Thursday, March 09, 2006

Microsoft unveils utlra-mobile PC - is it a whole new category?

Microsoft today unveiled the ultra-mobile PC and announced that they have invented a whole new consumer electronics category. Yep, consumer, cos this one is apparently for all of us - not for business users as one might imagine?!

The 7 inch screen ultra-mobile will go on sale at between $600 and $1,000 and will initally have a battery life of only 3 hours. The two together are almost bound to ensure that initial versions of the device see small volumes.

The device will initially be manufactured by Samsung Electronics, Taiwan's Asustek Computer and China's second largest PC-maker, the Founder Group. No major US manufacturers have signed up yet. Which seems wise.

Samsung positions the UMPC as a handheld organizer, an MP3 portable music player, a mobile television receiver, a games device and a notebook PC and believes it will be more successful than the full-sized tablet notebook PC with touch screen, launched four years ago. Which would not be hard.

It looks more like a PDA than anything else. It could also be an interesting blogging device. The problem may be that it is trying to be all things to all people. It could even be your PDA - unfortunately that category never took off. About the only thing that it does not seem to do is make telephone calls.

Mobile network connectivity is through Wi-Fi. There is no 3G connectivity.

Microsoft tout the ultra-mobile PC as a new category definer but decline to comment on which category. Is it PDA or dames device or music player or mini-PC or just a mish mas of all the above all in the name of creating the first truly converged device.

Convergence I buy into big time. Just check out digitalbigbang.org. But mish mashes I struggle with more. And an expensive mish mash I struggle with entirely.

So Microsoft and their partners look like they need to do a whole load more work in positioning this product around exciting new consumer behaviors rather than just technology device. Origami excites me. I just have no clue what it means yet. And ultra-mobile PC means nothing to anyone. Try explaining that to your granny.

Maybe there is a new category here but right now it looks like it will take a lot longer to create one. No need to give up on your iPod yet or your lightweight notebook quite yet. I'm not even sure you need to let go of that Filofax. Shame.

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