Toshiba eMo demonstrated at CES 2008: It is a UMPC, UMD, MID or ?

Submitted by Lora on Mon, 01/14/2008 - 02:23.

Toshiba had several of its concept / prototype eMo, an ultra-mobile internet device / PC, on the show floor at CES 2008. Take a look at these photos and tell us what you think it should be called and what category it falls into. Is it a UMPC, UMD, MID, or something yet to come?

Whatever category you think it is, it certainly demonstrates powerful mobility for tomorrow.

  • Under 2lbs
  • Solid State Hard Drive
  • Intel Menlow
  • Supports Windows Vista
  • No release date or price point

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Demonstrating Tilt Scroll, where you change the angle for page to auto-scroll.

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The eMo uses a touch panel on the display so you can interact with it naturally. Toshiba trademarks its panel "eMotion Feel", Toshiba's future input technology for use with: finger, multi-function sensor, and touch panel.

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Close-up of digitizer

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Diagram of Floating Panel

 

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Flicks are integrated into Windows Vista and Toshiba takes it to the next level with this small design.

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Press Zoom to increase the capabilities of a small display

Toshiba displayed potential enclosure styles and colors. When it comes time for production, they'll probably just select one or two. In the meantime, Toshiba representatives said they are very interested in feedback on what consumers pick as their favorites.

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Silver

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Another simple silver like the one above

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Stylized white on white and black on black

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Back of white on white

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Camouflage green

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Piano black

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Orange-red leather

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Purple

It's great to see this demonstration of creativity and variety by Toshiba. Look forward to more information about this product in the future.

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I am dissapointed at how out of touch Toshiba seems to be...

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 06:49.
  • Toshiba is one of the best laptop companies today and it seems amazing that they designed such a device that would never get much mainstream interest.  After over a year the UMPC form factor Microsoft pushed everyone to adopt sold only 350,000 units worldwide.  It should be obvious that the reason was mainly due to two main issues:
  • All of the UMPC were typically bulky 7" screen devices being non jacket size, just like this Toshiba prototype.  becuase they were not small enough to be stowed in a pocket they all got compared to anything else that you would need to use a bag to carry and thus nobody wanted to buy them.
  • Most of the devices were just like this Toshiba prototype, pen or touch input only without any touch type keyboard.  Pen input devices without any touch type keyboard have never sold very well period.  When you make a small computer that can run full desktop OS why would anyone, especially a leader in the laptop market like Toshiba think we would want to not use a touch type keyboard?  Full desktop OS and their programs are almost 100% used via a touch type keyboard and that is what mainstream people want.

What Toshiba should do is model a basic clamshell design like a Psion Revo and then they would have a huge hit.  If they continue with this bulky device nobody is going to buy them and it will be a flop like most of the 2007 UMPC's

Yes, completely pocketable

Submitted by Lora on Fri, 02/08/2008 - 07:55.

Yes, completely pocketable PCs with a full OS and x86 processor are still in the future. That doesn't degrade the value of products that you can use today, even if they are larger than a futuristic ideal. Following the saying, "get the right product for the use," there are plenty of valuable ways to use UMPCs or MIDs as mobile companions to a stationary PC that you leave at home.  

Psion Revo - is it the clamshell you like, primarily?

It's tempting -- yet very difficult -- to compare full PCs to phones / PPCs / PDAs. Products build on each other and it's great to see the progress that has been made. Just think, today, a Revo-like product could have a backlit color display. :)

(On a personal side -- I probably wouldn't put a full PC in my pocket :) I don't wear phone holder on a belt either -- and don't see myself doing that ever. Purse, perhaps. Jacket pocket - sure, I put a phone in my jacket during the winter.)

I use a HP Jornada 728 and

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 02/16/2008 - 19:18.

I use a HP Jornada 728 and have owned a Psion 5mx which is very similar to the Revo.  To me both devices represent the perfect size as they are small enough to fit into any common suit or coat pockets yet they provide 1/2 vga display and a touch type keyboard capable of about 75-80% of desktop speeds with a little practice.

 What good is full windows without a touch type keyboard? to me and I believe most people the answer is not much.  The mere 350K sales of umpc to me proves that most people do not want a pen or thumb input device.

A modern handheld that ran full windows with a shape much like a Revo or Jornada would fit into any mans suit or coat and most womens small purse without much hassle at all.  I do not see any devices that resemble the 2006-2007 UMPC's ever being much of a mainstream product.  If you look back at the time when Jornadas snd Revo's were being sold, those devices with touch type keyboards sold well over 2.3 million each year.  That was with an OS not really perfected but decent and not full windows so it could not be a complete laptop replacement but close for some. 

Imagine the sales with full windows with our increased demand of over 113 million laptops sold each year?