Ultra-small PCs are about to become the next big thing.
Delegates at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco this week heard that the company envisages a whole new market segment for ultra-mini PCs (UMPCs) to fit between PDAs and notebook computers.
Intel unveiled a concept UMPC with GPS tracking and navigation software, WiFi and Bluetooth, full Web browsing, general computing, e-mail, SMS, MMS, gaming and a media player.
At the same time, there is feverish speculation among gadget fans about Microsoft`s mysterious Origami project, thought to involve something similar. An Origami promotional video now circulating on the Internet shows an A5-sized tablet with multimedia and a range of computing capabilities.
Labs are working frantically on new ways of powering smaller devices for far longer. Chips are getting smaller and more impressive by the day. Nothing is impossible in the world of mini mobile computing, it seems.
I can`t wait.
This may sound greedy in light of the fact that computers were the size of an office building only a few decades ago.
Tracy Burrows, news editor, ITWeb
While, admittedly, notebooks and tablet PCs have become significantly smaller and more portable, they still don`t slot neatly into a handbag. And while phones and PDAs have become exceptionally smart, they still don`t have enough computing power for my liking and their teeny screens don`t make for great Web browsing or multimedia viewing.
How I look forward to a day when mobile PCs have all-day battery power, massive memory, can seamlessly connect to the Internet wherever they are, and yet can be slipped into luggage as easily as a paperback novel.
Imagine being able to watch full-length feature movies, read books, complete work projects and catch up on e-mail at the airport, then simply slip your mini-PC into your luggage and bolt for the departure gate without having to repack your bag to make it fit or strain your back by carrying it.
Imagine a device so lightweight and slimline that you could carry it with you all the time, and access full PC functionality with a decent-sized screen whenever you wanted to. You could tote assorted games, books and movies with you to pass time waiting for meetings to start. You could download courseware and work on your next degree during long-distance flights. And, best of all, you could just flip the device closed and stash it quickly when it was time to move on.
This may sound greedy in light of the fact that computers were the size of an office building only a few decades ago. Nevertheless, it`s a computing dream that is almost within reach.
I`ll be among the first in line to get my hands on one.
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