Here's a UMPC style offering from Eking, a Shenzhen based producer that appears to be cloning products from Korean company WiBrain. Clearly focusing on x86-powered hand helds that make up the gray area between smartphone and netbook, Eking are looking to harvest custom for its i1 device with price points hovering just above USD500.
In truth I'm not sure what we should call this device. In modern parlance it's most probably a MID or a PMP, but then again it does resemble earlier handheld PC offerings that first appeared about two or three years ago. We called them UMPCs, or Ultra Mobile PCs so perhaps we should stick with that. The i1 device is shockingly similar to the Wibrain B1, which is made in Korea by Wibrain. Whether or not it's a true clone or not remains to be seen. It's possible that Eking could have bought the design or they could even be Wibrain's new OEM.
Looking at the device you can see that it kind of looks similar to a game console in that it has two areas on each side of the device which can be used to type or navigate with your tumbs, most interesting is the small track pad in the corner for your right thumb. Odd, but possible a worthwhile attempt to alleviate the inherent problems of using a device this small. At least you have options with this one; i.e. you can use the keyboard buttons to type in combination with the track pad, or instead use a stylus and stick to more PDA or phone-like touch screen input.
The touch screen itself is a 4.8 inch LCD at 1024 x 600 pixels. The CPU platform is an x86 Intel Atom Z Series, which deviates from the original WiBrain products which preferred the C7-M from VIA Technologies. The Atom should offer improved performance over the C7-M, but not by much. It's a Z520 running a 1.33GHz, and with 1GB of RAM it should perform most simple browser-based tasks admirably, but not much beyond that. A small form factor 1.8" hard drive offers up to 60GB of storage, WiFi and bluetooth are supported as is a 3MP camera.
The i1 weighs just under 500 grams, just over 700 grams for the whole package inc. power brick etc. Dimensions are 192mm x 82mm x 28mm. The going rate is approx. RMB3700, or USD540 per unit and includes Windows XP Home edition (I'm not how slick Win XP is at touch, probably not too hot compared to it's Win 7 offspring).
Western Opportunity Analysis:Overall this kind of device is interesting because it tries to offer plenty of input methods. Innovative keyboard ideas are notoriously difficult to gain traction however. Devices that keep it simple, think iPhone for example, have seen much more success. The price point is less than what you'd have expected to pay a year or two ago, but generally speaking this is one area where the smart phone is winning. If it was thinner, lighter and less clunky it could be a winner. As it is, I'm not sure many of us would have the patience for it.
Conclusions:
In the battle for device segment middle ground, the tablet seems to have the best chance of success. This kind of UMPC style product struggled to get a foothold two years ago, I don't see that changing anytime soon, despite lower price points. Too big and too heavy for starters. Compared to a phone or a modern tablet, and too limited to be used for true PC functionality.
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Tai Pan, Do all tablets have a sim card slot? If not, which ones do?
Yes, but does it have the retina display?!
The fact that this requires a 3g plan makes it a total non-starter. I was thinking I could put my Tmob N1 SIM into this, but no wa...
Finally!!! It is also my opinion that 8.9 is the sweet spot! Let's see if we are right :) Good work shanzai!
This was just what I was looking for. I'll come back to this blog for sure! I bookmarked this blog a while ago because of the usef...
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