Shopping for a Micro PC: Some Lists to Get You Started

Like every nomad worker, I own a laptop, a few, in fact, but I recently began to notice the need for something smaller, more pocketable. The nature of my job is such that people can call me anytime (yes, even on Sunday morning) and ask for something (a license or a remote reconn of their system) that requires Internet access.

If out of the house, my former practice when I got such a call was to a) rush home in a cab, or b) search frantically for an Internet cafe. With the addition of my new Internet tablet, my practice now is to pry the little computer from my hip pocket, go quickly to work, then get back to relaxing. (Finding a WiFi network is easy in my adopted home of Singapore as the government is pushing for an island-wide WiFi bubble by the end of 2008, and already coverage is place for my usual haunts.)

So, if you're in a similar situation, which micro PC should you buy?

First, let me mention the criteria I think are important for the perfect pocket PC for the nomad worker:

1. Costs less than 500 USD. (After all, its technology is already antiquated even before you've bought it, so why pay more, especially given that by virtue of its mobility it's prone to loss and damage. The risk of either is greatly compounded, I can tell you from first hand experience, when you succumb to the temptation to turn the pub into the office.)


2. Is small enough for the pocket, or worse case, some sort of man purse (or simply a regular purse if you're a woman), but definitely not so large as to require a full blown laptop bag.
   


3. Can run a Bash shell for access to Unix utilities like ssh, scp, and rscp (essential for my job).


4. Has a large enough screen for composing lengthy bits of text (after all, I was once an English major) and viewing images and video.


5. Includes or can be paired with a decently sized QWERTY keyboard.


6. Runs an OS that allows for installation of 3rd party applications (nothing so closed off, please, so as to require ingenuous hackery just to bypass manufacturer-induced limits on functionality).
   

Your criteria are likely to resemble mine pretty closely, perhaps with the exception of #2, though I hope with future posts to show that such old school tools are really easy to use and work amazingly well on the reduced bandwidth you're likely to have to deal with while on the prowl.

So what devices did I find that matched up to my criteria? Check out the list below. Naturally, I can only review with authority the device I actually purchased, but this list is at least a good basis for starting your own quest.

1. Nokia N800
   Nokia N800. This is the model I eventually went with, even though it's now ancient in web years. It fits the bill for all the above criteria. I got it here in Singapore for around 400 USD, though I'm sure the street price is lower in the States. It runs Linux under the hood, which made installing a Bash shell a cinch, and which makes loading 3rd party apps for all manner of tasks easy. Some will say I should have waited for the N800's successor, the N810 with the built-in qwerty keyboard, but it wasn't available here in Singapore yet, and anyway, the N810's keyboard looked to small to actually type on, unlike the foldable Bluetooth keyboard I now pair with my N800. I'm very satisfied with the N800 for a lot of reasons that warrant a whole post, but, in short, I found the price to performance ratio of the N800 the best for my needs. (Check out a more thorough review here.)
   


2. Asus EEE
   Had it been easier to source here, I might just as well have bought the Asus EEE. The form factor is larger than the N800 -- no way you could pocket it unless cargo pants are your thing, but it's cheap, runs Linux, has a build in QWERTY keyboard with reputedly decent ergonomics. (Check out the review here as a starting point.)


3. OLPC
   was tempted too by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), but found it too hard to source here as well, though I read great reviews about it. (The deal is, as I'm sure you've read, you buy one for yourself, and another for a child in a developing country.)
   


4. Archos 604
   The Archos 604 also runs Linux and is impressive as a media viewer, though most of the reviews I read, indicated it was subpar for likely work related tasks. Still, depending on your line of work, it may have it's uses.
   


5. iPhone/iPod Touch
   I read rumors of an Apple subportable laptop offering. I couldn't wait, but would definitely have considered purchasing it were the price right. By the time you read this, one may have materialized. My home laptops are Macs, and as Unix is the foundation of OSX, it's no problem to get a shell up with all the old school Unix goodies I need. Plus, OSX is just plain a nice operating system, even if I do get annoyed by the whole Apple/Jobs cult thing. I'd hoped that an iPod Touch or iPhone might fit the bill, but as with the Archos I read of too many gaps in functionality for use as a work PC, plus the screen size isn't quite there.

So there's at least a list of places to start in the quest for the perfect pocket PC. It's my hope others will leave comments with other suggestions.

As a final note, as indispensable as you're likely to find a pocket PC, don't overestimate how much time you'll want to spend on one. I had visions of composing the next On the Road on mine from the road. While that sort of thing is certainly possible, no matter how capable the device, the ergonomics of smallness will, I assure you, make you glad you still have a laptop or desktop somewhere close at hand, even if it is a cab ride away. (Biggest issue for me: not enough screen real estate for side-by-side windows. Before attempting extended work on a pocket PC, I never realized how often I rely on that simple capability.)