Real Pocket Sized Computers That You Still Can't Buy

from the yes,-but-when-can-I-GET-one? dept

For years, we've been hearing about companies working on truly small handheld computers. These are full powered machines running real desktop operating systems on devices just a bit larger than a standard PDA. The Guardian has written up an article comparing the three major players in the space - and all I can say is, that I'll believe it when I can buy one. OQO has received the most hype, with the least to show until just recently. They've definitely modified their design from the original plans (and doubled their expected price...) so that their device is more like a giant Danger Hiptop with a pop out keyboard tucked under the screen. The folks at Tiqit are great, and once took the time to show me around their offices and let me test out their devices (which worked great). Their device is more like a giant Handspring Treo, with a small screen and a keyboard on the front of the device below the screen. Finally, Antelope is a spin-off from IBM who came up with this sort of concept in the first place, and are forging ahead with the original concept that OQO pitched and abandoned (and Tiqit toyed with, and abandoned) of created a "core" with a variety of different shells. This is still the idea that appeals to me the most. If you need your computer to be a desktop, you pop the core into your desktop docking station. Need it to be a laptop, you pop it into your laptop shell. If you need it to control your car, you pop it into the car docking station. To be honest, they all sound wonderful - but none of them are on the market yet. The article says they're all planning to release versions on the market soon, which would be great if they haven't been saying that for years. No doubt that these are all very cool. I definitely wouldn't mind having one around. However, until there's a way to actually buy one, you have to be a bit skeptical of their ability to come to market.

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