Slashdot Mirror
On the Possible Handtop Paradigm Shift
captainJam writes "Handtops.com has a piece
about the effects of handtops (text
version) such as the OQO,
FlipStart and others
on the computing experience. With a physical size that's slightly larger than
a PDA, a handtop has the power of a standard ultra-portable laptop - 1GHz, 256-512MB
RAM, USB, FireWire, etc. These factors, coupled with a dock (plug in a monitor,
keyboard and mouse) allow one to imagine a world where maybe they won't need a
desktop, or laptop, or mp3 player, video jukebox, digicam, etc. Maybe one day
companies might even be willing to pay for part of your handtop, knowing that
they would have to invest less in upgrading? It's not all rosy, the devices are
still under $2000 and aren't due out until later this fall (OQO) or
Q1-2 2005 (FlipStart), but this is an important shift worth letting the mind ponder." Of course, the OQO has been in development for a while, now.
Paradigm Shift
So, who hijacked the time machine and transported us all to 1998?
Do you like German cars?
Handtops.com has a piece about the revolutionary effect of the new handtops? You don't say...
There's a lot of technology that goes nowhere, even with a vocal group of geeks behind it.
It won't replace the desktop at least as long as my fingers are not ultra portable as well.
The problem always comes back to the input device. Sure, you have your keyboard/mouse when you're docked, but when you're not, input just plain sucks...
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
These handheld devices are getting more powerful and more useful, but with the specs listed (1GHz, 256-512 RAM), you're not really talking desktop or even normal laptop computing power. That's especially true given that these devices aren't coming out until the Fall or early 2005 (yeah, I'll believe it when I see it).
Post a story when they pack computing power equivalent to a six-month old desktop into a handlheld form factor.
Maybe one day companies might even be willing to pay for part of your handtop, knowing that they would have to invest less in upgrading?
Most companies want their information/apps locked into their computers - some even to the point of assigning a company laptop to perform off-site work.
For small/medium companies with less sensitive data protection needs, it could help some of their bottom line. But employee expenses will be their major reduction focus.
Shame... I mean, I can't wait until the prices rises. I'm not buying one until they are AT LEAST $5000.
Each of my hands, (I have two), in a relatively relaxed open position, are somewhere between 4 and 5 inches wide, from thumb to pinky (narf). When my eyes are tired, focusing on distant objects becomes "hard".
Tiny screen plus uber small keybaord? No tnx. If i have the realestate, I rather have my 18" or however wide keyboard it is + a 19" monitor. For travelling, I rather have something big enough but not outweigh an every-day text book plus wide enough that I'm not squinting and can see my screen, w/o carrying around a full sized monitor.
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ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
That was way too much hype and marketing speak this early in the morning.
I have a really tough time believing that these things remain at a bearable temperature. Laptops with these same processors can still get hot on the old lap. Does anyone have the Sony or know what sort of thermal protection these have? (if any) Might be a nice feature to have in a $2k gadget. Also, how quiet are these things?
You'll invest MORE in upgrading, since these little überdevices are completely closed, from a platform, and probably source/OS perspective. Need the new wireless standard? Sorry. Need a RAM upgrade to run Longhorn? Sorry. Need a dual-head video card for a special project? Sorry. Neat PDA though, can you watch Seinfeld on the way to work?
I predict that the more this appeals to someone in your office, the less work that person does to begin with.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Is there any PDA, labtop or the like without any form of screen, only with a set of goggles or a head-up display?
.. I would say that a set of high definition LCD goggles would do the trick .. and be less power consuming as they wouldn't have to be very big?
I want the big screen, but I don't want to carry it around
This must be the pda the doom3 guy was carrying! They really need to put a flashlight on it though.
Here's my company's current standard for mobile users:
$1700.00 - IBM Thinkpad T41
$150.00 - Port replicator
$80.00 - Extra battery
$200.00 - Motorola T720/T730 Cell phone
$350.00 - Palm or Sony PDA
$800.00 - Software... PDA sync software add-ons, cell phone addy book sync software, etc.
-------
$3300.00 approx
Compared to the OQO alternative:
$2000.00 - OQO
$200.00 - Cell phone with bluetooth and GPRS for all-time internet access
--------
$2200.00 approx + added productivity capabilities.
So... in the near future it would seem we could save $1000.00 per user and get increased productivity. Not much justifying and convincing to do it would seem...
BINGO!!!!
Multifunctional devices are all dandy but I don't see how they could compete with devices designed for one thing only. Sure, things develop and multifunctional devices get better people might say but so does the single purpose device. There are mp3 players you connect to your mobile phone but will they ever get as good or compete with say, the iPod?
Will the camera in most mobile phones ever get as good as a good digital camera? I doubt it.
It's just too expensive and difficult to bring the best of everything into a device of this kind. You compromise and hope that someone REALLY NEEDS all these things in small package enough to be willing to pay alot of money for it. I certainly won't.
Would seem more useful to me, to have a portable hard disk. Cheaper, and about as easy to type on...
I have a 15" PowerBook. It's a good size. A little small, but definitely usable. I dock it to a keyboard, mouse and monitor when at work. This suits me perfectly.
Given that I walk wherever possible (any journey under a couple of miles, which includes my trip to work), with this laptop, and weight isn't a big issue, why would I want something smaller and less powerful?
There was this story not long ago on a Laptop that would have primitive PIM functions in BIOS. Sounds a lot cooler to me.
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
With travel time that is just a little bit to much for my Nomad Zen. So I got two Mp3 player, an iGb-100 (small 1.5gb player from iRiver) in my pockter and the Zen on my belt. I got my wallet of course. Usually some small change and other stuff and my phone. Keys and the job alone adds one for the locker and one tag for signing in and out. A knife and pen. Maybe a roll of drop (candy).
In short I need a belt just to keep my damn pants from sliding down.
I could of course bring a book to read in the breaks or a GBA.
Can you imagine the bulge in my pockets? I don't care about my looks and work in place where people don't care either but in a suit this doesn't look good.
So yeah I see some sense in these multi-capabilty devices. They are not for me as the phone-mp3-game don't have the storage to play music for 8+ hours or the battery life.
No the camera in a phone or pda will never be as good as a dedicated camera. But if you need/want to make photo and send it with your camera then I wish you luck with your external camera, good luck in finding a way to connect the two, in getting the phone to regonize the camera, in making sure the phone messaging format can be used with your camera's storage format. Etc etc etc.
You are walking around with two devices, the guy with the cameraphone with 1. Add an mp3 player and you got 3, the guy with the supergadget still got 1. Add a game platform and you got 4 devices, the guy with supergadget still got one. Add a PDA function and you got 5 devices. The guy with the supergadget only 1.
Sure you will beat him in functionality but he doesn't look like a geek.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
It's super that they want to stick faster processors with better screens into smaller devices, however I think we forget the main limiting factor. Batteries have not changed in 10 years, and I think until we can develop a device that runs reasonably well (> 2 hours) on current technology we're still at the same point we are now. Give me better batteries, not faster processors!
Dilbert
It's not all rosy, the devices are still under $2000
Yes, things will be much more rosy when they are over $2000.
if you think this is bad, you should have seen my last sig
Imagine carrying around this thing and it will have all your stuff on it. You get up and go to work, you toss this thing in your suit case. You get in the car and your computer's stereo starts reading your mp3s via wireless. Get to the office, toss the thing on the desk, and via wireless it's already talking to your monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
Get home, you toss this thing on it's recharge station, and you can start puterizing from home.
Going on a bike ride? Toss this thing in your backpack, and start listening to your mp3s via wireless headphones.
Or if you go on vacation, and you start snapping off photos with your digital camera, this computer could be automatically uploading the photos to the internet for your family to see. (hopefully you're not taking photos of yourself and some women of the night)
I think this will totally be the future, but not yet.
-asoap
Treat me like a marketing stat, and I'll treat your movie like a series of ones and zeros
truth is i actualy like to have shitty cheap gear that just doesnt do everything. for example if i go hiking or whatever and my cell falls out of my pocket on some rocks im not worried that im going to lose all of my music, designs, etc.
its just a cell so whatever its going to be fine, but if i had to tote along along a handheld does all unit id be a little nervouse to have fun with it in my backpack.
A mix of politics and once-bitten, I think. The Newton was a beautiful piece of hardware that turned out to be a financial disaster -- and right when it was showing signs of not being a disaster was when Jobs came back to Apple, and IIRC the Newton was one of the first things to get "Steved." Which is really too bad, because if they'd stuck with it, it could have captured the mindshare (and market share) Palm did a couple of years later. Now, I suspect that anyone who suggests any kind of handheld computer at Apple is greeted with a mix of disdain and horror.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
You're right. These things won't take off until they cost about $5000.
I forget what 8 was for.
Without RTFA (it's already /.ed), I'd have to say this sounds a lot like the Apple Newton. I.e. it won't work because it's too big to fit in a pocket, and to small to work comfortably on it. Until we get usable and affordable goggles, and/or plus some kind of input technology that's truly portable [1], these devices won't take off.
1: e.g. digital paper, so I can fold an A3-sized screen/tablet into an A6 package.
I own a JVC microlaptop (which is actually built by Asus and rebranded by JVC) and I'm totally thrilled by it.
Around 900 g, about the size of VHS tape, a keyboard that I can comfortably touchtype with (and I think my hands are pretty normal). This is a great device - it runs Linux, has a 20 GB harddisk and is fast enough to watch movies on its 16:9 display.
I did own a normal 3 kg laptop some years ago and I'm not looking back. I don't own a car and travel by bike and bus - everything more than 1 kg is an annoyance then.
Yes, I'd love to own an even smaller device. I once bought the Zaurus in the hopes of having a PDA-sized Linux computer, but without a harddisk and without the possibility of connecting an external keyboard, it wasn't worth using and collects dust as one of the most expensive toys I ever bought.
I'm looking forward to a PDA-sized x86 computer with a harddisk, a decent display and good battery time. I also need connectors for an external display, keyboard and (if possible) TV. Count me in as one of their first customers.
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You may like my a cappella music
if you get a little projector and mount it in the side of one of these so that it can display a, say, 17-20" image on a flat surface.....
That's 20 cents, isn't it?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."