iMpc from Owl Is Definitely a PC

ItIt’s hard to write an interesting intro when describing Asian gadgets. If that gadget is pretty good, though, it kind of helps alleviate the problem. Thank the Lord, as this next Asian wonder is one of the few but very good ones. China's very own Owl company has just released its first iMpc UMPC. I know... it sounds strange but tell that to Owl.

It seems that the maker's desire to show that its device is more than your usual PDA has led it to name it the iMpc, which in normal English is translated “I am PC.” In order to prove that it really is a PC, this PDA-sized tablet comes equipped with Windows XP Home Edition. It has a 1.2GHz VIA C7 CPU, 1GB DDR RAM memory, 16GB SSD storage with SD/MMC storage expansion card slot and a 5.6 inch TFT touchscreen running in 800 x 480 resolution.

It sports two USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, Ethernet, headphone output, microphone input, has a speaker and even allows the use of an optical mouse. How's that for “wide range of options?” It supports 802.11 b/g Wireless Internet, has a 2-megapixel camera (placed in the device's front side), measures just 5.9 x 3.7 x 0.9 inches in size, and weighs just 12.3 ounces. I expected a low battery life (it's Asian, after all), but frankly, I got more. Its 4800mAh battery offers up to five hours of running time.

The iMpc A10 is priced at just 438 USD. You will have a hard time getting it if you do not live in China. Yes... they went through all that trouble to build an above-average UMPC that costs a lot less than most and they're not preparing (at least, not that I know of) an official launch in other parts of the world. Ironic, isn't it?