Here is the reality of the UMPC marketplace:
The UMPC is an evolution to the PC. People need to understand that this is a natural progression for Personal Computers. Everybody is multi-tasking these days and if you don’t use at least two computer screens, then it’s only because you haven’t tried it yet. The OQO in particular is an amazing unit because you’re looking at 1 Gig of RAM and 1.5 Gig Processor that runs Vista (or as I like to think of it, Vistigami) ;) on a small 5” screen. Now, before you turn your nose up to the idea of a 5” screen and start to jump all over the idea, consider this… A UMPC is nothing (and not worth having) without the correct accessories. Every real UMPC comes with some sort of docking capability which means that you no longer need to use your home or business PC. The docking capabilities of a UMPC allow you to use your existing monitor, keyboard, mouse and USB devices. With this in mind, you can still have your old clunker (computer) plugged into a network port without a monitor and use it as a file server. Access the information from your old machine or install a remote access program so that you can run the programs on your old PC, on your old PC. No need to re-install those programs and spend hours of daunting time moving files over to your new UMPC. A $10 investment can get you a USB to USB crossover cable. What does this do? It allows you to connect your old computer to your new UMPC and create a peer-to-peer network. I suggest this for those of you that may not have a fully wired house. It’s also a great way to have access to your old computer’s peripherals such as a CD drive for installing programs.
I don’t think of my UMPCs as small slate Tablet PCs. I think of it as an evolution to the PC. I can control my TV, monitor my house’s security, access the net anytime-anywhere using EV-DO broadband, take notes in a meeting, go to a website and email people a section of a website with my hand written note attached to the email, use a GPS software that acts like TOMTOM on steroids, listen to music & podcasts, watch movies, and use it as my fulltime PC with MY keyboard, mouse and monitor. Phew… I need more coffee.
I have mentioned the use of my monitor a couple of times. With any UMPC docked (using a cable or docking station) you can set your UMPC comfortably in front of your monitor. I use the UMPC as a secondary monitor that I may glance down at from time to time. Most of the time, I have Outlook open on the UMPC and run all of my other programs on the monitor as usual. When I get a new email, I open it on my main monitor which allows me to multi-task without straining my eyes. I have to give credit to Hugo Ortega from Australia for teaching all of us this trick on his YouTube videos. (Thanks Hugo!)
To summarize, the UMPC marketplace (in my eyes) needs to be educated on how to use a UMPC appropriately. At least, that’s my personal opinion.