thumb|upright=1.25|Closed Vulcan Flip Start. On Display at the [[Living Computer Museum in Seattle, Washington.]]
The Vulcan FlipStart was a super compact PC, weighing 1.5 pounds (with standard high capacity battery) and the size of a paperback novel (4.5 by 5.9 by 1.6 inches with high capacity battery). FlipStart was the release name for the concept PC Paul Allen showed at CES 2003 and 2004, specifically FlipStart V1.0. The original concept name was Mini-PC.
Specifications
The FlipStart has a folding 5.9-inch screen with 1024×700 resolution, a 30GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and batteries capable of running one to three hours on a charge, with extended battery life offering up to four hours. The CPU is a Pentium M ULV processor running at 1.1 GHz, and it has a non-expandable memory of 512MiB. The chipset is the Intel GMA915.
Expansion is possible via a dock connector which connects to a port replicator, offering two USB ports (blocking the single port on the unit), VGA, audio, AC power and Ethernet. A sliding cover on the lid provides access to a "snap on" expansion system. There is one expansion option provided for this, a 3.2Mp (5Mp marketed) add-on camera. The expansion cover also provides access to the built in SIM socket.
Launch
The FlipStart was launched in the US on March 27, 2007 and no new units were manufactured. The company provided support for one year after that, stopping on March 31, 2009 "due to the low volume of support request and expiration of all warranties."
References
Further reading
- CNET review and comparison to other devices
- Remembering the FlipStart
- WI-FI Planet Review of the FlipStart