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Reference.org
Ultra-mobile PC
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<p>An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a <a href="/facts/Pen_computing/7SrB0mhR">pen computer</a>, a class of <a href="/facts/Laptop/3EFwTAb2">laptop</a> whose specifications were launched by <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> and <a href="/facts/Intel/SMF0gJJX">Intel</a> in Spring 2006. <a href="/facts/Sony/7x4tCtBd">Sony</a> had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its <a href="/facts/Sony_U-series/wTTfRuBt">Vaio U series</a>, which was only sold in Asia. UMPCs are generally smaller than <a href="/facts/Subnotebook/fpb9fQGk">subnotebooks</a>, have a <a href="/facts/TFT_LCD/4Y8CbuLX">TFT display</a> measuring (diagonally) about 12.7 to 17.8 centimetres (5.0 to 7.0 in), are operated like <a href="/facts/Tablet_computer/6pGX2I7b">tablet PCs</a> using a <a href="/facts/Touchscreen/zpSKDFpe">touchscreen</a> or a <a href="/facts/Stylus/71P3StMj">stylus</a>, and can also have a physical <a href="/facts/Computer_keyboard/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a>. There is no clear boundary between <a href="/facts/Subnotebook/fpb9fQGk">subnotebooks</a> and ultra-mobile PCs, but UMPCs commonly have major features not found in the common clamshell laptop design, such as small keys on either side of the screen, or a slide-out keyboard. </p><p>The first-generation UMPCs were simple <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">PCs</a> running <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> or an adapted version of Microsoft's <a href="/facts/Tablet_computer/6pGX2I7b">tablet PC</a> operating system. With the announcement of the UMPC, Microsoft dropped the licensing requirement that tablet PCs must support proximity sensing of the stylus, which Microsoft termed "hovering". Second-generation UMPCs used less electricity and therefore could be used for longer (up to five hours) and also had support for <a href="/facts/Windows_Vista/IASEUCTB">Windows Vista</a>. </p><p>Originally code-named Project Origami, the project was launched in 2006 as a collaboration between Microsoft, Intel, <a href="/facts/Samsung_Electronics/STxnmHwl">Samsung</a>, and a few others. After largely being supplanted by <a href="/facts/Tablet_computer/6pGX2I7b">tablet computers</a>, production of ultra-mobile PCs was discontinued in the early 2010s. The term "UMPC" has been used unofficially to describe other similar products since then. </p>