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

If you want to make a wearable out of a PocketPC, I'd look at the
Toshiba e740 with expansion pack and extended battery. This will support
USB keyboard and, with 3rd party USB Drivers
(http://www.deje.gmxhome.de/), USB Mouse and external hard drive. Add
the IIS Second Sight HMD in the CF slot and a usb handheld
trackball/mouse and you should have a wearable with minimal hardware
work.

Chuck Marshall

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Barr [mailto:] 
Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2003 8:15 AM
To: 
Subject: 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&storeI
d=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_weara
ble.html

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

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