Handtops, UMPC - xpPhone - The way to go? -

A Windows XP based phone – I have been waiting for years for this beast. This is Nirvana, gadget heaven etc. And yet, I find myself wondering if I will actually buy the beast.

To get started, here are the specifications:

• CPU: AMD Super Mobile CPU
• Memory: 512M/1G
• SSD: 8G/16G/32G/64G
• HDD: 30G/60G/80G/120G
• LCD: 4.8' TFT Touch-screen LCD 800*480
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA (HSDPA/HSUPA)
• CDMA/CDMA2000 1X/CDMA1X EVDO,TD-SCDMA，TD-HSDPA
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g,WiMax (optional), Bluetooth, Stand-alone GPS
• Camera Specifications: CMOS, 300k/1.3 Million
• Ports: 1 x earphone jack, 1 x microphone jack, Docking Connector (includes VGA output signal), 1 x USB 2.0, SIM Slot
• Battery: Removable Lithium-ion
• Talk time: about 5 hours, Stand by time: about 5 days
• Real life: about 7 hours (Standard), about 12 hours(Large)
• Talk time: Standby time, Operation time may vary depending different usage.
• Weight: 400g (include battery)

The CPU is not specified, but is thought to be a Geode part, slow, but enough for the basics in XP.

The size is also not specified, but based on the screen, I am thinking slightly larger than an OQO Model 02.

If it has both SSD and HDD, then it has lots of storage. If the claimed talk and standby times are accurate, then they are acceptable. The only major drawback as I see it is the weight, which at almost a pound is heavy to carry around in a shirt pocket. (as is the OQO).

So this is finally the perfect device? It has everything going for it and very little against it except possibly the price, which at present is not known. It is a GPS, a cell phone, and an XP computer. Why have I not rushed out and placed an order, or pre-order?

At first I thought that perhaps I am growing up, but that is not the case. My eyes might be getting older, but I am still a child at heart when it comes to gadgets.

Then it struck me – this is a single device which probably does the things that three of my existing devices already do, and probably not quite as well.

Lets start with the cell phone. I have an HTC Touch Diamond at the moment, a phone that I alternately consider the best phone that I have owned and the worst. I will happily replace it when its time comes, and there in lies the first problem. What if I don’t like the xpphone as a phone? Even if I like the GPS and the Windows XP bits, what if I don’t like the phone. And more to the point, what happens two years down the road when I am itching to upgrade my phone?

Simple fact of the matter is that I don’t want to have my phone and my portable computer as the same thing. I like the option of a small, light phone and a separate PC. I can leave one or the other at home if I want. And that does not even address the problem of answering ones phone in the middle of a presentation.

Plus, I can actually charge my phone from my handtop as things stand.

And then there is the GPS. I have an inexpensive Garmin GPS. It is great. And if it breaks or is stolen, it is not difficult or expensive to replace. And it is tough, lives in the car etc. I could not treat my expensive xpphone in the same manner.

And finally there is the PC bit. And this is the big stumbling block. My OQO E2 is almost too slow for what I want it to do. But I can and do lug it around with me most of the time when I go shopping, on holiday etc. When I am going to see a customer, I use the faster, but larger FlipStart. See the problem already? Same small light phone, different computer. And if I am going to be working or doing a full presentation etc, I use a standard laptop.

I doubt that the xpphone will have a CPU powerful enough to meet my current and future requirements. If it is a Geode, it is ok for surfing the net, but not much good with big databases, modern programming languages etc.

So here is the handtop I have always wanted, and I find myself thinking that I don’t actually want it.