Now here’s Sony with a competitor to the OQO and Flipstart palm-sized Windows XP powered computers. They’re all still vaporware for now and I’m not sure what we’re supposed to be calling these things… Mini Tablet PCs? At any rate, the Sony Vaio supposedly will cost less than $2000. According to MS Mobiles, it probably won’t be running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition so it will likely need some other type of propietary screen-based input method.
What do you think about these types of computers? Personally, I think the Windows XP Operating system is not optimal for such tiny screens. If Windows XP could be altered for higher usability at such small screen sizes, a Mini Tablet PC might be more useful. Otherwise, you’ll need to carry a magnifying glass and a fine-point stylus to click some of those tiny user interface controls.
Originally published on Pocketnow on May 12, 2004. More Hardware articles from the Pocketnow archive.