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Mmmmmm... Japanese laptops...
Mmmmmmmmmmmm......

It's not particularly small. Compare it to a Sony Vaio C1, here are the specifications. The Vaio C1 is 249 x 152 x 27 mm, and weighs 1.1kg. That includes keyboard, screen, 30GB hard drive, and a battery. And the Vaio even has a Crusoe processor. What's so good about the "Ezmo"?

Heck, you don't even need a laptop.

The [NEC SimpleEm], available from Dynamism, is truly cool.

Flat panel, touchpad, keyboard -- all connected by IR. No cables. Sweet.

And very much eye-candy!

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• Toshiba Libretto L1/060TNMM, 600 MHz Crusoe, 2.4 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-S, 533 MHz Crusoe, 2.2 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-X, 533 MHz Crusoe, 3.3 lbs, DVD reader

• Toshiba Libretto L1/060TNMM, 600 MHz Crusoe, 2.4 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-S, 533 MHz Crusoe, 2.2 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-X, 533 MHz Crusoe, 3.3 lbs, DVD reader

• Toshiba Libretto L1/060TNMM, 600 MHz Crusoe, 2.4 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-S, 533 MHz Crusoe, 2.2 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-X, 533 MHz Crusoe, 3.3 lbs, DVD reader

• Toshiba Libretto L1/060TNMM, 600 MHz Crusoe, 2.4 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-S, 533 MHz Crusoe, 2.2 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-X, 533 MHz Crusoe, 3.3 lbs, DVD reader

• Toshiba Libretto L1/060TNMM, 600 MHz Crusoe, 2.4 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-S, 533 MHz Crusoe, 2.2 lbs
• Fujitsu LX-X, 533 MHz Crusoe, 3.3 lbs, DVD reader

http://www.dynamism.com

A bunch of neat little laptops that haven't yet been released in the States yet but are apparently available in Japan.

Mark

I think I remember a similar story from SF's Critical Mass, but IIRC they just uploaded all the pics after it was over.

There are 2 Sony sub-notebooks with built-in cameras, the Picturebook and the new GT1. The GT1, in particular, seems like it could work if you figured out a good mounting solution. It has a nice cam, 17 hours battery life, full motion video, a type II PCMCIA slot, etc. It's really a camcorder with a PC built in - not the other way around.

More info, and US purchase, is available here : http://www.dynamism.com/gt1/index.shtml for the timid.

Also the newest Libretto and another of the japan-market subnotes (a fujitsu I think) have built in cameras. I would have more info, but it seems like Japan Palmtop Direct, www.jpd.com, has gone down/out of business. They used to be the best source for JPN market notebooks.

Dynamism has the Libretto, and its' built-in "lipstick camera" is removable, which the sonys are not. But it only has a 3.2 GB Hd.

Dynamism might actually ship you one of these units for free, if you get your colleagues at the Register's tech department to request it...

There is a visor cam available, and a palm pilot camera, but the problem is there's not an easy way to hook both a camera and a cellular modem up to a PDA. That, to me, is the biggest prob with the Visor and its Springboard slot - you cannot daisy-chain springboard modules. No way to use wireless, camera and flash memory in one system concurrently.

Now if there is a camera available for the Palm VII, and there is Mobitex service in the area, that might work. (FYI any device that says it'll work with a III should work with a VII)

Otherwise, you might be stuck trying to build a single-purpose PC, or you might have to upload pics at intervals when you stop.

For those who might still be complaining that we can't buy these things yet.... we can.

The Fujitsu Crusoe model (called the Loox), can be bought from here.

Remember this baby comes with an option for a built in DVD drive....I'll take two, anyone care to buy me one? *grin*

-Julius X

take a look at the vaio GT1 - 600mhz crusoe built into a DV camera - 2.42 lbs, 17 hours battery, 6.4" 1024x768 display.

no I dont work the people selling it, and its probably completely impractical, but its got my geek factor going (and it would be a perfect base for a wearable). If only it didnt cost 4000 dollars :(

http://www.dynamism.com/gt1/index.shtml

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Lauren Child, lauren@laurenchild.net

These are only officially sold in Japan, but this web site imports them (expensive though!):

(this one has the DVD)
http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxt.shtm l

http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxs.shtm l

These are only officially sold in Japan, but this web site imports them (expensive though!):

(this one has the DVD)
http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxt.shtm l

http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxs.shtm l

You can get most Japan market laptops imported from Japan Palmtops Direct and Dynamism. They'll prolly have this model now or within a week or so. The only issues are that the Japan imports cost a lot and have Japanese subscripts on the keyboard.

Yes, you *can* get them in the US.

One I know of is the Fujitsu S Series. It does one better than an integrated CD-ROM drive, though. It has a modular bay that can house anything from a DVD-ROM drive to a digital camera! It's pretty impressive.

I'm pretty sure there are other ultralights that have internal cd-roms now, too...

You can get advanced Japanese laptops in the US, though. Check out Dynamism.com, even if only to drool a little.

And, going back to the original topic, a friend of mine has a discman (not sony, though) that she said is one of the low-end models, which was amazingly small (I mean, there's only so small something can get and still hold a CD), had one of those cool remotes on the headphone cord, and even had optical digital-audio output! So if that's low-end in Japan, well...

The NEC Simplem - Dynamism.com has reconfigured the keyboard and OS of this made-for-Japan slimtop for use in the US. At $3599, it unfortunately falls into the Unlimited price category for the gift season, but with a flat screen monitor, cordless keyboard, cordless mouse, Web remote control, and wonderful design ethic (physical skins!) it definitely tops my Please-Please-PLEASE wishlist.

http://www.dynamism.com/simplem/inde x.s html
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It's fun to look over the stuff, anyway. Someday I'll have one of these NEC Simplem machines...Mmm, they've got interchangable "skins" (including a beer one!).
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It's fun to look over the stuff, anyway. Someday I'll have one of these NEC Simplem machines...Mmm, they've got interchangable "skins" (including a beer one!).
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It's fun to look over the stuff, anyway. Someday I'll have one of these NEC Simplem machines...Mmm, they've got interchangable "skins" (including a beer one!).
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Check this link out...

www.dynamism.com/simplem/index.shtml

Expands on the idea of this one with included screen and wireless keyboard and mouse. Not cheap though..

I'm curious what people like these days as a desktop replacement type laptop

If I want smooth, detailed 3D stuff I have a Sony Playstation on top of my TV (with a pair of IR remote controls).

As it happens, I'm probably going to be considering a Sony sub-notebook or a Toshiba Libretto for my next primary PC. We'll see how my TRGpro performs when it arrives next month...

I'm curious what people like these days as a desktop replacement type laptop

If I want smooth, detailed 3D stuff I have a Sony Playstation on top of my TV (with a pair of IR remote controls).

As it happens, I'm probably going to be considering a Sony sub-notebook or a Toshiba Libretto for my next primary PC. We'll see how my TRGpro performs when it arrives next month...

This is not very different from what you can accomplish with a subnotebook like Sony PictureBook or the bunch of competitors that are not available outside Japan. (Dynamism sells them, go to the site to drool over what Japan has to offer.) PictureBook has a built-in webcam, if you're in Europe there are PCMCIA form-factor GSM phones available from several vendors (i.e. Option FirstFone). Ditto for GPS receivers. With the exception of the 8-hour battery, all are available with the current PC technology, and the resulting device would still be very compact, considering that you want a DVD player which imposes a size limitation.

So why all the hype about the PC being dead? Perhaps all we need is cheaper Sony PictureBooks.
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