Antelope Technologies is about to release its Mobile Computer Core, a very tiny machine (4.7 × 8.5 × 1.9 inches, 1.63 pounds) that runs Windows XP. It manages to cram a 1024 × 768 touch screen, 1 GHz processor, 256MB RAM, and a 10 or 15GB hard drive into this tiny little package, along with a PC card slot and three USB ports.
Okay, so it’s not exactly “handheld”, and it certainly doesn’t fit comfortably in your pocket, but that’s a heck of a lot of power in such a tiny device. What the article doesn’t mention is how long the battery lasts; I can’t imagine it’s got more than an hour or two with all that hardware attached. And with a price tag of US$3,970, it’s not exactly an impulse buy.
The really interesting bit is that the core of the machine is removable from its handheld enclosure, and it slots into a docking station for connection with full-size PC peripherals. It reminds me a bit of tossing my CLIÉ onto its cradle, only my CLIÉ doesn’t then get the benefit of a full-size monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
