Compal UMD sadly runs Windows CE 5.0
Okay, well, this just makes me sad.
No, not the fact that Compal’s upcoming Ultra Mobile Device (no affiliation with VIA’s UMD platform) is being called a UMPC when it only runs Windows CE 5.0. We’ve all seen that kind of thing before, so I don’t find it troubling. What bothers me is that in this case, I can’t really accept it. I want this to be a UMPC! A real one.
Have a look at this video and then tell me why it shouldn’t be. I mean, a 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480, 16M colors) sliding display, QWERTY thumboard, 1.3-megapixel camera, miniSD card slot, HSDPA and 802.11b/g connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, integrated microphone, and 5-hour battery life all sound quite fine for a 6.14" x 3.07" x 0.93" unit, especially considering that whispered pricing seems to be circling around the $400 and $500 range.
But then there’s the rest of the specs: 532MHz Freescale i.MX31 ARM1136 processor, 512MB flash RAM, and 256MB mobile DDR. And even though Internet Explorer 6, Windows Media Player 9, Skype, Windows Messenger, a flash player, and an office suite come preloaded on Compal’s lightweight (only 9.9 ounces!) device, the OS is still Windows CE 5.0. *bubble bursts*
But guess what. Aside from a few tweaks to the left side of the display, this UMD is the very same Menlow-based prototype that all but completely overshadowed Intel’s McCaslin/UMP2007 unveiling in April. There’s hope yet!
The device is scheduled for an "end of this year" release, so there’s still plenty of time to figure out how to un-burst a bubble.
[Tech-On! | AVING USA]
