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Handhelds Hardware

Computex and Gigabyte's Slick UMPC, Linux SmartPhone 74

Posted by CmdrTaco from the mail-me-three dept.
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."
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Computex and Gigabyte's Slick UMPC, Linux SmartPhone More

Computex and Gigabyte's Slick UMPC, Linux SmartPhone

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  • Huh? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Aqua_boy17 ( 962670 ) on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @10:40AM (#19410621)

    the handheld crowed...
    I don't know about the rest of you but when my PDA starts crowing, I think it will be time for me to look for a nice quiet padded room somewhere.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by sharkey ( 16670 )
      Well, perhaps it's an added-value feature: It keep basilisks away, a defensive device of tremendous proportions if you happen to be a Muggle or are Muggle-born.
    • no text, except that which is put here to get past the lameness filter.

    • the handheld crowed...

      I don't know about the rest of you but when my PDA starts crowing, I think it will be time for me to look for a nice quiet padded room somewhere.


      Dude, if you read the article, you would know that this is supposed to say, "handheld crowd"; apparently someone has finally figured out how to make a crowd fit in your hand. I've been waiting for this for so very long.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by nytes ( 231372 )
      ...And said the handheld, "Nevermore!"

  • Nice $300 notebook (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @10:40AM (#19410633)
    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:Nice $300 notebook (Score:5, Informative)

      by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @10:52AM (#19410781) Homepage Journal
      Here is the most substantial [hardwarezone.com] list I've seen of specs on it. I agree with you that calling it a notebook is a stretch. At the same time, I haven't seen anything with that kind of capability at this price point, smaller or larger. I think I could easily go for the $199 model. They don't specifically mention usb in the list of features - but I would think that it would be necessary to augment the storage.
      • you can see the USB ports in the picture.
        I wonder when these will hit the market?
        I would buy one *today* if I could. I fly out on a trip tomorrow and don't want to carry my thinkpad, this would be perfect for what I want to do while I'm away. (namely upload pictures to my server from my digital camera).
        -nB
        • you can see the USB ports in the picture
           
          I figured, but I would love to see it in print to be sure. I think I saw somewhere in this thread that the other umd mentioned is like $900 or something. I can't find a price for the via nanobook that they announced. But I'm willing to bet it is more than $300.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by wytcld ( 179112 )
          Oh yeah. And for small keyboards - the thing that's surprised me using a Zaurus clamshell for a few years is that even though I've long be a touch typist, going down to a keyboard so small I'm just using index fingers is much easier than I'd thought. So this keyboard is way larger than the Zaurus, while the whole thing weighs in at about a pound, and if it does come in at $300 it's cheaper. And Linux. When/where can I preorder?

          In a few years, this could make all the folks with the big notebooks look old-tec
          • I use a 17" "big" laptop on my desktop, and carry a Libretto 110ct (which is smaller than these machines). The Libretto has a 60 gig drive with all my files and syncs; it's a fantastic solution, but maxed out at 64 megs of memory, it is sorely limited. There's not been much activity in the ultraportable space for many years... not in the US at any rate. These are great, but the "big" laptops merely become the home machines.

            --
            Evan

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by evilviper ( 135110 )

      once they're too small to have a full sized keyboard, they should lose the right to call it a notebook.

      Why? Most of us don't have massively fat fingers, and a 3/4 size keyboard is quite comfortable for typing.

      In any case, at 22.5cm [1], it's more than wide enough to accommodate a full keyboard.

      [1] According to: http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/3951/asus_introd uces_new [ehomeupgrade.com]

      • Why? Most of us don't have massively fat fingers, and a 3/4 size keyboard is quite comfortable for typing.

        On the other hand, some of us do (I used to have a picture of me depressing both the control keys at once without pressing any other keys, on a full-size IBM keyboard) and even ordinary keyboards aren't large enough. I'd like to see someone do the IBM butterfly keyboard thing, except, I'd like to see them do it right.

        Barring that, I'd rather just have one of those fold-out Targus keyboards. I have one

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by tzanger ( 1575 )

          On the other hand, some of us do (I used to have a picture of me depressing both the control keys at once without pressing any other keys, on a full-size IBM keyboard) and even ordinary keyboards aren't large enough. I'd like to see someone do the IBM butterfly keyboard thing, except, I'd like to see them do it right.

          I can do that too, but I have absolutely *no* problem typing on regular laptop keyboards. No sore wrists, even though my wrists pretty much enter the laptop "space" at the two lower corner

        • On the other hand, some of us do

          The fact that some have special needs shouldn't preclude normal equipment being designed to work for 95% of people.

          (I used to have a picture of me depressing both the control keys at once without pressing any other keys, on a full-size IBM keyboard) and even ordinary keyboards aren't large enough.

          I'm just half an inch away from being able to do that myself, and I'm rather sure my fingers are fatter than average, but I don't have any problem typing on 3/4 keyboards.

    • Maybe the notebooks are designed for tiny people instead of big americans with sausage fingers?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by tabby ( 592506 )
      oversized PDA with the battery life of a notebook... wtf?
  • A Win UMPC with a fullsize keyboard ... now if only it has both WiFi and cell broadband (2.5G/3G/HSPDA) I'm in heaven!

  • I want that phone (Score:4, Funny)

    by alta ( 1263 ) on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @10:57AM (#19410855) Homepage Journal
    Did you notice the price??? They're free! Don't beleive me? Check out the placard beside the phone!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by schlick ( 73861 )
      But seriously, free as in speech... This is not simply a linux phone, it is an OPEN phone you will be free to replace the OS with anything you choose, and programmers will have unprecedented access to the OS and hardware. This is an awesome project.

      www.openmoko.org
       

  • eee is the Intel Classmate (Score:4, Interesting)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @11:01AM (#19410891) Homepage Journal
    Interesting Guardian article [guardian.co.uk] explaining that the asus eee is the Intel Classmate - Intel's response to the OLPC.

  • openmoko is that linux phone project (Score:4, Informative)

    by Danny Rathjens ( 8471 ) <slashdot2.rathjens@org> on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @11:01AM (#19410899)
    http://openmoko.org/ [openmoko.org] is the site for the software running on that FIC phone. It's quite a nifty project. The wiki also has pictures of the insides of the phone if you are into that sort of thing. :)

    But ... those girls don't wear cases. You can see their bare circuits! -- Bender
    • Openmoko is one of the most exciting open source software projects out there right now, IMO.

      The Neo 1973 has GPS and the next hardware revision is supposed to have WiFi, too... since they've finally located a sufficiently small, low power, and free (as in speech) WiFi chipset and driver.

  • FIC's Neo 1973 (Score:2, Interesting)

    by superbrose ( 1030148 )

    Some more info [linuxdevices.com] about the Neo 1973 Linux phone. Interestingly it can run Windows Mobile, too.

    It would be nice to have the option to install Linux on other smartphones too. The only interesting project I know at the moment is Xanadux [xanadux.org], but since most phones have to be reverse-engineered, development is much slower than it could be.

  • Either the user's fingers are too fat, or the UMPC keyboard appears painfully small [hothardware.com]. Hard to blame Gigabyte though - personally I think the UMPCs are in a most uncomfortable market segment (between cell phone/PDAs and laptops), making it very hard to choose what features to sacrifice and what to optimize, if not started out with a definitive design goal.

    On a different note, is that FIC phone the one with Java Mobile FX (nee savaje) that was introduced at the java one dev. conf a few months ago as the 'ja [slashdot.org]

    • Either the user's fingers are too fat, or the UMPC keyboard appears painfully small.

      Well, I have the Nokia E70 [handy-discount.de], and its even smaller thumb-typing keyboard is not too small at all for managing my calendar entries or to send out few emails and text messages every now and then. The UMPC keyboard is not meant for churning out code for ours, but I bet it's just excellent for the purposes it's aimed for.

  • I wonder when Computex will have a Slashdot Booth, and CowboyNeal as the Booth Babe.

  • Has anyone noticed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by overshoot ( 39700 ) on Wednesday June 06, 2007 @11:29AM (#19411329)
    that FIC seems to be doing their best to discourage interest in the Neo1973 phone?

    They may be showing it under glass, but if you search their website there is zero reference to it. Me, I've been lusting after it since December and really lusting since my Treo got crunched in February. Looks like I'll have to resurrect an old Zire instead, though.

    • I'm not sure, but I think FIC is only responsible for the hardware? This site [openmoko.org] has more info. I would like a camera and led flash on it.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • they do seem to be pretty quiet about it, but there is an OpenMoko logo with a link on the FIC front page, on the right. Now in the search engine...well nothing to be found there.

      I agree with others; FIC is probably waiting for the community of developers to sort out more bugs before they let the public get too close. That said, I'm one of the people who want to buy one and start developing/debugging, but can't find a place to put my money down.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kwalker ( 1383 )
      It's not that they're trying to discourage interest, just not let the hype get too big and crush the project. I'm on the mailing lists and I'll be buying one when they become available, and I can tell you that the amount of people who want this phone is immense. Every time there's even the smallest delay (All the ones thus far have been because of supplier/parts problems or manufacturing delays), there is a loud wailing and gnashing of teeth.

      This is FIC's first foray into the direct-to-customer market, and
  • I can't believe this wasn't mentioned in TFA. I really want one of those $600 ultra portable laptops [engadget.com] which seem like a steal at $600, with a comfy keyboard. That looks to be 100 times more practical than that slide-down underneath keyboard I saw pics of. Gimme one of those.
    • I personally think the slide down would be a little more comfortable for me. However, I don't like that there is no way to flip the screen 90 degrees like a notebook. If that incorporated that, I'd really like it. I don't like the keyboard of the VIA you mentioned. To cramped. Hell even on a notebook I prefer to use a regular USB keyboard.
  • eee
  • mmm i hope the neo comes out soon. Its so much more awesome than that gay ass I phone. Its got ORANGE TRIM! mmmmm fuk a iphone! Anyone who thinks they can get into the cellphone market charging that much and so subsidization is a fool. and I am not Mr. T so I dont pity this fool.
    • Dude, that's something you need to post anonymously. That way I don't have to bother reading it. kthnx

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