The Vulcan FlipStart was a super compact PC, weighing 1.5 pounds (with standard high capacity battery) and the size of a paperback novel (4.5 by 5.9 by 1.6 inches with high capacity battery). FlipStart was the release name for the concept PC

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

showed at CES 2003 and 2004, specifically FlipStart V1.0. The original concept name was Mini-PC. Its main competition at the time of release was the

OQO OQO was a U.S. computer hardware company that was notable for manufacture of handheld computers. Its systems possessed the functionality of a tablet computer, tablet PC in a size slightly larger than a personal digital assistant (PDA). According t ...

Model 02. OQO had released the Model 01 at the time the FlipStart was announced 4 years earlier. They were both equipped with

QWERTY keyboard QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typ ...

s and wireless capabilities but the FlipStart was a clamshell (flipped open) versus the OQO which slid up to reveal the keyboard.

Specifications

The FlipStart has a folding 5.9-inch screen with 1024×700 resolution, a 30GB hard drive, built-in

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

and batteries capable of running one to three hours on a charge, with extended battery life offering up to four hours. The

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

is a

Pentium M The Pentium M is a family of mobile 32-bit single-core x86 microprocessors (with the modified Intel P6 microarchitecture) introduced in March 2003 and forming a part of the Intel Carmel notebook platform under the then new Centrino brand. The '' ...

ULV processor running at 1.1 GHz, and it has a non-expandable memory of 512MiB. The chipset is the

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

GMA915. A VGA resolution (640 x 480) camera is built in below the screen. The FlipStart also has built in speakers and a microphone. The devices run the

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

and

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

operating systems and as such can run standard PC applications such as

Microsoft Office Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a marketin ...

. It also has a small secondary color display in the lid similar to, but not,

Windows SideShow Windows SideShow (codenamed Auxiliary Display) was a feature by Microsoft introduced in Windows Vista to supply information such as e-mail, instant messages, and RSS feeds from a personal computer to a local or remote peripheral device or displa ...

. This is only compatible with Office/Outlook 2003 currently. Its small QWERTY keyboard has backlit buttons, and additional input devices are provided in the form of a touchpad and thumbstick located above the keyboard, a scrollwheel and media navigation buttons on the right side of the unit. Expansion is possible via a dock connector which connects to a port replicator, offering two

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

ports (blocking the single port on the unit),

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...

, audio, AC power and

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

. A sliding cover on the lid provides access to a "snap on" expansion system. There is one expansion option provided for this, a 3.2Mp (5Mp marketed) add-on camera. The expansion cover also provides access to the built in SIM socket.

Launch

The FlipStart was launched in the US on March 27, 2007 at th
FlipStart
web page for a price of $1999. The FlipStart (CE marked version) was launched in the UK via distributor Blazepoint on September 10, 2007, for £1449 (excluding

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

). The US price was reduced to $1499 in September 2007. On January 16, 2008, this price was reduced to $699 (£339.00 ex. VAT in the UK). In the US the FlipStart primarily shipped with Sierra Sprint Broadband

EVDO Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO, EVDO, etc.) is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. EV-DO is an evolution of the CDMA2000 (IS-2000) standard which s ...

communications. In Spring of 2008, FlipStart sold out and no new units were manufactured. The company provided support for one year after that, stopping on March 31, 2009 "due to the low volume of support request and expiration of all warranties."

Specifications

Launch

References

Further reading