First Mobile Internet Device to cost as much as four Eees, three iPhones, 55 peggles.
The handheld PC fail crusade just took Jerusalem! The first mobile internet device (MID) was announced to be more expensive than than the bloated, unusable ultramobile PCs for which this new class of gadget is supposed to be a cheaper, cleaner consumer replacement.
At $1,119 in Australian dollars, the M528 3G will shift at the equivalent of about $1,050 USD. UMPC Portal's updated its post already to soften the blow, reporting that it hopes it'll be only $750 when it comes to the U.S., but the rationale -- "It appears that we might have stirred the sales and marketing groups into a re-think" -- doesn't quite add up. While the point that Aussies and Europeans just get screwed on consumer electronics is true, they're putting this thing out to bat in a pricing league way over what's expected for something supposed to occupy an intermediary spot between cell phones and subnotebooks/UMPCS. It's almost as if they've chickened out on the high-volume, thin-margin model that MID seems to imply, in favor of cashing in on the buzz by trying to sneakily rebrand UMPCs, devices with a reputation for overburdened hardware and wretched battery life.
We're supposed to be reasonable about these things, but by God, how can they keep cocking it up generation after generation? The lesson of the Eee, or, indeed, the iPhone, has simply not been learned: a handheld computer should be low-priced, with limited but productive functionality, not yet another dumb run at trying to get people to pay a grand for a bloatware-crippled shit trinket.
First Intel MID pre-order/pricing. Sit down before reading. [UMPC Portal]
the latest
latest episodes
Okay, I know I shouldn't be angry, but what in the hell is wrong with these people? UMPCs are a huge failure — another solution in search of a problem — and then manufacturers turn around and make the exact same device with a new chipset and a new acronym? My anus is roiling with toothy, peristaltic indignance.
...well, I hadn't ever even heard of these guys, and now I'm that much less likely to give them a try.
Aw geez, you guys spoiled my fun. I was gonna "invest" in one of these.
A nokia N810 internet tablet is about $350. This thing has 3G in addition to the nokia's wifi, and that's just about it.
just WTF.
bloatware-crippled shit trinket! bloatware-crippled shit trinket! bloatware-crippled shit trinket! bloatware-crippled shit trinket!
Sorry, I just love that phrase.
Joel-
The idea of a MID vs. a UMPC is not necessarily in the hardware but more in the software and the overall unit's focus.
As I understand it:
A UMPC is a misguided attempt to shove, curl, crumple, and otherwise force a desktop OS into a form factor completely inappropriate to it. In other words, it's a bunch of engineering with no design.
A MID is an attempt to remedy the design shortcomings of UMPCs by actually designing an appropriate interface and revised set of roles for the device to take. The iPhone/Touch is a good example of this, using the core of OSX but with a completely redesigned user model.
Is "shit trinket" the official Origami designation for this product line?
Mobile devices require an elegance and restraint that is very rare in the tech industry. This is why Palm was able to to stand against Windows Mobile for so long and why most people would settle for an iPhone over this bloated POS.
Surely AU$1,119 is about £3.50? Bargain! *runs*
Looks just like a Nokia n810 for half the price.