Ultramobile PC To Make a Comeback?

jfruhlinger writes "Remember the Oqo and other 'ultra-mobile PCs' — full-fledged Windows machines in a cell phone form factor, pushed without success in the early-to-mid '00s? Well, Japan's NTT DoCoMo thinks that they could still catch on, making plans for a Windows 7 computer with a 4-inch, 1024-by-600 screen."

Comments

The Fujitsu U series has advantages.

[Lashat]

I own one and when I corporate traveled it was my constant companion.

The most significant advantage is that the physically small and compact machine that runs your full desktop.
Plug it into the docking station and...abracadabra... you have full size monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Travel without the docking station? You can still use the tiny dongle to attach to ethernet and VGA while using the USB keyboard mouse.
Battery life SMOKES most smartphones I have owned since 2007.

I can't say it applies to all Ultras, but I still use my Fujistu for the occasional travel.

Size matters

[sootman]

Many people said "An iPad is just a big iPod touch" and that's technically correct. Also, it is technically correct to say "A swimming pool is just a big bathtub." What some people don't realize is that even if two things are identical in all ways except size, the difference in size alone can make quite a difference in what is possible. You can't swim laps in a bathtub, and you can't deliver the full experience of an app like Pages on a device with a screen that's smaller than a business card.

Similarly, full-blown Windows just does not work all that well on tiny screens. Period. Are there times when it might be useful to have a bog-standard Windows PC in your pocket? Absolutely. Is that a common need? No. Is it a big market? No. It wasn't one a decade ago, and it really isn't one now, not with all the new competition from modern smartphones and touchable tablets.

So, to answer the article's question, No, the UMPC is NOT about to make a comeback. And that title presumes it was ever "here" to begin with.