Updated and corrected. I originally got the details of Pepper's rebate wrong. The $150 rebate is on the original PepperPad, not the new model.
Original post: Will the third version be the charm for the PepperPad? The original PepperPad, a Linux based home Internet tablet, was one of the worst products I've ever reviewed: heavy, slow, and awfully overpriced. But it looks like Pepper Computer may have learned from my "constructive" criticism: the new Pepper Pad 3 is lighter (2 lbs., which is a few ounces less than the original), faster, more based on open standards (GTK+ and X11) and cheaper at $699.99. Pepper also seems to have switched from Intel Bulverde processors to the AMD LX800.
PC Magazine editor-in-chief Jim Louderback rated the original Pad the third-worst product of last year, prompting an angry reply from Pepper Computer which was posted to their Web site, but seems now to be gone. Lots of big companies have had missteps -- the Apple III, PC Jr. and Microsoft Bob come to mind. It'll be interesting to see if Pepper Computer has raised their game after their rocky start.
The PepperPad is an odd duck - a Linux-based tablet which connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (not cellular networks), with a big screen, a split QWERTY keyboard, 800x480 screen, and a 20 GB hard drive. It's designed for Web browsing or multimedia playback within the home, like a bulkier brother to Nokia's 770 Web tablet. I'll be curious to see if Pepper has made the device more responsive, but it still suffers from its high price: you can get a full laptop PC running Windows XP or Linux for $700.
Take a look at the full specs at Pepper Computer's Web site.
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June 6, 2006 5:42 PM
I had some hand's on time with the PepperPad at DigitalLife last fall and was also unimpressed. Despite technological and design shortcomings, Pepper's biggest challenge is that they're building products for a non-existant market. While this same issue plagues UMPC devices at home, their ability to run typical business productivity and PIM software may help them get a foothold in corporate America. The Nokia 770 is also a strange bird, but there's something sexy and appealing about it - I'm definitely interested in playing with it again once the firmware is updated with Google Talk, virtual thumb board, and squashed bugs.
June 7, 2006 9:13 AM
I just got back from the 1880 Electric Home press event. Will the third time be the charm for Thomas Edison's electric light bulb? Last Fall I reviewed Edison's original light bulb and I rated it one of the worst products I've ever reviewed. It required electricity (like who has that?), it was dim, it only lasted 13.5 hours, and the price was not even comparable to a good gas or oil lamp. I'll be curious to see if Edison has made the lamp any brighter, but it still suffers from a high price: you can get a full brass oil lamp and a full can of oil for the price of one of Edison's bublbs. I had a few seconds of hands-on time with the Edison's bulb last fall and was unimpressed. Despite technological and design shortcomings, Edison's biggest challenge is that they're building products for a non-existent market. The gas and oil lamp industry is too well established for electric light to compete. It doesn't really matter that gas and oil lamps need constant maintenance because there are lots of experts to repair and clean them regularly . (In fact, my own son is an expert at cleaning the gas jets and trimming the wick for our family and neighbor's lamps.) Edison should learn from other's mistakes: people have been trying to build electric lights for the past 50 years and have failed.
June 7, 2006 10:52 AM
Amusing analogy, but it doesn't work for me. If you think the more-than-a-few-seconds demo I received from your folks at DigitalLife was insufficient or inaccurate, I'm willing to spend some time with the updated tablet. (FYI Len Kawell is the CEO of Pepper Computer.)
June 7, 2006 11:30 AM
Well, maybe they listened to your price criticism... You can now get one for $649 USD, with a $150 mail-in rebate.
June 7, 2006 6:14 PM
A CEO should never, NEVER reply to a blogged criticism. It's unsavory and smacks of small time sandbox domain squabbling. A CEO clearly can say what they want to convey, only it is appropriate to do so through underlings to insulate the lack of posterity. Get a grip and let it go.
June 7, 2006 8:26 PM
A CEO should never reply to blog-posted criticisms, Randal Bird? Thanks for sharing your opinion with us. Now go away. I like hearing the CEO of a company reply. He speaks with authority. Who better to hear from? Now, if he is a fool and says somethnig stupid, then the company suffers. Maybe it is risky for a non-PR person to reply, but it should nonetheless be welcomed by potential customers.
October 30, 2006 11:04 AM
I paid twice as much for a fujitsu p1500d tablet that has been out for a year or more and is probably the most useful computer I ever bought and certainly is the tablet to beat. There is no point in buying cheap crap.
December 1, 2006 4:18 PM
Maybe I'm missing something..like a portable tablet for my office!
This thing looks perfect, I need to be able to access web pages for service authorizations for my patients, and the ability to plop this thing on my desk, hand it off to a secretary, not have to have a workstation at each phone is VERY APPEALING!
As far as application limitations go, this is really unlimited. For an office environment, if you REALLY needed XP or vista, you can set up a cheap desktop, network it, and use VNC to do ANYTHING!
I even use the camera (on my Palm Pilot now) to show patients how they look in frame choices (I'm an Eye DR.)
Remember what made the PC so great? It was a database App...so every business had to have one.
I think I'm gonna LOVE IT!