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Handtop Roundup
captainJam writes "As the OQO is due out soon (interview with OQO CEO), it's important to have a look at all of the options. Most are Linux happy, one isn't. Most have a touch screen, one doesn't. The article has comparisons between all the devices and their size, power, connectivity, interface, resolution and a look at strengths / weaknesses."
Most people only think smaller is better up to a point. If they can't have a 15" or larger screen and full size keyboard they'll look elsewhere. Apparently the majority of people who purchase notebook computers have big ham-fists and bad vision.
I for one would love to have something this portable, although the OQO has been coming soon for so long it'll be like an electronic abacus when it arrives. It really needs 802.11g, USB2.0, more than 256MB RAM, etc...
the real issue is human I/O, that means screeen size and a usable tool for data input (reasonably sized keyboard and or pen + reasonably effective handwriting recognition) in a format small and light enough to be really portable.
these lack in every aspect
palmtop and tablets are much more close to the ideal
The flipstart is very close to a traditional laptop. I may be wrong but its use seems most natural when you put it down on a surface and start typing away. Just like a laptop but a lot smaller. With the advantage that in public transport laptops often don't fit.
The OQO is the only other one with a keyboard but it would seem uncomfortable to use for a lot of typing. If you lay it flat down for easy keyboard access the screen will be at an odd angle. Hold it in your hand and you will have to use the old hunt and peck approach to typing. Although it may be small enough to hold in both hands and type with the thumbs I think it will not equal the Flipstart in typing speeds.
The sony has a lot of controls but no keyboard. Clearly aimed at GUI apps therefore. Touchscreen are not a typist dream. It does however have plenty of controls so controlling media or a game or browsing shouldn't be a problem.
The last one is clearly aimed at special markets likely to run their own software. Not really well suited to a desktop enviroment.
The OQO beats the others on size. Important but the flipstart is very close and has the protected screen and is closest to a laptop. The LID thing seems nice as well.
I think it all depends on how much typing you want to do on the move. Lots then it is the flipstart. None then you can go for the sony. OQO sits neatly in the middle and the antelope is just to big.
The flipstart wins again on screensize compared with total size.
What I find odd is that battery life isn't previewed at all. Traditional laptop life times are very very bad. Especially since these devices seem such natural mobile media players.
Oh well, nice toys but we are soon going to see more and more cheap media players. It will be intrestting if they are going to add "extras" just like the iPod has an adress book. iRiver seems to planning some game support for its upcoming media players.
OQO coming out. Half-life 2 gone gold. The Sims finally getting a new engine. Doom 3 out. Longhorn stripped down and getting a closer release date.
Soon we will have only DNF left over as vaporware.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Seems like the handtops might be in kind of a clumsy market nitch. For just a little more you can get a full blown laptop with more power and storage. For a lot less you can get a very functional PDA that does most of what you'd want a handtop to do with a longer battery life that's much easier to carry around. I could see uses for these, I'm just not sure it's a big market.
No, my iPAQ isn't Linux friendly. Had there been a Linux option for my iPAQ I'd certainly have opted for it. Hopefully HP will offer a Linux-based PDA to go with their Linux laptops. That would be a killer combination.
It was pretty funny last night. Having dinner at a Thai restaurant and decided just for grins to kick on the Wi-Fi link. To my surprise it found a network right away, an open wireless router at the mortgage company next door. Great thai food and high speed internet. Nice bonus.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
I really think the FlipTop is going down the right path. I'd love to get something about the same size as a PDA (maybe a bit larger) but that can run a real OS and all my apps. I don't want to sync my email/contacts/appointments. I want to run Outlook on one computer and that's it.
OQO's keyboard size is an issue, but the real pity with the keyboard is that they squandered the space they did have available. The layout is extremely wasteful of horizontal space.
The unused space to the left of the keyboard is huge. They also passed on putting the mouse device among the keys as on an IBM Thinkpad, instead putting it in its own dedicated large, wasteful swath of horizontal territory.
They could have put non-alphabetical keys to the left of the querty down in an additional row, but they did not. On the left side the shift key alone is as wide as two other keys!
And having a numeric keypad taking up space on the right seems like extremely stuck thinking. Who uses those any more? If you need a calculator, you can use a touch screen calculator. Need to dial the phone? Same thing. Or there is the solution Treo used. If you're really such a numbers person that you need a dedicated numberpad, use a peripheral. OQO makes the majority of us who want to buy the device suffer for the few of us who are accountants.
So many missed opportunities to make this keyboard actually touch typeable... In the end it is simply a thumb keyboard. But other than that surprising flaw, the device looks very cool! Hopefully we will see clones that have decent keyboard layouts.
Strange that only the Flipstart and OQO has Bluetooth since BT + BT keyboard would be a good match for these things. (Strange since both Flipstart and OQO have built in keyboards.) And before you complain you don't have to lug a MS or Logitech Bluetooth keyboard around, there are half-keyboards like the Frogpad out with BT support.
I was considering a U50/70 but the lack of Bluetooth was the final straw. I don't mind that there isn't one built in if I can use one wirelessly. In fact I'd prefer that they save the space and not have one built in. If I need it that much there are several sub-notebooks that can do the job.
Besides that I think it's a bit funny that they are running a comparison of 4 products where 2 are not even out yet. And I won't believe any release dates from OQO until I see one in a store.