FlipStart to Replace Your Laptop?

WED Fan writes "Paul Allen has a new hardware venture, smaller than a laptop, larger than a blackberry. According to the Seattle P-I, the vision is to replace the laptop for most everyday use, such as office applications, email, and web surfing. 'Really, FlipStart gives you everything that your laptop does [...] We're not promoting the idea that you would do CAD design on it, but for Office applications and most of what people do with their laptops, it's great.' But at a $2000 price tag, this could be a little bit out of the range of many users. The product will launch on FlipStart.com in the not to distant future."

Comments

The Sub-Notebook returns!

[AKAImBatman]

So let me get this straight: They sell you a small brick for more than a notebook computer costs. You get a slow processor, small screen, small hard drive, worse battery life than the average PC or Mac laptop, a keyboard you can't type on, and you're supposed to believe that it's revolutionary? I'm not following.

Sony tried this years ago with their Vaio sub-notebook line of computers. (Here's a picture.) Unlike this... thing... its keyboard was actually fairly decent, the screen was bright, and it was overall fairly useful. It's only problem was that it just wasn't large enough to be practical. You can't really type notes on a keyboard of that size. Nor are you really going to squint at the small screen while typing letters/memos/spreadsheets. That's why the entire market moved more toward the ultra-thin notebooks that were nearly as portable, but offered larger screens and keyboards.

The only advantage I can find with this thing is that it's a sub-notebook with Wifi. (Based on the comments about replacing the BlackBerry.) Possibly even GSM/EDGE support. I don't think that's going to make up for the lousy form factor, especially when you can get a $50 PCMCIA card from your cell provider to do the same thing.

Vaporware since 2004

[Crash McBang]

Google 'flipstart' - you'll find that this thing has been Vaporware since before 2004.

I'll believe it when woot has it on sale...

And in other revolutionary news:

[dpbsmith]

The FlipStart team is also working on:

--a revolutionary car bigger than a SmartCar but smaller than a Mini Cooper

--a revolutionary porridge heater that will heat porridge warmer than "too cold," but colder than "too hot"

--a revolutionary Budweiser bigger than a 10-ounce but smaller than a 12-ounce.

Laboratory prototypes of the latter include a 10.5-ounce Bud, an 11-ounce Bud, and an 11.5-ounce Bud. "Really, they give you practically everything that 12-ounce Bud does," said a FlipStart spokesman, appropriately named Budd.