Q1 was there and we have had dozens of reviews. Let’s welcome the Q1b which might be in some ways better configured than the Q1.
The Q1b will be powered by a VIA VX700 integrated chipset, which might give some better battery performance. Upto 1GB of Ram and 60 GB Hard drive. Other than that there is no much difference between the two.
According to an article on CNN, the domain name UMPC.cn along with UMPC.com.cn fetched a whopping US $49,000.00 Not bad for a domain name (wait that a lot for a domain name) So is the UMPC fire catching on? Well if not in the US the Chinese seem to think it has all it needs to become a success story.
They also have this “apple table” - well we’ve had enough rumors about it and We’ll leave the rest to you.
Chinese domain name sells for $160,000 [CNN]
Apple Tablet News at UMPC.cn
It’s been more than a month since we saw the Asus R2H at the FCC, It was exptected that it would hit the market by early August and it’s almost the month end (well not exactly) but Asus has been remaining quite on the announcement.
Steve over at Carrypad has managed to get some press images from Asus and he has them in his gallery - Take a look.
A company named “imagineLAN” has released a new sotware named “UltraSync” - Yes, mainly for the UMPCs (thought it might look like an iSync collage)
UltraSync 1.0 is a peer-to-peer PC synchronization application for synchronizing files, folders, Outlook® email, and Internet favorites between an Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) and a desktop or notebook PC (”partner PC”) via wired or wireless LAN. UltraSync is profile-based, allowing users to select the specific files and folders to be synced. Folder selections can be filtered by age, file type and the inclusion/exclusion of subfolders. Additionally, users can sync their Outlook folders and browser favorites.
Product Features:
File/Folder sync Outlook folder sync (messages, contacts, calendar, tasks, etc.) Browser favorites sync Sync Selection Profile Editor Deletion Tracking Overwritten/Deleted file recovery AutoSync (automatically start sync process when UMPC and partner PC are connected via wired/wireless LAN) Skin Selector (decorative skin selection for the UltraSync UI)
Product Details | Press Release(pdf) [imageineLAN]
There has been a lot of discussions on the pricing of the UMPC, Linda over at TabletPC2 has given a detail explaination of the reason behind why UMPCs cost this much and why it can not be lowered. Most of all why it is worth every penny - A Good analysis
[...] In the summer of 2005, there were a few companies offering ultra-portable notebooks. Companies like Sony, Fujitsu, OQO, and Motion had success offering these small machines to professionals. These designs usually cost just over $2000. The industry saw a value for a similar style system for consumers at a lower price. [...]
HARD COSTS Processor $125.00 Operating System (100.00 - $125.00) $100.00 Hard Drive (average of 2.5″ - 1.8″) (85.00 - $135.00) $85.00 7″ Screen (glass) $95.00 Display (Touch pannel) $85.00 512 RAM $40.00 Motherboard $25.00 Video Chip $30.00 Battery $30.00 Included Accessories (cables, cases, headphones, power, cleaning cloth) $25.00 Overseas Freight $19.00 Restore CD and User Manual $8.00 Microsoft COA, Manual and backup CD $6.00 Plastic Casing $5.00 Packaging $5.00 Packing Materials $4.00 $687.00 AMORTIZED COSTS Tooling Costs $50K - $100K NRE Cost $250K - $500K
Here is our take on it, We fully understand the pricing today, but a computer that costed few thousand dollars 5 years back is less than a grand today. So an UMPC that is a $1000 today will be $500 soon. What’s your take on it?
Why a $500.00 Price Tag for an Ultra Mobile PC isn’t realistic [TabletPC2]
