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Modular PC Handtop Review

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the put-it-in-my-pocket-and-take-it-home-with-me dept.

captainJam writes "The Modular PC (MPC) is a device with a simple concept centering around one 'core' that can be used in a variety of 'shells'. While the use of any laptop, tablet or desktop is immediately limited by the design of its components, the MPC can expand on its functionality with the introduction of new shells to house the core which contains the CPU, GPU, etc. Handtops.com has a review of the device and touches on its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, it is a great concept and decently executed, but the price will be prohibitive for most."

9 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Not Just Prohibitive - Foolish by stoolpigeon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The cost is not prohibitive in that many wont be able to afford it but prohibitive in that it just does not make sense. You don't gain anything but you pay a lot more. The core is around $2000. Then the docking station is another $200. The laptop shell is $800. The tablet shell is another grand. So you are paying 3 grand for a laptop, tablet and a docking station. (and you've still got to pay for a monitor and input devices for the desktop part) For that I can buy a laptop, a tablet and probably a touch more for a desktop.

    Portable storage is dirt cheap and convenient. So I'm not sure what I would gain. If it were difficult to move data between those types of devices I could really see the appeal. But it's not hard to do anymore. I'd rather just buy the full blown version of each component for quite a bit less (if you got the same processor, etc.).

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  2. Early adopters only, at this point by 14erCleaner · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This thing is crushingly expensive at the moment; the core costs $1990, and the shells to make it a laptop-compatible are almost another $1000. That makes for a $3000 1Ghz laptop running Windows XP. No thanks, I'll wait...

    --
    Have you read my blog lately?
  3. Smokey the Bear says... by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When using your Modular PC Handtop device at the campgrounds, always practice safety. Surround your Modular PC with rocks to keep the fire from spreading. Be sure when you're done with your MPC to put it out with a bucket of water and make sure it has stopped smoking before you leave the area.

    Remember what Smokey the Bear says. Only you can prevent your Modular PC Handtop from starting a forest fire.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  4. High Priced Because of Demand by maxzilla · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I saw the $1990 pricetag, and I'm not suprized, most of these types of PCs are not attempting to get a deep market saturization, so the price reflects the lack of demand. they need to recoup the initial development costs, and thus it seems pricy. there are some critical applications I could see it used for, such as occupations with a high amount of movement between desktops (IE a person who travels alot for the company) they could have the desktop at the office, and also have a laptop so their workstation goes where they go. also I can see it in the medical field where doctors can walk around and access charts digitally, then dock at a PC to do research. it certainly is not designed with common AOLer use in mind, though I could even see it being really useful on a college campus...

  5. Multi! by sammykrupa · · Score: 4, Funny
    .......can be used in a variety of 'shells'.

    Did I hear somebody say:

    BEST. BIGGEST. MULTI-FUNCTION. REMOTE. EVER.

    --
    Dashboard Widgets
  6. With that price, why even post? by extra88 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can understand why a gadget site might want to post about this device, they have articles on all kinds of crazy, overpriced stuff. Why give something with such a ridiculous price valuable attention on Slashdot?

    Better to accept an Ask Slashdot question such as "The MPC is an interesting idea with a stupid pricing scheme. How might one construct something like this on their own?"

  7. Open Source Patent Giveaway !!!! by Timtimes · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Call to hackers, crackers and modifiers..not necessarily in that order. Who's gonna be the first one to design the same thing around a Mac-mini? Seems to me that if you had a touchscreen/battery combo that mated nicely to the Mac-mini you'd have a built in market. And the 'core' would only cost $500. Am I genius crazy or just crazy? ! Enjoy.

    --
    This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway This is the road to hell
  8. Runs hot and slow by SassyDave · · Score: 5, Informative

    I tested this device for a couple weeks as a candidate for running some software I was developing. This was last summer, mind you. The results were awful. The MCC (modular computing core) can run in one of two "shells". One is a hand-held, passively cooled device (TFA calls it a "Micro Tablet") with a touch-screen LCD and a couple USB ports. It has a velcro strap that lets you easily carry it in one hand by strapping it around your palm. The other "shell" is a desktop docking-station with a fan for cooling and keyboard/mouse and VGA connectors. TFA calls this one the "Desktop Dock".

    Let me tell you that this thing ran *hot*. After working with it for a few minutes in the handheld, my hands became so sweaty that I worried it was going to slip out of them. Also, since it's sensitive to heat, it would throttle the CPU back to 300MHz, and Windows XP would slow to a crawl. I found that I could lock the CPU in a 1000MHz frequency, but then it just got even hotter.

    The desktop docking station was no better. I tried playing a DivX movie in both modes, and the playback ran at about 1 frame per second. I would expect a 1000MHz CPU to do better. Obviously, this thing has other bottlenecks.

    Even for regular productivity applications, like MS Word and friends (err, enemies, this *is* /.), it was still unbearably slow.

    In short, this thing is a great idea in concept, but failed to pan out in reality for me.

  9. The perfect concept, but backwards by hirschma · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I think that this product strategy could be work, but only if it was turned inside-out, essentially, and stripped to the basics. In other words, ONE form factor, but widely figurable - even in ways that may not be initially predicted.


    How about this:

    • Start with a form factor that will hit a sweet spot. Perhaps a clamshell? The digitizer that would make it a tablet is probably not all that valuable to most folks - witness the poor sales of Tablet PCs.
    • Pretty much include only the very basics in the package - processor (how about ARM? - cheap and fast, good power consumption), keyboard, battery, display stuff, perhaps a pointing thingy. No memory. No storage. Battery optional - and use an existing battery form factor, if possible. Oh, and some kind of firmware that can boot anything. Maybe Mini-PCI and Ethernet, if it doesn't add too much to the bottom line.
    • Build in STANDARD interfaces. USB. PCMCIA. SO-DIMM memory expansion. CF slot.
    • Let people pick and choose what they want next. Notebook replacement? OK, put in a CF microdrive, lots of RAM, Linux OS, done. Pocket PC on steroids? OK, CompactFlash memory, Windows CE, less memory, wireless card. You get the idea - make it so that there are many, many permutations possible.
    • Lastly: Support one or two STANDARD configs. Let the community support the rest. Give a few away - what would the OpenZaurus folks do with this beasty? The NetBSD folks? Perhaps someone wants to hack around with WinCE... give a few away and let them.

    And then - price the basic box at under $500. Make it the Soekris of portable and desktop computing.