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The new Cathena CX UMPC is priced at $799 USD

Data Evolution Computer (DEC) is hopping onto the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) bandwagon with its new Cathena CX. The Cathena CX brings a somewhat affordable $799 USD price tag to the UMPC realm.

"The Cathena CX continues the expansion of DEC's lineup of unique mobile and thin client computing products," said DEC CEO Robert Sowah. "This device demonstrates our commitment to our customers, partners and shareholders to constantly strive to bring leading edge technology to the market."

To achieve the sub-$800 USD price tag, some cuts had to be made. The big one for the Cathena CX is the AMD Geode LX 800 processor found under the hood instead of Intel's new A100/A110 processors or VIA's C7-M. The Geode LX 800 is a 0.9W processor that has a maximum TDP of 3.6W, but it is only clocked at 500MHz and doesn't have even the meager horsepower found in other UMPCs.

The other features of the Windows XP-based Cathena CX are rather run of the mill for a UMPC. There is a 7" 800x480 screen, 512MB of SDRAM, 40GB HDD (80GB or 100GB optional), 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 77-key QWERTY keyboard and 5-way joystick.

The Cathena weighs 2.2 pounds and measures 8.6" x 6.4" x 1". Its lithium-polymer battery is rated at 5 hours.

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finally
By Moishe on 4/30/2007 10:21:26 AM , Rating: 4
A UMPC that isn't a very expensive. Since hand PCs are $100-$400, the UMPC should fill the gap at $300-$700 with a few being stupidly expensive at $1k or more.

I think the hardware cutbacks are great. I always laugh when I see people wanting a cheap tiny PC that has the same power as a desktop. It's simply not realistic.

As with any project there is the classic statement that is and always will be utterly true: "Fast, cheap, and good -- pick any two." In other words, powerful hardware costs money and miniaturization costs money so at least we know you cannot get a cheap and tiny super-computer. There is a balance to be found and this UMPC comes closer than any so far.




RE: finally
By mrteddyears on 4/30/2007 10:52:42 AM , Rating: 2
Totally agree its small will run office let you type an email, doc's, spreadsheets as well as listen to tunes or watch a movie. Will last 5 hours (so they say)but most importantly its light !!!

What more do you need for a mobile device ?


RE: finally
By bubbacub616 on 4/30/2007 11:42:00 AM , Rating: 2
why notget an asus u1f - weighs the same and is core 2 duo? slighly larger dimensions but not terribly so and a hell of a lot more useful


RE: finally
By osalcido on 4/30/2007 5:04:42 PM , Rating: 4
because it costs 3 times as much?


RE: finally
By Ringold on 4/30/2007 3:14:21 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with you that it's all that a lot of business functions would need, but..

Listen to tunes, yes. A movie? Maybe one encoded no larger than it's screen, but I doubt it could successfully play any kind of 'HD' or h264 quality videos; those things have voracious CPU appetites. That's best left to more powerful laptops or desktops, I'd say.


RE: finally
By Samus on 5/1/2007 2:14:16 AM , Rating: 2
dude, 500MHz in x86 command set is too damn slow by todays standards. this is pathetic. it needs to be AT LEAST 800-1000MHz. 500MHz can barely play MPEG2 without video assisted decoding!

MPEG4/DivX support won't even exist. Forget about anything HD. This also can't run video in a powerpoint presentation. online video conferencing won't work.


RE: finally
By Moishe on 5/1/2007 7:24:45 AM , Rating: 2
it is slow, and for what it does it costs too much.... but it has a lot more realistic price than the other UMPCs. Frankly, I wouldn't buy any of them. Every bit of mobile computing I've needed can be done by my free cellphone.


RE: finally
By OrSin on 4/30/2007 11:06:29 AM , Rating: 2
When cheap laptop cost $400. I want a $700 ultra to have little more kick. I not 2GB but i think 1GB is not to much to ask for. VIA has Pico-ATX boards that could fit this easy and run much faster. I know it was money saving thing, but for $700 I want to a little more.


RE: finally
By Moishe on 4/30/2007 11:34:51 AM , Rating: 2
Have you ever used a cheap laptop? They're slow, non-performing, heavy, poorly built, etc. I know, I bought one. The fact is, you can get a UMPC that has the specs you're looking for if you have the money for it. It will cost you double the price, at least.

My point it, there is a tradeoff. You want everything in one tiny cool package... and you want it cheap. That isn't reality and "wanting" doesn't change that. I too want things. I would love to pay $25k for a new Corvette... but that's absurd and we all know it.

What makes Dell capable of selling a $300 computer is a huge number of variables.
1.) Dell is huge, which buys them quantity deals on parts. UMPCs are still new and everyone knows they are not going to selling 20 mil of them. The bulk order discount is gone.
2.) Dell parts are cheap, low end parts that are not cutting edge. You're talking about old tech (old in PC terms)
3.) The size of the parts themselves means you're requiring a higher skill level out of the assemblers just to put one of these together. Anyone can plug a PCI card into a slot and Dell will hire anyone to man their assembly lines.

$400 laptops are garbage at this point. This thing is NOT a laptop so it's not even fair to compare it to one. It's either a large palm-PC, in which case it's more powerful, has more storage, ram, screen size. OR It's a tiny laptop and it has less storage, less screen size, less power and and it's one selling point (SIZE) makes the price be higher than a similarly powered laptop.

Size is not free, you pay a premium for it.


RE: finally
By Yeah Yeah on 4/30/2007 2:04:09 PM , Rating: 2
It's too big to put in your pocket, so you need to carry it anyway. Might as well get a laptop, unless you need one to talk about with your life partner at Starbux. I think they thought about how much money they will make off college kids with this one. Too bad the poor kids are going to blow money on this! It's alright for basic equipment, but I think it should be used more in niche` environments, not as an inexpensive laptop.


RE: finally
By osalcido on 4/30/2007 5:11:27 PM , Rating: 2
lol...

for cars we pay a premium for big and fast....
for computers we pay a premium for small and slow...

weird


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