Ultra-mobile prices could hit £350

Samsung ’s Q1 was the most sophisticated and expensive ultra-mobile shown at Cebit, with prices cited between $1,000 (£573 approx) to $1,500 (£860 approx). It was also the heaviest, at 1kg.

But Taiwanese chip designer Via said ultra-mobile PCs using its new low-drain C7-M ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor could sell for $600 (£344 approx) or less, putting them in competition with PDAs.

The C7 is a descendant of the Centaur x86 chip, which was bought out by Via. Keith Kowal, marketing manager of Via’s chipset platform group, said the 1GHz C7-M ULV drains a maximum of 3.5w, and the 1.5GHz version 5w, the maximum for the ultra-mobile’s thermal design.

At least three ultras using the Via chip were on show at Cebit, but unless the C7 goes dual-core it is hard to see it keeping up with Intel on performance per watt.

Asus , Gigabyte and ECS all showed Intel-based Origamis. The Asus R2H had a built-in camera, enabling it to be used for video calls or taking snapshots – something likely to become standard for this format. It also has a Pal TV module and a fingerprint sensor.

These three companies were remarkably coy about their ultra-mobiles at Cebit. You had to look carefully to find the machines: I spotted the Asus by accident. Not all reporters share my faith in tablets, so perhaps the companies feared a bad press.

Not so Samsung, which flourished its Q1 at every opportunity. It has a DMB receiver (see page 14), a 7in screen and offers a choice of low-drain Celeron or Pentium M processors. It has a flipout support at the back so that it can stand on edge.

Samsung has built a peripheral kit around it, including a keyboard and DVD drive, all packed into a small wallet. Connecting with peripherals such as this is the kind of task UWB links will be good for: low range, low power, high data rate and no wires so you don’t need to plug things in.

See also Birth of the true portable and Fashioning the ultra-mobile