Pepper Pad, an Open Alternative to MS Origami

SilentBob4 writes to tell us that MadPenguin has a look at an open alternative to Microsoft's Origami, the Pepper Pad. From the article: "The Pepper Pad, like Origami, is a mid-point form factor PC that is bigger and more powerful than a PDA, but smaller and less optimized for traditional desktop PC tasks than a notebook computer or a desktop PC. The Pepper Pad is a good buy for people who would like to have a light-weight, dirt-simple, point-and-click open source device for watching videos, listening to music, reading e-books, and doing simple web surfing with a view screen that is actually easy to read. If you want do more than that, you are really better off getting a small Linux notebook, unless you are willing to get under the hood (which you can do with the Pepper Pad!) and start compiling for yourself."

Comments

The PepperPad has been around for ages...

[Swift Kick]

This is not a new device, and has never really caught on, regardless of how many times you might scream it has Linux inside. It might be neat for those that just have the burning desire of throwing money away, and that's about it.

See for yourself...

- It was announced back in 2004, and Engadget mentioned it:

http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/08/the-pepper-pad- 2/

Then Tux Magazine reviewed it in April 2005, and it was still not available to the public:

http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000125

Now it's available for sale, but for the price it's selling ($850), you can easily pick a cheap laptop with far more expandability for quite less.

Do you think it's portable? Think again. Look at the dimensions:

http://www.pepper.com/products/specifications.html

12.1" x 6.6" x 0.8" (309 x 175 x 20mm)
2.3 lbs (1043 grams)

Now, for something this big, why not get something that's cheaper and just better like say, the Dell Inspiron B120 for $499, with free memory and wifi upgrades? See for yourself:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features. aspx/featured_basnb?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Just my 2 cents....