The Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC) is a portable device sized inbetween a tablet PC and a handheld Pocket PC. I'm oversimplifying a bit, but the UMPC is essentially a slate tablet PC with a 7-inch diagonal widescreen display. It has built-in wireless, USB ports, firewire, video out, a hard drive and runs Windows XP tablet edition, which means that any software that will run on Windows should run on this unit. An on-screen keyboard of sorts is available for thumb typing and a stylus allows freehand writing on the screen with character recognition. Unfortunately, the first generation products are limited to a 2.5 hour battery life. Windows Vista, when released in the fall, offers battery life enhancing features that will be welcomed on the UMPC. Pricing for UMPC devices is expected to be somewhere between $600 and $1,000, depending on the vendor and features.The possibilities are nearly endless in healthcare for such a device:
- View training videos anywhere
- Conduct supply inventory and order wirelessly on the spot
- Research data entry on the bench, in a patient's room or in the field
- Access the electronic library resources anywhere
- Transport visually rich presentations to conferences
- Record teleconferences while using the device to display accompanying slides
- Runs OneNote, Microsoft Office
- Will likely run most content creation applications, i.e., Acrobat and Premiere
- Accepts USB devices such as scanners, printers and barcode readers
- Accepts digital video work via firewire
- Laboratory, pharmacy, nursing, imaging, and support staff will all find uses for the UMPC
The device is expected to be available in April.
The Gizmodo crew conducted a video interview with an Asus representative at the CeBIT show demonstrating the Asus UMPC product. The video, to be honest, is horrible. The Asus representation is difficult to understand (poor English and just a lousy salesman using car keys instead of the stylus to touch the screen) and the camera work is an embarassment. However, there is information to be had so listen carefully and rub your eyes frequently.
