Intermec "Pen Computer"

The "eternal struggle" in the world of mobile computers is between size and functionality. In one corner you've got the simple Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a pocket sized appointment book and contact manager, but not much else. It's the bantamweight contender, quick on its feet but without much of a punch. In the opposite corner you've got the full-fledged notebook computer with a Pentium processor and a full suite of desktop applications. It's the heavyweight contender with power to spare, but it's just a little too big and clumsy to get in close for the K.O. And in the third corner…

That's right, there are more corners in this arena, and they are crowded with the middleweight contenders! These devices are more powerful than the simple PDA, but lighter and faster on their feet than the notebook PC. They come in different sizes and shapes, with different hardware and software features. The truth is that in this eternal struggle there's a separate brawl going on for the middleweight position.

All of the Windows Powered devices are part of Microsoft's evolving attempt to produce a middleweight champion. Microsoft's strategy is simple: pack more and more functionality into the smallest useable package. The two major Microsoft contenders are the Pocket PC (a powerful pen-entry device) and the Handheld PCs (a mini-notebook computer with a small, but useable keyboard). This review looks at the most unique and newest of the Handheld PCs, the Intermec 6651 "Pen Computer."

Unique, powerful, versatile

Intermec calls the 6651 the "Pen Computer," but it's really a small Handheld PC device designed by Intermec and Sharp Electronics of Japan. It's one of the most powerful and versatile "mini-notebook" middleweights I've ever seen. It's small but useable; it has a built-in digital camera that can take still-image photos or MPEG-4 videos; and it uses a fold-over clamshell design to let you use the 6651 as a notebook or a pen-entry tablet. (Note that Sharp still markets a fold-over Handheld PC called the TriPad. The 6651 is a completely different device.)

A small but useable "mini-notebook"

The Intermec 6651 is the smallest mini-notebook I've seen. When I say "mini-notebook" I mean a device that is smaller than, but still as useable as, a notebook computer. It has a readable and reasonably large display, and you can touch type on the keyboard (see Screen 1). The 6651 has a six-row, 79-key keyboard that measures just about 8.5" diagonally. Compare that to the HP Jornada 720 I reviewed in the last issue (six-row, 7.35" diagonal keyboard, a little too small to touch type on) and the HP Jornada 820 (six-row, 10" diagonal keyboard, easy to touch type on, but HP just discontinued it). Intermec Handheld PC is somewhere in between the two in size. I quickly adapted to its keyboard and wrote a good part of this review on the 6651.

Screen 1: The Intermec 6651 has a readable and reasonably large display, and a small, "touchtypeable" keyboard.

Lights, camera, action!