Computex 2002 Day 3: More ATI, VIA & PaceBlade

PaceBlade - Advancing the PaceBook

We got quite a positive response from our PaceBlade PaceBook review published a few weeks ago. As you may recall, the PaceBook is a 3-in-1 PC solution, offering the functionality of an LCD PC, a notebook, and a tablet PC all in one. We met up with PaceBlade at Computex to see what they have in store for the PaceBook solution.

One thing that PaceBlade made clear was that the PaceBook is an evolving product. Since the PaceBook is based off an extremely new and unique concept, getting everything perfect off the bat is hard. Rather than abandon the cause or design a new product, PaceBlade is working to improve existing and future PaceBook models by brining extra functionality to the solution. The demonstrations we saw today reflected upon that.

Perhaps the most exciting thing out of PaceBlade is something that we could see but only hear about. It seems that the PaceBook handwriting recognition software is in the very final stages of development and should be ready to ship in a week or twos time. There is no question that handwriting capabilities will drastically increase the usability of the PaceBook (by making it a viable tablet solution) and we can't wait to get our hands on the software.

PaceBlade was demonstrating a number of upcoming accessories that will take the PaceBook to new levels of productivity and usability. We will only briefly talk about a handful of the items we saw today but keep an eye out for an article in the coming weeks reviewing not only the new PaceBook accessories but also the handwriting software and the various updates that the PaceBook is getting.

One accessory we saw is going to become standard equipment for all PaceBooks going out. PaceBlade admitted that using the system's case as a desk stand was far from ideal. To solve the problem, the PaceBook now comes with a small stand that can hold the unit in portrait or landscape mode for desktop use. This should make office life with the PaceBook easier.

Click here to enlarge.

Although the small stand may serve as a better LCD PC stand than the soft case, it is still not very desktop-like in nature. To make the PaceBook feel even more at home on the desk, PaceBlade has designed an office stand that holds the unit at a comfortable height. Cost is yet to be finalized but should be around $100 with an included USB hub in the unit's back.

Click here to enlarge.

Click here to enlarge.

Finally we will show you the first Peripheral to make use of the PaceBook's round USB port. The PaceBook camera is a USB video camera that can act as a web cam or a still cam. Because it attaches to the PaceBook's round USB port, it can swivel in any direction and can tilt 40 degrees vertically.

Click here to enlarge.

Again, the thing that we got out of our PaceBlade meeting is that they are definitely committed to the product and are going to keep tweaking the hardware and software until things are perfect. We will provide you with more detailed information on the products above and more when we get them.

What's Coming

After a tour of ASUS' mobile manufacturing plant tomorrow we will be headed back home, but there's still much to report. Here's an idea of what we're working on for publication when we get back:

Inside VIA
Motherboards in 2H-2002 Preview

and of course there are the other projects we had to drop in order to fly out to Computex which we will be picking up when we get back. Those include:

Inside ATI
Intel 845G Motherboard Roundup
VIA KT333 Motherboard Roundup
Dell Latitude C840
WinBook J4

We hope you enjoyed our Computex coverage both on the main site and in the Newsletter and as soon as we're back in the States it will be back to work.