More Excalibur Pictures Hit the Web

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Aug/gee20060817038083.htm' target='_blank'>http://geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Aug/gee20060817038083.htm</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20060818-ExcaliburBB.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Joel over at Geek.com has managed to get his hands on a couple of the best Excalibur pictures released to date. Be sure to click over and look at both pictures in their original size. I'm still not found of the silver faceplate, but I'm really starting to like the size and functionality of this device. This model has the rocker switch on the side and not the touch slider. Dopod is rumored to be releasing the rocker switch version. Perhaps it's also being picked up by a North American carrier too? Touch strip or jog rocker, I don't really care which one it is. I just want one of them. :)<br /><br />Side Note: I've updated this post to get the story right. All that <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11970">CDMA talk was for the Q</a> and not the Excalibur. ;)

[HalM]

This one looks really good. I suspect that as soon as Mad Monkey Boy lists them on his site we will pre-order.

[The One Eyed Man]

Very cool!

I think the touch slider will be problematic like early Alps Glidepoint devices. Those devices had a tendency to be oversensitive (a slight hand gesture would cause you to scroll endlessly in Excel), or undersensitive, and you really had to tweak the settings to get them to work effectively. This was about 10 years ago, and the technology on laptops has come a long way.

Maybe the manufacturers could include a pressure device similar to the (IBM) TrackPoint II (eraser dot) on laptops.... This has the advantage of having no moving parts, which have a tendency to break, jam, or wear.

I think there are quite a few lessons that manufacturers should carry over from Laptop design with respect to mobile devices -- Laptops have had longer to mature with respect to features, functionality, and reliability.