Professionals who travel with laptops have had one common complaint: the computers are cumbersome, power hungry and expensive, according to Michael Spencer, vice president of sales/marketing for QuickPAD Technologies. For many pros, the standard laptop computer is more of a burden than a help, he added.
Weighing in at one pound, and with a suggested retail price of US$299, the QuickPAD Pro features all the conveniences of a notebook, Spencer said in a statement. It has a built-in word processor, spell check, spreadsheet, scientific graphing calculator, database, personal organizer and daytime scheduler. The screen holds 16 lines with 80 characters per line. As sold, the unit holds up to 300 pages of content and has a port for external flash cards up to 128MB so memory can be expanded.
Files can be transferred to a Mac or PC via a USB connection or an optional infrared receiver. For the latter, of course, you’ll need a Mac equipped for infrared file transfer. Users can also send and receive e-mail with any ISP with its built-in modem. Operating on four AA batteries, the QuickPAD Pro can supposedly operate for over 200 hours.
QuickPAD Pro is also an ideal tool for the classroom, Spencer said. Password-protectable folders allow 10 students to share one device. And it’s also described as very durable. The QuickPAD has no moving parts so it can withstand any mishandling and dropping, Spencer said. The unit consists of two circuit boards, the screen and main board with one connection in between.
Every QuickPAD unit comes with all necessary cables, a carrying case, batteries and user manual.