Computex and Gigabyte's Slick UMPC, Linux SmartPhone 74
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."
Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
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What, you don't have custom ringtones? (Score:2, Funny)
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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.
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Nice $300 notebook (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Nice $300 notebook (Score:5, Informative)
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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
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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.
NanoBook (Score:1)
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2141806,00.a
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In a few years, this could make all the folks with the big notebooks look old-tec
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--
Evan
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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]
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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
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Er, yeah. Sorry, I realize that's kind of relevant here, and I forgot it. I'm distracted by chattering coworkers :)
My hands are absolutely gigantic. If I try to touch type on even a full-size keyboard, it makes my hands hurt. I hunt and peck at about 75 wpm, though (it's touch typing, but it's not standard style or whatever they call it)
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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
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The fact that some have special needs shouldn't preclude normal equipment being designed to work for 95% of people.
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.
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UMPC + fullsize KB! (Score:1)
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Gigabyte's news release:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/News/Notebook/News_Lis
Unfortunately, looks like no built-in cell connectivity, though it does have Bluetooth
Also unfortunately: $920 USD.
2 out of 3 (Score:1, Flamebait)
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but if no one even attempts to catch up, what will drive Apple to advance?
not a damn thing, really.
so, even if you think everyone else is crap
which I don't
you have some interest in keeping some competition alive.
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technology being sold to fan-boys very well by Apple's marketing dept.
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And if you're going to post a link to one of those kludgy, half-ass smartphones that are available, don't waste your time.
If such a phone as you suggest does exist, I'd like to see. Sadly, I suspect you're just running your dicksucker because you're an Apple foeboy.
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Does such a machine exist? I'll take one of those over an iPhone, anyday!
Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Buttons, Check
My phone lives up to the iPhone in the way that is most important to me.
Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone? (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
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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 o
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And since you brought up the iPhone's price, the Neo is going to be $350 and will be unlocked, with no plan.
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Banned from US carriers' GSM networks 5...4...3...2...
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Spoken like a true fanboy without a grip on reality.
Wow, what a completely uninformed statement. Jobs just said that 3rd party development will be allowed, but has released ZERO details as to the extent of what will be allowed. There are NO API's and NO developer tools at the moment. Windows CE and Linux BOTH offer tha
Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone? (Score:4, Informative)
Physical Dimensions
* 120.7 x 62 x 18.5 mm (4.75 x 2.44 x 0.728 inch)
* 184 +/- 5 g (6.5 ounces)
Hardware
* 2.8" VGA screen
* 266 MHz Samsung Processor
* 128MB SDRAM
* 64MB NAND FLASH ROM
* GSM/GPRS
* Bluetooth
* GPS
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Category:Neo1973_Ha
And here's the newest news. The second generation will have the following additional specs.
-400MHz Processor
-a 2D/3D-Graphics Accelerator
-256MByte of Flash Memory
-WiFi
-updated battery: 1700mAh
2 Accelerometers.
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Well, technically, the prophecy "and neither can live while the other survives" does not, in fact, claim that only one will die. It only says that at least one must die.
Luckily, this spoiler changed nothing for me; I thought that would happen ever since I read the first book.
Which is why I don't believe it all that much, really.
I want that phone (Score:4, Funny)
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www.openmoko.org
eee is the Intel Classmate (Score:4, Interesting)
openmoko is that linux phone project (Score:4, Informative)
But
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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)
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.
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interesting, yes, but useful? (Score:2)
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]
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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.
Remember when Comdex was the big geekout? (Score:2)
Has anyone noticed (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
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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.
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This is FIC's first foray into the direct-to-customer market, and
No mention of the $600 laptop? (Score:2)
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eee (Score:2)
Re:Will any smart phone measure up to the iPhone? (Score:1)
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