New UMPC-esque handtop from Taiwan
Wow. This has been quite a week for UMPCs (even though none of the newly announced devices meet Microsoft’s requirements).
Here we have the poorly named Arima UM650UV1, a 7.48” x 4.72” x 1.1” Via-running, keyboard-sliding, 1.5-pound-weighing handtop that sports an unusual 6.5-inch widescreen display (800 x 480). Available in 20GB, 30GB, and 40GB configurations, the UM650UV1 has 512MB of RAM, up to 5 hours of battery life, and a webcam for video conferencing. No word on availability, pricing, or operating system at the moment, but isn’t that just par for the course?
I really like that so many of the new handtops are equipped with integrated keyboards. This one has an interesting layout that will probably improve comfort and usability. The only other UMPC-like device I can think of that utilizes this kind of split keyboard is the Pepper Pad 3, which Amazon actually just shipped out to me this morning. (UPS says I should get it on Monday, so expect unboxing pics early next week and a slew of reviews to follow.)
UPDATE: It turns out that this Arima device is actually the Medion MD RIM 1000, which was first spotted in September. Arima, it seems, is a contract manufacturer, so maybe we’ll see several OEMs rebranded under different companies (like the situation with the TabletKiosk eo).
[Carrypad]
