Posts Tagged ‘WiPC’

In the world of MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), I’ve yet to see any truly different paradigms hitting the market… until now. BlueRadios, Inc. has cooked up a nifty little hand-held device called the WiPC. Unfortunately, their website hearkens back to early 1990′s web design, so it doesn’t quite present their product in a manner befitting such a modern marvel. Likewise, the UI they’re currently using to demonstrate the product with is a semi-hideous amalgam of a boring WinCE desktop with a few modern elements (a Vista orb wallpaper… really?):

With that said, the product has yet to hit the consumer market, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that a better-looking UI may be coming down the pike – especially when Windows Mobile 7 takes the throne. So, just why is this thing so different? What is it about the WiPC that makes it worth posting about? Well, just imagine having a high-resolution 15″ desktop in the palm of your hand… and when I say a 15″ desktop, I mean both what you see and what you can do with it. As for how they pull off the visual aspect, the WiPC, “integrates a high-resolution color liquid crystal micro display, superb magnifying optics, and video technologies to create a virtual 15 inch image comparable to a standard notebook display or a large-screen television.” If that’s not grabbing your attention already, check out what they’re touting the WiPC as being capable of:

. Surf the Web via 3.5G, WiFi, and Bluetooth®
. Listen and watch music videos on your WiPC
. Watch television on the WiPC
. Use your WiPC as a mobile desk top backup device
. Navigation (GPS) and Location Based Services (LBS) support
. View and VNC desktop PC with WiPC
. Call and/or video conference with WiPC

They call it, “content snacking” and in their words, “[t]he most frequently performed Internet activities include: accessing information (such as news updates, weather forecasts, and stock quotes), listening to music (digital downloads, and Internet radio), and viewing video entertainment content (YouTube videos, movie trailers and digital pictures). The WiPC provides one-touch access to all of these Internet infotainment applications on SVGA micro display.”

Infotainment, huh? Eh… anyway…

They have a brochure on their website which contains some specifics regarding mention of Windows Mobile 7 on various products of theirs. There are varying degrees of cost for each type of WiPC unit that there will be. Interestingly enough, only one of them is HDTV-capable while every other type of technology can all be bundled into one unit. The HDTV addition costs $50, so if they ever did decide to create an all-in-one unit, you’d be looking at a $399 price tag. Check out the, “Bundled Packages” list below and take note of the additional cost for owning a Windows Mobile 7-equipped WiPC:

Does that $29 price tag give us an idea for how much the mobile OS might cost OEMs? That seems a bit too inexpensive, I think, but maybe not when all is said and done. Regardless, check out the following list for a brief summary of what each type of WiPC does (take note of the WiPC Viewer as to what it includes for how to use the unit):

All-in-all, I would definitely love the opportunity to check one of these things out. It doesn’t sound like there’s too private of a way to use this thing in public places via voice commands (I suppose there will be an accessible on-screen keyboard, but that won’t be very efficient for much beyond simple searches), but as far as what you see on the desktop and what you hear via headphones (thanks to the headphone jack), this seems like it could be a pretty cool device!

Source: WiPC Website

-Stephen
http://msftkitchen.com