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It used to be a PC industry principle that if you wanted the same
functionality in a shrunken frame, you had to pay significantly more for the
privilege. Laptops cost more than desktops of similar specifications, notebooks
cost more than laptops, and if you wanted something really small and portable,
then you ended up paying Rolls Royce prices for what used to be an Ambassador on
your office desk. Press your delete button and consign the foregoing remarks to
the recycle bin. It is part of the swiftly changing history of the incredibly
changing computing machine.
A new form factor and product category has emerged. The ultra-mobile PC or
the UMPC, and bucking the smaller is costlier trend, many of the early
offerings in the new generations in UMPCs are aggressively priced, innovatively
designed, and creatively conceived machines aimed at the worlds hitherto
unconnected. There are a few important reasons why the coming revolution in
ultra portable computing and communication platforms is happening at what
industry gurus called the bottom of the pyramid.
The main catalyst is the development throughout 2007 of new generation PC
processors that cut almost by a factor of ten the power requirement without
sacrificing technical performance. Whats more, these trendsetting mobile
processing chips were achieved in the new geometries of 44 nm with a clear
roadmap for 32 nm and beyond. The market leader, Intel, codenamed this new
mobile computing platform, Menlow, and the world is already seeing the first
realizations of ultra compact personal computers fueled by these power efficient
processors.
The next iteration Moorestown, due in 2009, promises a further ten-fold drop
in power consumed. The Menlow platform was seized by innovative PC makers on the
Pacific Rim like Asus, BenQ, Samsung, etc to create UMPCs with rich
functionality and only marginal cost markups.
The other trend that helped hold down the price line was the general
consensus that electro-mechanical hard drives as storage elements in PCs were
nearing the end of their day. The brash new challenger was the all solid-state
flash drive which seemed to have the no moving parts USP. Already flash drives
in the USB memory stick format have crossed 16 Gb in the Indian market and there
are indications that by later this year, solid-state drives as hard drive
replacements will cross 64 Gb, a decent enough storage for most personal
computer users. The third enabler was user acceptance of the 7 LCD screen as a
reasonable viewing size with portable DVD players.
The final feature of all these UMPC variants is wireless Internet
connectivity. All of them without exception are powered to latch on the nearest
WiFi hotspot. Most of them include slots to take wireless data cards and some of
them, especially the pricier versions, are designed to accept WiMax cards as and
when they become available. Bluetooth and wireless LAN will also allow these
machines to wirelessly print from the nearest available printing station.
The UK-based Allied Computers International (ACI) has made a name for itself
for aggressively priced laptops mostly sold in Europe. In early 2008, the
company launched its Ethos range of 7 UMPCs in the Indian market, and by opting
for a VIA 1 Ghz processor than an Intel or an AMD, it managed to keep the asking
price below Rs 15,000. However, it chose to stick to a 40 Gb hard disk drive for
this model. The default operating system was a Linux flavoranother technique
used to keep prices down in this category. But the machine, with an entry level
512 Mb of DDR RAM, could port Windows XP if required. The same company also
offered a high-end version with tablet PC features including a touch screen.
The first manufacturer anywhere in the world to take up manufacturing of the
Intel designed Classmate PC was an Indian playerHCL. In late January, HCL
launched its Classmate variant, the MiLeap X Series, which it dubbed, the
peoples PC. Fuelled by an Intel Celeron Mobile chip, with 512 Mb memory and a
bare minimum 2 Gb solid-state storage, the MiLeap X put some of its money
upfront into rugged packaging in order to make this model child proof.
Like most aggressively priced UMPCs aimed at the bottom of the market, this
HCL offering dispensed with an optical drive, but had the ports required to
connect an external DVD drive or a larger external storage drive. Ruggedizing
the machine added almost 200 gram to the overall weight, making the MiLeap X
almost a kilo in weight. For those with more generous budgets, HCL also launched
the MiLeap Y, which was a more standard tablet type UMPC.
Worldwide, one of the most successful new generation UMPCs was the Asus Eee
PC. Retailing in India at Rs 18,000, the Eee PC features an Intel processor and
solid-state storage. Japan-based Fujitsu also launched its range in India
including the Lifebook U1010 touted as the worlds smallest and lightest Ultra
mobile tablets weighing just 630 gram. With a 1 Gb memory and a 40 Gb hard disk,
the Lifebook was adequately powered to run Windows Vista, and prices started at
Rs 75,000 taking it on a different trajectory from the other entry level UMPCs
described.
It is too early to say whether this emerging product category, particularly
in its budget versions, will catch consumers fancy or whether like the Tablet
PC, it will remain a niche item. Clearly, there is an unaddressed marketing
segment that caters to the needs of the first-time PC buyer on one hand, and the
mobile grassroots professional on the other.
In recent weeks, Microsoft announced the availability of Skydrive, 5 Gb of
online storage for any user who can categorize bit simply as personal or
public. The advent of Web-based Office tools like Google Docs has also made it
unnecessary to install space hogging office applications in ones own computer.
Although, whether a UMPC on these lines typically costing the equivalent of $300
has hit a sweet point in pricing and perceived value is not yet clear.
The budget UMPC, on the other hand, must capture and retain a much wider,
broad-based section of consumers, and clearly seeing how many of these have been
launched in the first few months of this year, India may turn out to be the
arena which might witness the worlds first big success in the emerging story of
ultra portable personal computing.
With Samsung, Sony and LG slated to join the bandwagon in the coming months,
it is relatively certain that UMPCs will signify the new wave in portable
computing.
Vishnu Anand
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in
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