07-11-2002, 06:27 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Is "Oslo" the next Palm hardware design?
Here's a secret for you: deep down, I'm a hardware geek. Operating systems come and go, but beautiful hardware lasts forever. That's why I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this photo with you - it looks like a new hardware design coming from Palm, but I don't know that I'd call it beautiful.  The sender asked to remain anonymous, but it certainly looks legit. No Photoshopped-in screens here. What do you think? Will this be enough to steal Sony's thunder and stave off the Pocket PC?
[ORIGINAL IMAGE REMOVED]
Interesting design they chose - similar to the Sharp Zaurus with it's "hidden" keyboard. With this thing closed, this Palm would certainly be the "shortest" PDA on the market. My bet is that this hardware design will be coming out within 60 days, and it will have OS 5.0 on it. There's a high resolution version in the forums.
And here you have the high-res version of the image I was sent. I blurred the serial number off the front, cropped it a little, and brightened it, but otherwise this is unedited.
[ORIGINAL IMAGE REMOVED]
UPDATE: I received a phone call this afternoon from Matthew Archibald, Palm's Director of Global Information Security. We had a nice enough chat, but he asked me to pull the images and turn over the source image with the unedited serial number. They could have had their lawyers call me, so I'm returning the favour by cooperating and pulling the images. I'm not going to turn over the original image with the serial number unless the person who sent it to me tells me I can. Hopefully this won't get TOO ugly, but we'll see...I'll keep you all up to date on how this unfolds.
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07-11-2002, 06:32 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Very cool looks. Notice the joypad instead of the old up/down button. Screen images are still pixelated. For Palm's sake, this had better be just using an old M515 screen for the test mule. If they ship this with what Sony and Compaq are now doing with PDA screens, it is going to be another disappointment, multimedia wise anyway.
Hmmm.... speaker upper right. Headphone jack on top I wonder?
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07-11-2002, 06:34 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 864
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Slick I like it.... would I buy it..... no but Pocket PC maunfacturer's better start taking notes.... design matters and all of these Ipaq clones with centered joysticks and lack of innovative design is going to kill when you have Sony with the NR70V and even "king of lack of innovation" Palm coming out with unique designs and takes on hardware. Though Microsoft says software matters at a basic level Hardware does as that is what we interact with first...
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07-11-2002, 06:48 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 69
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Getting there
If only that graffiti area were:
1) Soft, or
2) hiding a thumbpad
Does look slick though.
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07-11-2002, 06:49 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 481
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
Hmmm.... speaker upper right. Headphone jack on top I wonder?
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... microphone on bottom I wonder? = phone functionality.
Nice package. As mentioned, this is what we need to get the PPC builders thinking more.
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07-11-2002, 06:59 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 390
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This is like a stubier version of the E310
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07-11-2002, 07:05 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 792
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That will be one really small device when the graffiti pad is covered! I wonder if they are upping the resolution on their displays any...cause that would probably be a good idea.
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07-11-2002, 07:28 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 69
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I think it is high res
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
Very cool looks. Notice the joypad instead of the old up/down button. Screen images are still pixelated. For Palm's sake, this had better be just using an old M515 screen for the test mule. If they ship this with what Sony and Compaq are now doing with PDA screens, it is going to be another disappointment, multimedia wise anyway.
Hmmm.... speaker upper right. Headphone jack on top I wonder?
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If you look at the text, it looks like 320x320 (defacto standard for OS 5.0). The pictures look "pixelated" I think because it is a thumbnailed or preview mode. The hi-res Sony models do this as well and take a second or two to clear up.
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07-11-2002, 07:33 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,466
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The screen is definitely hi-res. But I don't quite understand why I would want to slide the graffiti space away like a Zaurus keyboard? It will just leave me with a smaller screen and no way to navigate the OS. :?
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07-11-2002, 07:55 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,466
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Re: Is "Oslo" the next Palm hardware design?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Operating systems come and go, but beautiful hardware lasts forever.
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If only that were true...the G4 Cube would have been a success instead of a failure.
I keep waiting for Windows to go - but it still lingers on. :P
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Linear Mode
