Handtops, UMPC - Performance Capped

The dust is settling, and the horizon is again in view, but the short term outlook is not as pretty as might have been expected some six months ago. In the short term at least, until Intel releases Menlow with the Silverthorne CPU, we can expect the majority of Handtop and UMPC devices to be constrained to an extent with low performance CPU's.

While there are some notable exceptions to the low powered CPU rule, the Sony UX at present being the most outstanding of these, the writing was on the wall regarding this trend when Samsung announced the SPH P-9000 Handtop. At the time, a lot of people questioned the Transmeta Crusoe 1 GHz CPU to be used in the Samsung, the same CPU that resulted in the OQO Model 01/01+ being called slow. Surly Samsung was not going to cripple its brand new “convergence device” Handtop with such an under powered CPU? It was never going to sell, with the competition using much faster VIA and Intel units.

Then came the OQO Model 02, resplendent with its VIA C7M 1.5 GHz CPU, that tested little better than the Transmeta Crusoe, at least on the standard benchmarks. The shouting and scuffling and general carry on that this produced was something to behold, although as usual, benchmarks do not provide the whole story, and the OQO Model 02 seems to be a reasonable performer, CPU not withstanding.

To cross the t's and dot the i's on our wall writing, the oversized Flipstart was launched with great fanfare, a humble Pentium M 1.1 GHz ticking away as its heart, and Vulcan confident that this ageing but venerable CPU would be sufficient for the Flipstart to beat all (except the Sony UX, but we all knew that from the start).

It should have been obvious at that point that they knew something we did not. If the Transmeta Crusoe 1.0 GHz was going to be enough, the VIA C7M 1.5 GHz was going to be more than adequate, and the Intel Pentium M 1.1 GHz was going to be in the stratosphere, what were we looking at for the rest?

The answer to that has not been long coming. The Intel IDF in China has hammered the nails into the coffin of performance aspirations for Handtop and UMPC devices, at least for another year.

The great hope of the UMPC/Handtop community over the last little while has been the tantalising rumours of a new Intel CPU range, that we now know is going to be called Menlow, including a built to purpose UMPC CPU called Silverthorne. This 45 nm part, which could eventually be released with integrated GPU and/or FSB has all the makings of an Intel magic part, similar to the ground breaking Pentium M when it was first released. Low power consumption, small size, low heat output, high performance, integrated components, huge connectivity potential and a projected low price, here is a CPU part that could help to popularise the whole UMPC/Handtop concept.

It is not to be, at least for now. For the next year or so, we are going to have to live with McCaslin.

Make no mistake, McCaslin is a smart move on Intel's part. They already have the infrastructure and designs for the chip, and the 90 nm Pentium M that is the basis for the McCaslin CPU is being phased out in favour of the Core CPU line-up, so why not use existing resources in a “new” CPU line to test the waters? Intel can't lose on this one. Clocked at 600 and 800 MHz, the McCaslin CPU's are not going to take business away from other Intel lines, and they can be sold cheap enough to put the squeeze on any competitors.

So what do we now have as a potential line-up for UMPC and Handtop devices for the next 12 months or so?

Starting at the top, we have the Sony UX. Its position as performance champion looks unassailable at present, it is in a class all of its own. Pricey and unique looking, but that is Sony.

Then we have a slew of older UMPC designs, and the Flipstart, all using Pentium M or Celeron M CPU's, pricey and reasonably good performers, although generally a bit large.

Then we have the small but acceptably performing OQO Model 02 with its VIA C7M CPU, also pricey, and the Samsung SPH P-9000, unusual, interesting features, mediocre performance and pricey.

That leaves us with the rest of the market, dominated to an extent it would seem by the smaller UMPC devices that are going to pop up over the next twelve months or so.

There are some compelling designs in the bunch. The HTC Shift looks to be a winner, and there are a number of others that have potential, including a whole bunch of interesting Intel designs. But for the most part, it would seem that these units will all have VIA CPU's at 1.2 GHz or less, or the Intel McCaslin CPU's at 600 or 800 MHz. We can also expect a handful of Celeron M CPU based devices, and maybe even a device or two using the AMD Geode CPU found in the Raon Vega.

A trend is emerging, and it is not what was expected and anticipated six to eight months ago. Where are the Core 2 Duo CPU's, where are the Handtops and UMPCs with laptop level performance? It is possible they are not going to arrive, at least not soon anyway. The trend seems to be to limit the performance of the CPU, extend the battery life of the unit, and bring the units to market at a reduced price.

The Transmeta Crusoe, the VIA C7M and the Intel McCaslin lines of CPU's all have similar performance figures. It would seem that the market has spoken (or so the CPU manufactures and device manufactures believe), and it wants battery life and good prices over performance in hand held units.

Perhaps this was to be expected. We have seen a similar trend over the last few years for the smaller laptops to be fitted with lower performance CPU's to extend battery life. With the even more limited batteries in Handtop and UMPC devices, this was probably the trend to expect.

It leads one to wonder how well Transmeta would have done in the CPU market if they had been able to hang in there for a year or so longer. Even AMD has a crack at this market with the Geode the way things are going.

For the next year or so, it looks like performance is not going to be the issue in the Handtop and UMPC market. It is possible that Handtop and UMPC manufacturers are feeling the heat from the top of the cell phone market, and need to change the rules. No doubt Sony, bucking the rules and trends as always, will continue with its ever innovative use of laptop components in the UX as the performance champion. For the rest, look to battery life and innovative features as the selling points of the units, because none of them are going to be burning rubber.