One UMPC per child.

UMPCs for Kids! $100 UMPCs! 1 million UMPCS go into production!

[update. The CM1 is now called the 2B1. Read more here.]

No, I haven’t gone mad. You havent missed any big news. I’m just writing about the One laptop per child project which has been brought to my attention by reader Michael who is asking – Is the $100 device a UMPC?

So to kick-off, here’s my definition of a UMPC.

A highly portable computing device with 5-10″ screen, wired and wireless connectivity that is able to load and run common Internet, office, media and PIM applications operated through a graphical user interface.

So far, its about the best effort I’ve seen (even though I do say so myself!) at defining a ultra mobile PC but its definitely not the same as Microsoft’s who would like to see Windows Vista on every portable device. They had a project called ‘Origami.’ I’ll stop there though and ask you to read the buyers guide if you’re interested in going further on that topic.

Back to the CM1 then, the question is – is it a UMPC? My answer is answer is ‘yes’

It fits the definition. Furthermore, its more powerful than a Nokia 770, its got battery life than you can only dream of and the screen is higher resolution than any Origami ultra mobile PC available. Its got a keyboard, WiFi with directional antennas, USB2.0, Quick-boot BIOS, Linux operating system and costs $100.

In fact, its an Ultra Mobile PC that we can learn a lot from. Take the screen for example. Its a fantastic example of a component being designed for the job intended. Many current UMPCs use common industrial or automotive industry LCD touchscreens that are cheap but don’t really do the best job in preserving battery power. These screens can take around 5-7 watts of power. The screen being developed for the CM1 will be a dual-mode screen capable of a monochrome 1200×900 reflective mode (using ambient light reflected from the rear of the panel) that takes just 0.2 watts. The transmissive color mode uses LED backlighting technology and runs at just 2 watts.

Other interesting specifications:

• The keyboard is integrated into the unit and is a special sealed rubber membrane unit. Its very thin!
• LinuxBios (fast boot)
• 400Mhz AMD Geode GX x86 processor.
• Flash drive – 0.5GB
• WiFi 802.1b/g with dual rotating coaxial antennas. Built in MESH software.
• 22.8W/hr battery (at least 10 hours battery life)
• Touchpad supporting written input.
• 128MB RAM.
• Thin version of Fedora Core with the Sugar environment

So what’s wrong with the device then? Well, apart from the lack of touchscreen, slightly portly 1.5KG weight, no handwriting recognition, no 3D graphics support, no large NV storage area and inability to run XP, the main problem is that you won’t be able to buy one. Not even for your child. The project relies on orders from governments (presumably to stop a black-market forming and to reduce tax bills) of 1Million units or more. Maybe one day we’ll be able to buy one for a ‘westernised’ price but by the time that happens, we might be reaching the 7.8 million ultra mobile PC units per year that in-sight predicted. The $300 UMPC’s could be common by then!

I wish I’d paid more attention to this project before. I had read a lot about it but never in any real detail. Having read through as much as I can today I have to say I’m very very impressed with the technology going on in this project. It shows us just how ‘fat’ current UMPCs are and how much further they can go. If the screen on a current ultra mobile PC was swapped out for one of the CM-1 dual-mode screens then you’d instantly be looking at over up to (see comments) 5 hours battery life. I love the way that the software is fit for purpose and that the device has been designed for long life (5 years is the planned lifetime of one of these devices.) I really hope that some of the technologies get sold on to ultra mobile PC ODM’s and filter through.

Thanks again to Michael for sending me the email. I’ll be following the One Laptop per child news blog from now on and trying to understand more about the wider aspects of the project. Namely, education of children in developing countries.

Steve / Chippy.

Useful links:

• One Laptop Per Child main website
• One laptop per child news.
• E-Week article about the display technology.

tags: olpc, umpc, cm-1, childrens machine, panel, power