Early Information on GPS-Enabled Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox N500 Series

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.fsc-mediaserver.com/mediaserver/clientview/server/photo/index.cfm?fuseaction=list&CFID=1520256&CFTOKEN=65726753&fid=4723' target='_blank'>http://www.fsc-mediaserver.com/medi...726753&fid=4723</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_loox_n500.jpg" /> <br /><br />Looks like a poster over at <a href="http://www.firstloox.org/index.php?categoryid=1&p2_articleid=236">FirstLoox.org</a> spotted some early photos of the yet-to-be-released Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox N500 Series. Apparently there will be 4 different models released ranging from N510 to N540. Specification details are sketchy and unconfirmed at the moment, but based on the observation of the FirstLoox.org folks, some of the specifications discussed involve Windows Mobile 5.0, built-in GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, Quad-Band GSM, and VGA-class resolution. Check it out!

[Phillip Dyson]

One with a GSM phone?
I'm suspecting that it will be to wide to be a decent phone, but I'll wait and see.

There are a lot of stuff coming out of the woodwork. Brighthand said not to expect a "Summer of the Pocket PC" but we're sure getting a "Fall of the Pocket PC"

Okay maybe I should have used "Autumn" :wink:

[huangzhinong]

Looks big. I like acer n300 much better.

Anyway it is a good news. Somebody said PDA field is dying, why I saw so many new PPC devices (some of them are really exciting) come out recently?

[Radimus]

I'll buy that...

someing like an Axim x50v with a phone built in would be the BEST... the GPS is gravy (or whipped cream)


I'f I were really concerned with the size of it for phone purposes, I'd carry a BT headset, like the RAZR wire from Oakley

[surur]

This is a great counterpoint to the Axim x51, which was just a "point upgrade", whereas this device (GPS, WIFI G, 128Mb ram), A NEW CASE, shows a dynamic ambitious company that want to grab high end market share.

Surur

[ricksfiona]

Wow, another rockin' device! So where's the hook? It's not the sexiest PPC that's for sure... But the feature list is amazing! It's getting tougher and tougher to choose. First the E-TEN M600, then the O2 Atom now this!

I hope we see a comparison soon. With VGA, the Siemens will make it extremely tough to decide between it and the Atom.

After reading more about it.... It may come with GPRS or WiFi. To make this device truly special, it would have to come with both. Otherwise, it's the Atom.

[farnold]

If they bring a model with VGA and phone - and w/o the from my perspective useless keyboard like the XDA IV - I will seriously consider going back to Fujitsu Siemens. BT would be a must for me, GPS would be great and I can live very well w/o WiFi.

Is there any other device on the horizon with phone and GPS that slipped my attention?

[kaitanium]

looking good looking good

[Jason Lee]

All i gotta say is if it has a mini sd slot instead of sd i'm gonna have to hurt some one. ;)

[gibson042]

This is a really interesting device. I checked out the high-resolution pictures, and it looks very nice. If its features live up to the speculation and Fujitsu-Siemens really puts out a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/VGA phone in such a small form factor... well, I think this may replace the Universal that I don't even have yet. Quad-band GSM and/or EDGE would cinch it; 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, integrated GPS, and/or 802.11g are just icing on the cake. I really liked the last batch of Pocket Loox PDAs, and would have gotten a 720 or 718 if only they were Phone Editions.

[whydidnt]

This is a really interesting device. I checked out the high-resolution pictures, and it looks very nice. If its features live up to the speculation and Fujitsu-Siemens really puts out a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/VGA phone in such a small form factor... well, I think this may replace the Universal that I don't even have yet. Quad-band GSM and/or EDGE would cinch it; 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, integrated GPS, and/or 802.11g are just icing on the cake. I really liked the last batch of Pocket Loox PDAs, and would have gotten a 720 or 718 if only they were Phone Editions.
:way to go: What He said!! :wink:

Now if we could just convince Fujistu to let FSC market this in the US. Maybe that would wake HP up and get them back on track as far as this market is concerned.

[Gerard]

I'll second the killing of whoever puts a mini slot in this thing rather than SD. All that sttuff crammed into this one sweet device, with a big screen to boot; I'd finally be almost sorta willing to let go of CF slots. It'd have to have USB though, for external hard drives. Any hints of that, or of wireless USB?

[Darius Wey]

I'll second the killing of whoever puts a mini slot in this thing rather than SD.

I doubt it. Fujitsu-Siemens isn't that stupid, and for a device this size, miniSD almost seems overkill. :P

Back on topic, I think this new batch looks very nice. If it comes with a decent list of specs, it could rival the X51v, the n300 series and whatever HP has planned for the future. It's only up to Fujitsu-Siemens to expand their horizons and formally release their devices in the American and Asian-Pacific regions, and if they do, there's no doubt that they'd end up taking a considerable chunk of market share.

[Menneisyys]

Yes, this unit, if it will indeed contain EDGE, g, GPS, 128M RAM (to avoid suffering from the free 32M RAM 64M WM5 devices offer), real (not just USB on the go) USB host (as opposed to Jasjar) and won't have any silly built-in keyboard, will be a much better device than the Jasjar/Universal.

[Gerard]

... and won't have any silly built-in keyboard, will be a much better device than the Jasjar/Universal.

Ditto that as well. Deliver us, please, from what's becoming a Blackberry-centric PPC lineup. Some like thumboards, and it looks like those folks will be well supplied. Give me screen more than anything else, lots of it, then I'm happy.

[Duncan]

We've posted a roundup of rumours from various sites - including some stuff from our own sources. Looks like the GSM/GPRS unit isn't happening anytime soon - but at least three GPS enabled models on their way.

See it here: http://www.firstloox.org/index.php?categoryid=1&amp;p2_articleid=238

[Gerard]

3.5" max screen size huh? That's a shame. I was guessing more like 3.8" or bigger from the photo. I keep hoping someone will cram all the goodies into one device and offer a 4" or bigger screen. The VGA hangups and then discontinuation of the Toshiba line put me off getting one of those... and now my ancient X5 is getting very cranky, prone to battery errors and perhaps related CF wireless card errors. time to replace it really soon. It'd be nice to replace it with something that'd last a couple of years, with a broad range of capabilities. Phone would be nice, but graphics are more important to me, especially for editing pictures with Pocket Artist. And browsing is so much easier and more pleasant with a larger screen.

I wonder, has anyone ever done a screen dimension preference survey here or on any major site? For a 'phone' 4" might be a lot big, but for folks who are after a flexible portable computing/communications solution which happens to have phone functionality included, 4" seems a tad small. I'm guessing that a significant (maybe 25%?) portion of readers might want something larger.