Ultra Mobile PC Buyer's Guide
Pity the ultra mobile personal computer. It's barely a few years old and it's already suffering from multiple personality disorder. It may even soon see a midlife crisis.
The first question to ask is, "What is a UMPC?" Don't be surprised if you don't get the same answer twice. The product category started life as a Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) concept called "Project Origami." (Yes, the art of folding paper.) As you might or might not be aware, Microsoft's success with hardware-based products has not been auspicious. From the broad range of hardware it has proposed or delivered, it was first successful with its mouse and then there was... well, its mouse.
In the original plan, an Origami device would utilize a 4- to 7-inch screen that has a minimum resolution of 800x600. The operating system was Windows XP with the Microsoft Touch Pack and it supported access via touch, pen, and dedicated buttons. There was a footnote in there for keyboards as well. Apparently, big old fingers and a little tiny touch screen are no more a match made in heaven for an Origami, er, UMPC device than they are for the iPhone or iPod Touch.
