Paul Allen's FlipStart tiny PC underwhelms

THE FIRST POLLS are in for Flipstart, the handheld/mini PC that is the first device from Paul Allen's startup FlipStart Labs, but the news isn't all good.

The FlipStart is a piece of work with its thumb-controlled Qwerty keyboard, 1.1GHz Pentium M processor, EVDO comms, camera, port replicator, Windows XP OS and non-SideShow-based auxiliary display. It doesn't look quite like anything out there -- it appears very 1990s and plug ugly -- and it carries a big price tag of $1,999.

Allen is usually pretty quiet compared to his old friend and fellow Microsoft founder Bill Gates but the arrival of this gewgaw of a computer after four years in vapour has brought him out of his shell.

"I've always been captivated with problems that really need solving -- what should exist and how we could create a solution," he says in a press release.

"Years ago, I began to imagine a super compact computer that would allow us to connect, communicate, work and relax, no matter where we are -- one that is intrinsically intuitive to use. FlipStart is the first commercial product to meet that vision; it simply works as expected."

Problem is, not everybody agrees.

The gadget sites are all over FlipStart though. cursory glance has a and says that: "Having already played around with both OQOs, several UMPCs, and countless smartphones, we had a pretty good idea of what we were expecting from this device, and from our preliminary evaluation, it does not disappoint. From the polished, slightly-heavy body to the port replicator to the geeky hip pouch, everything feels solidly built."

But eWeek has plenty of doubts, including the 5.6in screen and shortcut options: "This small form factor clamshell PC has what we call the three C's: cool, clunky and costly."

Inforworld calls the keyboard “flat out unusable for work. If all I'm doing with my $2,000 FlipStart money is text messaging, then I suppose it's OK. But I can't see taking it to a meeting and keeping accurate notes."

Reviewer Oliver Rist also thinks FlipStart should have had an optical drive and more disk capacity:

"30GB of storage space? My music player has more than that. And aside from cool, it would have made it way easier to use. I haven't quite figured out Vulcan's target demographic with this thing, but it does seem like a gadget."

jkOnThe Run has a video review here.

It would be unfair to condemn the FlipStart on hearsay but the formbook for expensive, unusual, unattractive mobile products isn't good. Maybe the price tag is a deterrent and Allen has a successor planned to wow us. After all, it has always taken his old company a few goes to hot the jackpot. µ