Another Linux PDA to Challenge the Nokia 770

vhogemann writes "It seems that the number of Linux PDA devices just keeps growing, the German based phone maker Road just announced an Qtopia based Linux Cellphone/PDA. The original article gives more details: 'Opening the clamshell device reveals a QWERTY keyboard and a 640 x 240 display — closed, the unit presents a 102 x 65 monochrome phone screen. The HandyPC contains the usual array of PIM and messaging apps, along with a viewer to read Microsoft Office files. It will ship with PC synchronisation tools, media player software and a web browser. It can even be used as a voice recorder.'" Rather than Nokia's 770, to me Road's phone more closely resembles Nokia's 9XXX series.

Comments

Meh.

[BecomingLumberg]

Sure, its cool, and it runs Linux, but will it be manufactured in large enough quantities to make it economically realistic?

I doubt it.

Re:Hmm, qtopia and screen space.

[Ed Avis]

640x240 is not that small. 'High-resolution' CGA two-colour display was 640x200, and Windows up to 3.0 can run in that. For many years the standard PC resolution was 640x480, and if you choose your fonts carefully it's okay to halve the vertical resolution. The Archimedes had a pleasant and reasonably uncramped GUI in 640x256 (using an 8x8 font designed to work with rectangular pixels), and I think the Amiga and other 'home computers' designed to connect to television sets had a similar resolution.

I think this was in the days before excessive toolbars; the Arc also disposed of menubars and used the middle middle button to pop up a menu, which was a neat way to do things.