If you want to listen to the radio while eating breakfast you buy a radio for the kitchen. And if you want to make toast for breakfast you buy a toaster. You don't go looking for a radio that makes toast or a toaster that receives All Things Considered.
Sound silly? Well consider -- that's what we do when we want to surf the mobile Web. We use a…telephone handset.
Am I the only person who thinks there might be a better way? You know, something designed for reading and typing – which is how we interact with the Internet – instead of dialing and talking.
Evidently I'm not alone here, judging by Taiwanese electronics company GIGABYTE Technology's sleek new M528 mobile Internet device, scheduled to launch in Taiwan in August with 3G service from Chunghwa Telecom, according to an InfoWorld report.
The M528 is part of a new series of ultra-mobile devices unveiled by GIGABYTE in June.
Slightly larger than a PDA – 6" x 3" x ¾" – and weighing in at 12 ounces, the Linux-based (Mobile Linux) M528 features a 4.8 inch touch screen – compared with the typical mobile phone's 3 inches – a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g WiFi support, 4GB disk, Bluetooth, USB ports, micro-SD card slot, a 3M-pixel camera and an application suite that includes a Firefox 3-based browser, Open Office and Skype. It's expected to retail around US$750.
It also has a SIM card slot, if you want to use it as a mobile phone. No word on whether it makes toast.
UMPC portal has more discussion on the M528, if you're interested.
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