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Engadget Podcast 169 - 10.31.2009
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rynth @ Nov 19th 2007 6:52AM
Looks slick as hell, but no qwerty would be a bummer.
Bobs @ Nov 19th 2007 7:20AM
The lack of a built in querty can be offset by the avalibality of several USB ports, ya know, for a keyboard and mouse, and one more for my Archos, maby even a VGA or DVI port for a monitor, for when i get home
Rynth @ Nov 19th 2007 7:23AM
Can't see that being all that handy whilst out and about..
"Oh, wait there, let me plug in my keyboard first"
Nah, built in qwerty is definitely a must.
Blake Bowen @ Nov 19th 2007 11:33AM
No, it really, really isn't. The speed of the keyboard on my sony vgn umpc is comparable to the on-screen keyboard on my slate tablet pc.
Blake Bowen @ Nov 19th 2007 11:34AM
No, it really, really isn't. The speed of the keyboard on my sony vgn umpc is comparable to the on-screen keyboard on my slate tablet pc.
Benson @ Nov 19th 2007 2:47PM
Needs BT; if it has that, then it's not "plug in my keyboard", it's just flip the keyboard open.
I use a Palm folding BT keyboard, and it's quite a handy little thing. Whip out of jacket pocket, press latch, and it's folded open, taking very little longer than to open a typical qwerty slider and shift grip. Then you can have full-pitch keys, which can't happen with a slider in a device this size.
And the speed of on-screen boards can approach full-size keyboards and beat thumb-boards, when they're well-executed. This screen is large enough for that to work well, if they can get the software right.
The 4.8" diagonal is getting to the large end for stylus work, though. That's my only serious concern. As screen sizes increase, resting your hand on the bezel and reaching the screen with a stylus becomes awkward. Until touchscreens can take stylus input while ignoring your hand resting on the screen, and still be finger capable when not using a stylus, I don't think a landscape display over ~4" wide can work well.
(Note to Apple fanboys: I have never had a Newton, but I think they have a screen height >4 inches; if they have a landscape mode, please don't kill me for it. Even if they do, I expect writing all over the whole screen is still a lot easier in portrait mode.)