FlipStart Labs announced that it has begun shipping the FlipStart compact PC. The FlipStart is a small handheld PC that's available with Windows Vista or XP, very compact and having "full functionality of a home or office workstation". This minuscule PC is basically a tiny laptop complete with a full functional QWERTY keyboard, a touchpad for full control of the mouse pointer, VGA cam, a dedicated Ctrl-Alt-Del button and external SidesSow-like lcd.

Probably most notable is the external SidesSow-like display integrated on the top lid. The 18" mini LCD display it works similar in concept to Sideshow features in Vista but is not exactly a Sideshow compatible as we would like to see. Instead, the mini LCD run independent of Windows and it can show Outlook information using an embedded ARM processor and 8MB of flash memory. Vulcan includes software that makes is easy to syncs with Outlook and performe other tasks as long as the Flipstart is running in sleep mode.

If you expected to have the control of your favorit music, to see your RSS feed, or photos on this mini color sideshow-like display you will be disappointed. Tought, Vulcan has announced that it is working with other third-party developers to add other applets, which may make the display more useful.

You should already know most of the hardware specs because these remain unchanged since the March introduction. It has a 30 gig shock mounted hard drive and only 512MB of RAM .It measures 5.9 x 4.5 x 1.6 inches and weighs 1.75 lbs. with the standard battery. The 1024 x 600 color display it measures only 5.4" diagonally.

Based on ultra Low Voltage Intel Pentium M processor this tiny pc is capable to run Windows XP or Vista Business, full Windows application. Having a plenty of connectivity via embedded WiFi, Bluetooth, and mobile broadband, integrated EV-DO, it would be perfect for field workers who can easily check email from anywhere.

The main competition are going to be UMPC devices like the Samsung Q1 and devices like the OQO Model 02. Check the Gizmodo.com website for a full reviews side by side OQO vs Flipstart. This devices are great alternatives for traditional notebook or PDA or Smartphone having some great potential, but I think the current price point of $2,000 is too high for the market.

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