Rumor: Compaq launching UMPC

Ever since the arrival of cheap ultraportables like the Asus Eee PC, the UMPC market has been reinvigorated with a flood of new designs. Thus far, however, it's been mostly Chinese and Taiwanese OEMs like Everex and Acer who have been vying for the attention of low-end buyers. If recent rumors are true, however, even the big guys could be prepping entries for the now-hot device category. Over the weekend, photos of an alleged "HP Compaq 2133 UMPC" made the rounds on the usual tech blogs. According to Engadget, the device would weigh in at 2.5 pounds and sport an 8.9-inch, 1,366 x 766 "scratch-resistant" display, WiFi, an ExpressCard/54 slot, optional SSD and an integrated webcam. No word yet on what OS it will run, when it will launch or how much it will cost, though given the looks of the photos, we'd say an official announcement is probably imminent.

For more on the rumored UMPC:
- see this Engadget post