Return Of The Windows CE Clamshells
Engadget’s “Keepin’ It Real Fake” headlines used to be reserved for actual knockoffs — mostly of iPods and iPhones. But they’ve now taken to calling every small, cheap laptop a “knockoff” Asus Eee, no matter how little the device has in common with the popular netbook (yeah, we don’t get it, either).
The latest victim is the Jointech J-Pro JL7100, which may eventually be available at just $99. At that price, the specs don’t matter much, but the JL7100 rocks WinCE 5.0, a 400mhz processor, a 7-inch 800 x 480 display, 64MB of internal storage, 64MB of RAM, 4 hour battery, VGA out and three USB ports. No mention of WiFi, which is sort of important.
Assuming the price stays at $99 and wireless is available, even as a cheap option (usb dongle, maybe?), this would be a compelling device. Add an 8GB USB drive for storage, a decent browser, and some productivity apps, and you’re in business for not much more than a c note. And the Linux hackers would love this thing.
By the way, Windows CE clamshells were somewhat popular back in the late 90’s — in fact, the J-Pro reminds me a lot of the somewhat larger IBM Z50 I had back in 1999:
