Amtek readies next-gen UMPC handheld
updated 03:30 pm EDT, Tue June 5, 2007
Amtek U560 UMPC
Ultramobile PC creator Amtek is developing its first full-keyboard UMPC, according to an announcement at this week's Computex show. The U560 will use a sliding-screen design similar to the VAIO UX that exposes a full keyboard underneath its 4.8-inch, 1024x600 screen. The handheld is also based on Intel's newer A100 platform and ekes out longer battery life than earlier UMPCs regardless of whether it uses the 600MHz or 800MHz processor; an extended battery pack will roughly double battery life for those less concerned about bulk or cost.
The U560 additionally represents the direction of future media-centric handhelds with a 1.3-megapixel webcam in the lid and the performance needed to run Windows Vista Home Premium. A relatively large minimum of 40GB of hard disk space will also be built-in for storing more than just the basics.
So far unannounced for the US, reports claim that Amtek is already certain to ship its latest UMPC to the Western nation through another company; this may refer to TabletKiosk, which already sells some of Amtek's UMPCs under the eo and Sahara names. [via GottaBeMobile]
