Handtops, UMPC - NEW FlipStart!

04/29/08 + Orgwon

Please tell me what you would like to see in the next FlipStart. The sky is the limit, don't think about what limitations there are on current technologies. Just tell me your PERFECT UMPC... Also, what would you do away with on the 1.0 and why.

Let's get the obvious out of the way:

* More RAM
* Faster CPU and GPU
* More strorage / SDD

05/02/08 + pierro78

from link :
Over All Passmark rating for the OQO M2 with, I believe, a 1.6 Ghz VIA C7 = 115.5 Composite Average
Over All Passmark Rating for the flipstart = 185.9 Composite Average

05/03/08 + mhoepfin

Those passmark ratings are interesting. I can tell you from experience that the Pentium M on the FS makes all the difference vs. the VIA. On the OQO you can tell when it's working because of the fan, and as we know on the FS, it just keeps on trucking...

05/03/08 + Nobody99

Indeed, the Pentium M makes a huge difference and because of it I use my Flipstart for a lot of gaming. I had no plans of using my Flipstart for gaming at all. It is a shame many of the other great feature filled UMPC's are let down by the feeble CPU. It even manages to run Half-Life 2!

Hopefully by the time I need to get a new UMPC, they will have got it right. Via is not viable for me.

05/05/08 + primaz

Simple make it functional so the mainstream wants to buy it. Thus they need to change it to a clamshell shape that is about 7" to 7.4" long with a good touch type keyboard NOT a thumb input, have it 3.6" to 4" in depth so it is narrow enough to fit in a jacket pocket, and keep the height 1" or less so it is not too bulky. You do not need to change much else as that is why nobody would buy one.

Recent Blog: New Handheld Sharp has just released the D4 -UMPC handheld!

05/07/08 + SomeGuy23

With those dimensions, it sounds like you want a device similar in size to the HP Jornada 720 (7.4" x 3.7" x 1.3"). I had one of these years ago and while they keyboard was great for its size, it certainly wasn't big enough to be considered a "good touch type" keyboard. I don't think it is possible to put a good touch type keyboard on a device with a 6in or smaller screen.

I personally have found the thumbboard on the Flipstart to be more usable than the keyboard on the Jornada as it is designed to be used while you're holding the device. A touch type keyboard on the other hand requires the device to be on a flat surface (like a desk).

If Flipstart were going to make another UMPC (which sadly they're not), I'd get rid of the useless Infopain, bizzare external device connector (for the Flipstart camera), move the camera above the screen and significantly improve the WiFi reception (using MIMO and 802.11n).

05/07/08 + primaz

I used the HP as it has enough internal space to accomodate the Flipstart internals easier than a Psion? The HP Jornada 720 was one of the larger handhelds and while it did not have as easy of a touch type keyboard as the Psion 5mx it was still touch type input. I can type about 70% of desktop on it. I could do almost 85% on the Psion. Either way both the HP and Psion's keyboards are much more usable and functional for most people. People have not purchased thumb input full windows computers for the most part, even OQO sells very few after 8 years of marketing a thumb keyboard full windows computer.

The numbers reveal that while "someguy23" might like thumb keys on full windows, the mainstream thinks its a poor idea and will not buy it. There have been only 350k UMPC's sold in all of 2007. The OQO and the Flipstart in 07' I believe with a thumb input as most were pen input. Even OQO after all their marketing for 8 years can only sell about 8-15K a year. Compare that to the handhelds with touch type keyboards like the Psion, and Jornada 720's they sold ove 2.3 million each year. Thus Flipstart should have made it a true clamshell designed around a touch type 1/2 vga screen like the size of the Jornada. Changing camera position, finfopain, etc. would still result in what has happened to them death of an unpopular computer. Until a UMPC makes a touch type keyboard that is jacket size they are all likely to continue to die a slow death or a fairly quick death like Flipstart.

Recent Blog: New Handheld Sharp has just released the D4 -UMPC handheld!

05/08/08 + SomeGuy23

The problem with the Psion 5mx and the Jornada 720 is that they both have very wide-aspect ratio screens (640x240!) which has allowed it to have the wide but not-very-deep dimensions. Windows XP/Vista would be next to useless on a small screen with a resolution of 1024x384 or 800x300. Unfortunately these days, you'd want at least 600 pixels vertically. I find the OQO's resolution of 800x480 can be annoying at times and even the Flipstart's 1024x600 can be restrictive.

The Flipstart and OQO don't sell well because they're both expensive and lets face it, when it comes to laptops, most consumers think "bigger is better". Most consumers would laugh at having to pay MORE for a smaller device. I doubt that the thumbboard is the cause of the problem, especially since touch-type UMPCs like the Kojinsha or VyePC haven't done very well either.

If you want a touch-typeable UMPC, look at the HTC Shift. IMHO, it combines both the advantages of a slider and a clamshell design in a unique form-factor. If only it wasn't so ridiculously expensive or under-powered.

edited: May 09 2008 + GadgetFreak

SomeGuy23 said: "The problem with the Psion 5mx and the Jornada 720 is that they both have very wide-aspect ratio screens (640x240!) which has allowed it to have the wide but not-very-deep dimensions. Windows XP/Vista would be next to useless on a small screen with a resolution of 1024x384 or 800x300. Unfortunately these days, you'd want at least 600 pixels vertically. I find the OQO's resolution of 800x480 can be annoying at times and even the Flipstart's 1024x600 can be restrictive.

The Flipstart and OQO don't sell well because they're both expensive and lets face it, when it comes to laptops, most consumers think "bigger is better". Most consumers would laugh at having to pay MORE for a smaller device. I doubt that the thumbboard is the cause of the problem, especially since touch-type UMPCs like the Kojinsha or VyePC haven't done very well either.

If you want a touch-typeable UMPC, look at the HTC Shift. IMHO, it combines both the advantages of a slider and a clamshell design in a unique form-factor. If only it wasn't so ridiculously expensive or under-powered."

You said it man!Forget the keyboard, bring down the price and ramp up the power. We want warp speed for next to nothing! Cell phones rule the world 'cause they are "free" and respond instantly!

05/09/08 + wodin

GadgetFreak said: "Cell phones rule the world 'cause they are "free" and respond instantly!"

My HTC Touch is neither free nor does it respond instantly!

05/10/08 + snowviper

Same Here , my dopood isn't free and respond instantly, but I admit this is one tough mobile, It was run my motorcycle and only crack the lcd (internal is not hurt at all). But my dopood cost more than my FS.

edited: May 11 2008 + GadgetFreak

For the ordinary bloke, cell phone comes with contract, costs nothing in cash. Instant response because it's always on, in the pocket/purse ready to go. I dig handtops, but most will go for cell phones.