Computex and Gigabyte's Slick UMPC, Linux SmartPhone

MojoKid writes "Computex Taipei is brimming with new technologies as usual this year and the first day of the show has proven to be a Tech Geek's nirvana of sorts. Highlights of the show for the handheld crowed include Gigabyte's slick UMPC, FIC's Linux-based Smart Phone, and Asus' sub-$300 Eee notebook PC shown at an Intel keynote address."

Nice $300 notebook

[CastrTroy]

That would be a nice $300 notebook, if it didn't look like an oversized PDA. I'm all for portability in notebooks, but once they're too small to have a full sized keyboard, they should lose the right to call it a notebook.

Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone?

[Bishop]

I think the better question is: "Will the iPhone measure up to the iPhone?" There have been endless rumours and hype, few real facts, and no independent reviews. While I am certain the iPhone will be a solid product, let us wait until June 29th before declaring the iPhone the greatest phone ever.

Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone?

[evilviper]

With the impending release date of Apple's iPhone, I am left to wonder whether there is even any point in other manufacturers continuing to develop smart phones

Really? Because, with the impending release date of Apple's iPhone, I'm left to wonder whether it will be a half-decent phone to begin with.

Apple's success with the iPod is impressive, but it was a fledgling market which smart phones are not, and none of their other product lines have been remotely as dominant as the iPod. I don't believe the iPhone is going to set the world on fire just because its name also starts with the letter 'i'. And a few little features might look good on stage, but that usually doesn't translate into real-world user-friendliness.

Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone?

[MadJo]

Freedom to develop and iPhone?
It's only since recently that Jobs announced that there will eventually be support for third party apps on the iPhone. But I'd hardly call that freedom.

Freedom is the ability to speak directly to the GSM modem and any other piece of hardware in the device.
Is that possible with the iPhone? Not sure... Is that possible with the Neo1973 Heck yeah!
And the mass-market phone Neo1973, that will come later this year, will have Wifi, GPS, 2 accelerometers, 3d capabilities. (so far the only piece of hardware in that phone that's closed sourced is the GPS chip, everything else is completely open.)

The iPhone is an overpriced piece of equipment that not many people are going to buy. ($599 PLUS a 2 year contract with AT&T? No subsidy? Puh-lease.) Apple may price itself extremely lucky if they even manage to reach 0.05% of market share in the US.