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Midori Linux Powered FIC Aquapad
quantumgravity1 writes: "Check out this review of the FIC Aquapad. It has a 500MHz Transmeta Crusoe CPU, runs Midori Linux, is wireless capable, and is totally portable. According to pics included it is comparable to the Iopener in size. There's no hard drive, but it comes with up to 256MB of memory with 32 embedded for the os, but you can expand it with compact flash or the IBM Microdrive. GPS support is in the works, but it already supports MP3 and MPG. Now I just need a wireless setup at home, or perhaps I can do some mobile sniffing. :)"
I wonder why the linux version is the same price as the windows version.. I see mozilla, xmms.. all free as in beer. Are they charging everyone the Microsoft tax?
Liberty.
My only question is why?
Why wouldn't you want a keyboard attached to the thing so you could enter text at a decent speed and fold shut to protect the screen? I mean, I can see the appeal of working with a tablet pc, but I thought the best design for this would be something like the Vadem Clio, which has a keyboard that folds behind the screen - Now if I only I could find a real machine in this configuration!
air and light and time and space
... then I can pick one up for 80 bucks. :-)
http://www.audreyhacking.com
Later,
-Ryan
As a portable PDA / computer, the AquaPAD doesn't seem like an ideal solution. It seems that for the $700+ that the AquaPad costs, plus the $250 for the wireless access point, you could get a laptop that does everything it does and more. It looks a little too bulky to use as a PDA, and doesn't have all the features I'd want in a PC. I'm sure the touchscreen is limiting, and when you add the keyboard and mouse seen here it looks a little clumsy and loses all the appeal of a portable device. However, I think it would be really cool to mount it in the car as an mp3 player, GPS, etc.
As another user pointed out earlier the battery life of 2.8 ~ 3.5 hours is surprisingly unimpressive.
Aside from that I've decided it might be nice to have a little wireless web pad for when i just wanna cruise through the web sites I check out every day. (slashdot, UserFriendly, dilbert, Get Fuzzy, and Dozings.com.) As a replacement for a laptop or pda it wouldn't cut the mustard, but if I had the money something like this (but with more battery life) might be a nice little addition to my bag of electronic gizmos.
Dozings.com -- Its kinda funny... If you're as crazy as me.
Looking at this product does suggest some use in an automobile application. I have installed two PC's into cars. It's really hard to find the right solution. So basically, I had to design the make the thing. One solution was to use a laptop. The laptop I could just wire in DC power from the car 12vdc. Power issue solved. The screen was removed from the base unit and a cable was made for 20 feet. Everyone including my mother told me it was not possible to run the video cable at 2" into 20 feet. Well that was no problem with the video. Works great!!! The mouse and keyboard I just ran 20 feet from the base in the trunk of the car to the front. Again, no problem with signal. It's the better solution than this product. Bigger screen and better functionality.
Now with the problem of upgrading a laptop. I installed in a friends car a full size desktop. It give me the power to upgrade anything at anytime. I just installed it in the center console area with a leather covering. Bought the screen with anolog screen from http://www.flat-panel.com for $349 dollars. Wireless keyboard for $20. Done, full dvd with win2000. Again, more functionality than this device, with cheaper hardware/faster/smaller.
With the Garmin GPS device that is the size of a mouse with serial input. Mint GPS/MP3 with wireless upgrade solution.
I like the product, but again. You can hack someone better, which fits your requirements better.
"[..supports MP3 and MPG..]"
*Sigh*.... Kids these days..I swear.
Time for a clue, children:
One of those formats is called MPEG Audio Layer 3 Compression. That's what you youngsters call "an MP3 file".
The other is called MPEG Video, or, as you call it, an "MPG file".
See the similarities between the two? Those four pesky little letters that you keep hearing about? Its an acronym, gang. Motion Picture Experts Group. The same standard yeilds two different media formats.
Saying your product supports both MP3 and MPG is redundant. Its like saying your vaccum cleaner pulls up dirt and as an added bonus, it also pulls up dirt as well.
Bowie J. Poag
Now, as for Pocket PC, all the might of Microsoft hasn't managed to displace Palm. For Microsoft to throw money at porting bloated software to handheld devices is not going to magically make them usable. Microsoft never gets these things right; at best, they have the good sense to buy or copy what they need, a few years late.
You are right that this thing doesn't come with the "right" set of applications, and it's also a bit too expensive. But it's a great platform for starting to develop those applications, which is what I'm planning on using it for. And as a portable web browser for reading the news around the house, it's also pretty nifty.
According to the 'order AquaPAD' page, the base prices are $660 for either Midori or WinCE included.
I sure hope the situation is that the Midori distribution team is getting money for each Midori AquaPAD sold, instead of the more likely case of Microsoft being paid per-cpu whether it includes WinCE or not.
Anyone know for sure?
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