The Jackito... Exists?

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/' target='_blank'>http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/</a><br /><br /></div>Last week, I <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29938">posted on the Jackito</a> -- a "Tactile Digital Assistant". Many of you (rightfully) expressed their skepticism... but the company might actually exist. Roland Piquepaille posted an interview with the founders of Jackito on his blog. He's even got a video up.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20040721-JackitoBW.jpg" /><br /><br /><i>"A week ago, I wrote a column about a new Tactile Digital Assistant (TDA), the Jackito. Many readers questioned the existence of the product and thought it might be an elaborate scam. I also had serious doubts. But as the company behind this TDA, Novinit, is French, I decided to investigate and contacted the company. And I spent several hours with the CEO and the CTO. I told them about the mistakes they made in their early announcement and asked what kind of corrective actions they were taking to fix the situation and build trust in their product. I also discussed their vision of this TDA, the history of the project and its possible future. But more importantly, I used an early prototype. I don't know if this TDA will be a success, but one thing is sure: it's real."</i>

[arnage2]

looks interesting, but how many people would take B&W over color?

[ikesler]

Not even remotely interested........... :(

[Kati Compton]

Note that the President and CEO posted in the first thread we had on the topic: http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=266085&highlight=#266085

[Steven Cedrone]

Kati also types faster then me so see the link above! :wink: Anyway, it does seem to exist! The video seems either very choppy, or very edited...

Steve

[Stake]

That video shows me that it's an awful OS. The pop out menu reminds me of the old Mac days where you had to keep you mouse button down to keep menus open! Instead, you need your thumb.

The video has been chopped together and looks like the device wasn't stable enough for one continuous shot. Any why isn't the keyboard in a QWERTY layout?

Second, the OS, graphically, looks like Fisher Price did the artwork. This looks like a step backward in PDA technology.

Like ikesler says, I'm "Not even remotely interested."

[dean_shan]

I'd get one to play with if it wasn't $600 base. I pick one up for $150-$200 tops.

[Phoenix]

Well, I am very shocked to hear that this thing is actually real.

But I'm with ikesler - It's not anything I'd ever carry around.

And it's not that I wish failure on anyone, but this device will have a very short life. I'd bank on that. No one is going to develop software for this thing. And they don't have a chance of competing with MS or Palm on the software side, or any of the other big companies on the hardware side.

[felixdd]

The only feasible application I see for this is military, where it's not feasible to play hunt-and-peck with a stylus on a battlefield with bullets flying by your ear.

[Kacey Green]

the company that does inventory for my job, may have a use for such a device, they do everything by touch, they use their eyes to keep track of what they are inputting into the very primitive looking keypad based computing devices.

[Robb Bates]

the company that does inventory for my job, may have a use for such a device, they do everything by touch, they use their eyes to keep track of what they are inputting into the very primitive looking keypad based computing devices.

I used to work for that company (or one like it) when I was a teenager. They have a very high turnover rate because the work sucks!

Robb

[Mitch D]

looks interesting, but how many people would take B&W over color?

It look like a colour screen is an option for this device:

"Color, high-definition 65 536-color transflective TFT [battery life : 10 Hours] $138"

My only problem with this device is by the time you add everything you need to run it the cost gets crazy. Here is what I came up with as my unit...

Base Unit:$600

+ Color, high-definition 65 536-color transflective TFT $138
+ 64 MB internal NAND Flash memory $30
+ USB cord $25
+ Smart international AC power cord (+ battery charger) $70
+ Hard case $50
+ WiFi module (Radiocom/100m) $150
+ Having the newest toy $Priceless (Sorry VISA)

Total Price: $1063 (US$) 1406(CAN$) :!: :!: :!:

Now in perspective the new iPaq 4700 is $650(US$) $860 (CAN$), I don't think there is any danger of me dumping WM2003 anytime soon. But if I win a lottery I might by one for the fun of it... :wink:

[Dermot81]

This will be great for people who have lost a finger and can't hold a stylus correctly. They will certainly dominate that niche.

[corphack]

But more importantly, I used an early prototype. I don't know if this TDA will be a success, but one thing is sure: it's real."


prototype != "real"
prototype = prototype

from the pictures, I'd guess it is handmade, one of a kind.

Its vaporware until its in production and in the retail channels.

[BevHoward]

Noticed also that the "keyboard" was not qwerty... assume that they will offer that option.

[dignow96]

Honestly, who could possibly want to trade in ANY PPC for this? To use the CEO's description this is nothing more than a moderately modified Game Boy. The UI looks like something a kid came up with in his spare time between trying to hack Dreamwork's next movie and running his eBay Pokeman Card business. The thumb driven aspect I'm sure would be novel for all of five minutes until I figured out I can do the same thing with my wrist watch. Don't even get me started on the price tag! This device is a non-starter and I can barely believe that this whole announcement was anything more than a fishing expedition for the poor misguided company that thinks they can sell this brick. With all that said it is always good to see radical new designs and concepts out there and I would hope that this one might spark the idea for the next best thing in some one, somewhere.

[RobertS]

I must agree with corphack and others who have doubted that this is much more then a rearguard effort to get more preorder money/backing in order to actually produce a consumer model. Obviously someone in France noticed that the online press was giving their press release a collective "Yeah, riiiiigghhhtttt".

I reported on this device over at SmartMobileAssets the day the Press Release hit noting the device looked silly and probably faked (the website photos scream photoshop like those nude George Bush/Brittany Spears shots I downloaded yesterday), as did most PDA/wireless sites.

Primarily I noted the absurd price to get a decently configured unit (as did Mitch) and the way their website seesm to think they have invented something truly innovatine..a HANDHELD COMPUTER! The ability to interpret multiple touches on the touch screen is nice but certainly not a killer app for most people. This would have been a major league device in 1998. In 2004 and isn't even retro...just wrong-headed.

Recently I have noticed that on about the same day all of these sites got one or two posts from a new member saying the device was real and linking to the interview. This feels like PR flacking to me and not a true "user experience" kind of thing.

I will hold any judgement until the dust settles but this still feels to me like a "get the money and run" sort of tech deal. Vapourwear, s'il vous plait?

RobertS

[billbuckner]

NO QWERTY KEYBOARD?!?!?! :roll: That's the nail in the coffin for me having any intrest in this device. AND, you can pick one theme on the device, and ONLY one. I also want at least the OPTION of stylus input, rather then being forced to use my fingers.