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

Input

[Umbral Blot]

No offense to the people who make these devices, but they need better text input than the minisule keyboard that the image for this product shows it having. Stop trying to put all the keys there and innovate. Maybe something like a chorded keyboard? I really want a small computing device, which I could whip out and take a note or two on, but as long as it is easier to write on paper it seems silly to switch to something like this.

Re:Input

[Moofie]

Innovation doesn't change my muscle memory. If you want to use a chorded keyboard, there's nothing stopping you. I don't, however, think that a large number of people are interested in learning a new way of typing. Learning the regular way was a huge PITA.

Re:Input

[Eideewt]

But games tend to reward you as you go along. Typing is pretty much impossible until you learn most of the chords.

Re:Input

[fm6]

Whenever a device like this appears on Slashdot, there are always posts that say in effect, "But it doesn't support what I'd like it to do!" You should evaluate a product in terms of what it tries to do, not what you want it to do.

Re:Input

[Sj0]

And why is that?

We don't buy products to do what others want to do, we buy them for what WE want to do. At least, that's what the sane among us do.

To try to confine our views to what the machine claims to do is to fall prey to marketing.

Not Bad

[datafr0g]

Bit short on the HDD space (20GB), especially given that these devices are intended to be used for data consumption - I'd expect there'd be a little more space for movies, etc. Battery life really needs to be sorted out too at 2 hours.

Other than that - cool!

One question though - how do you hold these things safely? You know, like Laptops not being recommended for use in your lap? Laptops (or notebooks, whatever), will sit fine on a table, these things don't look like they would. I noticed a small stand on the back of the image but - I dunno - it seems more like a device I'd want to hold rather than have it set up on a table or desk - sort of kills the portability aspect for me.

Another product solution

[ElitistWhiner]

waiting for the right problem to solve.

This is what happens when engineers get to spec what they like, without requirements.

I'm interested...

[Null Nihils]

At first glance, I'm interested, and yet I can't help shake the feeling that there's something rather clumsy about these devices. There is definitely something appealing about the "bigger than a PDA, smaller than a laptop" form-factor, but as I've seen mentioned already this seems like a solution waiting for the problem. My 3 cents about what's holding these types of tech back:

1) Input
So far, it's hard to beat a keyboard for actually getting stuff done. Even when playing games, I tend to like having lots of little keys to use instead of a chunky controller with buttons, knobs and levers. Touch screens will do for a pointing device, although touching a screen is less continuous than holding a mouse, so mice still have their advantages. Still, touch screens are very useful for some things (market checkouts or anything with an incremental flow of finite options) and I'd like to see them become more commonplace, but you still can't use them for text entry.

2) Software and Flexibility
TFA also mentions that the "Pepper Pad" also lacks useful preloaded software (eg. a calendar). Hardware is useless without some intelligent, useable software to run on it. Also, the Pepper Pad would make a wonderful handheld media device if not for the price tag, which begs that the device be used as more than just a replacement for a portable DVD player. As per the "solution waiting for a problem" comment, people are yet to really think of what software you'd want specifically for a device like this, with these abilities, that you can carry with you.

3) Internet Availability, Battery Power (Wirelessness)
This last one is rather simple, in that an Internet-aware device is useful for accessing all that the Web and Net have to offer... provided you have access to the Internet. Wi-Fi is still far from obiquitious. And, if a device needs to suckle on a wall socket (or a car's 12V plug) after 45 mins of heavy use, its not really very "wireless" or "portable".

And there are my 3 cents.

Re:The PepperPad has been around for ages...

[LordLucless]

First of all, it runs Linux (no flames please; everyone should be able to admit that most people don't use Linux).

Nobody gives a stuff what OS it runs. As long as you can double-click the movie/audio icons to play them, most consumers won't notice that it's different to windows under the hood. They'd expect a device like this to have differences to a fully-fledged computer.

Second, it's got a strange keyboard that you probably can't touch-type on.

And yet, people are destroying their thumbs on mobile phone keypads daily. This is a step up from that, at the very least, and is not designed to be used to enter a lot of information. The article specifically says it's designed for media consumption - playing audio, video and surfing the web. If you think you're going to be using this thing to write reports, buy a laptop.

And finally, it's slow. I don't care what kind of IPC it has; 624 MHz just isn't fast enough for something big enough to be a real computer.

It's not trying to be a real computer. It's trying to be a media station. Nobody who uses it will care how fast it's clock-cycles are as long it doesn't skip during DVD playback.

Now, you wanna know how to fix it? Turn it into a convertible tablet with a real keyboard, put in a bigger (10.4") screen, give it a decent CPU (e.g. 1+ GHz) and more RAM, and (as much as it pains me to say it) put Windows Tablet Edition (or better yet, Mac OS, but that's just a fantasy) on it.

So, turn it into a laptop? I think all you've done is prove that you're not the target market for this device.

Completely useless

[Mr. Freeman]

So, if you want something that you can actually type on and get work done with, you shouldn't buy this.

If you want something that you can take anywhere, jot down a couple of notes, keep track of a calendar, etc. You also shouldn't buy this.

How many people are going to buy this thing just to watch movies? I know that I wouldn't want to spend this much money on something with only one function. And most of my routine web browsing necessitates a lot of typing (slashdot, forums, etc.)

Re:The PepperPad has been around for ages...

[idlake]

Nobody gives a stuff what OS it runs.

People writing vertical apps certainly do. And being one of the few devices running Linux in that form factor makes it quite attractive, in particular given the price.

Re:No thanks

[GodSpiral]

The design is to let you type with 2 thumbs. Its probably inputable while walking too.
I like this design a lot. good subway, bathroom, and meeting computer. Not so great if you just want something to take from office to home to hotel, or need something more pocketable and forgettable.

So how is this any better than the Nokia 770?

[mingrassia]

So how is this any better than the Nokia 770?

I mean the 770 already has an active community behind it and an open development environment that you can dig right into.

Yes, the 770 is a bit underpowered but the form factor looks MUCH better than the Pepper Pad. Plus I can go to the store and get one NOW.

A fanboy this way walks

[JamesGecko]

You are a GNU/Linux gadget lover. Just think, you get to rub your Mac friends' noses in the fact that a Linux device was first to have a touch screen....

Apple Newton, anyone?