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Interview with FlipStart's Keith Amodt
StoreTags: Keith Amodt, interview, FlipStart
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Thanks to all of you for the great FlipStart questions. Rather than make it a one time thing, I'll be taking follow-up questions which we can hopefully get answered as well.
Q: Who are you targeting with the E-1001S?
A: We see the FlipStart being used by mobile professionals, mobile executives, and other mobile workers who require of full-power applications in an extremely portable form-factor.
Q: Will it be possible to upgrade the FlipStart, either at time of purchase or otherwise? Will it be easy to open it up and put in a new HD or more RAM?
A: The current design is not upgradeable and we do not recommend that people open the device as this would void their warranty.
Q: What is the maximum RAM that the motherboard can handle?
A: The motherboard supports only the integrated 512MB of RAM (no expansion capability).
Q: Any plans for a faster CPU?
A: Sorry, I can't talk about any future plans at this time.
Q: What are your comments for people who really wanted the FS to have a touch-screen?
A: Our customer research showed that most users preferred our clam-shell form-factor and did not want a touch-screen. FlipStart has a protected high resolution screen in the clamshell design. The current design includes two pointing devices. We do not have a touch screen as our research has indicated that that Tablet PC pointing and handwriting recognition are not as effective on very small screens.
Q: Will you be taking international orders? If not, do you have plans to do so in the future? When?
A: I can't comment on future plans but we will consider when, where, and how to introduce our product to these markets.
Q: Why did you go with the Intel M CPU used and not a Core Solo, etc?
A: We selected the components we used based on price-performance, availability, etc. It is always tempting to change something in mid-stream, but at some point you have to pick a target and stick with it.
Q: How will you address the concerns that the device is too bulky?
A: It's quite common for people to think that until they hold it. Once they do, they say that it feels comfortable and well-balanced in their hands.
Q: What information can you give about reasons for delaying the release this long?
A: We took the time to make the first FlipStart product one that works well for a set of users today and provides a good foundation for the products we envision tomorrow. FlipStart is now Intel-based, it includes a number of technology innovations for a super small form factor, and we've had the opportunity to conduct extensive research that gave us keen insight into the market needs and usability of the product.
Q: Will the FlipStart be Linux friendly?
A: We've successfully installed and run various flavors of Linux on Flipstart internally. Any experienced Linux users should be able to install and run Linux or BSD on our system with minor tweaks. They may not use 100% of our hardware capabilities (i.e. InfoPane, WAN, touchstick, etc.), but, the rest of the system is still very useable.
Q: Do you have any plans to open up the LID to plug-in developers or integrate with other software?
A: It's certainly something we're considering.
Q: How do you see the FlipStart fitting into the Handtop market with OQO and the Vaio UX?
A: I think the market will determine how well we fit in. FlipStart is the only product that has a compact, clamshell design - something that customers tell us is advantageous. The FlipStart design works equally well in the hands or on a flat surface. So we're different than other products.
Did Keith bring up any questions/concerns? Tell us what you think below.
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Comments
03/23/07
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LKay
Frak. I was holding out hope that the $2k model was the "fully loaded, all options" model, and that they'd offer something cheaper for those of us who can live without some of these features. I'm just not ready to shell out that kind of dinero for 512k RAM.
Still holding out for the ideal UMPC.... 
03/23/07
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tnkgrl
*captain*, you didn't ask him why Vulcan changed the industrial design from the interesting prototype design to the current boring (IMO) design, or why the FlipStart is so bulky...
"FlipStart is the only product that has a compact, clamshell design - something that customers tell us is advantageous."
Translation: contrary to Sony or OQO, we're a conservative company and we're targeting a market that prefers the status quo over innovation - we're afraid to be perceived as "funky" 
03/23/07
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ronaldheld
It was somewhat informative more for FS state of mind. Why would FS select a motherboard which only can only handle 512 MB? Why was there no talk of broadband capacities?
03/23/07
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GreatDane
Hi all,
I'm with tnkgrl on the design, the original was just that, original! The production version, well....
For the rest, there was never going to be a fountain head of information on possible future developments. The best we could have hoped for was confirmation or denial of some rudimentary upgrades. If I was giving the interview, I would not be putting current sales in jeopardy before the first unit is even shipped. It's sad, and it's the way of the world.
03/23/07
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primaz
I'd like to know more about their so called market research (do they publish their research, good research publishes how they derived their conclusions from the demographics of their sample size). I think GreatDane mentioned in a recent blog that "handtops" seem to be a higher end niche. If their market research was focused on people already in that niche or IT directors then they need to do new market research as that does not represent the entire population.
If Flipstart polled in a way that reached a statistical sample of all people then they would realize that a jacket size touch type keyboard input is a much larger market segment than any thumb or pen/screen input. A true market research would look at a representative sample of all types of people not a narrow segment of user types. There is a need for all types of devices and there is no one form factor for all but what is clearly missing is that "handheld" type of computer with a touch type keyboard made for users whom will input it on flat surface, etc. as their computing needs are more heavy inputing that requires a real keyboard. The laptop market is much larger than tablets, UMPC, handtops, combined and there is a good percentage of that huge market that just wants a jacket pocket true touch type keyboard version. Just do even a conservative calculation of 10% of laptop users and those numbers would drawrf what could be had in the more narrow form factor segment of handtop + UMPC + tablets.
03/23/07
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captain
Regarding the touch screen I don't think you're all considering the fact that this is a 1024x600 resolution screen. Whereas the OQO is only 800x480. I'm aware that UX is 1024 as well, but it has a larger physical screen. Using the device myself, I can tell you that I would NOT want it to have touchscreen capabilities. It's simply too small and I'd hate to see what kind of an effect it would have on the battery.
03/23/07
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Flenser
You didn't ask about how using USB Flash memory with Ready Boost affects battery time. Were you saving that for a follow-up question? (It's probably not something they've measured.)
It's a bit moot from my POV though, as it looks like they won't be taking international orders any time soon. I'm guessing they've only got the one spec that they're making at the moment and they'd have to look at using alternative mobile solutions for the international market. Still, it might mean that when one is available here in the UK it will have more than 512MB of RAM by then.
03/23/07
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rr0123
I guess it remains to be seen how easy it is to do a user upgrade of the HD. I tried it on the Sony U101 and it was simply not possible. Hopefully this one comes apart more easily.
Cap, do you have any sense based on your use of the unit, whether you risk permanently messing it up if you open it to swap the HD?
03/23/07
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2disbetter
there si something I like about the design. It looks a bit rugged to me. As if it can take some abuse. The way he dismissed performance concerns though kind of shocked me. Performance over anything else is a huge basis for buying. I would have been a bit more concerned with it.
2d
03/24/07
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ronaldheld
I doubt anything is easily upgadeable. To dismiss performance makes little sense to me, but what can he brag about with a Pentium M, versus a Core Solo ULV?
03/24/07
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ArchiMark
primaz said: "I'd like to know more about their so called market research (do they publish their research, good research publishes how they derived their conclusions from the demographics of their sample size). "
Primaz, you seem to be confusing academic research which gets published and internal corporate market research which is usually considered private information that most companies don't want their competitors to know about. Two very different types of research for two very different purposes....
Captain,
While I can understand that you and others are not interested in a touchscreen, I think that it would be a plus and wish that FS would have that as an option. Ideally, in that case though, the design would be one with a swivel display 'convertible Tablet PC style, so you could use either as laptop or as tablet as you wish...
General Comment:
Still think that 1GB is minimum RAM amount with WinXP or Vista OS....
Also, think that 60GB is minimum HD size nowadays....
Just my 2¢....
;-)
03/25/07
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rr0123
In looking at the answer, I would like a follow-up question on the HD. He may not be able to answer it though. It looks like RAM is simply not upgradeable, because the MB won't accomodate it. But what about the HD? He says he doesn't recommend it, but that's a different issue from whether it can be done. I am sure Sony didn't recommend it, but people upgraded the HD anyway on the UX and it was fairly straightforward to do.
03/26/07
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captain
I understand the complaints, but let's face it, you can't please everyone all the time. For whatever reasons, they've made a 512MB, 30GB, Pentium M handtop with no touchscreen. That's that. There's no upgrading for now and they aren't magically going to give it a swivel screen with touchscreen in the next month.
After 2 weeks of use, I don't have ANY performance issues. I've tried various programs on it with no performance issues whatsoever. I've played World of Warcraft and it runs beautifully, no choppyness. Somehow we all used to run much lower processors on XP with lower RAM years ago and life was ok. But now that everything is quad core with 4gb RAM we're all having a nervous breakdown because the FS doesn't have higher specs. I said this to Keith but I'll say it here as well -- I wish they could have the devices setup in kiosks or publicly somehow, because your concerns about it being a brick and about performance would immediately be culled.
Anyway, I appreciate that this is all a natural response, but from my point of view, it's alarmist and unwarranted. For now, if you have any additional questions that are brought up by Keith's answers, please post them and I'll try to get them answered.
Thanks everyone.
03/26/07
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ronaldheld
captain, give the current specs, what are the broadband module options and will the hardware cost extra?
03/28/07
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jamesmobile
I think this device should have both touch screen but also a true touch type keyboard and be designed so it was thinner and able to be carried in a large pocket. I think the Flipstart would sell a lot if they designed a version around a "handheld" form factor something around 7-8" long by 3.5 to 4" wide and 1" or less thickness that had a clamshell desing with a great keyboard like the old Psion devices.
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