A new crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo has been set up by Khiron-Sigma (K?). The campaign is seeking funding for an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) called the KS. There will be one version called the KS-PROID, running stock version of Android 7.x Nougat. More interestingly, there will also be another version called the KS-PRO, running Windows 10 based on ARM processing. The London-based company was founded by a former Microsoft employee and says the device has been created from a fans perspective. Certainly, if the spec sheet is anything to go by, the KS PRO could be a powerhouse mobile device. That specifications are listed as:
8-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with Quad HD (2560x1440px) resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor 8GB RAM 128GB storage (plus microSD card slot) 12MP front-facing camera with autofocus and f/1.7 aperture Bluetooth 4.0 11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi NFC GPS/AGPS 4G LTE connectivity with nano-SIM 2 x USB-C 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 5mm audio jack Stereo speakers QWERTY keyboard (as well as Japanese keyboard option) Fingerprint scanner Mouse control stick 10307mAh battery (“12 hours usage” quoted) including Quick Charge 4.0 support 246 x 150 x 16mm; 640g
K? says the device is “powerful enough to run applications like Photoshop flawlessly without any code change.”
Details
Before continuing, I must say that the number of crowdfunded devices that claim to change the world is many. It is also common to see a campaign promise plenty of things that are not delivered in the real product. However, there is no doubt that sometimes crowdfunded products hit it out of the park. For example, check out the Eve V hybrid that has been billed as a Surface Pro 4 killer and has the credentials to back it up. So, we must see if the KS PRO makes its way to market, and if it does, can it be as well spec’d as it suggests? One thing worth adding is, despite the good specs, $750 (the price of the product) is frankly laughable and I doubt many consumers are going make the jump at that cost.
