Windows XP Handhelds: The Next Small Thing

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I started writing this column on a computer running Windows XP Professional, but also on a handheld with no desk or other flat surface to support it. That paradox is provided by the namesake computer of Tiqit, Tiqit is neither the first nor most recent company to try to shrink the PC to its practical limits, but it may be the most successful and indeed only choice for something near its dimensions when it ships in the U.S. later this year.

Read the follow-up column: A Deeper Look at the Tiqit and Windows XP Handhelds

The idea of the mini-PC or sub-subnotebook (before marketing departments renamed that category “ultraportables”) has been around for a while, The first one I tried was the IBM ThinkPad PC110, a Japanese clamshell palmtop 486 that has clearly influenced the current Sony Vaio “U” series. This is especially true of the PCG-U101 that is also exclusive to the Japanese market but imported by specialty retailers such as Dynamism and Kemplar.

Anyone who has used palmtops like the seminal HP 200LX or the first Windows CE devices will have some idea of the input challenges these products present, Overlay on those the awkwardness of dealing with a version of Windows optimized for neither the size nor speed of such a device.

Still, such frustrations have not discouraged other contenders from trying to claim the title of the worlds smallest Windows PC. Spare me the recycled vision of the Tablet PC; this embryonic category is the most interesting thing to happen to PC hardware since the laptop (or at least the ill-fated Panda Project Archistrat). For the first time in decades, there are new entrants taking unique and divergent paths toward hardware design:

• Vulcan, which appears poised to undercut the Japanese Vaio in size by at least an inch in both height and width, has stayed true to the clamshell form factor. However, its small size may make using it standing up more practical. It will even take advantage of the latest wide-screen trend in notebooks, delivering 800 X 480 pixel resolution on a 5.8″ screen.

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Beefy But Bulky

• Oqo, which announced its product at WinHEC in 2002, is seeking to maximize screen real estate at the expense of a keyboard, a la the “pure” Tablet PC. As a result, its device has the smallest dimensions of the lot, although Im skeptical of its claims that it will fit in a shirt pocket. The Oqo team, which has pushed its deadline back by a year and now expects to ship by the end of 2003, is taking advantage of its PowerBook G4 design experience to focus on performance; a 1 GHz processor in its machine will be provided by Transmeta. However, breaking with Apples design philosophy (at least since the days of the PowerBook Duo), Oqo has big plans for a modular system that will enable its device to fit inside a laptop or desktop housing. Oqo will offer FireWire and USB ports (its site says 1.1 but Id expect 2.0) as well as a proprietary docking connector.
• Tiqit, Oqos equally palindromic competitor, has taken advantage of much thats been learned in the past few years of handheld design. With its vertical orientation and thumbboard, Its what a color RIM Blackberry might look like before meeting Richard Simmons.

One difference between the Tiqit and other models is that the others support integrated Wi-Fi, and the Oqo is slated to include Bluetooth as well. Tiqit executives said they had included Bluetooth in an earlier prototype but dropped it since there were so few devices that supported the technology. However, while the other devices were announced some time ago, neither has shipped. The Oqo site is targeting later this year while the Vulcan site is short on details. So, for now, the only game in town is the Tiqit.

With their internal hard disks and PC Card slots, none of these computers will approach the svelte profile of an iPaq, much less a slim Clie. As chunky as the Apple Newton, the Tiqit would fit only in a roomy jacket or overcoat pocket for now. However, these products overcome a host of problems relating to application availability, synchronization, and driver support. Add a simple docking connector and you can use them at your desktop as well. Despite the recent proliferation of pocket office suites in the past year, XP handheld vendors can provide not only perfect file compatibility, but preserve almost full functionality away from any desk. They are a lot more than pumped-up multimedia PIMs.

In a recent column on Smart Displays, I noted how Microsoft has struggled with at least one Windows CE platform in the wake of competition from its mainstream operating systems. Indeed, given that there is no clear vision for where the handheld is heading, it seems to be morphing by default into a true “pocket PC.” This begs the question, as the hardware gets more capable, why not just throw the real Windows on there and be done with it? Indeed, using one of these products provides a glimpse into the future of the rich functionality we can expect from future handheld devices. Ill share more of those impressions when I discuss my recent hands-on time with the Tiqit in the next column.

Would you give up some of your handhelds portability for the full functionality of a PC? E-mail me.

Wireless Supersite Editor Ross Rubin is a senior analyst at eMarketer. He has researched wireless communications since 1994 and has been covering technology since 1989.

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