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View Full Version : Is the "petfrog" Your Future PDA?


Pat Logsdon
06-14-2004, 07:06 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pdalive.com/showarticle.php?threadid=6488' target='_blank'>http://www.pdalive.com/showarticle....p?threadid=6488</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040614_petfrog.jpg" /> <br /><br />The words "pet" and "frog" do not immediately invoke futuristic technology in my mind. My first thought is that a pet frog would be kinda lame. My second thought, after some deliberation, is the same. There <i>is</i> a reason, however. "Frog" is the name of one of the most influential design firms in the world, and they put this mockup together for Newsweek magazine. I'm guessing they tacked "pet" to "frog" because...people like pets...? Whatever the reason, the concept and design of the device are certainly interesting. The main idea seems to be a series of nested physical tabs that can be pulled out to reveal different hardware. A tab on the top of the device reveals a screen, a tab on the bottom contains a keyboard, etc. A "primary" screen on the front of the device shows system information and navigational elements. The UI also seems to be designed around the "tab" idea.<br /><br />While the tabs are sort of neat looking, I think it would be cooler (and more space-efficient) to lose the physical tabs sticking out of the top and bottom in favor of a spring-loaded, no effort-required operation. Need the keyboard? Press the keyboard button on the side and it pops out. Need some extra screen space? Thumb the button and it comes gliding out of the top, like Excalibur in the moist grip of the Lady of the Lake. Perhaps I wax a bit too lyrical, but I think the bottom line here is that this thing is a cool idea. What do you think?

ricksfiona
06-14-2004, 07:21 PM
Looks like a Star Trek communicator.

surur
06-14-2004, 07:47 PM
Its too thick, and if the tabs are meant to be added on as 3rd party accessories then it would be locked in to that design and size (kind of like the design of pc cases)

It may have a chance in the 3rd world though, as a pc replacement.

Surur

bkerrins
06-14-2004, 07:51 PM
NOT impressed. They are developing electronic paper and along comes a plastic box over an inch thick??

The Yaz
06-14-2004, 07:52 PM
I like innovation but such a setup would make any pda too thick...

Also, I am not too enamored with multiple moving parts. It's just more things that can get stuck, or loose, or broken.

Back to the drawing board...

Steve 8)

Kowalski
06-14-2004, 08:08 PM
NOT impressed
same here. this is another futuristic and possibly non usefull design

dean_shan
06-14-2004, 08:36 PM
Nah I'll stick with a 'traditional' PDA style.

joelevi
06-14-2004, 08:38 PM
Looks like a Star Trek communicator.


Or a "ST: The Next Generation" Tricorder.

Jonathan1
06-14-2004, 08:46 PM
Dude it looks like a high tech version of those old school remote controls for TVs!!

Pat Logsdon
06-14-2004, 08:51 PM
Dude it looks like a high tech version of those old school remote controls for TVs!!
:mrgreen: True! I think they made kind of a big mistake in going with 70's Burnt ORANGE for the "sliders". If you check out the Frog Design site, (http://www.frogdesign.com/company/news_press/in_the_news/2004/05_petfrog.html#top) they've got a picture of the petfrog on the cover of Newsweek. It looks pretty small, but the primary colors make it look like a toy.

I still think it's a cool idea, though. :D

JimPAQ
06-14-2004, 09:11 PM
That's about the ugliest thing I have ever seen.

Jeff Rutledge
06-14-2004, 09:31 PM
Hey, isn't the same colour scheme of my old Speak N Spell?

cmchavez
06-14-2004, 09:38 PM
Dude it looks like a high tech version of those old school remote controls for TVs!!
:mrgreen: True! I think they made kind of a big mistake in going with 70's Burnt ORANGE for the "sliders". If you check out the Frog Design site, (http://www.frogdesign.com/company/news_press/in_the_news/2004/05_petfrog.html#top) they've got a picture of the petfrog on the cover of Newsweek. It looks pretty small, but the primary colors make it look like a toy.

I still think it's a cool idea, though. :D

This thing looks like it was made to be used with Playdough! 8O

sesummers
06-14-2004, 10:02 PM
I suspect that's why they made them orange. :wink:

Seriously- I can't see how they could build something like this without it being so fragile that a typical user will break it inside a week- and it looks so complicated that it would be difficult/expensive to manufacture.

OLED displays should make it possible to build PDAs and mini-tablets that are simple, rugged little boxes that can be dropped, carried around in a kid's backpack, and handled like a cell phone or a TV remote control.

Froggie is NOT a step in the right direction.

Phoenix
06-14-2004, 10:35 PM
Maybe our laptops should be designed like that too!

Yeah, right.



That has to be by far the stupidest thing I've ever seen. It'll go great with my huge brick phone and Mont Blanc crayon.



I could see it now...

Stranger: "What's that?"
You: "It's my handheld computer."
Stranger: "What kind is it?"
You: "It's a Pet Frog."
Stranger: "It's a what?!"
You: "A Pet Frog."
Stranger: &lt;Strange look> "Oh... OK." &lt;Thinks: What a weirdo.>
You: &lt;Crown winner of the Uber-Dork-Who-Gets-No-Respect award>



The name would especially go over well in the enterprise...

Bob: "Hey Jim, you have your Pet Frog?"

or

People In Boardroom: "We're all getting Pet Frogs!"


Yeah. OK.


People can already be viewed as nerds for carrying a Pocket PC which is enough, but then to create this dorky, obese design with weird, childish colors and give it the name Pet Frog? Why not wear a sign around your neck that says "I will never ever know a woman." I mean, Chicks just love frogs. :roll:

The name alone would keep me and many others from buying it.


I'll just stick with a Motorola MPx when it arrives, thanks.

Jonathon Watkins
06-14-2004, 10:39 PM
The name would especially go over well in the enterprise...

Bob: "Hey Jim, you have your Pet Frog?"

or

People In Boardroom: "We're all getting Pet Frogs!"


Yeah. OK.



:lol: :rotfl:

THAT'S funny. :D

Daft name for a daft device.

corphack
06-14-2004, 11:49 PM
More moving parts only means more parts to break. If the ideal machine has no moving parts, this design is about as far from "ideal" as possible. Its ugly and cheap in the way that a porsche isn't. Excessively flimsy, and unnecessarily bulky: I'll pass.

yslee
06-15-2004, 12:38 AM
Maybe our laptops should be designed like that too!

Yeah, right.

-sniped-

Wahahah! :lol: Post of the day!!

Mitch D
06-15-2004, 12:43 AM
They should remind the R&D department that sniffing glue is harmful to ones mental health. :crazyeyes:

Tom W.M.
06-15-2004, 02:30 AM
Is frog in any way affiliated with Google? No way. Google tends to come up with original and useful ideas--this "Pet Frog" looks about as useable as a PDA as a banana. It looks as professional as this Disney phones (Who would want a Disney phone!?) they seem so proud of:
http://www.frogdesign.com/incubation/graphics/iconclassic.jpg (http://www.frogdesign.com/company/news_press/press_releases/graphics/640classic.jpg)

EnsignRam
06-15-2004, 02:44 AM
Hmm, does this device look familiar? Maybee they are modleling the pet frog after trek tech. Just like the cell phone companies did with "flip phones" a.k.a. flip communicators.

http://pages.prodigy.net/mysthillarium/mh2/tricorder.jpg

Gremmie
06-15-2004, 04:15 AM
The future of PDA's will revolve around folding PDA displays.

kosmicki
06-15-2004, 06:22 AM
One of these would be pretty cool to have. For about a day. Then you suddenly know why the normal PDA design has been so successful. I mean, come on, its almost a cube! Speaking of cubes... How on earth would you carry it around? It can't fit in a pocket. I guess it would need a custom belt holster...

xoiph
06-15-2004, 08:12 PM
Speaking of cubes... How on earth would you carry it around? It can't fit in a pocket. I guess it would need a custom belt holster...

a la Batman!

xanekka
06-17-2004, 12:32 AM
this is probably the most retarded design for a handheld ever.
the people who designed didn't even have as much vision as our president.

maybe i'll get one for my unborn kid who will be 2 when petfrog comes out.

Kerensky97
06-17-2004, 12:19 PM
After comming right out of the stupid scans (http://www.old-computers.com/fun/default.asp) section of old-computers.com my mind was still in 70's mode an I thought this was some relic concept of the 70's idea of a portable computer.

It took a few seconds to realize it was supposed to be PDA sized.

http://www.old-computers.com/fun/stupid_scans/stupid_osborne1-woman.jpghttp://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040614_petfrog.jpg

epdm
07-01-2004, 07:44 PM
OK. First as for the colours. Look guys the designers at Pet Frog made a mock up. A virtual prototype. You can even see that the "keyboard" doesn't even have markings. We all know that it takes quite some time before a "design" project evolves into a real world consumer product. So the colour scheme should be the least of your worries.

As for the concept. I do indeed like it. In fact a slide-out (or foldable or flip or whatever) display is LESS prone to scratches (when not in use). combined with slide-out keyboards (which we incidentally ALREADY have; see certain cellular phones) isn't such a crazy idea at all.

Look at Philips foldable display technology and current slide-out keyboards. Combine these with ability to insert CF or SD cards sideways(containing extra functionality for your PDA like GPS antenas etc..) of your PDA and there you have a similar device as the one depicted here.

So is design like this so "weird"?

Manu T