[NTLUG:Discuss] Tablet computer: progress report

[Lance Simmons]

* Vaidya, Harshal (Cognizant) <HarshalV at pun.COGNIZANT.COM> [031106
08:38]:
> 
>   Is this device is e-books reader? A couple of months before I was
>   watching "generation next" on BBC where they showed a book reader
>   device. They said its going to be a replacement to paper books. That
>   way we will save paper, hence trees and eventually mother earth. :-)
> 
>   Have I been mistaken with your description or is it the same same
>   device I am thinking of? Please clarify.

The device was not designed to be an ebook reader.

The Fujitsu Stylistic 2300 is an old (1998) pen computer, or rather a
"mobile decision support computer" from "Fujitsu Personal Systems".  I
get the impression it was sold mainly to "vertical market customers".  I
guess that would be government agencies and large corporations that
needed to input data in hazardous circumstances -- the device comes with
a heavily cushioned case with a clear plastic front, and you can use the
pen through that plastic screen.  That way the computer itself is
completely contained in a protective case, and the data is entered via a
wireless connection between the pen and the computer.

The machine is pretty heavily loaded with features... just about
anything you could have wanted in a computer in 1998, it had.  The
single unit list price in April 1999 was $4,485, but Fujitsu's "vertical
market customers" were buying them in bulk, so who knows what the street
price was.

I bought a used Stylistic 2300 on Ebay because it was the right size and
shape for an ebook reader, and I could get it for about $150.  And, as
I've reported, I finally have it working as an ebook reader: a
fullscreen display (after getting rid of the scrollbar!), correctly
oriented, with attractive, normal sized black text on a bright white
background.

There are, however, some drawbacks that make this not the perfect ebook
reader.  It's heavy: 4 lbs.  Also, scrolling through text requires the
stylus.  But, as I said earlier, given what I had to spend, I think it
worked out pretty well.

If you're interested in more details about this particular device,
including pictures, the Fujitsu website has lots of documentation.

-- 
Lance Simmons