Tiny mintpass mintpad breaking out of Korea
I've recently been in touch with mintpass, the Korean company behind the super cute and tiny mintpad, and have been told that the WinCE 5.0 Pro-based multimedia network device is currently being Anglicized for future launch in foreign markets.
The US is included in these plans and in fact, mintpass has already prepared a 64-page full English manual and 20-page product brochure (also in English). The company sent me both documents and after reading through them, I have to say that I'm really anxious to get my hands on the little guy (full specs here). Pricing hasn't been set for the American market yet, but considering that the device is selling for just 199,000 KRW (~$143) in Korea, it should be very reasonably priced for the US as well.
A firm launch schedule hasn't been planned yet either, but mintpass estimates that the Anglicization should be complete by late April/early May.
Here are some highlights and photos from the manual and brochure.
Mintpass is marketing the mintpad as "all you need" because of the amount of features it has:
- Memo – one of the core functions, vector-based memo engine, advanced technology that mimics the "same feeling of writing on paper," auto-save, detailed drawings
- Schedule – calendar, appointments, to do list
- Name Card – individual contact cards using photos taken with built-in camera
- Camera – still images (JPG) and video recording (AVI)
- Life – community feature, daily contests for mintpad users to enter
- Blog – community feature, create your own and view others' "mint blogs"
- Book Store – community feature, create and share content published as "books"
- Chatting – real-time memo exchange, chatrooms, WiFi and ad hoc connections
- Music – standard music functions (APE, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA)
- Video – internet streaming TV, standard video functions (DiVX, MPEG-4, WMV, XviD)
- Pictures – photo album, slideshow, up to 2048 x 2048 resolution
- Recording – voice recording (WMA)
- Internet – "high-speed full browsing with Flash support" (according to product brochure)
I have serious doubts about how enjoyable web browsing will be on a 2.86-inch screen, but for the expected price of the device, I don't think it matters. Build quality should be very good too since mintpass has roots in Reigncom/iriver.
While the memo feature allows users to write handwritten notes, other areas of the system require the use of an onscreen keyboard.
The mintpad ships with only a proprietary cable, stylus (storage slot on device), and quick start guide, but there are a handful of accessories available separately.
The best accessory is this cradle, which charges the mintpad and has a line-out port. Mintpass also offers silicone cases, an Easter-colored stylus set, a screen protector (by Pure Plate), and a spare standard battery (900mAh).
Anyone else looking forward to carrying something like this in their pocket? What's the maximum price you would pay?
Full specifications of the mintpass mintpad in the database.
