THE UMPC, or ultra-mobile PC, is the “in” device today, especially among trendy youths and yuppies.

The Eee PC

The launch of Asus’ Eee PC last year, for example, marked a milestone in the minds of consumers – not all UMPCs are expensive.

Previously, manufacturers such as Sony and Twinhead released small-sized notebook computers with 10-inch screens or smaller, but pricing was almost at par with full-fledged multimedia-capable notebooks that carry 14- to 15-inch wide-screens plus better speakers, more ports and slots and bigger memory and storage capacities.

When it made its debut, the Eee PC appealed to the Malaysian market not only because it is lightweight, but also light on the pocket.

For commuters and jetsetters, the compact form factor is a welcomed change compared to the current wide-screen notebooks that they have been lugging. For students, graduates on their first job and other budget-conscious buyers, having computing power and mobility for below RM1,500 is good value buy.

Apart from multiple-specifications Eee PC models, other UMPC options getting positive buzz in the market include the Hewlett-Packard 2133 Mini Note PC and Twinhead Twinmate E10.

Between the two, the E10 is more budget-friendly. For an AMD Lx-800 ULV processor, 10.2-inch wide-screen, 60-gigabyte (GB) hard disk, 512 megabytes of random access memory (RAM), wireless local area network and built-in PCMCIA slot and four-in-one card reader, you pay only RM1,499.

To spice up the offering, Twinhead has various colour options for the E10 – white, green, blue and red. You can also opt for bigger RAM, as there is a variation of the model that offers 1GB.

As for the 2133, or better known as the HP Mini, it runs on Vista Basic or Business. It packs in WLAN 802.11a/b/g connectivity, an 8.9-inch display, 120GB 5,400-revolution-per-minute Serial ATA drive, and universal serial bus, Secure Digital, ExpressCard and RJ-45 ports. Add in the anti-spill Qwerty keyboard, scratch-resistant body and a three-cell battery that gives two hours of life, the

1.9-kilogram model is a travel-ready sidekick.

For all this, you need to cough up RM2,299, which is not bad considering that there are other models such as the MacBook Air, HTC Shift and Lenovo ThinkPad X300 that are pricier.

At the rate manufacturers are responding to this refreshed market, consumers who are tightening their budget can still look forward to more exciting models ahead – all lightweight and affordable.