace.

Selected quotes from the article:

“In the 2.5 years since the Origami/UMPC device category emerged, dozens of devices have come to market from Samsung, Sony, Fujitsu, Asus, HTC, OQO, and others.”

“A quick scan of currently available UMPCs, for example, turns up products ranging in price from $670 for Samsung’s Q1b, to about $1,000 for Asus’s R2H-BH059T-3, to approximately $1,500 for Fujitsu’s U2010, to roughly $1,500 for HTC’s Shift X9500, to over $2,000 for Sony’s Vaio UX490N.”

“Intel, meanwhile, quietly dropped UMPCs from its marketing initiatives, choosing instead to focus on two new categories of ultra-mobile devices as targets for its low-power Atom processors and associated chipsets. Intel dubs these ‘mobile Internet devices’ (MIDs) and ‘netbooks.’”

“Although ABI Research bullishly forecasts shipments of 50 million units annually by 2013, there appears to be little evidence that the MID market is really going anywhere.”

“So in June of 2007 — just a few short months after Intel launched the MID device category — when Apple began shipping iPhones, the air was let out of the MID balloon.”

“RIP MID.”

“Netbooks are essentially mini notebooks featuring with screen sizes from 5 to 10 inches, and powered by full-featured client operating systems such as Linux or Windows XP (not Windows CE).”

“The lowest-priced models sport 7-inch screens and run Linux from flash, while higher-end models tend to provide bigger screens (up to 10 inches), offer more storage (including HDDs), and run Windows XP instead of Linux.”

“Netbooks provide all the features mobile connected consumers want in a convenient, easily-transportable package. The devices are great for surfing the web, checking email, communicating in real time using instant messaging or VoIP, and enjoying multimedia — all with minimal compromise relative to full-sized notebooks.”

“It’s no wonder, comparing netbooks to UMPCs (as defined by Microsoft and Intel), that UMPCs have ended up in the scrap bin of device history. MIDs, meanwhile, fell victim to Apple’s excellent design and execution of the iPhone.”

There is a lot more in the article. So, please jump over and read it all.

That explains why almost all of the websites specializing in UMPCs are covering netbooks and referring to them as UMPCs. Which is really unfortunate, because it confuses people.

But that is why we are here. We help you understand what you need to know about netbooks. We distill everything down and give you the straight scoop.

Lenovo Announces Netbooks ULPC Identity Crisis Subnotebook vs. UMPC vs. Netbook Revisited Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini Netbook News Industry Worries About Impact of ULPCs