Asus to show off keyboard-less UMPC

By Tim Conneally, BetaNews

March 3, 2008, 2:01 PM

Asus will be showing off the new design of its upcoming UMPC, and instead of being modeled after a laptop like the Eee PC, it's a keyboard-less tablet design.

At CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, Asus is preparing to unveil what could become its next generation UMPC design: the R70, the 7" cousin to the 5" R50 announced in November. Like the smaller model, the R70 lacks a keyboard, but relies instead on a control pad and Asus' "InfoPen" stylus controller. The result is a device somewhat similar to the Samsung Q1.

Most specs are still unofficial, but the display device runs on an Intel chipset at 1.6 GHz, has 120 GB of storage, 2 USB jacks, and an SD memory slot. Exactly which type of Intel processor the UMPC will use is also currently unspecified. However, Intel recently announced its 25mm Centrino Atom processor which is specifically designed for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), so there is a definite possibility of this new form factor sporting that new, less power hungry chipset.

There is no availability date yet or suggested retail price, but a ballpark figure will most likely be given once this ultramobile is officially announced.

Due to these specs and capabilities the device is expected to have (GPS, 3G connectivity,) it will most likely fall into the mid-range category, and not the budget-priced Eee line that Asus is also expected to show off at CeBIT.