IMOVIO launched today a smaller alternative to a subnotebook -- much smaller. The new iKIT is about the size of a PDA from ten years ago, but has a QWERTY keyboard and connects to the Internet at 3G speeds via your cell phone or Wi-Fi.The $175 Linux-based system has a Webcam built in, as well as a range of applications, including Web browsing, e-mail and IM.
It can connect to the Internet using a standard Wi-Fi connection, or it can use your cell phone's mobile broadband connection via Bluetooth.
The company is currently pitching it to mobile network operators and retail stores.
Hat tip joe.
Comments
I can haz working link plz?
Posted by: Beowulff | November 20, 2008 9:06 PM
The article: http://blogs.computerworld.com/call_it_a_sub_subnotebook_new_pc_is_small_as_a_cell_phone
The device: http://www.webitpr.com/release_detail.asp?ReleaseID=10258
Posted by: Kent Sharkey | November 20, 2008 9:10 PM
Here's the full press release.
Posted by: Stephanie Z | November 20, 2008 9:27 PM
Too little, too late. Too little storage, too few contacts and calendar events available, just too little of everything. This would have been a killer device 5 years ago, but not now.
Posted by: RSG | November 20, 2008 10:21 PM
Nah, I'll stick with my Nokia N800. It's a little dated, but works great when I'm on the move. WiFi and connectivity via blue tooth through my phone if I need it. Two SD card slots will give me 16 GB and it all runs under Linux.
Posted by: cfeagans | November 20, 2008 10:45 PM
Dell has a 9in laptop (I think the 9 series laptop) that will be a Black Friday deal for $250 with a SSD (Solid State Driver or Solid State Hard Drive). Damn good deal.
It's hard for me to say which is more appealing. I think I will have to wait a few more years before I fully integrate the cell and laptop. At the very least, if I do integrate the two it better run Android.
Posted by: Webs | November 20, 2008 11:24 PM
For anybody interested in tinkering, there is another device, already cheap and available, in that genre. The Zipit Z2 is uglier and a little fatter, lacks bluetooth, and comes with a default firmware that is nearly useless; but it is available now, less than $50, and supports loading custom OpenEmbedded firmware from a miniSD card. Not out-of-the-box useful; but worth a look as a hacker toy.
Posted by: phisrow | November 20, 2008 11:32 PM
I build my Desktop systems myself,and put Linux on them,but I just bought a laptop,and there was just noone that sold them without Windoze preinstalled here in Australia,it drove me insane.Even Dell only sells the Ubuntu laptops in the US and Europe,it is a real shame.
Posted by: clinteas | November 21, 2008 8:43 AM
My AT&T Blackjack II has 3G and omg it is so fast.
Posted by: marilove | November 21, 2008 12:06 PM
I also have a Nokia N800, but I mostly use my Asus EeePC. The Dell mentioned above is a direct response to it. Asus can't make them fast enough to keep stores and websites in stock. I'll never buy another full-size laptop, nor one that has a magnetic HD or Windows. The Eee is exactly what I've been wanting for years.
Posted by: RSG | November 21, 2008 1:42 PM