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PocketPCs had them before the T42 laptop you linked to.

http://www.mobiletechreview.co...
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow...

No difference, except "$PRIOR_ART, but with a cellular transceiver"

I have the Samsung ATIV Book 7 (formerly called the Series 7). It's pretty similar in size and weight to a 13" MBP, and it's incredibly upgradeable for an Ultrabook. Here's a nice link: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Samsung-Series-7-Ultra.htm You can easily upgrade the RAM and SSD. You should be able to upgrade the battery, though I've never done that myself. Also, the European version of the computer can be had with a discrete graphics card if that's your thing. By the way, the screen, speakers, and touchpad on the ATIV Book 7 are all fantastic. It's a high-quality laptop.

Really, once a phone reaches the 'fits in pocket' size, what advantage could be gained for the user in making it slimmer?

I kept a 1-inch-thick Sharp Zaurus PDA in my pocket for seven years, between 2001 and 2008. It was a great machine for its time, but when I saw the iPhone (3G), I threw it out in an instant and never looked back--I did lose some functionality, but thickness finally got to me. You can't pay me to carry something that thick in my pocket again, and I suspect most of the market thinks the same way. Thinness matters.

So what's new about this? This was available 10 years ago: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tips/sandisk_SD_wifi.htm
Or are they applying for a patent?

My MacBook Pro gets 7 hours.

And is much bulkier and more expensive than my Eee.

Also, not all creative endeavors rely on a lot of typing.

Yes, if you're drawing pictures or manipulating photos all day a tablet might be great. Want to guess what percentage of tablet users that covers?

I'm a writer and a hacker. Anything without a keyboard is next to fscking useless to me.

(What I really want is an updated version of my Sharp Zaurus SLC-3000, a pocket-sized convertible "clamshell" style device with a tiny-but-usable keyboard. Bigger than a cellphone, smaller than a netbook.)

Unless, of course, you mean creating gold on WoW. Tablets don't yet have the punch for games like that yet.

I have not played WOW but am pretty sure you are wrong about that. The iPad 2 graphics have advanced significantly.

And Tablets offer the simplicity of consoles in that there is no setup... even more simpler in that you don't have to hook it to a display (but then I guess Gameboy and PSP owners already know about that).

Although the iPad could seemingly handle WOW I have to say I fear a little for the world when such a mobile variant of WOW is possible... but perhaps the benefit of allowing people to leave desktops and play WOW in other environs will be more healthy than the enablement it provides for.

Maybe Android and iPhone copied the form factor from Windows phones? http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Cingular-8525.htm

Um, that doesn't look much like an iPhone. Much less so than any Android phone. The screen is bigger than the blackberry and the hardware keyboard is missing, but other than that its interaction patterns seem utterly different. I'm not saying that the iPhone doesn't build on some previously developed concepts, but there's a pretty distinct break between pre-iPhone smartphone design and post-iPhone smartphone design.

Maybe Android and iPhone copied the form factor from Windows phones? http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Cingular-8525.htm There are plenty of those that shipped a year before the iPhone was even announced.

Everyone needs to stop with the revisionist history.

The Droid Incredible appears to be more powerful while weighing half as much and fitting in a pocket comfortably.

And therefore having a much smaller screen and keyboard. (Does the Incredible even have a real keyboard?)

The "bigger than a cellphone, smaller than a netbook" size is useful for many things. It's good for gaming, as the success of the Ninendo DS shows. It's a better size for watching videos or reading e-books than a phone, while still fitting -- if awkwardly -- into a pocket. It's also good for writing -- my Zaurus CL-3000 goes to bars and coffeehouses, on planes and trains, and lets me work on poems and essays with much more convenience than if I were trying to edit text on my Centro.

I'm not much of a gamer, but I might be interested in a Pandora as a replacement when my beloved Zaurus eventually gives up the ghost.

There are going to be amazing tablet PCs coming soon.

For me that "soon" was about 2 years ago when I bought Samsung Q1 specifically for reading in bed or on a trip. For me the advantage of a generic PC is huge - it supports every single ebook format under the Sun, it runs Firefox for Web browsing, it plays music and video in any format, and can be used as a slow but functional general purpose computer also.

Another advantage - for me - is that I like to read in darkness (or nearly so) and the Q1 has just the right range of backlight adjustment. I do not like to read "dull gray on lighter gray" - why to limit yourself to monochrome? Who would want a monochrome Web browser? The battery life of an eInk device is definitely better, but how often you must read far away from an AC outlet?

I see Kindle, Sony 50x and now Nook as neat devices; however eInk is too slow for my taste, and though a UMPC like Q1 is heavier than the reader, I'm not that weak yet to be bothered. I believe the PC will eventually become as light as a reader, and then single purpose readers will die out like dinosaurs.

And another killer fact is that I often read books in FB2 format and Nook does not seem to support that. So though Nook looks very nice, it is not very useful to me.

GoPhone subscribers warned the upgrade will be the end of the service.

AT&T Narrows Prepaid Plan Options

"AT&T currently offers two types of prepaid plans: GoPhone, its "pay as you go" plan, and Pick Your Plan, its "prepay once a month" plan. AT&T's statement says that GoPhone will not be available for either original iPhones or iPhone 3Gs; Pick Your Plan will only continue to work for existing subscribers using the original iPhone, as long as they have an unlimited data plan. Current Pick Your Plan users who don't have an unlimited data plan will be asked to add one. iPhone 3G users are not eligible for Pick Your Plan.

According to Erica Sadun at TUAW, who's been investigating this issue, all pay-as-you-go users are being strongly encouraged to sign up for a postpaid plan, which includes making a new two-year commitment."

Looks like I'll be waiting a year for the Apple/AT&T agreement to time-out. I'll not do a two year agreement again, ever.

"Just buy a Nokia N8x0. I am willing to bet you can pick up an n800 for well under $200. "

You're comparing apples with oranges? The Nokia N8x0 has a 4.1" screen. It's in a different class than a web tablet with a 12" LCD. The Nokia's competition is the similarly priced Apple Touch.

The Fujitsu T4010 is a better competitor. 12" LCD, 1.6ghz, ram upgradeable to 2gb, 60+ gb hard drive, touchscreen, 4 lbs, boots XP in 30 seconds. It's a few years old so you should be able to find one for $300.

Really? How much bandwidth does it take to run a cracking script? I'd bet most bandwidth is "lost" to peer-to-peer downloads.

I host a few servers at a local, regional ISP. I was out there the other day taking care of a power problem with the net ops, and he mentioned all the network upgrades, OC this, fiber that, and I asked him what was driving all the upgrades.

He didn't hesitate, even for a second. "Online Video!". Turns out that everybody is discovering sites like hulu.com, youtube.com, wtso.net, Netflix instant play, and on and on.

Yeah, Bit Torrent isn't anything to sneeze at. But the change is in the air, and my household is living proof. We moved to a nicer house (that cost less!) on the 1st of this month. First on our list was DSL service with a 3.0 Mb plan. Our dual-TV dish DVR? Sent back. We have no intention of bothering with cable.

The TV (we brought over only one) in the living room is only used for the Wii and the PS2. Everything else is done online, on a computer, or on my HTC Mogul - awesome phone.

We really haven't missed the "normal" TV much at all.

My Dell Axim X51V has the same thing. It can do VGA, with the proper cable, has Bluetooth, WiFi and most everything else this thing has.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Dell-Axim-X51v.htm

It has a 16 meg RAM video system in it (not bad for a PDA, and it does VGA on screen as well as using the external VGA to monitor cable), although it costs 50 or so dollars (USD) more to get the VGA output on your monitor, it's still relatively cheap. (http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Axim-X51v-Presentation-Cable/dp/B000FFYALU)

Add a bluetooth keyboard, and you have pretty much anything and everything you need, unless you HAVE to run linux to be cool (or insert reasoning here, I don't bash OS's, they ALL have their place.)

At least, it does everything I need... Found an upgrade to 6.1 windows, and it works great for me.

Of course, YMMV, someone else will say it's crap, etc., etc., etc.... But the bottom line is, it works, and has been out for YEARS. Not to mention, it runs at > 500 megahertz.

Why does it seem any palm sized device that runs linux is behind the times... Either an old kernel, or a newer kernel, but they are playing ketchup (pun intended) with what's already out there? I mean, seriously now.... Can someone answer that question?
--Toll_Free

Depending on your particular reasons for wanting a sub-notebook, the Asus S5NE might appeal. I have had one for 4 or 5 years and have been quite happy with it. It has a 12.1" screen, so it's not actually a sub-notebook, but it only weighs 2.8 pounds which makes it unnoticeable in a backpack. It came with a 1Ghz Pentium M processor and 256MB of RAM (upgradeable to 768MB for those who feel the need for more), so it's adequately capable for all of the things you've listed and also plays older games without difficulty. With the extended life battery, Asus claims it will run for 8.5 hours, but I cannot confirm that as I've always stuck with the regular battery. The main reason I like this laptop is that it is very light while still maintaining a normal size screen and keyboard so that I can actually use it.

I would sincerely like to be able to have a computer display in my glasses that I could view while walking around or standing in line.. at the very least providing something akin to a wearable Garmin gps device. The problem in my daydream has always been; how do I control the silly thing? How am I going to type? Mini keyboards like that on my phone are fine for short messages, but unsuited to any sort of real industrial typing and completely useless if I have to be walking or driving at the same time.

Conversely, if fully-featured smartphones (i.e. pc-equivalent) come down in price, one could expect to see laptop sales dwindling.

Really? How do you intend to get a PC class keyboard and display into a smartphone?

I love my Centro. I love my Zaurus. And I love my little old Sony Vaio "ultraportable" notebook. They all hit different points in the tradeoff between keyboard and display size versus portability.

Why get an underpowered ultraportable when a normal laptop costs just as much?

Because it's ultraportable.

My real ultraportable is a Zaurus SLC3000. It will fit in my back pocket. I use it for writing, it can also be used for emergency SSH sessions and cramped web broswing. It's usually in my backpack, ready for when poetic inspiration strikes. That's ultraportable. (The only thing more portable is my Centro. The neat thing is, my Centro becomes a modem, my Zaurus runs a terminal, and bam! SSH or browsing from anywhere I can get a cell signal, with gear that fits in my pockets.)

My ultraportable-as-this-article-is-using-the-term is an old Sony Vaio SRX77 that I've fitted with a solid state harddrive, and installed Puppy Linux on. Good sized keyboard, adequate power, under three pounds and smaller than a standard looseleaf binder. I take it when I'm headed down to the cafe to sit and write or browse for a while. Not pocketsized, by easily portable.

My full sized laptop is heavy, big, and sucks battery. It's a full-featured beast that goes with me on long trips, to replace my desktop.

Anyone who's ever tried to bring a less-than-common piece of electronics through airport security has probably had them happen to this.

I've flown with my Sharp Zaurus C3000 several times. Never got a second look at it from security, even though I often draw attention when use it in a bar or cafe.

But the TI-89 looks like it might be a remote control for something, which might warrant attention. (Especially as some remotes work by radio - the remote for my satellite box sends UHF signals, probably a bad thing to have on a plane...)

• The tiny plastic cover in front of the IR ports broke
• The chrome's rubbed off the touch pad and buttons
• The pen only works intermittently on some strips of the screen
• The battery life is down to about an hour and a half
• Replaced the keyboard when it was killed by a glass of apple juice

That's a good idea. The optical drive is the real portability killer. It's large, power-hungry, and the most fragile piece of hardware in the kit. If you could use something else besides DVDs, you could go with a Micro PC (like the Sony Vaio UX380N), combined with a bluetooth keyboard if you want to do a lot of typing. If you needed DVD you could still use a machine like the Sony with an external DVD drive.

Those devices probably aren't particularly rugged, but they are so small you could put them in a practically indestructible case and still be smaller and lighter than a laptop.

Dan East

you find a lot of free pdfs on the net, and the one hand usage with the wheel for paging is ideal. in plucker you can add one click lookup of words for translation and if you add this font you have the right balance between strong readability and narrow width - I read hundreds of books this way.. PAT

N95 has 64 MB of RAM. When running, it has around 20 MB of *free* memory.

As for the gaming, it's hard to say since management at Apple decided Apple employees were the only people who could write secure code for the iPhone. Well... no games from Apple yet. Security reasons I guess....

And you criticize the keyboard of this new device, missing the point of SMALL. Small is not compatible with "good keyboard".

Nonsense. Ever heard of the NEC MobileProhttp://www.mobiletechreview.com/NECMobile Pro900.htm? These things had great keyboards and they were only slightly larger than this device. The form factor (called Handheld PC) died out not because people didn't like them (they did, especially journalists) but because they were very expensive relative to the cost of laptops. The exact same problem the FlipStart has.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/sony_ux180/Sony-Va io-UX180P.htm

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Verizon-XV6700.htm

It runs windows PPC and has wifi. Charges/syncs over usb, not to mention bluetooth and has a card slot.
Could definitely play mp3s on it, or stream tv if you're into that sort of thing.

I nearly bought the 770 last year, but decided to buy a XV6700 instead. After playing w/ the 770 awhile, it just seemed to need a few extra bells/whistles (e.g., a camera - which the 800 now has), and the size/resolution of the screen wasn't that much better than the 6700. (Plus my carrier made the latter real cheap if I renewed my contract). I just downloaded the Skype beta that supports the 6700, so I guess I've got pretty much everything the 770/800 have, plus a cellphone, except the 6700 only has 802.11b, and a slightly smaller screen.

I wouldn't commit to these smaller devices until you've laid hands on the newer generation of UMPC's. The ASUS R2H looks pretty kewl, and the latest versions of the Samsung are getting much better as well. While they're 2.5x more expensive, the extra screen real estate and storage will likely more than make up for the difference.

> i still think its a good place to start though

No need to think, or start. It's been done quite a bit. Virtually every palmtop and PDA computer built today does exactly this, because the non-changeability of the hardware makes it possible. There are palmtops today that can stand in for a bargain-basement laptop.

Now, building a PC with Windows that does this is virtually impossible, just because the OS is closed-source and is programmed to do stuff even if it's not necessary. For example, there's no way to tell Windows not to check for plug-and-play hardware on boot, even if you know there will never be a hardware change. Using Linux, however, it's more possible, because the kernel can be seriously hacked to remove anything that's even remotely extraneous, and if you know exactly what needs to happen and what doesn't, you can save time left and right. I built a custom monolithic kernel for a simple Intel-based PC once that booted Red Hat 9 from the end of POST to the login prompt in twelve seconds, because I cut it to the bone. It couldn't cope with even the slightest hardware change, but that wasn't a concern since it was just for kernel building practice. The simple answer is that it's doable, but it takes an investment of time, money or both to make it so.

I do still adore my '64, though. LOAD "*",8,1 FTW.

Virg

Sounds like you are describing the Verizon XV6700. It does all those things except for the iPod connection. It also has WiFi support. Installing a ring tone is as simple as opening the windows file manager and dragging and dropping the mp3/wav/midi from your PC to the phone.

I almost bought a Zaurus SL-C3000 a year ago, but then my laptop died and I had to replace it. Review of the new C3200 from 6 days ago: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Sharp-Zaurus-C3200 .htm Buy it here: http://dynamism.com/sl-c3000/main.shtml

How about this? And from this article on the UX180P: "The machine runs Windows XP Professional, service pack 2 (no Tablet OS for Sony, they seem allergic)".

Forgot to hit preview.

Palm Trio, Motorola Q, etc.... And you don't have to be near a free/open WiFi spot.

Or get a XV6700/PPC6700/etc (all HTC Apache variants) and get WiFi ...and camera...to boot. I got mine a month ago and, while it took a bit of getting used to, its pretty damn near a complete communicator. I think it might even give Spock gadget envy. (Tho it does run WinMobile).

I nearly picked up the 770, but wo/ a camera or phone, it just doesn't seem worth the $350 (tho the various announcements wrt hooking up with Google Talk were intriguing). FWIW, my local COMPUSA does have 770's in stock (and the last email flyer I got last Sunday indicates they're still selling 'me for $350)

The full review of it is finally published:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/sony_ux180/Sony-Va io-UX180P.htm

A 2 year old review of the GSM Flybook

A 15 month old review of the GSM Enfora CF card

Those products, though very cool at the time, don't seem to have gone anywhere. Is the 3G and integration of this Lifebook the key to the revolution? Is it even usable as a voice phone?

I was very happy with Sony Clies, and the company stopped making them. (Why do they insist on killing their best tech?) Then I dropped mine. I happened to have a plan that had it replaced, but I decided to upgrade. To get another Clie, I spent an insane week on eBay trying to get an NX80v. It's almost 3 years old, but nothing on the market has all its features. After seeing several go for over $300, I settled on a new Palm T|X for $250. Similar specs to the NX80, but no camera, and I constantly used the camera in my Clie TJ27. Also no keyboard.

A bigger concern is that if they stop making Palm devices altogether, we're stuck with Windows.

> I'm not sure if those are qualities you want in a laptop which tend to get hot and rub against the table.

I suspect Sony knows what they are doing. This is not their first carbon fiber laptop. They've sold one in the US for over a year, and even longer in Japan. In fact, I'm not even sure why this is news...

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/sony_vai o_X505.htm

Here are more reviews with some info answers good number of questions:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Palm-TX.htm
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Palm-Z22.htm

Here are more reviews with some info answers good number of questions:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Palm-TX.htm
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Palm-Z22.htm

You might like the Sony TJ-37: PalmOS, WiFi, and Camera. Here's a review.

I'm still leaning towards the Tungsten C for the built-in keyboard but a half-vga screen is kind of tempting too.

Unlike "PocketPCs", a Treo actually fits in a pocket.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/image/phones/JAM_6 315_treo650.jpg
http://www.pdagold.com/img/articles/en/large/00000 00214_VQC702979101.jpg

Take a look at this picture and guess which one is the pocketpc phone. And unlike the Treo with its huge aerial its actually attractive and small enough to hold to your heard.

Surur

here's an in-depth review

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/palmone-LifeDrive. htm

did a search on google and found these reviews:

Sharp's Zaurus SL-6000L: A Free Software PDA
Zaurus with VGA Screen, Wi-Fi Now Available in U.S.
Sharp Zaurus SL-6000L Linux PDA
Review of Sharp Zaurus SL-6000
Sharp Zaurus SL-6000L Review

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here are all the reviews from customers on amazon.com.