Vulcan FlipStart drops a whopping US$800 to US$699
Summary: I am on the lookout for a reasonably priced, say under US$800, UMPC type device and just saw the news that the Vulcan FlipStart has been dropped from US$1,499 to a href="http://www.dynamism.com/flipstart/pricing.shtml">US$699. That is a whopping US$800 price drop on an ultra portable PC that runs a full version of Windows (XP or Vista). Obviously, it hasn't been selling very well to see this kind of price drop. I have not had the chance to check one out myself and personally do not like the form factor or fact that it does not have a touch screen or active digitizer. However, dropping it down to this price range makes it quite appealing for someone looking for a portable device that runs a full version of Windows.
I am on the lookout for a reasonably priced, say under US$800, UMPC type device and just saw the news that the Vulcan FlipStart has been dropped from US$1,499 to US$699. That is a whopping US$800 price drop on an ultra portable PC that runs a full version of Windows (XP or Vista). Obviously, it hasn't been selling very well to see this kind of price drop. I have not had the chance to check one out myself and personally do not like the form factor or fact that it does not have a touch screen or active digitizer. However, dropping it down to this price range makes it quite appealing for someone looking for a portable device that runs a full version of Windows.
For those of you not that familiar with the basic specs for the US$699 model include a 1.1 GHz Intel Pentium processor, 512MB RAM (not upgradeable), 30 GB hard drive (not upgradeable), 5.6 inch SVGA (1024x600 pixels) non-touch screen display, integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, integrated Sprint EV-DO Rev. A wireless modem, and USB 2.0 port. There is a port replicator accessory available too so you can get VGA out, more USB ports and ethernet. You can check out James' video of the FlipStart in action to decide if the device is for you. I am personally going to evaluate the WiBrain B1 device first myself since I find that more compelling for my needs and it has the same starting price point of US$699. If it doesn't appeal to me, then I may just have to try this FlipStart out.
Thanks to MobileTechReview for the heads-up on this news.
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Talkback
It looks 'klunky' Matt, how 'bout an Eee?
I probably should go for the eeePC
I probably should get the EeePC since it is half the price of other solutions and looks like it could work for me on the go. I suppose I would then need to find one of my USB Bluetooth adapters so I could connect to my mobile phone for wireless connectivity. I played with one and the hardware is very nice.
RE: Vulcan FlipStart drops a whopping US$800 to US$699
Pluses for the Wibrain are styling (yeah, I like it), touchscreen, more RAM, lower weight, thineer. The Flipstart seems more powerful, though, has a larger screen and a bit cheaper as a package (comes with port replicator vs ~200 dollar dock for wibrain plus RAM upgrade, etc).
The recent CNET review of the Wibrain benchmarks the two, and the Flipstart seems to kick the Wibrain's butt. I only wonder if the 1GB RAM could help bridge the performance gap?
In the end, I have a full size tablet/notebook (Asus R1F) and am looking for a portable solution that is more for convenience and I realize that performance will be compromised somewhat. I think the Wibrain is the more portable (and better looking of the two), but if the Flipstart has that much better hardware, it would probably be the "logical" choice.
Oh decisions...