Kjellquist Blog

Last time you saw something like this was probably on Capt Kirk’s wrist in Episode 3 of Startrek. This picture isn’t from a Paramount pictures web site but rather the latest announcement from Parvus corp. That’s right in as little 12 weeks you can have one of these gems for your very own.

What’s new is that the unit meets the harsh military shock & vibration environments as well as electromagnetic interference requirements.

Here are the key specifications:
Processor — Marvell PXA 270 416MHz
* Memory — 256MB RAM; 128MB flash
* Expansion — SD memory card interface
* Display — 3.5-inch VGA (640 x 480) color touchscreen; shock-resistant; optional night-vision compliance
* Keyboard — cursor pad and virtual QWERTY onscreen keyboard
* Pen input — stylus
* LEDs — power, charge, WPAN, WLAN, alarm
* Audio — AC97 codec; integrated mic and speaker; optional 3.5mm stereo or microphone sockets
* USB — 1 x USB Device port; 1 x USB Host port
* WiFi — IEEE 802.11b/g
* Bluetooth — Class 2; optional swap-out for ZigBee
* GPS — 12-channel receiver; DGPS and SBAS (WASS, EGNOS) support; optional swap-out for GPRS cellular radio
* Other features — accelerometer; biometric fingerprint reader; optional electronic compass
* Operating temperature — -4 to 140 deg. F (-20 to 60 deg. C)
* Shock and vibration — meets MIL-STD-810F (Methods 516.5, 514.5C-17)
* Weight — 1.4 lbs (645 gr)
* Power — 3.6V Li-Ion hot-swappable battery; optional AC adapter for 100-240V AC 50-60Hz 400mA input
* Operating system — Linux, based on kernel 2.6

It’s a little heavy and RAM is abit on small size for today’s apps but look at all you get on your wrist! From my experience with the eeePC, a trooper in Iraq could get a lot done with this gem. Of course, with the march of technology we can look forward to more capabilities, smaller and cheaper.
The specifications don’t list battery life but the commercial version is up to 8 hours. It has an AC adapter. I hope it comes with a LONG cord! A vehicle adapter wouldn’t be too bad.
I’m not sure of the pricing for the militarized version but the commercial version (Zypad WL100) is about $4000. Startrek tech doesn’t come cheap, at least not for a little while. Just remember cellphones!