Gigabyte U60 UMPC breaks the mold

COMPUTEX HAD TWO things from Gigabyte that I was not expecting, a UMPC and a new motherboard technology.

The technology is their new marketing message called Ultra-Durable 2, and they had it plastered over every banner at the show. It encompasses three things, higher end Japanese solid capacitors, ferrite core chokes and low ROS(on) MOSFETS.

Without going into the electrical engineering, lets just say that these parts cost more and are more efficient than their normal counterparts. This means that they use a tiny bit less power but more importantly run cooler.

Cooler running parts means less stressed parts. Less stress means lower failure rates. Less heat also protects parts running around them, and makes for longer living less brittle mobos. In general, cooler is better in PCs, and that is what Gigabyte is aiming for.

Turning to a completely different realm, we have the Gigabyte U60 UMPC. It is pretty clear that Gigabyte is thinking outside the box here, they have a unique design instead of the usual Origami clone.

People who are into the these kinds of devices tell me the keyboard is one of the best out there, but I found the mousepad a little twitchy for my linking. This is probably just something that you just need to get used to.

The raw specs on this are a Vis C7M at 1GHz, a 6.5 inch 800 * 480 LED backlit screen and a 300K pixel webcam. It has 768Mb RAM and a 30G 1.8 inch HD, more than enough to run XP. If you can get used to the keyboard and mouse, it looks like Gigabyte has one of the best UMPCs out there. µ