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The Ultra-Mobile PC

The ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) is a fully functional computer that runs the full version of Windows. The UMPC offers all the functionality of Windows with the additional Tablet and Touch Technology and delivers it in a form factor that is truly mobile. Users experience the same operating system with the same applications and features that are available on desktop and mobile PCs.

The UMPC goes anywhere and can be used anytime, offering the following advantages:

  • Smaller and lighter than traditional notebook computers
  • Multiple input methods: touch screen, tablet pen, hardware controls, speech, and optional Bluetooth or USB keyboard

The opportunities for the UMPC in the consumer space are exciting. Example scenarios include:

  • Connecting and communicating more easily, in more places, and in more situations.
  • Being productive anywhere and anytime.
  • Being entertained and informed wherever you go.
  • Enjoying more integrated digital entertainment experiences, like music, videos, and gaming.
  • Easily taking advantage of programs that can offer increased productivity, such as driving directions, shopping lists, to-do lists, and more.

Your programs that support technologies such as integrated Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and Ethernet are automatically extended to the UMPC. In fact, these types of programs make the UMPC suitable for a wide range of compelling mobile PC experiences.

Specifications for the Ultra-Mobile PC

Although the exact specifications vary by OEM, the baseline specifications for the UMPC are as follows:

  • Screen size: 5-7 inches
  • Screen resolution: minimum 800 × 480 resolution
  • Weight: less than 2 pounds
  • Display orientation: landscape or portrait
  • Input methods:
    • Touch screen (type or select with a finger)
    • Tablet pen (write or select with a pen)
    • Hardware controls (including navigation buttons, joystick, and integrated keyboards)
    • Optional: add on Bluetooth or USB-based keyboard
  • Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Ultimate
  • Network connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and broadband services, such as 3G and EVDO
  • Battery life: 2.5 hours or more
  • Processor: Intel Celeron M, Intel Pentium M, or VIA C7-M
  • Storage: 30 gigabyte hard disk drive or larger

Some UMPCs may include additional built-in features, such as GPS, webcam, fingerprint reader, digital TV tuners, light sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, CompactFlash, and SD card readers.

Developing Applications for UMPC

All the knowledge that you have about Windows applications transfers directly to the UMPC. Because the UMPC runs Windows, all of the Windows APIs are familiar and available to you when you design applications for the UMPC. In addition, if you are a developer of Tablet PC and mobile PC applications, you already have the expertise that you gained from working with the API for pen and ink, designing for flexible display layouts, and network and power issues that will help you optimize applications for this new class of computer.

In addition:

  • You can use Windows Sockets 2.0 for UMPC applications. Windows Sockets 2 (Winsock) enables programmers to create advanced Internet, intranet, and other network-capable applications to transmit application data across the wire, independent of the network protocol that is used.
  • You can use the System Event Notification Service (SENS) for UMPC applications. The System Event Notification Service provides a unique set of connectivity functions and notifications in the operating system. These create a uniform connectivity and notification interface for applications.
  • You can use the Windows power management functions for UMPC applications. Applications that you build can monitor power status messages that are broadcast by Windows. The applications respond by preparing themselves for sleep, modifying their behavior to adapt to the power mode, or otherwise reacting to changes in power status.

Ultra-Mobile PC Display Emulator

The UMPC Display Emulator application enables you to test your application's layout and screen behavior as it appears on an Ultra-Mobile PC. Use the UMPC Display Emulator to confirm that your program is legible, accessible, and provides a great user experience when running on an Ultra-Mobile PC.

Download the UMPC Display Emulator

The UMPC Display Emulator is easy to use; however, it is not a hardware emulator or virtualized operating system. The UMPC Display Emulator is a developer tool intended to provide a quick and easy way to check screen layout and behavior at the screen resolution of a UMPC. The UMPC Display Emulator sets your screen to the resolution of an Ultra-Mobile PC (800 × 480), while leaving your monitor's physical resolution at its current setting. Essentially, the tool shows how your program, which is designed for a standard graphic user interface (GUI), appears in the typical resolution of an Ultra-Mobile PC.

Note:  Because the Ultra-Mobile PC runs the full Windows operating system, it isn't necessary to run a different operating system in the emulator—it’s still your desktop or laptop computer that is running; nothing is different, including the development APIs.

The UMPC Display Emulator simply intercepts all of the Win 32 functions that include display, positioning, and resolution information and then returns the Ultra-Mobile PC resolution. Read more information about how the UMPC Display Emulator accomplishes this in this article in Microsoft Detours Library .

System Requirements:

  • Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
  • At least 5 MB of available free space on your hard disk

Design Considerations

Consider the following issues when you are developing and testing an application for the ultra-mobile PC:

  • Because of the touch screen display, limit the number of interactive elements on the screen and leave space for the user to touch the screen without accidentally activating it.
  • Users may point with either a finger or a tablet pen tip. Make targets large because the finger is less accurate than a pen or mouse.
  • The display resolution is small, so dialog boxes will not fit on the screen if they cannot scale to the minimum screen size.
  • Make an application easier to move through by offering users the ability to scroll up, down, left, and right.
  • The UMPC does not generate hover events. With the electromagnetic digitizers common in most Tablet PCs today, you can see when the pen is close to the screen. But because the UMPC is a touch device, you cannot see when the tablet pen is close to the screen.
  • The edges of the screen are difficult to target. The bottom of the screen is especially difficult to target. Make sure that your customers can reach the UI that they need to activate.
  • For navigation, use panning and flicks, and avoid vertical and horizontal scrolling.
  • Build on-screen navigation buttons. Assume that the user does not have a keyboard or a mouse.
  • Build in zoom capability so that the user can adjust the fit to different screen sizes.
  • Ask yourself what you can eliminate from the user interface.
  • Respond to changes in ambient light, because the UMPC is used in a variety of lighting situations.
  • Consider that users may be viewing in portrait or landscape mode. UMPCs generally have a widescreen aspect ratio.

Microsoft Origami Experience 2.0 for Ultra-Mobile PC

Origami Experience 2.0 is a software package currently available only to OEMs, and most manufacturers add the Origami Experience to the software bundled on their UMPCs. It includes the following programs and features that are designed for the ultra-mobile PC and its touch-screen interface.

  • Origami Picture Password —A program that you use to log on to your computer by tapping a sequence of targets on a picture instead of typing a password.
  • Origami Central —An update to the original Origami Experience program that brings together all your favorite media experiences—music, video, pictures, programs, RSS feeds, and the Internet—in one location.
  • Origami Now —A program that gives you quick, one-touch, instant access to information, all on one screen. It includes e-mail, calendar, RSS feeds, weather, and to-do lists, all according to the day, time, and your location.

 

Publishing Syndicated Content for Origami Experience 2.0

With Origami Central, a program in Microsoft Origami™ Experience 2.0, users can view all the RSS feeds they subscribe to by using the Windows RSS platform. For example, if a user subscribes to a feed while in Microsoft Internet Explorer, the feed automatically appears in the Origami Central feed reader. In addition, after a user has subscribed to a feed, if that feed has audio or video MIME files, these files appear in the Music and Video libraries in Origami Central. Origami Central supports the audio and video MIME types that Windows Media Player supports.

Adding a feed to the Get more section in Music and Videos

When you publish syndicated audio or video content on the Internet, you can customize your feed so that after a user subscribes to it, the feed appears in the Get more section of the Music and Video libraries in Origami Central. The Get more section provides a channel for online content providers to promote updated content, such as downloadable music and videos, to users.

To specify that your feed should appear in the Get more section in Music or Videos, add a <category> tag under the <channel> tag in the XML file for your feed.

To make a feed appear in the Get more section of Music , include MSOxAudioNews in the <category> tag:

  <channel>

    ... 


     <category>MSOxAudioNews</category>

    ...

  </channel>

To make a feed appear in the Get more section of Videos , include MSOxVideoNews in the <category> tag:

    <channel>

      ... 

      <category>MSOxVideoNews</category> 

      ...

      </channel>

Important    The <category> tag appears in the channel header. It is not embedded within a feed item.

Adding thumbnail images for Audio and Video Feed items

You can make thumbnail images for Get more feed items appear in Origami Central by adding the following two elements to the XML file for your feed:

    1. Use the following URL for the media namespace attribute in the <rss> tag.

    <rss version="2.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/">

    2. For each feed item, add a <media:thumbnail> tag under the item tag. In the following example, Microsoft is the content provider:

    <item>

    ...

    <media:thumbnail url="http://www.feeds.microsoft.com/thumbnail.jpg" />

    ...

    </item>

Origami Central supports the file types that Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) supports, including BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, Windows Media Photo, GIF, and ICON.

Note: Thumbnail images are scaled to fit in the available space.

Please send feedback and questions about your developer needs for UMPC to MPCISV@microsoft.com

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