Relive the PDA glory days with this 5.5" Windows 11 pocket PC

[Daniel Sims]

WTF?! Handheld gaming PCs and other recent products have demonstrated how small devices running full-blown Windows can become. Gloture has taken things further with a Windows 11 PC that looks and feels more like a smartphone. Despite its weak specs, some surprising capabilities could make it useful in specific situations.

Japanese company Gloture now offers a device called the NanoPC. It has a 5.5-inch screen, runs Windows 11 Pro, and easily fits in most pockets. The price is not too offputting at 84,700 yen ($585). Its size resembles a smartphone but is designed more as a PDA than a phone. Of course, that shouldn't stop users from installing messaging and VoIP apps.

While most handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally run on AMD APUs, Gloture's NanoPC features a 2.7GHz Intel Celeron J4125 with UHD 600 graphics. The device packs a 2500mAh battery, 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and 128 GB of eMMC storage. With a screen resolution of only 1280 x 720, it certainly isn't meant to offer a media-playing experience competitive with high-end phones or tablets.

Where the NanoPC earns its keep is in connectivity. It includes two HDMI ports, four USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C port, a gigabit ethernet port, and a microSD card slot. That's a lot of physical connection options for a device this small. It also supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

All those ports could make the NanoPC a functional ultraportable workstation in settings where your primary PCs are unavailable. The HDMI connections can simultaneously maintain two 4K 60Hz outputs which, together with a Bluetooth or USB keyboard and mouse, could create a decent multi-monitor setup wherever you might need one.

Most people are probably fine using smartphones and tablets in situations involving devices this small. So the NanoPC certainly won't replace them. However, Windows does give it more seamless compatibility with desktops and laptops for tasks where interoperability is a priority. A product like this can likely fill many edge cases where an iOS or Android device either lacks the software to fulfill a task or necessitates an extra step that a portable Windows system wouldn't.

Unfortunately, Gloture's retailer Rakuten doesn't have international shipping. So aside from making a personal visit or finding one on eBay or elsewhere, a NanoPC is pretty hard to get outside of Japan.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99749-relive-pda-glory-days-gloture-55-inch-windows.html

 

[nismo91]

It's japan I'm not at all surprised. in the vista days, we see so many tiny vaio, toshiba and fujitsu convertibles. unfortunately they always came with the worst processor available. when it came out it's already so slow, time only makes it worse. it's probably good for select people who are using it to run legacy software.

 

[netman]

"The device packs a 2500mAh battery, 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and 128 GB of eMMC storage."

Should have been equipped with SSD instead of slow eMMC...!

Should have been upgradable on storage and memory...!

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

Really a niche product but certainly something I would use. I loved PocketPC back in the late 90's and early 2000's, and when they first started coming out with Windows tablets - which unfortunately were always half-baked. I've always wanted a 7" tablet size device that could run a full desktop OS. I of course would prefer Windows 7 or even 10 but Windows just isn't the power user and administrator friendly OS it used to be. It has been watered down, dumbed down, and made user and cloud oriented to the point it is frustrating for me to work on. I'm mainly thinking of IT type work, not typing MS Word documents, checking email, and going on the web. Advanced functions are useful in a mobile device if not indeed perhaps somewhat cumbersome to use - but when it can incredibly mobilize your IT help desk it has some pretty impressive advantages.

 

[VcoreLeone]

They're called smartphones, guys. they're faster, more handy and efficient to use than this.

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

They're called smartphones, guys. they're faster, more handy and efficient to use than this.

Heh... that's cute. Smartphones are nearly useless for most of the on-prem advanced IT admin stuff we would do as they are completely different OS and most remote desktop things just suck and are difficult to use. I know most administration/management stuff is now cloud based and just a website, so smartphones can do just fine for a lot of newer tech; but there is still plenty of on-prem tech at some businesses and organizations, and an actual desktop OS on a super mobile device has its uses. Like I said it is niche and I acknowledge that, but that doesn't make smartphones a better option for what I'm referring to.