Allen Firm Unveils 1.5-lb. Ultraportable PC - Computerworld_9474

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Computerworld - INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Vulcan Portals Inc. last week introduced a supercompact PC that weighs 1.5 lb. Known as the FlipStart, the full-function PC has a 5.6-in. screen, can run both the Microsoft XP Pro or Windows Vista Business operating systems, and has a 30GB hard drive,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, according to company officials.
Seattle-based Vulcan, founded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, previewed the tool for about a dozen IT managers at the Mobile & Wireless Enterprise conference here last Tuesday, a day before its formal unveiling.
Keith Amodt, senior product manager at FlipStart Labs, a technology incubator that is a division of Vulcan, said the PC is slated to start shipping on March 27 and will retail for $1,999.
IT managers interviewed at the conference, sponsored by Palo Alto, Calif.-based consulting firm Frost & Sullivan Ltd., said the device looks promising but they need time to find the right corporate application for its use.
“I think it’s going to be a couple of years before we know where this kind of device fits,” said Kerry Sedwick, director of technical architecture at American Express Technologies.
Sedwick speculated that the device could be used by American Express Co. agents during visits to the company’s retail customers, when they need a fully functioning PC but “don’t want to crate around a heavy thing.”
“People will love the small size and weight but won’t like the small keyboard and how hard on the eyes it can be,” Sedwick suggested. Noting the small size of the type on the screen, Sedwick and other IT managers said the device might be best aimed at users under 40, who are less likely to need reading glasses.
George McQuillister, senior product manage for mobile services at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in San Francisco, said he is unsure how quickly the FlipStart or similar devices, such as the Model 2 product brought out by San Francisco-based OQO Inc. in January, will catch on with corporate users.
“When one sees somebody [else] using it, others will want it,” he said. “Certain individuals, like my teenage son, would love it,” especially because it can run sophisticated computer games,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, McQuillister noted.
Similar to a small laptop,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, the device features a QWERTY keyboard when the clamshell is open. The keys are too small for touch-typing, but they can be pressed with one finger or “thumbed,” as users do with other small devices, Amodt noted.
The exterior of the FlipStart features a so-called InfoPane that can display a calendar, Outlook e-mail and contacts when the device is closed, Amodt said.
Wireless access will be provided by a single carrier yet to be named,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, using the Evolution Data Optimized Rev. A network, Amodt said. Wi-Fi functionality over 802.11b/g will also be provided, he said.
Gerry Purdy, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said the FlipStart and similar devices represent “an interesting new category” of miniportables. Purdy said that he can see the current 30GB hard drive in the FlipStart growing to 100GB in future generations, with the standard 512MB RAM growing to 4GB.                                                                                                                                                       
Allen Firm Unveils 1.5-lb. Ultraportable PC - Computerworld