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wearable portables (was Re: (hardware)Cell Computing)

 wrote:
> If anyone has attempted going HMD on a subnotebook like the above 
> mentioned, and you have any advice please share it, all comments and 
> suggestions welcomed.

Ask Sacha Chua:
http://cersa.admu.edu.ph/~sacha/
http://cersa.admu.edu.ph/~sacha/pics/sacha-054.jpg

I'll defer to the experts who have done it, but since I'm
spending my non-work time thinking about this very topic,
here's what I've discovered/decided/etc.

Don't buy anything until after March 12th, as the Centrino
processor/chipset-related announcements will tell of new
subnotebooks.  This will also drive down the prices of
existing subnotes.

There are a number of tiny notebooks out now, and more to
come.

Sony U3       184.5 x 139   x 30.6 (46.1 w/ battery) [mm]
JVC Interlink 225   x 152   x 28.0-29.5 [mm]
Lifebook 1110 231   x 149.5 x 26.5mm
Sony GT3      241   x 155.5 x 40-44.8 [mm]
PictureBook   249   x 152   x 29.0 [mm]

The Sony U and PictureBooks can take big batteries for 6-12+
hour battery life.  I have a C1VN model PictureBook, and think
it's a little fragile, so would hesitate to rely on it for
extended wearable duty.

There is a good 'belt bag' for PictureBook or smaller portables:
Eagle Creek Padded Excursion Bag
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=10858802&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1
Here's a brighter picture of the bag with a size reference:
http://www.stevebarr.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/barrst/goto.pl?c1vnnew

> Short of an Ipaq and the right HMD and input device, a butchered 
> subnotebook is all I can think of that would make an already reasonable 
> battery-life with good performance a good choice for an easy conversion 
> into a wearable.

I agree: Portable + Twiddler2 + HMD = a good starting wearable

I'm not sure why you'd want to butcher the subnotebook, though.
Putting the MB/parts into a different enclosure takes time which
could be used using the wearable than building it.  If you find
you're using your wearable all the time, but the weight is a
problem, THEN butcher it.  If you find you're not using the
wearable as much as you thought you would, you still have a
subnote to use or sell.

> Although, no one really needs to run at 667mhz to 
> 900-something mhz  while your HMD is used to view a map or your taking 
> notes of something, so a good power scheme is probably got to count for 
> something.

Both the Transmeta and Banias (Centrino) chips have good
power management schemes.  The real hog on a portable with
one of those chips is the display, so being able to turn
that off would be key to long battery life.

> Probably the one thing that kills alot of ambission when it 
> comes to wearing the wearable is the weight of the batteries, so maybe a 
> PDA is ideal, they usually have longer battery lives.

PictureBook: 2.2 pounds
4x battery:  1.51 pounds

If there was a good available display powered by the USB port,
all I'd need is a little 2 USB hub for the Twiddler2 and HMD.

You can make a neat wearable out of an iPaq, but you have to
do some work:
http://www.iptel-now.de/PROJECTS/WEARABLE/2G_IPAQ_WEARABLE/2g_ipaq_wearable.html

Steve
-- 
http://www.stevebarr.com

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