Ordinary Gweilo

Seeing the announcement about the new Intel/Microsoft Origami handheld PCs I feel overwhelmed by a sense of deja vu.  About 4 or 5 years ago, I bought a Samsung Nexio, which claimed to be a PC that you could hold in your hand.  It ran a version of Windows and you were supposed to be able to use it with your desktop PC. 

Like so many gadgets, it didn’t quite work as well as it might have done. 

• The battery life was horrible (and carrying a power adapter rather compromises its portability).
• Yes, you could work with Word and Excel documents, but the formatting got messed up if you tried to transfer a document back to the desktop PC.
• The keyboard was too small and the keys too thin for typing properly.

I could go on, but it would only depress me.  It wasn’t a total waste of money, but had I known its limitations I don’t think I’d have bought one. 

So I wasn’t surprised to see Samsung are having another go, and I hope this time they get it right.