Back in the day, a mobile device that could browse the Internet was incredible, expensive, hard to find, and often cumbersome. I remember how absolutely cool it was to browse the mobile web from my Sprint PCS Vision phone, although it was only black-and-white text, of course.
Before the advent of the iPhone, the Palm Pre, the BlackBerry Storm, HTC Mogul, T-Mobile G1, and other phones fully capable of browsing the Internet gracefully - the Internet tablet attempted to bridge the gap.
I always wanted an Internet tablet, but they were far too expensive and limited to make it worth it, and besides, only a few years later I was able to browse the web reasonably well on my PocketPC with a tethered Bluetooth connection. My phone didn't have a decent browser or PDA capabilities, but my PDA did.
Now, though, I've caught wind of a brand new device that is now available in Korea - the Mintpass Mintpad, and I really want one. I don't need one, I want one. Why? Because it's relatively inexpensive and it looks like a LOT of fun to use.
This nifty little gadget is compact and features a bright 2.8" touchscreen. They seem to have taken a cue from the Palm Pre; the OS has you "flicking" about to navigate from screen to screen, and looks very intuitive in the video. The Internet browser supports Flash, which a LOT of mobile phones do not do, and you can watch movies, read blogs, view pictures, etc. You can do virtually anything you wantwith the Mintpad - and it would be an awesome device for those who want a capable Internet enabled gadget but don't want to upgrade their phone.
I guarantee you the gadget world will be keeping close eyes on this puppy - apparently, English firmware will be available later this month, and it better be on its way to US shores soon. Right now, the price in Korean won is about US$157.
Comments
This product has caught my
This product has caught my attention but for some reason it has not come to fruition.
http://www.clearviewtechnology.com/
Maybe the internet tablet is just being replaced by cell phones these days. :)