Word: minis
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...size. But it was too hot for laps, so it was scrapped. A faster, slicker processor has since cooled things down. Today, however, the heat is external. In the decades since Allen birthed the Microsoft mouse, hardware competition has roared. In addition to OQO, Sony and Samsung have released mini laptops in the same $2,000 range as the FlipStart. And Apple looms as a dark horse...
Like their rivals, members of the OQO team, which got going in 2000 and has received funding from Paladin Capital Group and Motorola, spent hundreds of hours designing and refining prototype keyboards. Theirs is more about thumb typing than table typing. They obsessed over the mini-mouse device that controls the cursor, called a "trackstick," trying to make it feel, in their words, "buttery." FlipStart took a more-is-better approach, incorporating both a trackstick and a touch...
...market. Although 228 million computers were sold worldwide in 2006, and a billion mobile phones, demand for ultra-mobile computers may not even reach 150,000 in 2007, according to Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology consulting firm in California's Silicon Valley. Bajarin expects that mini-PC sales won't near the million-a-year mark until 2009 and may fall far short if prices don't drop fast. "To get into the millions of units, they'll have to sell for no more than $599," Bajarin says...
...Infoworld called it "flat out unusable for work." Using it is a lot like handling a laptop with a shrunken screen and keyboard; it's fine for a few minutes, though you'll feel cramped working for a longer stretch. But there are strengths too. FlipStart has a handy mini outer screen for checking e-mail while the device is closed. And the OQO2 comes with an elegantly designed docking station that lets you use a full-size keyboard and screen when you're not traveling...
...which could both legitimize the category and add a killer competitor. Now that CEO Steve Jobs has modified the Mac operating system for the iPhone, he could use that slimmed-down version for other mobile devices. Apple could employ flash memory instead of a standard hard disc, extending a mini Mac's battery life and allowing it to start up quickly, like a phone. A Jobs subnotebook would likely be bigger than FlipStart's but smaller than a laptop. Apple would have a distinct software advantage, given its focus on nongeeks...