| Tiny clamshell mobile PC does Vista |
Apr. 26, 2007
 FlipStart, founded in 2002 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, earlier this month began shipping its first product. The FlipStart 1.0 squeezes the power of a full Windows PC -- including a 1.1GHz processor, hard drive, display, keyboard, and wireless communications -- into an ultra-compact, palm-sized package.
Within its super-compact, clamshell-style design, the FlipStart 1.0 packs everything expected in a desktop PC, along with an extensive set of innovative, "user-driven" features required by mobile users, according to the company. Key hardware features include a 5.6-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel touch-sensitive "wide SVGA" display, a 30 GB shock-mounted hard drive, three forms of wireless communications, and a complete QWERTY keyboard. And, as befitting the product of a company founded by a Microsoft co-founder, the device comes with a choice of Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business edition.
 
FlipStart: closed, rear-view
(Click each image to enlarge)
The FlipStart's trim size -- 5.9 x 4.5 x 1.4 inches, when closed up -- should please many users who can afford its two-grand price tag. Although a reviewer at eWEEK.com called the FlipStart "clunky," it's substantially smaller than the "ultra-mobile PC" (UMPC) format jointly introduced one year ago by Microsoft and by Intel. With typical dimensions of 9 x 5.5 x 1 inches (roughly 50 cubic inches), UMPCs take up nearly half-again as much space as the 37 cubic-inch FlipStart -- and, you can't fold UMPCs in half to stow them in your pocket.
 Two other interesting competitors for the FlipStart include OQO's Model 02 (shown at right) and Sony's VAIO UX Micro PC, both of which include slide-out QWERTY keyboards. The former measures 5.6 x 3.3 x 1.0 and comes with a 60 GB hard drive and optional EV-DO, while the latter measures 5.9 x 3.7 x 1.5 inches and packs a 1024 x 600 display along with "integrated wireless WAN for access to the Cingular Wireless national EDGE network." At about one pound each, both weigh significantly less than the FlipStart.
Key specifications of the FlipStart, according to the company, include:- Processor -- ULV Intel Pentium M Processor, clocked at 1.1 GHz
- Graphics -- Intel Enhanced Graphics processor
- Storage -- 30GB shock-mounted hard drive
- Memory -- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM
- User interface inputs:
- backlit QWERTY keyboard
- mouse buttons
- touchpad
- touchstick
- jog dial
- Displays:
- Main display -- 5.6-inch, 1024 x 600 "wide SVGA"
- External, auxiliary display -- 1.8-inch, 220 x 176
- Wireless:
- EV-DO Rev A, "mobile broadband-ready"
- 802.11b/g WiFI
- Bluetooth
- Audio:
- stereo headphone jack
- built-in stereo microphones
- built-in speaker
- Camera -- built-in VGA camera
- Other I/O -- USB 2.0
- Lithium Polymer battery options:
- Standard -- 3-6 hours operation
- Slimline -- 1–3 hours operation
- Dimensions -- 5.9 x 4.5 x 1.6 inches (with standard battery)
- Weight -- 1.5 lbs. with slimline battery; 1.75 lbs. with standard battery
The FlipStart 2.0 is currently available for $1,999 on the company's website. A variety of accessories are also offered for the device.
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