The other Intel UMPC prototypes.

According to Intel, 4 more McCaslin based UMPCs will launch at IDF next month. I’ve talked about one that is high on the probability list but lets talk about the others now. There’s a gaming design, a carPC design, an educational PC and a couple of unknowns including one that just looks like its a styling exercise. Notice how there’s little overlap in the usage model of the devices. Intel would have chosen their candidate designs carefully to maximize customer spread and to ensure that designs can be licensed out without the licensee worrying too much about competition. Note that some or even all of the designs that launch next month could be vastly different than these but I would say there’s a high probability that you’ll see at least similar form factors and similar target customer types. There one important customer type missing though. Have a read through and see what customer type (its a big one) is not represented here.

First there’s this quite strange looking two-part device with a Bluetooth keyboard that snaps over the screen and charges from the main battery.

Here’s a short video of it.

It looks a bit like the Raon Digital Vega but is set up like a gaming machine with two directional pads and two joysticks. I asked Intel if they see traditional gaming as a market for the ultra mobile PC and they where quite clear in saying ‘no.’ I think that excluding that market is a bit shortsighted but I can also see that most software houses won’t even think about the ultra mobile PC platform until its selling multi-millions of units. I don’t think we’ll see anything based on this prototype next month. We could see something based on this though.

Its supposed to be a car-focused ultra mobile PC but to me it looks quite multi-purpose. It looks like the low-end pocketable x86-based ‘pocket PC’ that a lot of people would like to see. If this cost $700, had 4 hours battery life and included WiFi and Bluetooth, would you be interested in it? I would (assuming it has a slight re-design. It looks quite ugly in its current plastics and colors.) Here’s the video.

Having tried the mini finger pad on the Medion I’d much prefer to see a mouse button somewhere on the frame but it would be pretty difficult to find space for it. The keyboard on this is much smaller and harder to use on the twist-screen ‘T’ version. The screen is smaller too. Probably 4″ rather than the 4.8 (estimated) on the ‘T’ UMPC. This was a non-working prototype.

There are three other Intel prototypes that weren’t on display at CeBIT. The first is the ‘school’ umpc that Wendell Wenjen talked about recently in his blog. Wendell is the product development manager for at least three of these UMPCs (note that he’s not a prototype development manager!!!) and he has already hinted that this, the ‘T’ ultra mobile PC and the Car Navigation ultra mobile PC are moving towards ‘introduction.’ [See his blog post here.]

The other two prototype devices that exist are this one (spotted at CES by Engadget.)

and this one which has only ever been seen in image form as far as I know.

So what’s missing? How about a home UMPC? A photographers UMPC? No. I think the segment that is missing here is the business customer and this is something that was obvious in the Intel presentations at CeBIT. The business market is not being targeted with the UMPC. There are certain elements of ‘productivity’ that might be appealing to specialist business customers but seems quite clear that Santa Rosa / Centrino is there for Intels mobile business customer. 12″ screens and above, 2KG and powerful enough for running full Office suites. Mass market stuff. Big money stuff! Intel want to keep that separate just like the gaming sector.

So if Intel are going for the consumer ultra mobile PC market, how does that affect VIA? VIA’s processors can’t compete on processing power so it leaves price and engery efficiency as the two main USP’s. If Intel really do launch a UMPC-dedicated platform in 2008 that will enable sub 4W UMPCs and VIA don’t get a move on with CoreFusion or a new processor architecture then they end up competing on price. That’s a really tough game to play but don’t forget that they have HTC at their side which could give them access to a huge number of cellular operators. Cheap Windows XPe smartphones anyone?