Warner Crocker has a nice post over at Gottabemobile.com where he argues that the Holy Grail of UMPC’s is now price. If you can price a UMPC in the range of an Apple iPhone* (used generically, don’t sue me too Cisco) they’ll be flying off the shelves.
You know what, I agree. But the fact that it’s all come down to price means a few things. It means that:
A) We’re over the processing power/memory/hard drive/resources hump. A Windows Mobile device at $600 wouldn’t be flying off the shelves, but a UMPC will. People are starting to get that these are real computers and you can do real things with them. The market seems to be saying that the specs are adequate, just not for the price.
B) We’re over the form factor hump. Sliding/flipping/twisting keyboards are here for those who want them and people are willing to take a chance on handwriting for $600.
C) We’re over the 1st generation hump. There’s always a chance with new devices that manufacturers don’t have the stomach to stick it out. Look at all the Pocket PC manufacturers that have come, introduced a model and quietly left the business. Samsung is aggressively adding models. Tablet Kiosk is adding models. Everyone now has a model that will run Vista. So the move to Vista won’t kill the UMPC and it looks like MS has really invested some resources to improve the UMPC experience.
Finally, it proves once again that consumers are not rational. The Apple phone is gorgeous, but it’s not a PC. Everything I read says that it runs OSX, the same way that Pocket PC runs windows. Sort of, but not quite. But you’re telling me that an Apple phone price (subsidized no less) is the sweet spot for a 1.5 lb full pc with handwriting recognition? We are screwed up. If I’m dropping $600 on one of my children it’s going to be for a PC, not a phone!
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