New Cellphone Sized "Computer" Takes Aim at Sub-Notebooks

IMOVIO has launched a new cellphone-sized computer that is aimed at something similar to the subnotebook market. While it doesn't have 3G of its own, it does have a QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, and a $175 price point. "It can connect to the Internet using a standard Wi-Fi connection, or it can use your cell phone's mobile broadband connection via Bluetooth. The company is currently pitching it to mobile network operators and retail stores. It's being compared to the ill-fated Palm Foleo. But the comparison doesn't work because the Foleo was Palm-phone only, didn't fit in a pocket and cost well over three times the price of the iKIT.

Comments

infuriating

[mcgrew]

It's infuriating. I already have a computer the size of a cell phone. It's called a "cell phone". Damn it, why can't I plug it into a TV or monitor, and plug a mouse and keyboard into it and use the damned thing like a computer?

Re:infuriating

[corsec67]

Cell phone companies would come out with that kind of stuff, if people quit buying cell phones from the service providers, and instead bought them from the cell phone manufacturers.

Re:infuriating

[mc900ftjesus]

Carriers want you using the easiest phone to support and the phones that use the least data. Highly capable phones are a nightmare, especially when you add in that the average American is as smart as a radish.

They don't really want you to use data, they just want the money for having it available, just like your ISP. So they'll sell you a branded phone, that's locked to hell so you can't do much besides buy ringtones.

Easy solution to locked phones: don't buy them (yes, I just heard thousands of Apple fanboys gasp at the though of not having Steve's latest piece of crap). Go get an unlocked phone and use a GSM carrier, that wasn't so hard was it?

Not unprecedented

[JustinOpinion]

Computers of this size and form-factor are not totally unprecedented. Things like the Nokia N810 internet tablet are similar. (QWERTY keyboard, fits in your pocket, WiFi or bluetooth connectivity...). Also, many smartphones have all the features and functionality of this device (including having a physical keyboard, etc.) with the advantage of direct connectivity through the cell network.

The only thing this new device can offer is a somewhat lower price ($175 instead of >$400 for the N810). But I think this device will only appeal to a very small market (most people would prefer to spend a bit more for a more capable device, or get something with a bigger screen/keyboard).

But does it run Linux

[davidwr]

2.6?

Let's hope 2.4 stays supported for some time to come.

The only reason we are calling this a "Computer"

[gblackwo]

Is because unlike our cellphones/pdas which have the same functionality, this is a clamshell design that looks like a shrunken laptop.