Think you know small?: Before netbooks, all the buzz was about the UMPC, or ultra mobile PC. These devices are smaller than netbooks, with 7-inch screens. They also outdo their more celebrated compatriots for innovation, as UMPCs come with touch screens. Despite the bid to do something different, the consensus seems to be that the UMPCs are just too small and netbooks have stolen the show. Local technology firm Kohjinsha, however, has stayed true to the theme. Its newest UMPC, the SK3KX06GA, debuted last week with a diverse range of features on offer. One key element of the machine is its diminutive size, it weighs just 720 grams and measures 193×132×30 mm. The other headline feature is the convertible nature of its screen, which can be swiveled around away from the keyboard.

The display has a resolution of 1,024×600 and the SK3 comes with a 1.33-gigahertz Atom processor, 1 gigabyte of memory and a 60-gigabyte 1.8-inch 4,200 rpm hard drive. In the interests of going mobile, it has 1Seg TV, GPS, all three types of Wi-Fi: b, g and n and Bluetooth 2.0. The inclusion of two cameras seems a tad extravagant, with a low-resolution webcam for video calls and a 3-megapixel still camera, the usefulness of which seems debatable. It also has an Ethernet port, a microSD card slot, a multiformat memory card reader and pair of USB 2.0 ports. The operating system is Windows XP Home Edition. Kohjinsha is selling the SK3 for ¥69,800. One question mark is battery life, with the SK3 only able to operate for around three hours per charge. jp.kohjinsha.com/

Not just a fax: Panasonic is another company that is not ready to discard a technology that is out of fashion. The electronics giant believes that the humble fax is only in its mature years, not the grave. Dubbed the flagship models of personal fax machines, the company's new KX-PW820 series is a typical example of the telephone/fax combo but with some digital technology to keep faxing alive. It does this by incorporating a 4.9-inch touch screen into the rectangular base unit of the machine. This allows the user to create a fax on screen and then send it off to the designated recipient, all without the need to use paper. Faxes can also be sent from a computer, with software included for installing on your PC.