Pepper Pad, an Open Alternative to MS Origami

SilentBob4 writes to tell us that MadPenguin has a look at an open alternative to Microsoft's Origami, the Pepper Pad. From the article: "The Pepper Pad, like Origami, is a mid-point form factor PC that is bigger and more powerful than a PDA, but smaller and less optimized for traditional desktop PC tasks than a notebook computer or a desktop PC. The Pepper Pad is a good buy for people who would like to have a light-weight, dirt-simple, point-and-click open source device for watching videos, listening to music, reading e-books, and doing simple web surfing with a view screen that is actually easy to read. If you want do more than that, you are really better off getting a small Linux notebook, unless you are willing to get under the hood (which you can do with the Pepper Pad!) and start compiling for yourself."

The PepperPad has been around for ages...

[Swift Kick]

This is not a new device, and has never really caught on, regardless of how many times you might scream it has Linux inside. It might be neat for those that just have the burning desire of throwing money away, and that's about it.

See for yourself...

- It was announced back in 2004, and Engadget mentioned it:

http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/08/the-pepper-pad- 2/ [engadget.com]

Then Tux Magazine reviewed it in April 2005, and it was still not available to the public:

http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000125 [tuxmagazine.com]

Now it's available for sale, but for the price it's selling ($850), you can easily pick a cheap laptop with far more expandability for quite less.

Do you think it's portable? Think again. Look at the dimensions:

http://www.pepper.com/products/specifications.html [pepper.com]

12.1" x 6.6" x 0.8" (309 x 175 x 20mm)
2.3 lbs (1043 grams)

Now, for something this big, why not get something that's cheaper and just better like say, the Dell Inspiron B120 for $499, with free memory and wifi upgrades? See for yourself:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features. aspx/featured_basnb?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs [dell.com]

Just my 2 cents....

"At this time, you cannot do this"...

[rdoherty]

I'll wait until they make a few improvements...

Currently, it only synchronizes with Windows (even though its marketed for the open source community)... being a software issue, I'm certain that they'll eventually port it to Linux.. The 2 hour battery life will need some improvement.. Their FAQ contains too many "At this time, you cannot do this".. and worst of all is that it may not support 3rd party applications...

I'll check in on the Pepper Pad in a few months to see how its improved...

Nokia 770 anyone?

[wertarbyte]

This Pepper pad looks nice, just like a bigger version of the Nokia 770 [nokia.com], which runs Linux [maemo.org] as well. Having an open plattform [datenbruch.de] is a nice way to attract developers and establish a nice collection of applications. I hope we see more of those linux gadgets in the future.

Re:The PepperPad has been around for ages...

[christian.einfeldt]

Hi SwiftKick,

This is not a new device

No, it's not a new device. I reviewed this product now because of the hype around Origami. For those of us who don't like DRM, and do like open source, I wanted to talk about the Pepper Pad in comparison to Origami. IIRC, none of the reviews that you cite in your post were written at a time when Origami had been announced. That's what's new. The context.

Re:Input

[vonFinkelstien]

Nothing is stopping you from plugging in an USB keyboard.

Re:That's nice, but give me an ARM powered laptop.

[Russ Nelson]

Nokia 770. 800x480 screen. Grab a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and you're all set. (sort-of)

Re:I dunno...

[IANAAC]

Actually, less hardware is kind of subjective. The Pepper Pad comes in at 12.1 inches. To me , that's not any more portable than a laptop. I guess I place a premium on the small size of the Zaurus. Plus, there's an incredibly active developer community that pretty much provides any type of application I could ever want or use on it.