UMPC to replace DS?

Not quite. UMPCs seem to be a form of 'mini-laptops'. According to the intel sponsored site, umpc.com, they will be lighter faster accompaniments to the home pc. These little toys will be dedicated to a set of tasks based on what you intend to use them for. Schools would be able to have some dedicated to educational programs, businessmen to email, powerpoint presentations and the like.

Gamers on the other hand apparently we'll be able to sync our beloved PC games on them, even down to the state of the game being played. Then, we'll be able to take the UMPC and play the game directly from that. Without having to restart from login screen for mmos like WoW, Everquest and the like, or without have to copy the save file for games that are less mobile based. But will that be practical?

The interface looks like a cross between tablet PC and a sidekick, so it seems controls could be easily adapted. Has a single touch screen, LCD, of course. The standard model, according to samsung, comes in at 4.8", or there's a larger, 7 inch version for those requiring the ability to see a little more detail.

However, the movie clip at umpc.com really seemed to downplay the gaming factor, focusing instead on wireless networking capabilities. But the FAQ on the site seems to think that it will be a big thing in the gaming industry.

The UMPC is powerful enough to provide a great gaming, music or video experience. People will have to decide whether they want to replace their dedicated electronic device with the UMPC.

That statement truly makes me wonder, do they really think the gamers will take games designed to display on larger screens, with heavy RAM requirements onto a 7" LCD, with only 512 megs of RAM? Personally, I think there's a reason you don't see games made for the PS2/3 and the PSP at the same time. The capability of the PSP is great, but it is a mobile device, it couldn't handle the requirements of the games made for it's big brothers. Not without some serious reworking being done on the game first.

I don't think this is something that will be regularly used for heavy gaming. Not as is, and with it's current price tag of a minimum $900, it'll probably be quite some time before most of us look up from our DSes to give it the time of day. Of course...I could be mistaken, and I'd love to see some info that would cause me to contradict that opinion, so comment if you've got it!