Is an UMPC on ARM processor a good idea?

The ARM architecture processors are ideally suited for UMPC's because of their power and low consumption. An ARM Cortex A8 1 GHz processor has 2000 MIPS capability, while consumes less than 0.5 Watts. There are also quad core ARM11 versions with even more MIPS capability. An pocket PC can run 5-6 hours on an 5 Wh class battery. An Intel A110 based UMPC wouldn't run on 5 Wh much more than 30 minutes.

Microsoft has a powerful OS for the ARM platform in the Windows CE, also the Windows Mobile bundles a great collection of software, but the impression is that the capabilities of the ARM platform get under used by some imposed restrictions. Microsoft and their Windows Mobile development partner HTC seem to focus on the phone market, an application that dictates very small devices with 2.8" or smaller screens, where the QVGA screen support is not an issue. Some applications like a version of OneNote or Journal are missing, despite the touch screen. The Internet browser works awfully because of the resolution and unsupported features. The functionality as a thin client is also severely limited.

On the other hand, there is the "pocketable" 5" class UMPC's based on IA32 architecture and Windows XP/Vista, that are implemented in a less than ideal way. Those devices very expensive, slow, too big and heavy compared to pocket PC's, the battery life is awfull and the screen resolution selection doesn't allow confortable vision or data input.

A part from the pocket PC's that struggled for so much time on the market, other ARM architecture implementations are the Nokia 770 and N800 Internet Tablets based on the complete 2.6 Linux kernel and the Apple iPhone based on a variant of the full featured Mac OS/X. Both implementations are very promising, and with the advent of the newer Cortex A8 and ARM11 multi-core designs, the architecture could be used for business and not only embedded applications.

The Handheld PC (H/PC) wan't well received on the market for a number of reasons, mainly because if was expensive. Now the P/PC and Palm without CDMA/GSM radios have declining sales. But part of the problem are the limited options of the Palm OS and the resolution problems of the P/PC.

Hopefully, at some point, the Linux Maemo platform will include the OpenOffice and an better interface. Microsoft will make an Vista lite version for ARM (after all there is Windows for IA32, IA64 and AMD64, and in the past Windows NT supported IBM/Motorola powerPC, DEC Alpha and MIPS architecture), or at least an much improved Windows Mobile would be needed. By oversimplifying Apple made an easy to use device, but the true is that the iPhone could be a general propouse PC, not only an phone and digial media player appliance.

The ARM hardware has fantastic potential, when one looks at some former models the HP iPAQ hx4700 and its VGA screen, or the Dell Axim X51v with advanced 3D graphics, or the actual Nokia N800 with "hidden features" that are being unlocked by software or the Apple iPhone. All have in common that the platform remains limited by the existing software. Not even all hardware functions are being used. Better operating systems and business applications are needed to unleash this very capable platform.