This, of course, means a handheld with no other functionality, such as a Palm Tungsten or HP iPaq. I know there are plenty of dedicated fans of these once cutting-edge devices, but at this point, there is no point. Convergence will continue its unrelenting course and within the next two years PDA functions will all be taken care of exclusively by our smartphones.
I may be underestimating demand on these (and tablet PCs, next page), however I think we’re looking at the equivalent of Homo habilis in the evolution of handhelds. They’re pretty cool, and pretty powerful, and yet I think they’re at the end of their evolutionary value. Again, why can’t the next Treo, Blackberry or iPhone do everything a UMPC does, but on the cheap? I’m sure a few new versions will come out, but I think eventually companies will stop trying.