Handtops, UMPC - UMPC, Handtop or micro sub-notebook?

When is a hand top computer a Handtop, when is it a UMPC, and when is it a micro sub-notebook?

The definition that follows of the UMPC is from various sources including Microsoft, but the definitions used here for Handtops and micro sub-notebooks are my own, based on what seems to be a general consensus. If I got them wrong, my apologies in advance.

Microsoft defined the UMPC more or less as follows:

"A lightweight, small tablet PC with an on-screen keyboard. Weighing two pounds or less and using a hard drive for all content, the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) runs under the Windows Tablet PC operating system with Touch Pack software. Touch Pack provides an on-screen keyboard that is operated with the thumbs as well as enlarged buttons for menus that are easier to tap with the fingers. Both WiFi and Bluetooth are included."

Added to the above, the screen size is expected to be 7" or less in size. With the launch of Vista, the OS definition has been expanded to include that operating system as well.

The UMPC definition does not exclude the unit from having a keyboard, but it does say that such a unit must still have a thumb/finger operated touch screen and must be able to operate in tablet mode.

As you can see from the above, the defining features of the UMPC are the OS and the touch screen. Pretty much all else is up to the manufacturer.

However, MS in their original brief did introduce one other requirement that is rapidly becoming a pivotal factor in the design of these units - a price point of around $500~$700. While no units that I know of have as yet managed to reach that price point, there are a number moving in that direction.

In attempting to reach the $500~$700 price point, a defining characteristic of almost all of the UMPC's is their lower performance, less expensive components. CPU's range from the AMD Geode through to the lower speed (1 GHz) VIA CPU's and the slower Intel Celeron M processors. Standard memory for these devices is often 512 MB or less, even though many can be ordered with more memory as an extra.

The definition for a Handtop unit (as opposed to a hand top unit), as seems to be understood and generally accepted on this forum, is more or less as follows:

A very small, lightweight, pocket sized or near pocket sized mobile PC based on the Intel x86 CPU architecture, with built in keyboard and pointing device, running a modern desktop OS. A Handtop would be designed to be operated while held. A Handtop would typically have a screen size of less than 7”, and a HDD or SSD, and could be considered as a true desktop alternative. (Please note: alternative, not replacement).

This definition excludes the Sony U series tablet PC's, but it can be argued that the Sony U series tablet PC's were the true ancestors of the UMPC (More power to Sony for the design).

The third category of devices to be taken into consideration here, one that is very closely aligned to the Handtop category, is the micro sub-notebook. The definition of this category is the same as that of the Handtop, except that the design is such that, although the unit can be operated while held, it would be more usual to work on it while it was resting on a surface. These units would be clamshell designs, or modified clamshell/tablet designs.

So based on the three definitions above, a Handtop/micro sub-notebook could be a UMPC, but need not be, and not all Handtops/micro sub-notebooks are UMPC's. A UMPC could also be a Handtop or micro sub-notebook, but not all UMPC's are Handtops or micro sub-notebooks. (Actually, no Handtops/micro sub-notebooks at present are UMPC's, as they all lack the touch screen requirement and do not run by default the required OS)

For the sake of brevity, and because they are so closely related, it is going to be easier to group the Handtop and micro sub-notebook together as a single category from here on.

Two trends are emerging that differentiate between the two (Handtops and micro sub-notebooks v/s UMPC's) device types. As already mentioned, UMPC's due to price point, are generally lower specified units. The second trend is that UMPC's with a few exceptions are at present larger than Handtops. While the second trend is likely to disappear in time to come, it would seem that the first trend will continue

If one was to look at the above, it is becoming clear that, while there might be some overlap at present, UMPC's and Handtops are not destined to occupy the same space in the future. The price point of the UMPC is going to produce devices more closely related to WM cell phone/PDA type devices than to laptops. The Samsung SPH-P9000 is an example of this, a new device with a Transmeta Crusoe CPU and 256 MB RAM. We are also seeing a number of devices with the VIA C7M CPU at 1 GHz, and even a few with the AMD Geode. As the market for UMPC's matures, I think we are going to increasingly see the prices drop, and the specifications drop with them. It is possible that the new range of Intel CPU's will further accelerate this trend, although not much is known about them at present.

On the other hand, the Handtops are tending to move in an upward direction as far as specifications are concerned, with faster CPU's, more RAM and much higher prices. (I am not happy about the price bit, but that is literally what you pay for the higher specifications) To an extent, this will limit the Handtops to a niche market for the foreseeable future at least, but that may not be all bad.

Drawing an analogy from (it would seem almost inevitably) the car market, super cars are in a niche market that has grown over the years, but is still a small percentage of the total number of units sold. Handtops could be in this example compared to super cars. UMPC's could in turn be compared to another, related portion of the car market, hot hatches. Not as expensive or highly specified as super cars, but still the same type of vehicles. In the car market, the well being of the super car market is directly related to the well being of the hot hatch market. There is some cross over from the hot hatch market to the super car market, as buyers mature and increase their buying power, but that is not the reason for the relationship. It is all about desire. Most buyers of hot hatches desire a performance vehicle, but can not afford a super car. This makes the super car more desirable for those who can afford it. If the market for lower priced performance cars was to disappear for whatever reason, the interest in super cars would soon follow.

So, if Handtops are not going to become more affordable, as would seem to be the case, and they are limited to a niche market, as would also seem to be the case, then to an extent, the desire to pay that additional money to own one is relative to the success of the less expensive but still hand held portable UMPC. (This applies to the general buyer, and excludes the enthusiast buyer, who has other priorities) Other factors such as the need or desire to have a small unit that can still do the job etc. play a part, but it would seem that there is a definite relationship developing between UMPC's and Handtops, where Handtops will benefit from the success of UMPC's, and people will lust after Handtops, and buy the more affordable UMPC's.

Although there will always be grey areas, and devices that seem to have crossed certain lines, it would seem that the trend is going to be for UMPC's to get cheaper, and Handtops to get more powerful. In the future, I believe that this trend, more than any other factor, is going to be what defines the various types.

In the final analysis, technical specifications accepted, it would seem resonable to define the Handtop as an elite, high specification niche market product in the hand held arena, and the UMPC as its more popular, less expensive consumer cousin.