Extended Activities

1. Which optical format will dominate the market? State your opinion.

Section 6

Supplementary Materials

Text 1

UMPC, MID, Netbook, Nettop

Most of the users are still puzzled when it comes to spotting the differences between the UPMCs and MIDs, as these two concepts seem to share a whole bunch of features. Dan Monahan, Intel's Global Internet Segment Manager of Ultra Mobility explains that there are essential differences between the two families of devices.

UMPC

• Business-class device for enterprise users
• Runs a " heavy" OS like Vista
• Optimized for office-use applications like Excel, Word, etc.

Unlike the consumer-minded MID, a UMPC is designed primarily as a business device or one for power users. Instead of running a stripped-down operating system, a UMPC usually gets powered by a more powerful operating system like Windows Vista. You get an experience that is a lot closer to what you’d get on a regular computer, whether it be a desktop or a laptop.

The form factor of a UMPC is virtually identical to a MID. You usually get a touchscreen display that is between four and seven inches across the diagonal, and depending on the design, you may get a QWERTY keyboard of some kind. Some units will have the display slide upwards to reveal the keyboard, while others opt for an on-screen virtual keyboard. The specs are definitely heavier than most MIDs and you usually get pre-installed productivity tools like Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Because of the heavier specs and more powerful operating system, your typical UMPC will cost a fair bit more than the average MID. You can expect to spend anywhere from $500 to $1000 for most UMPCs, though it’s not out of the ordinary to find some that are even more expensive.

MID

• Consumer-class lifestyle device
• Runs a 'lightweight" OS with quick startup like Linux
• Optimized for things like media playback and web surfing

In essence, a mobile Internet device is designed solely for a single purpose: letting you surf the web on the go. Most of the MIDs on the market are being targeted squarely at the consumer market, so they typically get equipped with lower-end specs and a stripped-down operating system. The idea is that it can be lightweight and efficient, so you’ll usually find MIDs powered by Linux or some other OS.

A mobile Internet device is optimized for web surfing, but they’ll usually throw in some multimedia functionality, letting you watch movies, play music, and possibly take a few pictures too. Storage is usually pretty scarce and most MIDs don’t get displays much bigger than seven inches or so. Depending on the design, the MID may be equipped with a touchscreen, a QWERTY thumbboard, or both.

Because these MIDs are for consumers, manufacturers usually try to keep the price below the $500 threshold, though you’ll find a few units that break this glass ceiling.

The borderline seems to be at least made out of lace, since these two types of devices are usually overlapping. Moreover, should an user need web browsing and multimedia rendering capabilities, they would choose a mid-range mobile phone, a much cheaper solution as compared to a sub-notebook.

At the same time, business and corporate users need more than Word and Excel to get their jobs done. The fact that this sector also needs Internet access and multimedia capabilities goes without saying.

Netbooks
Simply put, a netbook is a much leaner notebook that's optimized for simplicity, affordability and is a very Internet-centric device. That aptly describes what the ASUS Eee PC and OLPC devices are designed for and as such, they can be categorized as first generation netbooks. The next generation netbooks however will be powered by the Intel Atom processor, more specifically the Diamondville. At 1.6GHz core clock (with 512KB L2 cache) and running off a 533MHz FSB, it is quite similar to a Pentium M (Banias) processor in performance as per Intel's findings.

To get a better understanding how netbooks fit into the existing mix of mobility solutions, here's a table to better align yourselves on MID, UMPC, netbooks and notebooks.

MID, UMPC, Netbooks and Notebooks Compared

Categorization / Key Identifiers	MID / UMPC	Netbook	Mainstream Notebook
Requirements	Full Internet Experience in Your Pocket	A Platform at New Affordable Price Points	More than Basic Usage
Key Usage Models	MID: Infotainment UMPC: Work on-the-go	Internet-centric	Office Productivity & Multitasking
Screen Size	MID: 4.5" - 6" UMPC: 5" - 7"	Below 10 inches	12-inch or Larger
Operating System	MID: Win XP, Linux UMPC: Win Vista, Win XP, Linux	Linux, Windows-based	Windows-based
Hardware Platform	MID: Intel Centrino Atom UMPC: Intel Atom processors	Intel Atom / Celeron / Core 2 Duo processors	Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Price-point	US$450 - US$600	US$250 - US$350	US$500 and above

As noted in the key usage model scenario, the traditional notebook is best suited for no compromise usage experience and content creation whilst the netbook is designed more towards a content consumption model off the Internet and your local devices.

While in the current day's usage context, the netbook made popular by ASUS Eee PC and others in the same segment like Kohjinsha still seem limited due to these devices not being either pocketable like a smartphone nor a full fledged powerhouse notebook. However, they are great companions in terms of travel and on-the-go usage for a full keyboard equipped Internet experience. With the next generation netbooks using Intel Atom, they are probably going to be even more appealing in physical attributes and spur even more adopters and thus drive the price down further in future. In mature markets of the developed word, the netbook could lend itself as a secondary or tertiary PC for some members of the family. In the emerging markets of the developing world, the netbook could in fact be the first system adopted by families thanks to the low cost and simplicity of use. Similar to the netbook, a more niche market could be the nettop, which is a desktop equivalent of the netbook.
The critical difference between a netbook and a MID/UMPC is that the former takes on a laptop-like form factor. The display flips up to reveal a standard QWERTY keyboard. Some people prefer this shape over the other two, simply because it is more familiar (but it’s usually bigger).

Like a MID or UMPC, a netbook is meant to a supplementary device. For this reason, you’ll usually get stripped down specs. Most netbooks will come powered either by Windows XP or Linux; if you get into Vista and Tablet territory, it’s hard to categorize those smaller laptops as netbooks anymore.

Text 2