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Danger's Mobile Device - The HipTop
A random reader writes "All the "convergence" devices I've seen so far are great, but they all miss a feature or two. Cellphones with PDAs but no keyboard, PDAs with keyboards but no phone, etc. Has anyone ever heard of the HipTop?
This little baby has a screen the size of a gameboy advance, runs Java, has a cellphone, keyboard, PDA functions, a camera and even an 8-voice MIDI synth... " Excluding a color screen, what more could one want in a toy?
you call this work?
Speaking of sliding mechanisms; Is it just me, or does that thing look extremely flimsy?
-- If no truths are spoken then no lies can hide --
I want a kitchen sink. With all that stuff, and it still doens't come with the kitchen sink. I will not be buying that.
You can't legislate goodness. Let each to his own destiny, by will of his freely made choices.
the pics are mock-ups.
without reading the site much, they're trying
to attract funding or licence the concept.
how about a color screen?
Ummm, variable speeds?
I would have liked some more technical details on their product pages, but all in all it looks like a pretty cool device. I would really love to see a color unit.
They should add a more interactive demo, so that people can get some more of the feel of using it's interface. I love the fact that it uses Java. Theoretically, it should be pretty easy to extend, software wise.
Devices like this are going to be coming out of the wooodwork soon enough. I for one can't wait, I'm tired of carrying a multiple devices around.
"Excluding a color screen, what more could one want in a toy?"
- GPS
- Hologram projection device
- Grappling hook
- Uranium energy cells (no need for batteries. ever.)
- Death ray (add pistol to list of things i can stop carrying around)
- Interfaces to every type of gaming console in existence
- Quake 3
Santa's gonna get a shakedown unless he produces the goods.
Talisman
"Study your math, kids. Key to the universe." -The Archangel Gabriel
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/wireless/2001-0 9-06-update.htm
. ht ml
http://quicken.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7070200
Yes, I know that will rile up the majority of /. readers but I'm a PHB who relies almost extensivily on Microsoft products (Outlook, Powerpoint, Excel, Word and Powerpoint).
I was full synchronisation between my PDA and Outlook. I currently have a Palm Pilot but as nice and small as it is, it's not quite what I want (what do I want? Portable Outlook without the email).
Phone and PDA convergence is very nice and well but if you're not careful you'll end up with a mediocre PDA and a mediocre phone. Granted, its going to take them a while to get this sorted but something like an iPAQ with a bluetooth and GPRS enabled 8210 would suit me (and a lot of other PHB's) down to the ground for the time being.
So yes, I'm sorry but I'll be waiting to see what Microsofts efforts are like. Yes, they're a monopolistic company with dodgy business practises but I need something that helps me work and, as much as I hate to say it, they could be the only ones that help me do that ...
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
MIDI of the Week It's been dubbed as MP3 of the 21st century, MIDI!!! Listen to all your favorite hits, from bach to beach boys!~
Someone tell me again, why are we trying to achieve "convergence"?...
I mean, really, what's wrong with specialized devices that are really good at what they do, instead of trying to throw it all into one device which is not as good as the specialized devices at any given task, but just amalgamates them?
For example, I personally have so far steered clear of those printer/fax/copier/scanner all in one jobs, because I just have a sneaking suspicion that if I bought one, I'd regret it...Can't quite put my finger on why, though.
With regards to cellphones/pagers/PDAs, etc., I am actually far more in favor of "convergence", but this seems to almost have gone too far?...
Or am I just paranoid?...heh
Java is a feature?
feh!
Flamebait.
:wq
The page is badly /.ed but when you get there, all you see are two paragraphs of text with no detailed tech specs and 6 pictures.
MAN that keyboard looks TINY. You need real slender fingers to work it!
Anyone know if this is for real????
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
pretty neat but i still say an i[aq or a jouda with bit color and the cell phone card trumps it for overall useability/timewasting factor
by the way, i prefer the "taco is christmas shopping again" stories to the half assed "scientists discover strange gas in uranus - discuss" or the "i have a really specific and vertical question about a really arcane protocol, sugestions?" topics that usually come up this early in the mornin'
Uhm ... is this site xxx-rated? Otherwise I'd better not say.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Both Nokia 9110 and 9210 have a keyboard, a few PDA features, and of course, cellphones.
They're pretty expensive, and probably not as powerful as regular PDAs, but they may fit your needs.
For more info, check the nokia website:
9910
9210
The 7650 is pretty interresting too, but has no keyboard.
-J
Alexis 'jeriqo' BRET
Dosen't the Handspring Treo 180 have a keyboard, phone, and pda. I beleive so and it is much more attractive then that moded pager.
"Pretty neat but I still prefer an iPaq or an HP Journada with the Cell phone PC card attatched, 16-bit color and all" yeah yeah yeah, preview, i know...
Grappling Hook? nah... think Tractor beam.
Don't forget a stun setting for the Death Ray, as well as DNA matching security features
X-Ray vision features for looking through walls, clothing, etc.
and no windows to clog the thing up.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
It doesn't look like it has enough lights. How are you supposed to analyze the atmosphere on an alien homeworld without rows of blinkin LED's?
From what I read on alot of tech sites, there are several devices on the way which will have the keyboard/PDA/Cellphone thing. I can't resist to tell you that I am working on such a device at Motorola. You probably haven't heard about it yet but it's called the Accompli 009 and has been in a few press releases. Accompli 009. Google also has a good image archive of it here. But anyway there are more devices on the way from Samsung, Nokia, Sharp, ... pratically anyone who makes gagdets. Lots of them run Linux too, like the Sharp SD500L.
The next remark is false. The previous remark is true.
What is it about color displays that makes them a "must have"? I've got a Psion Revo which doesn't suffer from lack of color, and has a longer battery life for it.
I also want to be able to remotely control the Enterprise with it too. Or at least play Nettrek on it.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
I'll tell you why - because if your scanner breaks, you're also without your copier. If your printer breaks, you're also without your fax. If you run out of ink for your printer, you also can't print faxes or copies, and so on.
I find the idea of saving space attractive, but don't like the idea of a single, simple hardware failure disabling several devices. My rule in the past few years has been to buy the highest-quality item with the longest warranty and best reviews that I can possibly afford. The all-in-one printer/fax/copier/scanner job sounds more like four cheap and probably unreliable devices all at once.
Slashdot seems to like to insert a space exactly 50 characters into any text links. Almost certainly, this is due to the width of the text box on the Post Comment page. Can someone look into fixing this, please?
Why would you want a cellphone/pda combo? or a cellphone/mp3 player combo? The first thing they tell you when you get on a plane is TURN OFF YOUR CELLPHONE. As soon as your devices are combined you lose them all whenever you fly..
don't combine my cellphone with anything!
Dude, check out the latest DoCoMo phones. THey do it all. They have built in keyboard, built-in PDA, run Java, built-in tiny digital camera. They send email, they browse the web (well at least i-mode sites), they can attach pictures to your email.
Oh yeah, as an added bonus the mobile phone service actually works!! (unlike in the U.S.).
Unfortunately they're only available in Tokyo (looks like a decent place to live). I don't think people in the U.S. realize just how far behind our mobile communications infrastructure has fallen.
Not that I have an anti-Microsoft thing because I really like Windows (ducks), but do you realize you can get full synchronization between your Palm and Outlook???
I have it at work - the only flaw is that it doesn't back up global contact lists - but I have yet to come across something that does...
When it is made smaller and voice enabled, and can handle being submerged and knocked around(milspec) then I will get excited.
Can I wear it on my wrist? Can it give me altitude? Temperature? Magnetic North? GPS?
Can it tell me my heartrate? Can I tell it to take a message, and have it converted into text? Can it seamlessly connect to another computer and synchronise all the info? Will it be a take anywhere computer that allows me to analyse data or even act as a log wherever I go?
A mix between the SUUNTO wristtop computers, and the onhandpc(www.onhandpc.com)would be nice.
OK my rant is over for now.
LOL!
,"phone", and not "my fingers", as "fingers" are flural, and would have to be refered to as "they".
I first thought it might have been a slip on my part, but actually "it" refers to the last noun
Other than that, I don't really see a problem with your idea, as it would increase the size of the screen (you don't have to have room for buttons). I do see a problem with letting someone else use it - most people I know don't mind squashing their fat greasy fingers against their flat-screen monitors.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Did anybody else miss the discussion group 2-3 articles below that reviews the Handspring Treo -Cellphone, PDA, keyboard...?
3G or at very least, GPRS. That's what I would want.
At least the Handsping Treo will be upgradable to limited GPRS.
My Karma: ran over your Dogma
StrawberryFrog
A random reader writes "All the "convergence" devices I've seen so far are great, but they all miss a feature or two.
Taco adds: Excluding a color screen, what more could one want in a toy?
Fantastic. So this thing is great, except for the missing feature. Doh. Do the editors even read the submissions or their comments any more, or is slashdot nothing more than a glorified random number generator?
not_cub
q='echo "q=$s$q$s;s=$b$s;b=$b$b;$q"';s=\';b=\\;echo "q=$s$q$s;s=$b$s;b=$b$b;$q"
The site seems to be slashdotted, but I found a few other stories on it, and this one has a small picture of the device in question.
Enjoy
--
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
We've had demo units for quite a while now. From my understanding, Motorola is just waiting on the carriers to approve the device. This device allows use of GPRS for things beyond WAP, so the carriers are a bit afraid of what it will do to their new data networks once it's released...
Of course at $5/meg, you'd think the carriers would want us to use as much bandwidth as possible... (and that much cheaper than most of the rates in Europe!)
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!
Damn, when I first saw the message I thought it was about a new PDA for Danger Mouse. Penfold will be sad about that. "But Chief, you promised!"
-J
you hit 25 and your eyesight starts its inevitable and irreversible decline. Then those 2" (5 cm) screens don't seem so wonderful anymore...
sPh
what i want to see on these PDA's is a good one hand easy to ues keyboard. I mean.. one that is not a QWERTY... ok Yeah you'd nead to relearn it but its not that hard to relearn something like that anyway.. Also it would be a hell of a lot easier and quicker to do stuff.. I mean QWERTY was an invention to make sure typewriter hammers wouldn't jam together.. Thus it made you type slower and all the commmon keys are far apart for less probable jamming. Now we have computers we shouldn't need to use that anymore. I mean hell I would love to be able to type with one hand quick and easily.. and I know that a keyboard could be made for this.. and it would be easy to use. (i have seen the half keyboard that was made but... thats still QWERTY and its still harder than it needs to be)
Who makes you Sig?
Who the hell wants a black and white toy.
A backlit color Etch-a-Sketch is a better toy than this thing.
-J
I need my dream device to run palm OS because I sync with meeting maker (a calendar/scheduler tool) at work.
Whenever I see something running a new OS I know it won't have the third party support that I need. On a side note, I bet WinCE supports whatever calendar tools I'll need too.
That which does not kill me only makes me whinier
Is everyone downloading the 1MB flash demo, or why can't I get to the site..?
This is all information I picked up when visiting Danger a number of months ago; since they've released the product, I assume my NDA is no longer applicable. Keep in mind, this could all be wrong.
I had the good fortune of using a prototype in early spring of 2001. The devices worked then, and I don't doubt that they work now. (You don't pick up second round funding from some of the biggest telcos running around without a product). They've seen limited release largely, I think, because of the poor GSM coverage in the US.
They have a Java runtime, and play along with everything you'd expect them to: web, mail, IM, etc. I was amazed that I was sending mail, surfing the web, and doing all the things I'd do online with such a tiny device wirelessly and effortlessly. Like a cell, they're _always on_. This means that your IM pages come through and buzz you in realtime, etc.
What also makes it a joy is the online service that you get with the device; your content isn't just stored on the device itself--it gets backed up to the service. Loose the device? The next one you pick up will restore itself from the service when you register yourself with it.
The interface is slick and usable, the keyboard is not nearly as bad as you think, and it does an amazing job of bringing together everything you'd want from a PDA and phone into one very small package--moreso than my experience with cell/PDA combos that are readily available now.
Danger Labs has some very sharp people there, and as far as I could tell were working hard to do things right. The HipTop is going to be a great little unit when they go mass market.
from NTT DoCoMO's site
6 4. cfm?CompanyID=IPO&PIN=169481500&ReleaseID=65164&pa ge=article&type=Press&Format=HTML&date=2001%2D11%2 D20%2000%3A00%3A00
http://investor.nttdocomo.com/news/20011120-651
"NTT DoCoMo to Launch Location Information Service Based on Own PlatformTOKYO, JAPAN, November 20, 2001---NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it will launch a nationwide position-information service based on the DoCoMo Location Platform, dubbed the "DLP service," on November 27, 2001.
The service uses information from global positioning satellites (GPS) to identify, register and communicate geographic position. Through Application service providers (ASPs) and other companies, users can access related services, such as:
confirming one's current location to, for example, obtain information about the area
informing others of one's position
registering positions on a server database
confirming the location of a third party, such as teachers checking the whereabouts of students on a school outing......"
The Handspring Treo is both a phone and a PDA. You were looking for a unit with a keyboard? How's this one?
While I can't speak for the product itself, I can tell you that I've known the CEO, Andrew Rubin, since I was 14. In fact, he ran one of the better BBSes I've been on, a huge multi-line BBS called "Spies in the Wire" that became "spies.com" and a mass of other things. I've kept in touch through the years (although he's harder to reach these past few, go figure), and Andy's always got his hand in something or somewhere cool. Beyond that, he's a great guy all around, who often gave great technology or computer resources away for free to people just to ensure that more folks could share in the fun (we're talking the 1980's, when it was a bit harder to get access to systems and resources beyond home use).
He's put in his dues as far as working at companies and startups are concerned, and I've seen him "walk the walk" when it came to actually producing neat stuff.
Good luck with the Danger, Andy!
- Jason Scott
TEXTFILES.COM
BBS Documentary?
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal had a review of the Handspring Treo 180 yesterday. (Picture here). Here's how the article begins:
FOR THE PAST week, I have been carrying around a new hand-held, wireless device that is simultaneously the best personal digital assistant I have ever used and the most capable cellphone.
It looks like a flip-phone and makes and receives calls with ease. It has a large screen, and can surf the Web and send and receive e-mail. It also has a full keyboard that makes composing e-mails or memos a breeze. It uses the Palm operating system and can synchronize dates and addresses with a PC.
Yet, despite all that power, this device is shorter and narrower than a Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC, or even a Palm V. About the size of a wallet and under 6 ounces in weight, it feels great in the hand and fits easily in a pocket.
This new product is the Treo 180 from Handspring. It costs $399 and will be available in early January. Designed by Jeff Hawkins, the man who invented the Palm Pilot and the Handspring Visor, the Treo is a true breakthrough. Unlike other combo devices, which were either phones with Palms jammed into them or Palms with phone features added, the Treo is a true hybrid. It was designed from the ground up to be a new kind of device, which the company calls a "communicator."
Well great. I had the tag closed and verified it in preview, and somehow it got hosed in posting. Oh well, sorry about that.
Its almost as if the post says "Excluding a color screen, what more could one want in a toy?" right in it.
THERE IS NO DATA. THERE IS O
Have a look at the Motorola Accompli on their English web site (www.motorola.co.uk)
Fairly small flip phone (much smaller than trium etc) with palm type touch sensitive display (including graffiti style recognition). All the usual palm functions, runs java, integrated email and WAP using GPRS for always on service, and its already out now.
Check out the flash bit where it shows the bookmarks. Its got The Onion's website as one of em. I'm sold.
The simple fact that I can replace the cover to change the look of the device both on the outside and on the inside keeps me from getting tired of my look.
Always working to get that square peg in to the round whole
Actually, I suspect that the problem most people will have is that it's vaporware...
I'm looking for SSH on a device that combines a phone and pager.
The way the Danger device will work is all apps will be java based and delivered from the danger servers. So it doesn't look like any old joe will be able to write apps for it.
I've written to their info@danger.com account a number of times to ask if they intend to have an ssh client, but there's been no response from that account. I did get a response from the bizdev account saying to check back in a few months, but I thought it pretty annoying that an email account publicized on the website doesn't get any response when written to.
Dunno why the Danger device is called a convergence device between a PDA and Cellphone. IMO it's not a PDA at all. It's a messaging device plain and simple. Some messages will be in text, some by voice but as for PDA functions, calendar, to do list, note taker, etc. fergetaboutit. I don't think the Hiptop will replace a PDA if you use it for email synch and calendar etc. It's more likely to replace your mobile phone, although if you like phones to be smaller than an APS camera, you'll probably won't like it.
I wanna built-in barcode scanner with no wires to tangle. I don't care whether it's software for the camera, CCD or laser. Every damn thing I buy except fresh fruit has a barcode on it. My receipt now has a barcode on it. I want to be able to scan the things and automate my shopping list. Sad, eh?
:v)
Vik
Bah. I would be beta testing a Danger device right now if the person in charge of the beta tests would allow people under 18 to do so. Bah.
Bah.
The HipTop does not exists.
Its cool because its fresh off the drawing board.
I beleive they *Might* have one device which is a simple mould.
Look to end of Q1 before you hear about anyone actually using one.
There model is quite good though....take a device concept to all the major carriers in the world...let them give you loads of cash. Develop it.
...for the fact that I'm submitting this comment via a hiptop. ;-]
I mean QWERTY was an invention to make sure typewriter hammers wouldn't jam together.. Thus it made you type slower
Do you know the URL of a study that shows that QWERTY is significantly slower on average than Dvorak?
and all the commmon keys are far apart for less probable jamming.
Sholes placed the keys far apart so that the keys would have a better chance of alternating between hands (yes, I know, some words such as 'monopoly' fail, but unless you're transcribing a finding of fact in the sequel to the Microsoft case, it shouldn't matter).
Here's a one-handed keyboard that uses the QWERTY or Dvorak muscle memory you already have.
Will I retire or break 10K?
It will be only available in the first quarter of 2002, and it seems they only have prototypes, this explains the photos aren't real.
But they are backed by Deutsche Telecom and Orange. If you don't know Orange, they have 35 million subscribers in 20 countries...
Okay, this doesn't guarantee anything (see what happened to Iridium), but this is not just a bunch of dumb dot-com VCs.
Can't they make it look cool?
Every little bit of it is faked! This entire web-site is faked! And Danger's too!
/. And they get thirty replies...
I love the way anonymous cowards' posts aren't automatically deleted in this waste-of-bits called
BTW: I've used the Danger device, it's pretty cool. Has the usual issues for the left-handed and the fat-fingered. And it makes the dumbest noise when you flip the top. But it works great. Calendar, notes, e-mail, SMS; haven't tried them all but they're all there.