Toshiba Pocket PC e570 Review

msolnik writes: "PocketNow has a review of the new Toshiba Pocket PC e570. With an integrated CompactFlash Type I/II, Secure Digital (SD) slot, a 206Mhz StrongArm, and upto 64MB of ram the Toshiba is going to give the IPAQ a run for its money. Just FYI with some slight modifications the Handhelds.org IPAQ Linux distro should run just fine on the Toshiba."

Comments

Another PDA?

[Anonymous Coward]

Another PDA?

Uh, is this only newsworthy, cause the submitted said "it might be able to carry a linux distro"?

In that case, my toilet may carry a linux distro. Is that news?

Must be a slow news day....

Re:Another PDA?

[easter1916]

This lends new meaning to the term BOGomips...

Toshiba website?

[InnereNacht]

I don't see any mention of this on their official site. Anyone have a link to the data sheets?

Re:Toshiba website?

[ergo98]

I don't see any mention of this on their official site. Anyone have a link to the data sheets?

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/pda/pda_home.html. There you have 7 seconds to find it!

Re:Toshiba website?

[InnereNacht]

Awesome, thanks =) I was actually looking for http://www.csd.toshiba.com/pda/pdf/FinalPDAbrochur e.pdf

.7" thick seems like it might be a bit much personally... I have a uniden unipro that's about .6, and that seems a little too thick even. Ahh well. This seems like a nice little device. ;D

Yes Virginia, size does matter

[KarmaBlackballed]

Geez, expensive, heavy and big. I already have a desktop PC.

I'll stick with my Handspring for now thanks. (Cheap, light, and small.)

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[john@iastate.edu]

Huh?

According to the article: The e570 is one of the smallest devices on the market; its only bulge appears in its thickness because of the two slots. Both a lightweight and a small guy.

It's about the same weight and height as iPAQ.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[KarmaBlackballed]

Handspring (I have an older model that barely fits in my shirt pocket):

4.7 ht, 3.1 width, .4depth.

iPaq:

5.11 ht, 3.28 width, .62 depth

The differences seem small on paper, but not when you are trying to lug a PDA around everywhere whithout having to think about it.

bulge appears in its thickness because of the two slots

Ouch. This is a big deal. We are not talking about a laptop here. How many PCIA slots would be okay for your watch? A PDA should be just as convenient.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[bribecka]

Handspring (I have an older model that barely fits in my shirt pocket):

First off, as attractive as that must be to have a friggin PDA hanging out of your shirt pocket, I think most people put them in their pants pocket or even a backpack.

Second, I have an iPaq and I've never had any problem "lugging" the extra .41" height around. It's not like you're talking about 4 inches. But then again, I have no idea who *needs* 2 slots in the PDA, plus a SD slot. Seems a little like overkill.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[KarmaBlackballed]

And a pocket protector is stylish?

PDA's are not about looking good. They are about having the info you need when you need it. Like having a watch on your wrist gives you the time when you want it without hassle.

Like I said, my Handspring is already almost too big. I'm sure in a few years I'll look at it and wonder how I ever put up up with it.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[ag3n7]

I recently purchased an iPaq (monochrome) and am currently looking to get rid of it, simply because it is alot more cumbursome than my Palm 3x was. Unfortunatly, the iPaq stats do not include the carrying case, which makes it much harder to carry in a pants pocket.

Not to mention, after looking at the handhelds.org instructions, I wasn't too confident of my ability to install linux on it and it to remain usable.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[bribecka]

And a pocket protector is stylish?

No, that's why I don't wear one of those either.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[VirtualAdept]

Actually, I've been wanting the two CF slot sleeve for my iPaq. Mostly because I use it like a very light-weight laptop: I do a lot of word processing, some internet surfing, a bit of exceling. Whatever I need on the road. Thus i have a large flash card, and a CF ethernet card.

All in all, it *definitely* serves my needs. Other experiences may vary. :)

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[bribecka]

Actually, I've been wanting the two CF slot sleeve for my iPaq. Mostly because I use it like a very light-weight laptop:

But you're not going to be carrying all that around in your pocket, right? It seems a bit much to have *all* the time. That's why I like the iPaq so much--you can just add on what you need when you need it, and take the smaller unit most other places.

Re:Yes Virginia, size does matter

[VirtualAdept]

That's precisely why I have an iPaq, actually. You wouldn't believe the number of people who, when seeing my setup, wonder why I don'tj ust buy a laptop. In response, I usually take down the gear, put everything but my iPaq in my backpack and then stick the iPaq into my pocket. This usually illustrates my point. VA

Still stuck with the 206MHz StrongARM

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on, that speed StrongARM has been in use for over a year - 2 in fact. Where are the 400MHz+ PDAs that we were promised with the XScale?

Basically, all PDAs have converged to one of two specifications: 206MHz StrongARM, 320x240 16-bit colour TFT, PocketPC or What has happened to the exciting hardware in the PDA arena. It is stale now.

Re:Still stuck with the 206MHz StrongARM

[Anonymous Coward]

Argh, stupid < character....

Come on, that speed StrongARM has been in use for over a year - 2 in fact. Where are the 400MHz+ PDAs that we were promised with the XScale?

Basically, all PDAs have converged to one of two specifications: 206MHz StrongARM, 320x240 16-bit colour TFT, PocketPC or under 40MHz DragonBall, 160x160 mono/colour screen, PalmOS.

What has happened to the exciting hardware in the PDA arena. It is stale now. Same ol' same ol'. Bah! B*llocks to all that I say! RIOT! We want faster PDAs.

Well, actually we probably don't, but whatever...

Oh great...

[Whom The Bell Trolls]

It's great that there are so many choices, but it is really discouraging at the same time. It's worse than the PC market.

I just bought my iPaq, with a price tag of $400 (excluding any accessories) and something better comes along in a matter of weeks.

I don't have enough money to keep up with the technology changes!

Re:Oh great...

[turbine216]

so quit trying to "keep up". Buy one that suits your needs, and keep it. If there aren't any handhelds that suit your needs, then don't buy one.

Re:Oh great...

[Whom The Bell Trolls]

That sounds easy enough, huh? Except that the iPaq does not have any intergrated slots (CF or PCMCIA) and I did not realize how much of an issue that would be.

And the iPaq was state of the art. Now most devices have built-in slots.

So, if I upgrade (because that would better suite my needs) then, what will be the next issue?

Don't mistake my observation as complaining, I am not.

Re:Oh great...

[Anonymous Coward]

Take it back or sell it for a slight loss. You need to do the research BEFORE you buy, not after.

Re:Oh great...

[RedX]

I'm assuming you purchased the iPaw 37xx series, which was the bargain-priced PocketPC 2002 iPaq precisely because it lacked the expansion capabilities that all other PocketPC 2002 devices have.

Re:Oh great...

[Whom The Bell Trolls]

No, I actually own a 3650. Yes, I own an expansion sleave (an option that sucks since it doubles the thickness and adds weight).

Again, I did not realize that have a CF card for data backup was a requirment, else I wouuld have waited.

Re:Oh great...

[SomeOtherGuy]

"And the iPaq was state of the art. Now most devices have built-in slots."

How funny that we would consider the inclusion of CF/PCMCIA slot(s) "state of the art" in the year 2001. I remember my first WindowsCE device (HP300 LX I think) --- it had CF and PCMCIA over 4 years ago (not to mention that PCMCIA slot in my HP200LX in the mid 90's), and now we think that the inclussion of CF/PCMCIA in an IpaQ type device is state of the art....More evidence to suggest that the companies building the tech stuff have no clue what would make their devices a "killer MUST HAVE device..."
P.S. -- I am having a hard time getting used to the Palm I have nowadays....The lack of a keyboard or a PCMCIA slot is a hard pill to swallow....(I am not talking about those wierd fold up keyboards that are bigger than the PALM itself....)

Sidenote about PDFs

[ergo98]

I really wish sites stopped using PDFs to present basic data that can be represented just fine using HTML & CSS. Jesus it's irritating having a bulky, often not working, not exiting properly instance of AcroRd32.exe just to look at some god damn specs. STOP USING PDFs FOR BASIC BLOODY INFO!

Re:Sidenote about PDFs

[fishebulb]

testify, i never understood the point of pdfs. They are great for sending a document that needs to be printed. but for stuff that is going to be read on screen, what a shitty interface. the entire window moves and it doesnt have that feel of lines and pages.

Re:Sidenote about PDFs

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop using Linux - the windows version works fine.

Re:Sidenote about PDFs

[ergo98]

Hehe, the AcroRd32.exe should have clued you in that I am using Windows (though perhaps you intended to say the reverse of what you said). Acrobat's IE integration works properly about 40% of the time for me (standard 2000+IE6 combo) : The rest of the time it leaves me a zombied IE/acrord32.exe combot that I need to go in and kill. I've had a similar experience for years. Nonetheless if the information can be conveyed with HTML & CSS with equal impact then what is the point of another unnecessary format in there?

Umm, Try again

[brunes69]

The e570 is one of the smallest devices on the market; its only bulge appears in its thickness because of the two slots. Both a lightweight and a small guy.

Try again genius. Maybe next time by READING the article, instead of glancing at the pictures and making a lame first post attempt.

Re:Umm, Try again

[aminorex]

It really is too big, and the reason is the
inclusion of the USELESS SD "secure media" slot.
Sorry, any palm device with useless mechanical parts
is too big.

Re:Umm, Try again

[Anonymous Coward]

So why is the almighty Palm putting SD slots on all their new devices?

You are yapping about a field that you are a novice in. Stick to what you know.

Re:Umm, Try again

[SuperKendall]

You appear to be "yapping" as well. Sure Palm has an SD slot in newer models, he was wrong about that being the factor making it large - but you failed to adress the point that the pocket PC devices are still really too large to be practical for everyday use. The Palm V form factor (which newer SD slot palms still have) is just about the right size, if not a little large still.

Re:Umm, Try again

[Anonymous Coward]

I addressed the issue that I wanted to address. Palm zealot bashing a competing platform for a design decision that Palm itself has made.

BTW - Better/faster components take up more room. You can have a tiny device(Palm, REX(sob, the true winner in size)), or one with some power(206Mhz processor, 64MB RAM, 32MB ROM, sound processor).

Re:Umm, Try again

[aminorex]

I can barely deal with buying devices that have
useless software on them -- there's no way I'm
shelling out cash for a device that's supposed to
be optimized for size that has useless MECHANICAL
parts bulking it out. That's why the HipTop looks
so attractive, it's all function, no fluff. It
might even beat out the Treo, if I don't get too
impatient.
.

The e570s Official Homepage

[msolnik]

The e570s Official Homepage is The e570s Official Homepage. They have features, specs, videos, and accessories on there.

Re:The e570s Official Homepage

[brunes69]

Too bad the video clips are unviewable for most of us.

Re:The e570s Official Homepage

[Anonymous Coward]

Something like 70% of slashdot readers use IE on Windows.

The real question is?

[pi radians]

How will quake run on this one?

Hopefully, no more memory issues with now 64 MB RAM

=)

Linux on the e570

[Walter Bell]

One of my friends has an e570 and he has been running Linux on it for a few days. He told me he has had a mixed experience with it:

• He has not been able to get it to use the CompactFlash slot, but he said there is a kernel patch that addresses the issue (which he hasn't had time to test yet)
  
• Support for power management on these devices is quite a bit different from standard PCs, and is a bit quirky.
  
• The StrongArm chip is blazingly fast, and the system is considerably more responsive with Linux on it.
  
• He tried NetBSD on it a few days back, but wasn't able to get GGI to work properly.
  
• His next big project is to get ext3 or JFS running on it, to avoid corrupting flash memory cards.
  

~wally

Re:Linux on the e570

[Anonymous Coward]

Are the modifications available for general consumption?

server overload

[cdalemx]

maybe slashdot should mirror the pages, or something as they servers seem to crash>

"There Has Been a Script Error
Error Message Couldn\'t connect to database: Too many connections
Script Location /home/httpd/pocketnow.com/htdocs/cgi-bin/directory /content.cgi
Perl Version 5.006"

Offtopic, but...

[FatRatBastard]

STOP USING PDFs FOR BASIC BLOODY INFO!

My guess is that they simply PDF their Word (or whatever dead tree creating document proc'r of choice is) Marketing Spec sheet.

What is needed is something akin to Distiller / PDFPrint that prints both the bare HTML along with the style sheet. Anyone know of such a beast?

Re:Offtopic, but...

[ergo98]

Yup totally agree, and it really is lazy of them. If they offer up their PDF they should offer it as an option rather than the only choice for specific information. However nonetheless PDFs are coming close to being unnecessary (though they were a required stopgap in the interim) with a CSS2/HTML combo.

For a website ..

[Anonymous Coward]

.. that supposedly advocates open-source, Slashdot runs a surprising number of stories supporting Microsoft's platform domination. CmdrTaco drools over an X-BOX and Timothy wants his PocketPC. MS has the potential to monopolize the PDA and console market -- the essential question is how the thing comes out of the factory, and the more power you give to Microsoft, the less likely it becomes that it will ever be anything but Windows. They will just use the same OEM-type licensing that they're using everywhere.

Face it, it's far easier to break MS' monopoly if you have several players. If Microsoft becomes so powerful that it controls everyone else except for a few geeks who are happy that they can run Linux on their new toys, we have lost.

Ummm, no knowlege outside this article?

[KarmaBlackballed]

One of the smallest pocketPC devices, not even close when compared to Palm devices. Do some research dude.

Is there any real use in these thing ?

[Krapangor]

What do you want with a computer with a tiny display and low performance ?
Keeping adresses etc. ?
Science has a better answer for this and it's called notebook (the paper ones).
Playing games ?
With this display you really can't go any further then gameboy style one. I don't see anyone using them for Quake or DOOM.

I suppose these thing have the same right to exist like nosehair cutters, electrical earwax removers etc.

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[jarodss]

"low performance" it has a 206MHz processor and 64MB of memory, that's not low performance, that's a high end system from 5 years ago in the palm of your hand.

"I don't see anyone using them for Quake or DOOM."
id has ported Quake.

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[thenerd]

I don't see anyone using them for Quake or DOOM.


You haven't looked hard enough!

Download Quake, Doom, a flight sim, and a NES emulator here:
www.pocketpcpocket.com.

thenerd.

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[Niflar]

What do you want with a computer with a tiny display and low performance ?

Every day I throw away a pile of old papers and magazines. Even though it gets recycled I find it a waste. So, when the handhelds get cheap enough, I will by one to read from it. (you can not bring a laptop everywhere)

I suppose these thing have the same right to exist like nosehair cutters, electrical earwax removers etc.

Eehmmm. Actually I got an electrical nosehair cutter. Perhaps that explains everything. ;-)

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[tigris]

Well I'm using it to learn Kanji during my 1.5 hours stuck on the Metro and bus each workday. One PDA replaces a notebook and Kanji reference guide (the latter tend to be quite large and heavy). KingKanji for the IPAQ will even show me stroke order. A pad of paper can't do that. And since I have to stand most of the time, a PDA and stylus are a lot easier to juggle.

Tig

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[Wolfier]

>Playing games ?
>With this display you really can't go any
>further then gameboy style one. I don't see
>anyone using them for Quake or DOOM.

For many, gameboy style games are vastly superior to any Quake/Doom incarnations.

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[Wolfier]

You have your right to be anti-technology if you don't like any of the palm sized devices.

I for one, find keeping addresses on a palm more convenient than on the "notebook (the paper ones)".

I'll never again use the "notebook (the paper one)" to "keep address etc."

Of course you have the right to not like them - the world is divided among different opinions...

However, I think modding the parent as "insightful" is quite a stretch of reality.

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[JasonAsbahr]

How did this get moderated as insightful?

Re:Is there any real use in these thing ?

[plumby]

Personally, I sync up my iPaq with the BBC news pages, the Guardian Online, and a collection of other sites, off the Internet overnight, and can then browse them on the way to work in the morning on the bus. I'd like to see you do that with a paper notepad. (OK you could print out the entire site every morning, but that seems a bit wasteful and bulky).

Plus, I have a collection of games (chess, patience etc) to play whenever I feel like it. And a few e-books. Yes, I could carry a book, and a gameboy, and a diary, but that's starting to get a bit bulky now as well.

Plus it's easier to back up all of your addresses/appointments with a PDA than with a notebook (I've lost my notebooks more than once), and paper tends to be pretty useless at sounding an alarm to remind you of that meeting that you're meant to be at.

I know plenty of people who don't think that they would be any better off with a PDA than with a notebook, and many of them are probably right. But just because you can't think of any use for them doesn't mean that other people can't.

Palmtop pictures (slightly OT)

[Anixamander]

I never pay attention to the pictures next to the headlines, except when it has to do with a new palmtop device. Then I always look at the picture and momentarily think to myself "What the hell? That looks just like a palm III."

Re:Palmtop pictures (slightly OT)

[KarmaBlackballed]

No, this is much bigger in size and weight. Ohh, and price.

Re:Palmtop pictures (slightly OT)

[Anonymous Coward]

'Cause it is one. It's not a picture, it's an icon; they just happened to use a picture of a specific PDA as the icon for all PDAs.

NTSC out?

[drenehtsral]

What i'd really like is an NTSC video out on one of these buggers, 'cause that'd make it a perfect wearable (not to mention a really cool portable on-the-spot presentation machine. Just imagine, plug into the projector and run, no hassle).

Re:NTSC out?

[msolnik]

There is already vga out for it look at the Voyager VGA Out CompactFlash Card.

Re:NTSC out?

[diesel_jackass]

S-video, rca? i'd even be happy with VGA out.

with a wireless connection or microdrive, you'd have a sweet pocket divx machine.

i don't know about presentations or whatever, but it seems like the more ways you have to distribute and/or look at porn, the better off you will be.

Re:NTSC out?

[bamberg29]

PAL out?

Buy Dell

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm advocating the purchase of DELL computers, don't be tricked into buying any other brand.

Visit their website today !!!

But John Spartan, All Restaurants are Taco Bell

[Anonymous Coward]

Q: Is it just me, or is every (non-Palm) PDA on the market sporting these specs?

A: Well you see John Spartan, after the great PDA wars of the early 21st century, there was only one chip manufacturer left. The market is much happier this way.

Q: Hey, couldn't one of these vendors at least ship with Linux preinstalled? (Never mind the new Sharp SL5000)

A: Oh no John Spartan! Using Linux means that you must be able to think, and thinking bad. Hence Linux is illegal.

Q: Um, what are these 3 csh's for?

P.S.: I would've sworn that the new PocketPC OS would've driven everyone to a faster CPU. Is MS breaking their new OS == hardware upgrade pattern?

Re:But John Spartan, All Restaurants are Taco Bell

[Anonymous Coward]

PPC 3.1 is definitely faster than PPC 3.0 (Rapier). CE 4.0 will be even faster.

At least one team over at MS has their head screwed on right. Each iteration of CE is better *and* faster than the previous. Amazing, huh?

MS also standardized PPC design on the SA1100, so you won't see any more SH3s and MIPS 4111s in that market. The SA seemed to be the only chip that really showed off CE to its fullest.

Re:But John Spartan, All Restaurants are Taco Bell

[Anonymous Coward]

PalmOS 4.1 is clearly superior. Get your facts straight, fuzzball.

What does a SD slot get me?

[weave]

I'd like to know from whose perspective the "security" part of this SD card is to benefit. I have a feeling it's not for me and my data...

What does it get me that a plain ole CF card would not give me?

Re:What does a SD slot get me?

[RocketScientist]

The SD cards are significantly smaller than the CF cards. One would assume that being newer technology they also consume less power.

Re:What does a SD slot get me?

[darrylo]

Memory expansion, as the CF slot gets filled with the wireless card Du Jour.

Re:What does a SD slot get me?

[lizrd]

The security part has rather little use to anyone. The secure digital people claim that it uses an encryption system similar to that used in DVDs for content protection. Take that for what it's worth.

The advantage to this kind of slot is that it also reads Multi Media Cards which are pretty much like a 1/4 size version of Smart Media Cards and don't have any "content protection" schemes involved. The gain here is that you can stick a MMC in the SD slot and have a bunch of extra storage space for your MP3s and maps and stuff and still have the CF slot open for a modem or network adapter without the extra bulk of a second CF slot.

Re:What does a SD slot get me?

[darkonc]

I had a similar queston... From the 'secure digital' site....

. . . . This security technology has been designed to comply with current and future Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) portable device requirements, making it an excellent medium for the distribution of digital content, including digital music.

In other words, you'll be unable to copy certain types of data... This 'security' probably has little, if anything, to do with consumer freedom.

You must have problems if you need journaling

[cybrthng]

If you need a journaling filesystem on your handheld, you have problems.

I have had WinCE devices and Palm Devices since basically 1.0 days, and NONE have ever had "corrupted flash memory cards" unless i stuck the thing through a high powered xray machine on one of my hundreds of flights i have taken.

"Considerably more responsive with linux on it"..

Strange, i can watch movies, play mp3's, play doom, and tons of other things on my Compaq running CE 3.0 (as well as surf the net, check email, view appointments, view docs, record memos and voice notes) and my unit "seems considerably more responsive" then i have ever seen linux run on these.

oh well, to each there own.

This post is hardly informative

[Faulty Dreamer]

Excuse me, while I take this entire post with a grain of salt. First of all, this is a second-hand account with vague, unsubstantied points comments written as fact.

A link or some kind of evidence for these points would be nice. Why wasn't GGI working properly? How is power management quirky?

It is highly irresponsible of moderators to have this at +5, and having some poor slashdolt taking this post at "Walter"'s word.

Ubiquitous Processors

[morbid]

It looks like ARM has all but sewn up the PDA market, just like x86 became the defacto standard for PC's. Will the market stagnate now? Where is the competition? Everyone has (or plans to have) a 206MHz StrongARM in their PDA. Wouldn't it be nice if someone else came along with something a bit better now and made things interesting?

Re:Ubiquitous Processors

[tercero]

Hitachi makes a better processor called the SuperH. But why no one is using it is beyond me.

Re:Ubiquitous Processors

[Anonymous Coward]

Casio was using the SH3 in their Cassiopeia, but now that they are out of the market, there won't be any more SH3-based Pocket PC devices (thank god).

The SH4 is definitely a nice processor but slower than the SA1100. Now go get yourself an XScale or SH5 (wowee) and you'll have a better chip. Unfortunately, those aren't on the market yet.

Re:Ubiquitous Processors

[jx100]

I believe that the Dreamcast uses that processor.

Re:Ubiquitous Processors

[morbid]

Indeed it does, and it makes a nice lightweight X terminal.
:->

So it goes...

Journaling is a way of life...JFFS2

[runswithd6s]

Actually, there's a filesystem designed for this very application. It's called JFFS, or Journaling Flash Filesystem. The original development for the filesystem was done by Axis Communications, but it has since migrated to the kernel proper under the term JFFS2. You can probably follow discussions regarding this filesystem and the kernel API at the Memory Technology Devices site. Check out the mailing list archives and/or subscribe to linux-mtd from the aforementioned site.

What Personal Attacks?

[Faulty Dreamer]

Exactly what was is that you think was a personal attack in that reply? I pointed out the stupidity of trusting the statements in your post. The only person making personal attacks here is you, "Walter". Your C# vs. Java post was sooo informative and true too, right?

Congratulations, you read my history. Do all systems engineers at NASA really have that much free time? You can drop the charade now troll, you've been exposed.

"In Stock" means "In stock in the future"

[Anonymous Coward]

The big green "In stock" logo means nothing at dell.com. The PDA I ordered there was labeled "in stock" but won't ship until December 17, three weeks after ordering it.

Another fast PDA with gaming problems

[desideria]

Apparently, the device doesn't recognize diagonals on the game pad. This makes it almost completely useless as a gaming device.

This issue seems even more annoying than the button problems on the iPaq, but hopefully Toshiba can fix with a software patch, or at least in future hardware revisions

Re:Another fast PDA with gaming problems

[cybrthng]

I don't understand how they can sell a product like that?

I mean for even an app requiring somewhat of a cursor mouse feel diagonals are pretty important..

and just being able to play a game on the road is a lifesaver for any traveling veterans...

as who else spends 500 bucks on these things!

Re:Another fast PDA with gaming problems

[Anonymous Coward]

Psst... You don't need a 'mouse feel' when you've got a stylus.

slashdotted...

[duran.thinkframe]

umm, I could imagine a person posting a story
about cold fusion, and read here how to make it
work... while in reality, they just want to
DOS some website, and know that
slashdot.org is the best place to get people to
just BLOW THE CRAP out of a web-server
with requets...

Palm V with a hard case...

[SuperKendall]

What do you wear, cargo pants?

I wear jeans all the time, and a Palm V with a hard case fits really well in my pocket along with a set of keys. The case is scratched beyond belief, but the Palm V is fine - anything larger would not work. I know that for sure as I used to have an older Palm Pilot (one of the first ones), and you really couldn't carry it in your pocket. The old Palm was just a novelty, the Palm V I use every day.

Why...

[Kaki Nix Sain]

... do you need video for a wearable? Good things can be done with just audio.