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?

Comments

Re:Someone tell me again...

[Hektor_Troy]

So - you want to carry around the following gadets (all having a single feature):
Cellphone.
Phonebook (cellphone can't have that - that'd be convergence).
GPS-device.
MP3-player.
CD-player.
WMA-player.
OGG-player.
DVD-player.
PDA-like device, that can only be used for text-documents.
Etc, etc, etc.

Of course, you can easily upgrade your devices whenever needed, but really - just how annoying would it be to carry around all that stuff?

I'd prefer a single device, that could easily be upgraded via software; some stuff, like e.g. the GPS would have to be hardwired in the system, but various codecs and programs should be easy to install.

Man...

[Graymalkin]

What I REALLY want in a handheld device is something akin to the PADDs in ST. Ever since I first saw a Newton Messagepad I've been waiting for something that would really fit that sort of roll. Palm based devices are too fucking small for my hands and I can't exactly read the text at a glance. A handheld ought to be something you can store a bunch of notes on, control presentations from, and interface with other systems by. Here's what I would spend some dough on:

• The size of a good notepad, 6"x9" with screen real estate being most of that area.
• A screen with good contrast but not necessarily colour, preferably reflective with a switchable backlight.
• An internal antenna set, a set of them maybe three in the housing each tuned for a different band
• Multiple expension modules, specifically so I could have a AirPort/PCS/GSM/ect modules hooked to the antenna set (hence multiple band antennas) and I could also have other expansion modules in.
• Serial port and bus connectors somewhere so I can plug it into just about anything and use it as a terminal or storage device or use something else as a storage device.
• Really thin with a long battery life.
• 
  
  I also want to be able to remotely control the Enterprise with it too. Or at least play Nettrek on it.

Why you don't like the idea

[Katravax]

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.

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.

Re:Someone tell me again...

[jhs2]

This is very simple. Pocket space. I know my pants can only hold so much. I want to be as connected as the next guy but I also don't want to walk around with 30 lbs. of electronics on me, all doing a piece of the puzzle. They make holsters for people who like independant devices. I personally like to spend more time putting on my clothes than all of the gadgets. Already I feel like I'm suiting up for battle in the morning. We have Pagers, Cell phones, PDA's, MP3 players (with headphones), wallets, keys, watches, etc. It's almost like we're becoming borg-like. What this very cool little convergence devices tries to do is combine the vast majority of the devices into one nice small package. Personally, having never seen one of these in person, I'm already sold. If it lives up to half of what it specs, then it's by far one of the best devices on the market. I've been dying for something like this for some time now. And you can plug a camera into it at well...too cool. Does anyone know where I can get one? Also, what type of cell phone service does it get? CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.? How about battery life? What is the speed you can connect at? You know, the basic questions...

Just my 2 cents...
Joe.

Am I missing something?

[Acoustic_Nowhere]

"All the 'convergenc' devices I've seen so far are great, but they all miss a feature or two. Cellphones with PDAs but no keyboard"

Did anybody else miss the discussion group 2-3 articles below that reviews the Handspring Treo -Cellphone, PDA, keyboard...?

Re:Someone tell me again...

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh... speaking of suiting up for battle... After Sept. 11th, all employees had to go through metal detectors whenever they entered the buildings (fed. gov.). Every morning, I'd run my bag and coat through the X-ray machine, and run through the following ritual:

remove pen from pocket

remove keys

remove change

remove watch

remove pillbox

remove notepad (wirebound... sets it off every time)

remove sunglasses

remove leatherman-like Gerber multi-tool (and scaring the guards just about every day in the process)

remove mini pocketknife (can't put it in the bag, 'cause when they see it in the x-ray, they can't tell how small it is and get all freaked out)

remove ID badge (metal clip)

remove photon light (on little retractable clippy thing)

remove MD player/rec, and remove the remote and headphones which are routed halfway around my body to be comfortable and out-of-the-way

remove cellphone and belt-clip

remove headset for cellphone
Then, I walk through, and maybe about a quarter of the time, my belt buckle would set it off anyway. Then another 5 minutes to put it all back on. Sure would be nice to have a MD-player-recorder(or MP3, if I can ever get 128MB flash cards for $5 each)/Nextel-compatible phone with headset/PDA on which I can quickly and effectively take notes. The metal-detector tribulations really make suiting up with your gadets a prime PITA.

Why do I bother, you might ask? Well, I do tech support. I need the pen and notepad to keep track of tickets. I need the cellphone to keep in touch with co-workers. I need the music and sunglasses to get me through my commute. Keys, change, watch, pillbox, and ID badge should be self-explanatory. Gerber, 'cause the screwdrivers on a Victorinox are next to useless when working on computers. Kershaw Chive pocketknife, 'cause whipping out the blade on the Gerber is comparitively a huge pain and this little puppy is much smaller and quicker into action than a Victorinox. Photon, so I can see what I'm doing while crawling around under desks and finding light switches in LAN closets. Furthermore, you get bombarded as soon as you walk into the office around here -- you'd best walk in prepared, if you want to stay sane! That means you don't have 10 minutes to get in, turn the PC on, unload, gear up, and get some coffee before the work starts. I sure could use some of that tasty convergence!

a good one hand keyboard

[Monofilament]

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)

Try the Half Keyboard

[yerricde]

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.