Surfing excitement - touch-fest

http://www.firebox.com/product/1999?src_t=cat&src_id=techtoys

£179.95




http://www.datawind.com/

Anybody have one or used one? I want one.

it certainly looks very cool.

only 4 hours usage? :/

4 hours battery life - yep. Bare in mind that this beats many laptops.

This thing is tiny - it is purely an internet surfer - it downloads pages as they appear on a PC - it downloads pages in up to 7 seconds or less. It's the fastest you can buy (based on the compression and delivery method).

I think it is great and I am going to buy one.

You pay £180 which gives you 1 year free internet access - limited to 20 hours per month.

You pay up to £40.00 per year to renew your yearly free access.

It costs £5.99 per month for unlimited access.

I think it is great - will order mine tomorrow on next day delivery.

How cool is it to be out somewhere and pull this out and surf the net as it appears on a PC? Yeh, it has its limits - it is purely an internet surfer - not a laptop or organiser - just a surfer.

I'll bet it doesn't work when you go abroad though, which would be the main selling point for business. If you could get a good device with a good GLOBAL (and of course very low) fixed price for access you would sell millions.

Darkheart

They do roaming at £14.99 per month, and I believe you can just opt in for months rather than having to go for a minimum period, which if true could make it quite an interesting proposition.

Certainly a cool gizmo, in the UK I think it's going to be sold by Maplin as well, so it may be that you can see one in the high street before buying.

I'd want it to have wifi.

Since when is forty quid a year the equivalent to something being free?

Though they lack GPRS modems, I think Nokia's N800 and N810 tablets are cooler. WiFi is very easy to find these days. (And when an Internet connection is really necessary in the middle of nowhere, they can get one through a Bluetooth cell phone).

How about this?

I like the iPhone for this sort of thing personally...

Wait a minute! Hold your sausages!

Let's just step back and smell the situation.

You can all march in here with your Iphones and Nokias and this and that.

How much are they?

My little pup is £180.00 - internet access is free for the first year - it will cost up to £40.00 per year thereafter. It costs about £3 or £4 per month after the first year. If you add on unlimited access then it is still less than £10.00 pm.

How much is a contract on an Iphone (or similar) with internet access per month? Are they faster than my baby? Do they show the web how it is meant to look?

The keyboard looks nasty.

That's the novelty of it.

It's like a dog with 3 legs.

Let's face it - Apple, Nokia, etc, etc are all big names who have the money and experience to get things right.

This Datawind lot poke their noses out of the ground and say we are going to make a machine that purely surfs the net - it will be small and cheap - a PocketSurfer.

It's so small and cheap it is totally in-your-face Large! I'd bet that Apple, Nokia etc are worried by it.

Look at this Iphone thing:


That's virtually a life-size picture.

Who the hell can read the webpage?

EDIT:
In fact that picture is bigger than life-size.

That Iphone is rubbish at internet stuff isn't it?

My pup in real-life is slightly bigger than shown in this picture:


Puts the Iphone to shame doesn't it? The Iphone takes ages to load a page - apparantly minutes.

My pup does it in less than 7 seconds.

PocketSurfer2 - Total Largeness!

Not if its using WiFi. Plus you can change orientation and zoom in. So its not really a problem. Heck if all you want to do is surf, get the iPod touch for ~US$250 after rebate. Plus you get other added functionality. Who wants to carry around a cellphone, mp3 player, and a pocket surfer? I'm not convinced that its cheap either.

Ipod touch?

Googling it now.

EDIT:
Ah, I see - it is an Iphone, without the phone.

I like it.

I'll read more on it.

How does the Ipod touch surf the net - is it free? If not, what does it cost to surf with it?


EDIT:
The great thing about the PockerSurfer2 is it works anywhere a mobile phone does. The touch thing seems to only work in hotspots.

Well, I'm not a fan of the iPhone either. The N810 is pretty cool because it, too, is aimed for the web.
Anyhow, one of the most important factors here is the screen size:

iPhone / iPod touch has a rather weak 3.5" 320x480 screen. Glass, though, so very durable.
N810 has a 4.1" 800x480 screen. Same for the N800, although the N810 is sunlight readable and has an ambient light sensor.

What kind of screen does the PocketSurfer 2 have?

That gadget reminds me a bit of a funny (and very long) design Intel was showing off:
http://apcmag.com/7220/intels_iphone_clone_umpc

You scare people. (Note to self: Never let puki near my dog).

Puki, does that thing do flash? Can it read PDF's? View videos? Listen to streaming music?

Make sure it is really useful for browsing the web before you drop any money on it.

My Nintendo DS has a web-browser. With a slightly modded cart, it has built in memory storage in the game cartridge itself as well.

GrahamK, it's not 14.99 a month for international roaming it's 14.99 PER HOUR!

Here is the response from Datawind themselves:

"Hi XXXX,

Thank you for your interest in the PocketSurfer2.
The device works on the Orange network an will operate anywhere in the world you have a GPRS mobile phone signal.

A unit purchased in the UK has 20 hours of free internet roaming per month. Outside the UK roaming charges do apply and costs £14.99 per hour charged at per minute increments.

You would need to call our support number to activate roaming before it can be used.

If you require any further information please contact me or call our customer services on 0844 999 0990

Best regards

Alia"

Obviously with charges like that it puts it in the bin for me my PDA with an EDGE connection is MUCH more cost effective!

Darkheart

Plus, there's the whole who wants to carry around a phone, net browsing device, music player, video player, etc... The iPhone is pretty close to perfect and it's cake to use and you can always see because the zoom feature is fantastic.

Me.

I love my Nokia 3220 phone - it has flashing disco lights on the case edges.

I have a 30GB Creative Zen Vision:M player

I just need my PocketSurfer2.

Then again, I could get this Iphone touch thing (I don't need the Iphone itself - I don't want a contract phone). I haven't yet gathered enough info on how the internet access works on the Ipod touch - lots of comments on the web that there is no charge for access - but some people say it is chargeable and that coverage is limited to enable you to surf.

Yeah - the iPhone browser zoom thingy looks pretty neat, actually:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7v824GkD14

I'm ordering the PocketSurfer2.

It will arrive tomorrow.

Wi-Fi delivery on the Iphone and Ipod touch is rubbish.

The PocketSurfer2 will work anywhere you can pick up a mobile signal - it is a true mobile internet device - not some nappy wearing Apple thing that needs a hotspot nappy change.

The Nokia N95 8Gb is the better phone - the IPhone seems a bit like style over substance.

I am waiting for the 10inch Asus EEE PC

I would buy a PSP instead. WiFi, Games, TV, Camera -if you buy the camera - and a lot more..

Ah, but WiFi is bent.

My PocketSurfer2 will surf all over the place - it will deliver pages as they are meant to be seen in up to 7 seconds.

Plus, if I don't like it - I can buy the Ipod touch - providing WiFi becomes less bent.

Asda are selling it:
http://www.asda-electricals.co.uk/shop/product/linsar/pocketsurfer.html

Strange - but true.

Mine arrives tomorrow morning.

You will be updated further.

Same here. Does anyone have any recent information on that one? There has been a bit of info about the 7" one, but I don't even know if the 10" is still planned or was simply dropped.

No, I haven't found any official info on the 10 inch version, just people discussing it on forums. It looks logical that they are planning a 10inch version, as the current 7inch's case can easily take the LCD for it.

I just found out it uses Internet Explorer 6 as it's browser. The fact that Inernet Explorer causes me so many problems as web developer due to it's non-standard way of displaying web pages means that I will check some other device - maybe iPhone or Nokia N800. IE is a real heap of ****!

I shall provide a full review of the PocketSurfer2. It is due to arrive within 2 hours. It has to be charged for 4 hours before use.

I think many people are interested in it (and similar devices).


The main selling points for me were:

You can use it anywhere you can get a mobile phone signal - ie not limited to the limited Wifi hotspots;

It downloads web-pages faster than ANY other product - sub 7 seconds;

It downloads web-pages as they are meant to be seen - ie not stripped down PDA type pages;

Full QWERY keyboard;

Full VGA width, 640 pixel, screen - not a little PDA one.

EDIT:
Also the price to surf is great. Free for the first year - 20 hours per month. £5.99 per month for unlimited surfing. Up to £40.00 per YEAR (excluding the £5.99 pm unlimted surfing) for subsequent years. Many other products have contracts that cost much more than this.

EDIT:
It has arrived - 12:57 - with 3 minutes to spare.

The PocketSufer2 has arrived.

It doesn't work!

It doesn't switch on - even with the power supply connected.

It is clearly not working.

I wasted 5 hours waiting for this. Now I go through the hassle that I have had with the past 2 PCs I have bought in getting it returned.

iPhone B!^#@!

Hurray for investing in a gimmick!