Machines worth keeping

Premium pocket-PC styling and the back-pocket advertising campaign.

An unusually wide 1600 × 768 display and a pointing stick gave the VAIO P its distinctive shape. Selected Japanese configurations offered WiMAX; poulsback began on an orange VPCP11AKJ.

Sony's Japanese custom-order programme offered colourful and patterned finishes. Later VPCP configurations could pair 2 GB of soldered RAM with SSDs up to 256 GB, putting surprisingly substantial PC storage into the pocket-sized format.

Thumb typing, a clamshell and an optical pointer.

A 4.8-inch touchscreen folded above a tiny physical keyboard. The reviewed Z520 configuration had 1 GB RAM and a 32 GB SSD; GPS and 3G depended on the package.

The Huawei EM770W modem in UMPCPortal's review unit supported SMS and voice calls; the reviewer successfully used a Bluetooth headset. A removable 16 Wh battery formed the rear of the case.

A 1280 × 800 touchscreen that swivels into a pocket-sized slate.

Regional names covered different CPU, storage and wireless options. poulsback uses a Japanese FMV-BIBLO LOOX U/C50N with an Atom Z550 and GMA500 as a reference machine.

The rotating display kept the keyboard attached in slate mode. Thumb controls around the screen left navigation within reach when the keys were folded away, giving the little Fujitsu two genuinely different ways to be held.

A wide thumb keyboard in a shallow clamshell.

The UH900 kept a conventional screen hinge, unlike the earlier U820. The pictured Japanese LOOX U/G90 belongs to this later family; regional CPU and storage configurations differed.

Fujitsu's Japanese U/G90 catalogue model combined 2 GB RAM, 30 GB flash storage and WiMAX in a body listed at about 495 g. That specification belongs to the Japanese model; the US UH900 and custom U/G90N options differed.

A full PC in an electronic-dictionary-sized clamshell.

The BZ paired a thumb keyboard and optical pointer with a 4.8-inch touchscreen. It followed UMID's M1 while keeping its own storage and connectivity options.

The reviewed BZ had just 512 MB RAM, but provided a full-size USB port and VGA output through an adapter. A contemporary review demonstrated that adapter driving a 1920 × 1080 external monitor.

An Eee PC that folds into a multi-touch tablet.

The T91MT added multi-touch to ASUS's rotating 8.9-inch T91 design. A physical keyboard and desktop software remained beneath the touch-oriented interface.

The Japanese unit reviewed by PC Watch had a 32 GB SSD and two card readers. One was labelled DISK-EXPANDER and protected a storage card behind a cover; the other served ordinary transfers. That configuration also included 1seg TV with an external aerial.

Windows Vista, PHS calls and 1seg TV in a sliding handheld.

Its screen tilts above the keyboard for desk use. Incoming calls required a logged-in Windows session outside sleep or hibernation.

Sharp described handheld, keyboard and desk-use positions for the sliding, tilting mechanism. Its combination of a desktop OS, PHS radio and television tuner made it an unusually ambitious communications terminal, with phone behaviour tied to the PC's power state.

A phone and a full Windows PC in one sliding handset.

Windows 7 shared the handset with a separate Symbian-based i-mode phone environment; a side button switched between them. The PC side had 1 GB RAM and 32 GB eMMC.

An optional cradle added USB peripherals and HDMI output, and Office Personal 2010 came with a two-year licence. Fujitsu rated the Z600 at 1.20 GHz but specified operation at half that frequency: 600 MHz.

Roughly 400 g, a rotating touchscreen and 1seg television.

This 4.8-inch convertible squeezed a keyboard and thumb controls into a tiny body. The contemporary review recorded a 32 GB SSD and just 512 MB of RAM.

The extended aerial in the product photograph belongs to its 1seg TV receiver. Screen-side controls and the rotating hinge made it usable in the hands as well as on a desk, despite the very small memory budget.

A DVD writer and 1seg TV tuner inside an 8.9-inch convertible.

The SX3 combined an internal DVD writer with an 8.9-inch, 1280 × 768 rotating touchscreen. A 1seg receiver and extendable aerial added mobile television to the miniature notebook.

The XP-model announcement listed 1 GB RAM, a 60 GB hard disk and a weight of about 1.25 kg. With both a hard disk and optical drive, this was a notably complete miniature notebook rather than a simple flash-based handheld.

A 7-inch convertible with 1seg TV and optional GPS.

The smaller SC3 offered a rotating touchscreen, physical keyboard and ExpressCard/34 slot in a sub-kilogram body. The white SC3WX06A shown here is the Windows XP model.

The launch specification listed 1 GB RAM and a 60 GB hard disk. Weight was about 798 g without GPS or 820 g with it, making the optional navigation receiver a real configuration difference rather than a feature to assume from the family name.

A sliding screen that uncovers a real keyboard.

A pointing control sat beside the keys. The documented 10.1-inch Oak Trail model used 1 GB of soldered RAM and a 120 GB hard disk.

The display slides up to expose the keys and settles into an inclined viewing position. Fujitsu explicitly paired the Z670's integrated GMA600 with Intel's SM35 companion chipset, placing this mechanical experiment in the Oak Trail generation.

A 7-inch swivel-screen notebook with room for physical typing.

Its rotating touchscreen folds over the keyboard for tablet use. Viliv's storage and radio packages varied by configuration.

The reviewed S7 Premium shipped with 1 GB RAM, a 32 GB SSD and 3G. Its power switch had a Hold position that left the computer running but blocked touch, keyboard and button input.

Multi-touch and 1366 × 768 pixels in a folding 10.1-inch PC.

The screen rotates into tablet mode while a physical keyboard remains underneath. Viliv offered Z530 and Z550 configurations with different storage and connectivity packages.

The resistive multi-touch panel accepted fingers and the supplied stylus. A stylus garage and extendable 3G aerial were built into the reviewed unit, which ran Windows 7 Home Premium.

A fanless aluminium netbook from a phone maker.

Cellular and assisted-GPS configurations carried Nokia's mobile priorities into a fanless aluminium notebook. The datasheet lists 1 GB soldered RAM and a 120 GB hard disk, alongside the 10.1-inch HD panel.

Nokia's datasheet specified a removable 16-cell, 56.8 Wh battery and a compact 1.8-inch hard disk. The 1280 × 720 display, Ovi software and SIM-equipped configurations connected the design closely to Nokia's mobile ecosystem.

An SSD and an HDD, with an ECO mode that powers down the HDD.

The SSD held the operating environment while the HDD supplied bulk storage. MSI's ECO mode could disconnect the hard disk and keep the system running from SSD.

The arrangement paired flash-based startup with HDD capacity while large SSDs still carried a premium. It was an unusual storage experiment inside a familiar netbook body, with power management built around choosing when the spinning drive needed to be awake.

A 12.1-inch netbook that helped keep poulsback alive.

The 1280 × 800 screen made the Mini 12 unusually spacious for its class. A ¥500 example, repaired after a power fault, became poulsback's hardware test machine.

Dell's setup guide covered both factory Ubuntu and Windows installations. The Mini 12 kept the low-power Poulsbo platform but gave it a larger workspace and keyboard, making it a useful bridge between a small netbook and a conventional laptop.

HDMI and an optional TV tuner in the original Mini 10.

The Inspiron 1010 combined Atom Z5xx/GMA500 with multimedia features beyond a basic netbook. TV-tuner availability depended on region and configuration.

Dell documented both 1024 × 600 and 1366 × 768 display options, as well as Ubuntu and Windows orders. Those choices made the exact configuration important: two machines wearing the same Mini 10 badge could offer different display and media hardware.

A Seashell netbook with a roomy 11.6-inch display.

The curved chassis wrapped an Atom Z520 and GMA500 around a 1366 × 768 panel. This is specifically the 1101HA variant.

The reviewed configuration had a 160 GB hard disk and came with 10 GB of Eee Storage online space. The larger display and familiar Seashell chassis stretched the low-power Atom/US15W platform towards a more conventional notebook working area.

A netbook that grew into an 11.6-inch widescreen machine.

Its 1366 × 768 panel and larger keyboard area moved the Aspire One towards small-notebook ergonomics. This entry follows the AO751h/ZA3 family.

Notebookcheck's review unit had a 160 GB hard disk and an accessible RAM slot. The reviewer tested a memory upgrade from 1 GB to 2 GB, giving this compact netbook a practical route to more memory.

A netbook platform inside a 13-inch-class notebook.

The X-Slim X320 pursued a broad, thin silhouette and full keyboard instead of the smallest footprint. Its Z530 and US15W still tied it to the Atom platform.

MSI advertised a 1.3 kg weight with the battery and a profile tapering from 20 mm to 6 mm. Three USB ports, VGA and an SD/MMC reader preserved familiar notebook connections in the thin shell.

Premium slim-notebook styling around a low-power Atom.

LG's 11.6-inch XNOTE aimed at everyday mobile computing rather than thumb typing. The light-coloured shell and shallow chassis housed the GMA500 platform.

LG's catalogue lists a fanless chassis 17.5 mm thick and 970 g in weight, with 64 GB or 128 GB SSDs. It also documents optional 3G; the 2 GB memory configuration was associated with the Z550 version.

A thin 11.1-inch VAIO with conventional notebook ergonomics.

The VAIO X retained a full keyboard while using low-power Atom processors. Japanese custom configurations combined SSD storage with 2 GB of soldered memory.

Sony's Japanese custom-order specification offered Z530, Z540 and Z550 processors alongside different SSD and battery choices. The thin case therefore hid several configurations, with the chosen components affecting weight and endurance as well as CPU speed.

A separate Broadcom Crystal HD chip for video decoding.

Pen input and a dock brought desktop Windows workflows into an 8.9-inch slate. The dedicated video decoder sat beside the Atom Z540 and GMA500.

The video decoder was a separate component from GMA500. Its presence makes this an interesting mixed-acceleration design: desktop graphics, compressed video decoding and pen input were handled by different parts of the platform.

The Slate 500's business-tablet idea, moved to GMA600.

HP kept the compact 8.9-inch slate format but switched to the Atom Z670. Similar styling concealed a change from Poulsbo to Oak Trail graphics integration.

HP provided a dedicated Ctrl+Alt+Del button and a Windows desktop button for use without a keyboard. The optional Slate Dock added two USB ports and HDMI, connecting the handheld slate to a more conventional desk setup.

A pen-enabled business tablet with a docking option.

A 10.1-inch, 1280 × 800 panel and 2 GB RAM accompanied the Z670/GMA600 platform. Dell designed the slate for carrying existing Windows work away from a desk.

Dell specified Gorilla Glass, a digital pen garage, a 720p front webcam and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Its optional dock added three USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI, while the tablet itself also carried USB, HDMI and an SD reader.

Pen input and a removable battery in an Oak Trail slate.

The Z670/GMA600 platform put PC internals behind a 10.1-inch screen. Japanese Q550/C configurations also form part of poulsback's platform research.

The pen and removable battery were aimed at carrying Windows work between locations rather than treating the tablet as a sealed media player. Docking and the surrounding firmware, display and peripheral choices gave it its own platform identity around the shared graphics core.

A rugged work slate with pen input and a 1366 × 768 panel.

Motion designed the CL900 for handling and field work. Its Z670/GMA600 platform powered a 10.1-inch display inside a protective business enclosure.

Motion listed IP52 sealing and a four-foot drop rating. The screen used Gorilla Glass and N-trig pen input, with an aluminium-alloy frame inside the plastic housing. These were working-tool features around a full Windows PC.

Windows plus an Android app environment, without rebooting.

The 10pro used BlueStacks to run Android applications inside Windows. It was not a second native Android installation on the Z670 tablet.

ViewSonic combined the familiar Windows desktop with a route into Android applications on the same machine. Switching environments was a software feature of the Windows installation; the two interfaces shared the tablet's x86 hardware.

A full Windows PC from a portable-media specialist.

Archos put a stand and dedicated pointing controls around an 8.9-inch touchscreen. CPU and storage configurations changed across the product's life.

The reviewed model paired resistive touch with a stored stylus, an optical pointer and a removable battery. An optional port replicator connected through the bottom expansion port, extending the media-player-like slate towards a desk setup.

Twin hot-swappable batteries in a rugged handheld PC.

The U1 offered physical keyboard choices and twin hot-swappable batteries for field work. Panasonic's Ultra configuration used a Z530, 2 GB RAM and a removable 64 GB SSD.

Panasonic's Ultra specification lists IP65 sealing and a backlit 61-key QWERTY layout, with a 29-key numeric alternative. Barcode, fingerprint, GPS and cellular hardware were optional equipment choices for different field-work packages.

A clinical tablet with a carry handle and two replaceable batteries.

The CF-H1 was designed for moving between care tasks. Its integrated grip, rounded enclosure and identification options made the intended workplace visible.

Panasonic specified a sealed, fanless case with an alcohol-wipe-resistant surface and even a cleaning-reminder utility. Equipment packages could add RFID, fingerprint and barcode capture, tying the computer closely to clinical identification and record-keeping tasks.

A 7-inch handheld slate with physical grip controls.

Viliv enlarged its pocket-PC idea without adding a notebook keyboard. GPS and cellular hardware depended on the package.

The larger screen offered more room for a desktop interface than Viliv's 4.8-inch S5, while controls on the case kept navigation near the user's thumbs. Different GPS, radio and storage packages gave the same basic slate several roles.

A kitchen calendar that found another life with Linux enthusiasts.

O2 sold it as a shared screen for calendars, reminders and media. A Z520, 512 MB RAM and 1 GB flash powered its Ubuntu-derived original system.

Ethernet and USB helped give the hardware a life beyond its original household services. Owners documented Ubuntu experiments and music-player setups, turning an appliance intended for shared calendars into a small, reusable Linux screen.

A fanless desktop in a 115 × 101 × 27 mm case.

The metal box provided Gigabit Ethernet, six USB connections and DVI through an HDMI connector. Two of those USB connections used mini connectors.

Even in November 2026, Radwell listed FIT-PC2 under “New Product”, with availability by enquiry. Its ordering page also distinguished never-used stock from refurbished units: an unexpected industrial-supply afterlife for this small Poulsbo computer.

A Linux MID with an afterlife as a custom SSD project.

Wenting Zhang's S6SSD replaced the unusual 2 GB storage module. An ordinary ATA protocol sat behind the non-standard connector and form factor.

The documented Linux configuration paired a Z500 and UL11L/GMA500 with 512 MB RAM and just 2 GB of storage. The replacement-SSD work makes the S6 particularly interesting: keeping it useful required understanding a real electrical interface and building new hardware.

A Linux internet computer built for in-car navigation.

MiND combined GPS, a touchscreen and internet functions with an optional car dock. Clarion documented Linux 2.6.22, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB flash.

Clarion called the idea a Mobile Internet Navigation Device. Its purpose-built Linux interface put maps and browsing onto x86 PC hardware, and the docking accessory adapted that handheld form to use in a car.

A Linux MID with a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

GIGABYTE packed an 800 MHz Atom Z500, 512 MB RAM and a 4 GB SSD behind a 4.8-inch touchscreen. The sliding QWERTY keyboard kept physical text entry available in the handheld design.

GIGABYTE listed a 3-megapixel autofocus camera, a separate 300k-pixel webcam and HSDPA connectivity. The 340 g body also exposed a USB host port and a mini-USB client connection, packing several roles into a phone-like sliding form.

A Linux MID with a phone-style numeric keypad.

Lenovo placed the keypad beside a 4.8-inch landscape touchscreen. It was a different approach to handheld input from the sliding QWERTY designs.

The keypad and navigation controls sit beside the display rather than underneath a miniature notebook lid. That choice left the U8 with a phone-like grip and a PC-class Intel platform, illustrating a very different input experiment within the MID generation.

A pocket Windows PC shaped like a media player.

The 4.8-inch slate paired a touchscreen with physical controls. Viliv offered different GPS, radio and storage packages around the compact design.

A contemporary Japanese hands-on review recorded a roughly 410 g GPS-equipped example. The dense 1024 × 600 display and case-mounted controls put a desktop interface into a device that could also serve as a handheld navigation unit.

Game-specific images on an adaptive tactile keyboard.

Razer announced the 7-inch concept with an Atom Z690. Its GMA600 identification comes from that processor platform; this remained a concept rather than a normal retail product.

The adaptive key images were intended to follow the active game, keeping tactile buttons beneath software-controlled labels. The screen also supported multi-touch, combining two changing input surfaces in a small handheld gaming concept.

An OLED-screen option in an Atom-powered sliding handheld.

Development samples combined a thumb keyboard, desktop docking and a 5-inch screen. The planned normal retail release did not happen, but prototypes survived and reached collectors.

The sliding display exposed a thumb keyboard while preserving a handheld shape when closed. Steve Paine's time with a development sample documented both handheld operation and a docked desktop arrangement, showing how much of the proposed workflow existed beyond the announcement.