M-tube UMPC with VIA Processor Supports WiMAX

UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) is becoming a trend in today mobile and PC world. It combines a light weight advantages of mobile gadget while featuring a high processing power of a PC. Taiwan Science and Technology Advisory Group have just unveiled a new UMPC with small form factor while still featuring a complete processing power with enhanced communication system. Known as M-tube, it is developed by Taiwanese company and amazingly, it supports current WiMAX technology for broadband access.


Running by a 1GHz VIA CPU (Central Processor Unit) with Linux Operating system, the prototype is powerful enough for basic computing while still manages to handle networking packets through long range WiMAX on the move. What makes it more attractive is its Mobile ITX small form factor and light weight of 150 gram only as compared to its competitors’ products in the market. It has a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen with a support of 8GB internal storage. Although the storage size is not that impressive, but it is sufficient for typical daily usage.

There is only one drawback – the battery life of only 4 hours typical usage is not long enough for mobile usage. The actual mass production will only be available in 2009 and we should expect some improvements to be done on the power management feature to prolong the battery life for mobile applications. No pricing information has been announced yet but I am sure it is a good deal if it can integrate more functionality such as GPS (Global Positioning System), TV tuner and etc.