04-15-2002, 12:17 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Packard Bell PocketGear 2060
http://www.mipcdebolsillo.com/reportajes/hardware/pocketgear2060.html
This is a confusing piece of hardware. It looks very similar to the NEC PocketGear (affiliate link), and even has the same "PocketGear" name. NEC bought Packard Bell a few years ago (that's like "buying" leprosy isn't it?), but they kept the brand name. I don't know about you, but where I live Packard Bell was synonymous with several four-letter words, none of which I can print here. And you'll note that "quality" is a seven-letter word, not four. 'Nuff said.
At any rate, this is a 206 mhz CPU, 64 megs of RAM, blah blah - the same specs we've seen. Impressive size though - only 14 mm thick. The article above is from a Spanish site, but it has pretty pictures. This whole Packard Bell thing confuses me - going to their web site, I don't see the USA listed. It's almost like they closed up shop in the USA because they had such a horrible reputation, but kept going in other countries. Very interesting from a corporate branding standpoint.
There's also a report on Tom's Hardware Guide in French (source: Dimitri Karakoulko) - you can run either report through BabelFish for English translations. The links to the auto translated versions don't seem to work.
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04-15-2002, 01:30 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 53
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Packard Bell was my first real computer, I loved it and never had a problem with it. Whenever someone asked me what I had, I got the look. I learned real fast to lie and say HP (which is what I run know). I must of been lucky or just overly stupid.
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04-15-2002, 02:10 AM
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04-15-2002, 02:10 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 414
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Very nice and a new smallest size benchmark for PPCs with slots. Packard Bell name won't come to US, but will NEC?
I wonder if that is a standard StrongARM 206 or a new X-scale low-power 133-206MZ X-Scale?
Either way, it is priced identical to an HP 565 according to the report. Way too high for a consumer PDA. And with only one slot, it is not likely to make it into the enterprise market.
I am still waiting for information about the new Toshiba models to come out this week. This PB/Nec thing is a surprise.
I note they compar it to a Palm M130 selling for $400 Euros? What a ripoff.
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04-15-2002, 03:20 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 260
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I personally like the look better than the NEC and the fact that it is much thinner is hugely welcomed in the PPC world.
I wish they would sell this here in the US, or at least that this would spur other manufactures to continue with the trend and make Thinner PPCs.
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04-15-2002, 04:23 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 217
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Wha..?
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Originally Posted by Timothy Rapson
I am still waiting for information about the new Toshiba models to come out this week. This PB/Nec thing is a surprise.
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Huh, new Toshiba models out this week? Are these just random thoughts or do you know something we don't :?:
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04-15-2002, 04:51 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,466
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Holy resurections, Batman!
The Packard Bell name once again rears its ugly head into the marketplace. Leaving a trail of chaos and defective components in its path. :lol:
Still, not a bad looking device. But the brand name is enough to scare me away.
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04-15-2002, 09:54 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 6
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Packard Bell: Stigma or Dark Horse?
Well, the points moot now, but if it were still salient I'd have to say that before they sold off they made some tight machines. I bought a PB Celeron 366MHz back in late 1997. I bought it as a dedicated server. Since then it has been running non-stop (with concessions for moving, of course). All I did was add a 10/100 NIC and ran it up to 256MBs of RAM.
Best damn $730 I ever spent on a server 
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04-15-2002, 12:43 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 414
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Wha..?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by mar2k
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Timothy Rapson
I am still waiting for information about the new Toshiba models to come out this week. This PB/Nec thing is a surprise.
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Huh, new Toshiba models out this week? Are these just random thoughts or do you know something we don't :?: |
Yes, there are new Toshibas coming. Toshiba has made an official press statement that they will announce them this month and there are pictures of possible looks all over. I originally saw them at PDA Buzz, but the pictures and some details are here at PCThoughts too.
The latest news is that one has a built-in keyboard.
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04-15-2002, 12:51 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 414
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As the resident computer geek at work I get asked all the time about what computer to buy. I used to tell them first that they should not buy a computer. I still tell people that. PCs are just too hard to use.
Anyway, I would then tell them to get the cheapest they could get because no computer manufacturer made things so cheaply that they would not last at least as until they were obsolete anyway.
Packard Bell changed that advice. EMachines may be just as bad, but Packard Bell slipped so badly the last 6 months to a year of it's life. It was like they were deliberately trying to make them wrong.
It always was a little goofy though, a couple of small-time Computer Shopper sellers got together and bought the name of an old phone company to get up and running. NEC should have known better than waste the ton of money they spent for that name.
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