Wistron's Snapdragon-powered PurseBook gets demoed

NVIDIA is showing that wacky Mini 1000 / Tegra mashup at CTIA, but Qualcomm's not far behind with its own creative ways to repurpose smartphone silicon into MID and netbook-class devices. Making an appearance at Qualcomm's booth was a prototype PurseBook from Taiwan's Wistron, which stuffs a Snapdragon chipset into a device looking (and weighing) a little bit like a VAIO P. That's where the similarities to the Sony box ends, though, because Qualcomm sees the PurseBook (and devices like it) hitting in the $299 to $499 range -- we'd like to see them even cheaper, truth be told -- and you won't be running Vista here. Instead, you've got a pretty slick Linux distro from ThunderSoft that'll edit Office docs, give you a desktop-class web experience, and connect with social networks, which are the three things most of us spend 90 percent of our PC face time doing anyhow. It's not going to replace your laptop by any stretch, but with a claimed 8 hours of battery life, we could totally see packing this thing as an ultra-lightweight alternative for day trips. Qualcomm expects the PurseBook and devices like it to ship in 2009 -- as does NVIDIA, so we're definitely lining up for a sweet battle royale here. Follow the break for video.

Gallery: Wistron's Snapdragon-powered PurseBook eyes-on

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[gadgetEn @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:05PM]

cool....?

[Boards of Canada @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:22PM]

Cool but I need windows... half the fun of owning a small device is to carry your favorite apps and games on it everywhere you go.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 3rd 2009 11:08PM]

Exactly Boards.

[KarlW @ Apr 4th 2009 10:02AM]

You won't be able to have Windows on this (other than a mobile edition). Windows requires an x86-capable processor, and the Snapdragon platform is based on the ARM Cortex architecture.

It should, however, be possible to install Android on this. Mobile OSX is also a theoretical possibility (if you could write drivers for the hardware and the OS would accept them).

[Nick @ Apr 4th 2009 4:56PM]

And the guy is Blah Blah Blah and no substance. This is really slow too.

[Silvio @ Apr 4th 2009 6:53PM]

No. You think you need Windows but you don't. Be free :)

[iphonerulez @ Apr 4th 2009 11:33PM]

Looks nice, sounds gay.

[The WC @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:06PM]

Looks pretty sweet, although if they insist on calling it a PurseBook, I'll have to rename it...

[Lando Calrissian @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:17PM]

MurseBook?

[domob @ Apr 4th 2009 12:23AM]

SnapBook? You can snap it into two.

[Nick @ Apr 4th 2009 4:56PM]

@domob

So basically you are saying that if I snap an Iphone into two it becomes a SnapPhone?

[Shank @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:09PM]

I would definitely drop 5 bills on that!!

[darkmax @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:10PM]

Why can't they just call it Handbook or Filofax? That way it appeals to both sexes...

Anyway, the pricing is sweet. I wonder if it can run the upcoming Windows 7.... if so, this will be one device I'll be looking forward to.

[Alex @ Apr 4th 2009 2:58PM]

Unless Windows 7 is ported to ARM it can't :(

Windows CE / Mobile, or Android are possibilities though.

[Shank @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:12PM]

Wow , so Sony vaio p is also a pursebook,. What the!! mac air refurb $949,,

[Epsilon-Not @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:35PM]

$949 versus $299 (or even the high-end of $499?), and the cheaper device is also smaller, and new- not a refurb?

Now, the Air will be a lot better for running desktop apps, sure... and my Dell Latitude runs desktop apps better than my iPod touch (to use an Apple example) too, but nobody cares because the iPod touch is optimized for mobile... same concept here.

[aj121489 @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:14PM]

Yea that makes me wanna buy it..."hey guys check out my PurseBook!!!" I didn't even realize that was the name the company gave it, I thought that was just Engadget making fun of it lol

[rcarm @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:15PM]

Will it fit in my back pocket?

[KarlW @ Apr 4th 2009 9:52AM]

Depending on the size of your pocket, yes.

Back when transistor radios first came out, Sony marketing people had shirts made with bigger front pockets. This meant they could claim their radios were small enough to fit in your front pocket, then when people bought them, they didn't fit. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something similar with the P.

[Luke @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:23PM]

@shank(shit?)

yeah, except you cant put a mac air in a purse, you need to carry it in a separate manila envelope, and it weighs about 3 times more, fucking dumbass

i cant believe trolls like this even exist who just type with their ass all day instead of doing something fun

[DeoWulf @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:35PM]

It probably IS fun when you gratify them by getting upset.

[Kenneth @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:40PM]

its a linux laptop, yet the windows logo is still on the super-key


fail.

[Kristen @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:45PM]

Actually that looks pretty cool, because Im into the whole, netbook that I an fit i my purse deal, so this definitely appeals to me. But the only drawback to these netbook/pursebook devices is that as cute as they are......i can't run the sims 2 or 3 on the go with these. I would like to find a netbook device that has more of a square screen but have the capacity to run the sims. So my search continues.......

[Father Dale @ Apr 3rd 2009 10:47PM]

OK, I googled ThunderSoft and got nothing useful -- apparently, that's a pretty popular name for a software company. I want to hear more about this distro!

[Look_Around_You @ Apr 3rd 2009 11:03PM]

I just the guy would do something with the thing. He keeps tapping on stuff, and nothing happens.

[asbestos @ Apr 3rd 2009 11:05PM]

Well, when he does things it is really (REALLY) slow. Lots of stuttering.

I am all for small devices, but they had better provide a better user experience than WinCE or WiMo.

[jol @ Apr 3rd 2009 11:16PM]

I hope it's cheap. 800g is nice. Less than a pound.

[Jacob @ Apr 4th 2009 1:06AM]

I'll help you out a little with the conversions.

Easy way to remember: 2.2 pounds in a kilogram. 1000 grams to a kilogram. Therefore, pounds in grams is 1000 / 2.2 = 454 grams. Therefore, this device weighs more than a pound. Actually, it's about 1.76 pounds.

[hello @ Apr 4th 2009 12:55AM]

why does it have 2 windows keys tho???

[Plothole @ Apr 5th 2009 5:07AM]

It's a prototype, so they probably just recycled an existing laptop keyboard.

[EDALBNUG @ Apr 4th 2009 1:15AM]

Massive UI delay fail... and I thought VAIO P with Vista and its X media bar was bad enough already.

[Michelle @ Apr 4th 2009 1:23AM]

OK, VAIO Picturebook reloaded. Very good. What I want to see a netbook reload of is the Thinkpad 240. I actually have one and use one, primarily for taking notes in class. It's got a real Thinkpad keyboard at 95% normal size, and a trackpoint as a pointer, perhaps the best darn pointing device for a little notebook, ever. OK Lenovo...there's your model for a future Ideapad. Same form-factor, modern guts. Do it. Instant Win.

[blahblah @ Apr 4th 2009 3:48AM]

Yes! I've been waiting for a "Thinkpad" netbook ever since, well before the eee. It would be so easy for you Lenovo - please do it. With Linux pretty please and a trackpoint.

[Ackbar @ Apr 4th 2009 1:33AM]

Not very interesting. The interface got me down, these netbooks and MIDs, Puersebooks etc. need full desktop interfaces.

Also if they are going to use Linux on those devices they should go with Ubuntu. I think it's a more logical decision to use the most popular distro than a obscure distro that only three people use. That could also help centralize Linux's image.

[tonyunreal @ Apr 4th 2009 2:34AM]

"I'll buy THAT for a dollar!"

[CaramelZappa @ Apr 4th 2009 3:26AM]

Just looking at him using the UI it seems really sluggish, wondering how it actually handles web browsing and word processing if it can't even handle it's own gui with ease.

[ManekiNeko @ Apr 4th 2009 5:53AM]

Looks pretty cool. Call me when they've got Windows XP running on it. I made the Linux mistake with my EEE, and I'm not going through THAT again!

[L @ Apr 4th 2009 8:52AM]

They won't - this is ARM based, so no desktop-variant of Windows will ever run on it unless Microsoft decides it wants to support ARM (which is VERY unlikely)...

[Kenneth @ Apr 4th 2009 1:47PM]

Well you have windows CE for ARM

yea youre right, they dont support ARM

[Cargojack @ Apr 4th 2009 8:09AM]

In the middle ages, the word purse was a euphemism for a part of the anatomy of women.
In other periods, a purse was merely a little bag, with a drawstring, which hung around one's waist...........yeah, let's rename this thing.

[Bill @ Apr 4th 2009 8:25AM]

Looks pretty good. However, I'd like to see it running a popular mobile phone OS instead - Android, Symbian, WinMobile, etc.. Also, if it had actual phone functionality, via a wired or Bluetooth headset, that would be cool also.

[molecule-eye @ Apr 4th 2009 8:12AM]

What a crock of shit. "I've had trouble with the wireless in the building". He just scrolls over the icons and NEVER opens any applications. Also, when the device does do something REALLY basic it looks slow and choppy as hell. SAD, like seasonal disorder.

[Rockley @ Apr 4th 2009 2:33PM]

Whats the deal with the mouse on this thing?

[Will @ Apr 4th 2009 4:39PM]

I don't like the trend in making "extreme widescreen" notebooks. 16:10 didn't bother me, this is ridiculous. I actually prefer standard definition for writing papers (widescreen isn't great for that).

[Plothole @ Apr 5th 2009 5:12AM]

In this case the ultra-wide screen is so that they can fit a full size keyboard into the smallest device possible.

[susuamazin @ Apr 4th 2009 7:09PM]

I'm loving that arabic keyboard! I'd take one of those home...

[jeremy @ Apr 5th 2009 12:15AM]

And why can't they use the space they have for a usable keyboard? Could be it be they don't even care if it works. Yes indeed. j

[Joe @ Apr 5th 2009 8:07AM]

So, it's a smartphone with full keyboard? ...with no phone? No thanks.

[Information Central @ Apr 5th 2009 5:55PM]

"Repurpose"?

A thing has a purpose or it doesn't. You don't "repurpose" it. Just like you don't "regoal" a trip or "renature" something.

You can reuse it for a different purpose, however.

[mandarpotdar @ Apr 6th 2009 2:34AM]

1. He is not showing anything running on it. Seeing the just the desktop(?) screen is boring.
2. Saw when he actually clicked something and the ? ? ? popped up? It was so slow...
I would prefer Tegra anyday
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/02/nvidias-franken-mini-is-half-hp-half-tegra-no-intel/