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Technology never ceases to amaze, Barely a decade ago mobile computing was really starting to fall into stride. Now we have hand held PDA’s that could run circles around those old clunky monstrosities! Along with seemingly endless numbers of new smaller/lighter and more powerful laptops enters a new type of device into the foray. The Ultra-Mobile PC, UMPC’s have actually been around for a few years. SONY has had variants of its VAIO UX, and similar devices on the market for over a couple years now.

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This is the Asus R2Hv UMPC. It boasts a impressive feature-set for a device so small at a sub $1000.00 price point.

• 7-inch WVGA LCD touch screen
• Intel Pentium M 723(1.0GHz)
• 1280MB of RAM
• 80GB 4200rpm HD
• Weighing less then 2.0lbs

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Obviously such devices have limitations not found on more conventional machines, However they introduce a whole new style of mobile computing. UMPC’s such as this one by Asus pictured above are putting a tremendous amount of power and flexibility into a tiny package. One of the biggest benefits of this new class of computer is not necessarily the actual size of the device.

Several UMPC’s are now shipping with unmodified versions of Windows Vista. Granted window’s vista might not be every-ones cup of tea from a performance aspect right now, But it shows us that these manufacturers are trying to put the complete flexibility of a desktop OS literally into your pocket. Imagine being able to share and work seamlessly across several platforms without the need for sync’ing, converting file types and trying keep track of different versions of Google Maps.

The power consumption of these devices still varies. According to various sites, they average 20-25Watts stored in the battery, and have a average run-time of 2-3 hours (of course this depends on what you are doing!) Its safe to say conservatively that these devices can often use less then 10Watts of power hour. That is 4 times less power then the laptop I am writing this report on.

While I would not venture to say that everyone should run out and spend a thousand dollars to buy one of these devices just to cut power consumption. It does open many new opportunities for those of us seeking ultra-low-power consuming computers. Specifically if you are generating your own electricity or live in a place where it is very expensive (Here in Hawai’i its over .30cents a Kilowatt!).

Considering these devices are on the market now and some have been for some time the future is bright for getting your PC fix anytime,anywhere and doing so on a re-markedly low amount of power. For the green-conscious buyer current and future UMPC’s might deserve special consideration. As mentioned before if you are supplying or hope to generate your own power soon, One of UMPC’s alone could save you its cost in solar panels alone. Something to consider!