So you're new to the Ultra-Mobile scene. There are a lot of terms and phrases tossed about and I hope to acquaint you with some of the more important ones in this post. Since 2008 is going to be a flagship year for mobility (at least - I think so) it's time for the general consumer space to get used to these ideas. Let's start at the beginning:
- UMPC - An Ultra-Mobile PC is a PC. It runs a PC operating system (Typically XP or Vista) but in a much smaller form factor. These are typically 5 inches to 9 inches and sport resolutions from 800x480 to 1024x600. Since they're PCs at the core, they can run familiar operating systems and familiar applications. They're bundled with WiFi and, often, Bluetooth. Some include keyboards, thumb-keyboards, or other new innovative input methods. Some are slate touchscreen tablets only. The touchscreen is a very important part of this experience.
- MID - Mobile Internet Devices have a lot in common with UMPCs, but do not run mainstream operating systems. Linux is the most popular operating system for this class of device. Generally, these machines are smaller and offer better battery life than UMPCs due to their ground-up design for portability and low power consumption. Many do not have standard PC architecture (x86 CPU core, meaning Intel Core Duo and compatible chips) and instead opt for low power ARM style chips. MIDs with x86 class chips can have XP or Vista installed but ARM style chips cannot. These devices are made specifically for Internet use, focusing the power on web browsing, Instant Messaging, Voice-over-IP, Email, and, to a lesser extent, mobile multimedia.
- SSD - Solid State Disks are replacements or supplements for hard drives. They are Flash based (like the SD card in your camera) therefore have faster access speeds and lower power consumption due to a lack of moving parts. They are much more expensive than standard hard drives - especially at higher capacities. Sometimes SSD can function as a supplement to hard drives. In this case, the operating system and frequently read files are kept on the smaller (thus cheaper) solid state disk whereas larger files like big applications and movies are kept on the hard drive. This speeds the system and prevents the hard drive from spinning up as often, offering better battery life and increased performance but also offering the option for very high capacity hard drives.
- WiMAX, HSDPA, and EVDO. These are three kinds of wireless broadband technology that are finding their way into mobile devices. WiMAX is the newest and will be available later this year to select markets. HSDPA is now present on GSM service providers (AT&T in the United States) and EVDO is present on CDMA providers (Sprint and Verizon.) Having any of these services on your mobile device means you can access the internet without a nearby WiFi hotspot. This comes at a cost, however. Check with your wireless carrier to find out how much it would cost to add any of these services.
- Slate, Clamshell, Convertible and Slider - These are all form factor options for portable devices. A slate is a tablet with no moving parts. This means the screen is always exposed and any buttons reside on the face or edges of the device. A clamshell is the standard laptop with the screen always facing the keyboard. A convertible looks like a laptop but the screen can be rotated down to fold over the keyboard, allowing it to operate as a slate. A slider looks like a slate but slides upward to reveal a keyboard.
- Cloud Computing, "In the Cloud," etc. - I was surprised to find a Wikipedia article called "Cloud Computing" which describes the shift of applications away from the desktop and into "the cloud." In the case of MIDs and ultra-mobiles, the "cloud" is the Internet. This goes back many years to diagrams of networks in which a cluster or Internet uplink went into an image that looked like a cloud.
That should cover the absolute basics. I welcome comments on this by users or other UMPC/MID enthusiasts to add more to this list.
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