CES 2007: Kohjinsha AS1F00A UMPC
It looked so small and the screen was so very tiltable that I was sure it was a Tablet PC, but it isn’t. It runs Windows XP with no problems. It’s one of a large list of Ultra-Mobile PCs that were unveiled at CES. This tiny computer is made by Kohjinsha, a Korean company. They have teamed up with AMD to create a computer that is too big for your pocket, but the perfect size to tuck away in your purse. A Google search of the word Kohjinsha just brings up all the fan-boy reviews of this product until you scan to the second page to find the company’s website. Sadly, you won’t be able to buy this from Amazon.com yet. Although it looks like older versions of this product are available through GeekStuff:
This computer does not use Intel technology. Its motherboard chip is an AMD Geode. Considering that until recently AMD was seriously kicking Intel’s butt on speed and reliability, that is not an issue, but if you’re married to the idea of having an Intel Core Duo Processor, then you might be selling yourself short.
Unlike the crippled thumb keyboard of the Sony UMPC, this is a keyboard that I could actually type on. The crowd around this machine was so thick that my hands are probably splashed all over the Internet on other sites. I just wanted to test my typing ability on a keyboard so small. Unlike the $100 computers that I found at CES, this keyboard was very typeable.
The American market seems to enjoy notebook computers that require muscles to cart around, but I’m not one of those people. I have been waiting for the tiny computers to come to the States. Here’s a taste of what my next laptop computer might be like.