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Like surfing the web on your phone?  If you are like most, you don’t.  The field of view is too small, the screen is just too weak and zoom out and you can’t make heads or tails of anything.  UMPCs and MIDs were supposed to fill the gap between lugging a full-on laptop around and your phone.

But they are a lame half solution.  Take the new Compal UMD (Ultra Mobile Device).  Looks kinda small, non-thumb keyboard, biggish screen.  But are you going to lug this around just to view the web?  No.  That is why the devices will be littering the junk and bargains table at Office Max in the near future.

Maybe the Foleo was onto something.  What if all we need is a larger screen?  Like E-Paper, a cheap flexible, thin monitor that hooks in wirelessly and is everywhere.  In tables, car dashboards, on telephone poles, park benches, anywhere you needed.  You could even carry a sheet around with you, if you like.  Folded up in your pocket or unfolded and make it a touchscreen or use the phone keypad for input.  What if the capable cell phone powered it all (internet, email, navigation)?

Sure the iPhone‘s screen looks nice on TV.  The internet even looks possible, but I doubt it will be enough.  I suspect it will be just as confining as every other phone I’ve used.  I suspect, we’ll look back at the Foleo and say, “you know, there were onto it.  Just a different execution and they’d have had it all.“  Anybody willing to go along with me on this?

For those interested and to make this a proper tech blog entry, the Compal runs Windows CE, has 800x480 resolution on its 4.3” screen, bluetooth, WiFi, HSDPA and should run around $499.  Comes in a smudgy black as well.

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