Scale is everything: We knew iriver's Wing touchscreen UMPC was seriously compact, but didn't know just how small it was. It's still a complete prototypeâyou're looking at dumb plastic, and the top half even sorta fell off the hingeâbut we convinced them to pull it out of the glass case so we could do a quick sizemodo. We just hope it actually comes out at this size.
Super Cute iriver Wing UMPC Is Also Super Tiny
8:30 PM on Tue Jan 8 2008
By matt buchanan
10,712 views
29 comments












Comments
its all a fake, its just a gigantic ipod...
seriously, i don't even know what use I could have for something that small.
I river makes good products, my first mp3 player was an ihp-120 and it was significantly better than the respective iPod at the time.
It's not an ipod, it's an overly expencive tip calculator.
@CCM333: I suppose those are gigantic hands too?
Wow.
It's cool and all, but looks almost unusably tiny!
Why is Gizmodo still using a 1st-generation nano?
Thats a second gen nano. :P
@bandit
2nd generation nano, no first.
1st generation had the metal back, not full aluminum.
Isn't there already a handheld called the Wing?
T-Mobile called...
I'm fully aware it's not an ipod, I was using it as an example.
@MATT BUCHANAN
It's actually iriver with no capital r.. there was a time when it was iRiver, but now its iriver..
All i can say about the device itself though is that that keyboard looks completely unusable.. otherwise, it looks nice. Judging by existing iriver products, it should be a great little machine.. with a useless keyboard..
@CCM333: What are you even trying to say? Whadda u mean byt "it's a fake"? I smell a troll...
It isn't smart to fixate on the color of a prototype. White glossy plastic is the only thing remotely "iPod-like" about the Wing. It looks far more like a mini-Asus eee than an older iPod.
As for the keyboard being "unusable," I disagree. That implies the qwerty keyboards of cell phones are unusable.
The bigger questions have to do with power, price, the OS and how easily the case can be opened. If the Wing turns out to be as customizable as the eee, I'll anoint Rosie Perez with oil before buynig one.
Iriver has a history of making hackable gear, which I take as a good sign. The case looks sealed and unworkably dinky, however, which could be bad.
Correction:
If the Wing turns out to be as customizable as the eee, I'll anoint Rosie Perez with oil. Then I'll buy one.
It looks like a sexy mix of a Clie UX50 and the EEE. Once it turns in to a working proto, I'll pay attention.
Well, I guess wings aren't just for airplanes and feminine hygiene products anymore...
I say the keyboard is unusable not because of size, but because judging by the pictures it's touch based and offers no tactile feeddback. Yes, touch based QWERTY keyboards(like the ones on touchscreen phones) are usable, but tactile feedback is always the better option, and I see no reason why iriver couldn't have opted for real buttons in this case.
I admit i was exaggerating when i said unusable, but you know what i meant..
What worries me about the design isn't size but texture: the keys aren't raised. Imagine trying to type a novel on a PC with a virtual keyboard under glass. I doubt as many novels will be written on the iPhone as are written in Japan using normal clamshell quertys.
At THECHANSEN: Exactly. It *does* look like a Clie/eee splice. And it *is* impossible to discuss features until we know more.
SUPERPOPE53: Odd that we were writing about the same thing. I didn't see your comment until I submitted mine.
I want it! Hopefully it will run Windows Vista or XP with somekind of touchscreen thing like the tablet PC's.
Apparently it will run Win CE, and ECHOPHILIAC: great minds think alike ;)
Windows Vista, Super Ultra Nano edition. Or was it Mega Pico Edition?
@dwight-schrute:
Hey! I doesn't have a 7!
Hey, an EeePC keychain!
@thedogandthecat: where do u see hands?
@thedogandthecat: oh yah first pic... didnt register that... well yes u are right those are gigantic plastic hands
Holy crap that's small. I have both the iPhone and the Asus EEE, and they cover two important bases for me. One for entertainment and on the go browsing, one for a laptop replacement.
I guess there's a niche to be filled if you combine the two things, but I just don't know if it's possible. Lot's are trying to create the smallest functional UMPC, and the concept is cool, but at some point you have to admit smaller equals smaller screen and keyboard, which means less practical as a laptop replacement. I Wonder what that smallest functional size is for a UMPC?
for $200 this would be cute. for $1200 it would be doomed. wonder which one it will be?
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