The Low-Budget UMPC Wars

Woots!!! The UMPC wars are heating up!!!

WL-to-Girl: UMPC = Ultra Mobile PC. Typically classified as a "mini-laptop" that has a 5" to 7" screen. However, technically it should have tablet functionalities too. Most prominent example is the ASUS Eee PC.

Low-Budget UMPC Wars are surely heating up.

Initially, there was the ASUS Eee PC. It's priced at US$400 or S$600 back home. Wow... so cheap you say? Fuck u la... the ASUS Eee PC was supposed to be priced at US$200 or S$300... so it's double the original promised price. Still... S$600 is affordable but that's the upper limit I would pay for the UMPC.

Then on around Valentine Day, Everex launched the Cloudbook which is basically the VIA Nanobook with some stripped down components like smaller HDD. Same price as the ASUS Eee PC. But after some analysis, I think the Eee PC is still more for me, cause I really need a SSD.

Now, HP is launching their own new low-cost UMPC which they brag their solution will be the "obvious" decision to potential buyers. WL of course is skeptical. Already, information on it says that SSD is optional (i.e. must pay for SSD), so that's bad.

Also, Kojinsha who has been taken over my a new company is trying to price their lowest-end model towards the Eee PC market. Problem with Kojinsha is the fucked-up AMD 500Mhz CPU. But... their touchscreen functionality is worth drooling for.

At the end of the day, the UMPC wars are heating up... just when WL is going home. I predict you will hear WL bitching that UMPC Product X has been released in the States and not coming to Singapore, and WL will complain that why they didn't release earlier.

Sigh...

Oh ya, don't forget the next generation Eee PC which is rumored to have a larger 9" LCD screen and touchscreen (although the latter part is sketchy information).

Still... none of the fucking companies can get it right to what WL wants, which is:
1) 7" LCD. No bigger, no smaller. UMPC dickheads will complain that the Eee PC screen is too small... which just reflects on how small their brain is. Why? Cause they are still using a "laptop" mentality to analyze it. Nevermind, let's not go into this. Bottomline - Smaller screen will make the words too small to see, Larger screen will increase its weight, battery drain and reduce its portability. Unfortunately, the market trend now is to produce larger 9" screen. As always, WL asserts that market = stupid people. As always, WL is right (from my pt-of-view anyway).
2) SSD. Now, I'm not really demanding for a real SSD, just one that is based on solid-state RAM (no moving parts). Eee PC "SSD" is fine for me. Why SSD? Cause I intend to inflict great challenges on my UMPC by swinging it around, using it on a bumpy bus etc... HDD is definitely a no go, and would severely limit my "mobility".
3) Touchscreen. Now, it seems that most companies are shying away from touchscreen. Even their "experts" say that the market doesn't want it. As usual WL finds himself against the market. Fuck the damn experts. It only cost US$15 to add touchscreen functionality to the Eee PC did you know that??? Anyway, touchscreen is important, as when you're on the go... touching is much faster than using the trackpad. No mouse on the move too.

There you have it. And WL can bet his balls that no UMPC released in the near future (this year) can meet all my requirements for a price below S$600.