Flipstart is finally available!

[roofus4]

I saw in PC World mag yesterday, that the Vulcan Flipstart is finally on the market. I confirmed it at flipstart.com. You can actually click on "Purchase."

http://www.flipstart.com

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/07/hands-on-with-vulcans-flipstart-handheld-pc/

I would still rather have the UX though. The Flipstart specs just don't compare IMO.

Here are some specs.
1.1GHz Pentium M
30GB drive
512 RAM
1.5 lbs
5.6" Screen
1024 x 600 res. (same as UX)
WiFi
Bluetooth
No sign of a memory card slot
Nice external screen though
Sprint EVDO

$1999

What do you guys think?

[Simon]

really it looks like a small suit case and waay too expensive, all in my opinion. Also i think it looks pretty modern, well compared to most umpc's.

[Benz145]

Ugly IMO :eek:

[enterman]

2000$ for something that ugly and with worse specs than my 280P? are u kidding? I dont consider this much of a competitor to our sleek UXs. If the price was under a 1000 then some might consider it but come on.

[sev7en]

It should be priced around 1000 dollars... 2000 are too expensive for me.

[zigzag]

my god thats an ugly device, and such low specs, who in the world wants a pentium floating around in their pocket, eww.

[John566]

512MB with Vista. No thanks.

[UX666]

really it looks like a small suit case..

that's because of the rescue capsule which (hopefully) is included considering its price.

[enterman]

that's because of the rescue capsule which (hopefully) is included considering its price.
are u actually defending it? lmao

[UX666]

are u actually defending it? lmao


no sorry, just dabbling at being sarcastic. i appreciate your applause.

[Simon]

its amazing how much a web site will lie to sell something, best umpc my ass.

[Sull86]

its amazing how much a web site will lie to sell something, best umpc my ass.

lmao


ugly, personally I don't think that comes close to my UX

[enterman]

lmao


ugly, personally I don't think that comes close to my UX
I dont think it comes close to anyones UX.

[Simon]

this is a major mes-up, I mean WTF are they doing in their 'flipstart labs?!?!'

[anotherthing]

2000$ for something that ugly and with worse specs than my 280P? are u kidding? I dont consider this much of a competitor to our sleek UXs. If the price was under a 1000 then some might consider it but come on.

Worse specs? It has a better processor, better cell modem, better battery, and larger screen than the 280P. It also has a touchpad which most laptop users are used to using for input. So, I can see why people might pick this over the UX. That infopane feature is fairly slick as well.

I'm not sure why they didn't give it a full gigabyte of memory. It's hard to imagine a UMPC coming out now that only has half a gig of memory. Any thought I would have had towards picking one of these up over another UMPC would be dashed quickly by the lack of RAM.

[Benz145]

Worse specs? It has a better processor, better cell modem, better battery, and larger screen than the 280P. It also has a touchpad which most laptop users are used to using for input. So, I can see why people might pick this over the UX. That infopane feature is fairly slick as well.

I'm not sure why they didn't give it a full gigabyte of memory. It's hard to imagine a UMPC coming out now that only has half a gig of memory. Any thought I would have had towards picking one of these up over another UMPC would be dashed quickly by the lack of RAM.

The newest UX's have a 1.33GHz CPU, as compared to the Flipstarts 1.1GHz CPU. The lowest speced UX that is even still officially on sale (by Sony) is the UX380, which has a faster CPU, more RAM, and more HDD space. Lets not also forget that a larger screen size isn't always a good thing on a UMPC. The UX is more pocketable then the Flipstart, which makes it more of a UMPC. I think the clamshell design without being able to rotate the screen around to use tablet style is pretty useless. Its hardly even practical, you hang onto the keyboard trying to type with your thumbs, but at the same time you have to counter the weight of the screen with your palms, those two things don't go together to well. Also the UX380 is the same price as the Flipstart which has worse specs. I'd like to get my hands on one of them to check out for myself, but looking at the specs, I don't think I could justify buying one.

[anotherthing]

Ah, you're right about the processor. I was thinking the flipstarted used the newer core for the Pentium M. However, the flipstart should be just as "pocketable" as the UX given both are slightly less than 6" wide. Once you use the extended life batteries in both, I'd say the flipstart would be more pocketable since the UX's battery makes the unit longer whereas the flipstart's just makes it a bit thicker.

In thinking about the clamshell deal, that would eliminate much of the problem I was having with the UX's keyboard lights not staying on since the keys would be lit up by the screen. Plus you don't have to worry too much about your screen when it's in your pocket with a clamshell. The UX, the screen is always exposed. I do completely agree they should have added a swivel on that screen so you can use it as a tablet. I have no idea why they added the cost of a touchscreen to the flipstart when you can't use it as a tablet the way it is.

I don't think it would be harder to type on while holding it, either. The screen should be able to fold most of the way back. That would make it similar to using the UX in terms of typing. Also, the keys look larger, so they should be a touch easier to use.

Personally, I'm happy with the UX. I wouldn't consider the flipstart over the UX, but I can see why some would.

[P996]

The flipstart is nothing but marketing in my opinion, this little thing could easily sell for half the money but the whole marketing hype about it makes it "special."

I don't know if you guys remember the Toshiba Libretto U100?
Check the attached picture. Specs are about the same as the Flipstart, only that the U100 was available 2-3 years ago. :p Only the WWAN is missing.

I would buy the Flipstart with 2 GB RAM, a Core Solo Processor and a HSDPA modem.
Like it is now, forget about it.

[caseyatbt]

I think I bookmarked the Flipstart website around 4 years ago when there wasn't anything close to a Micro PC on the market.(Except for the maybe Libretto) I had figured this for vaporware sometime ago. Too bad the stuck with their original concept design from 4 years ago and didn't make something a little more modern.

[Rorschach]

I almost bought a Libretto at my Micro Center, but it was still selling for 1500 late last year! I got my UX, and never looked back.

[rhotic]

ooh, tough room.
(But glad I got the UX.)

[P996]

I think I bookmarked the Flipstart website around 4 years ago when there wasn't anything close to a Micro PC on the market.(Except for the maybe Libretto) I had figured this for vaporware sometime ago. Too bad the stuck with their original concept design from 4 years ago and didn't make something a little more modern.


The concept "per se" isn't that bad but the used technology is. It is outdated.
I actually like the Libretto U100 and Flipstart form factor but we have the year 2007 now.
If any company would offer such a micro-laptop, they need to use at least 1 GB RAM (2 GB RAM preferrable with Vista), a decent 60-100 GB HDD (1.8'') or a 32/64 GB SSD, built-in WWAN (UMTS/HSDPA/EVDO), at least a Core Solo processor with 1.2 GHz, a Core (2) Duo ULV processor would be even better and a minimum 3 hours battery life (100% display brightness, permanent WLan usage) which would probably translate into a 6 hours advertised battery life. :p

In my opinion, the flipstart will be a flop, unless people who don't know anything about computers buy it without throwing a look at the competition.
I really don't get it, WHO will be that dumb to spend almost 2000 USD for the flipstart? This is ridiculous.

Considering the fact that Intel just put a new processor generation on the market, including the new U processors, and considering the fact that a couple of major laptop manufacturers announced new UMPCs and micro-/ultraportable laptops with interesting features, I don't see at all how the flipstart could be a success at almost 2000 bucks. Maybe if they sell this thing for 999...maybe. :confused:

3-5 years ago, the flipstart would have been a huge success with these specs. Nowadays, the flipstart is just a nice marketing product but I wouldn't spend my money on this thing. The Sony UX models are much better in my opinion and over the next couple of months, some very interesting products will be available.

If the Flipstart manufacturer wants to actually earn money with this thing, they need to re-consider the whole technology part as soon as possible. I actually like how it looks, a little bit "retro" with that nice "sideshow"(?) display. The only thing I don't like is the technology used, outdated in my opinion. There is still time to change the technology, I just hope they're clever enough to understand it.

[P996]

ooh, tough room.
(But glad I got the UX.)


This is actually the good and the bad about the internet. For consumers, the internet is a great information resource if you don't rely on ONE source only and check all available information. Usually this gives you a pretty good "hint" about the quality and performance of a product.

For manufacturers, the internet can be a nightmare. If their product sucks in any way, a huge amount of people will learn about it pretty fast and they can't do anything about it (well...unless they improve their product :p :D ).

The UX is a great product and it started in my opinion a new generation of laptops, making it very hard for the "real" UMPC to penetrate the markets. I don't understand why Microsoft actually limits the UMPC specs to a certain VERY LIMITED hardware because the UX series clearly proves that consumers are willing to pay good money for a product IF it really is something worth buying.

I bet the next couple of months will be very interesting for us consumers with new products in the pipeline. Can't wait to see the new Sony TZ series which has very interesting specs, I also heard of a UX successor for autumn and a lot of other manufacturers have nice toys for us, so just make sure you don't spend your money too fast before knowing all the facts. ;)

[Rorschach]

Jenn has a review up at pocketables.net (http://www.pocketables.net/2007/07/review-flipstar.html).

[giant]

Here is the prototype of the flipstart:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,114833-page,1/article.html

I would be concerned about buying a product from a company that took this long to make it - 3 years and then for it to not be on the cutting edge at all - no touchscreen and at this point lowers specs.

I once bought a Quickpad (smallish company relative to its competitor Alphasmart) and because of many problems (had totally died) I returned it.

It cost me a lot in postage and other costs (duties etc) to both purchase and send back.

Once bitten twice shy - with computers for me its big companies with lots of history in making the product only.

[giant]

This is actually the good and the bad about the internet. For consumers, the internet is a great information resource if you don't rely on ONE source only and check all available information. Usually this gives you a pretty good "hint" about the quality and performance of a product.

For manufacturers, the internet can be a nightmare. If their product sucks in any way, a huge amount of people will learn about it pretty fast and they can't do anything about it (well...unless they improve their product :p :D ).

The UX is a great product and it started in my opinion a new generation of laptops, making it very hard for the "real" UMPC to penetrate the markets. I don't understand why Microsoft actually limits the UMPC specs to a certain VERY LIMITED hardware because the UX series clearly proves that consumers are willing to pay good money for a product IF it really is something worth buying.

I bet the next couple of months will be very interesting for us consumers with new products in the pipeline. Can't wait to see the new Sony TZ series which has very interesting specs, I also heard of a UX successor for autumn and a lot of other manufacturers have nice toys for us, so just make sure you don't spend your money too fast before knowing all the facts. ;)

Very good points, I agree with your comments....but............it is hard to wait for the new versions, isn't it?

[MathProfJohnson]

I also heard of a UX successor for autumn and a lot of other manufacturers have nice toys for us, so just make sure you don't spend your money too fast before knowing all the facts. ;)


Yes, but I don't have a lot of patience. LOL...

I am looking at the Fujitsu U800.

I think if I just played with one I would be satisfied. Can't be better than our UX, right???????????????????????????????????????