Reg Kit Watch

Videophone

Nimble Microsystems has launched the Nimble V5 personal video conferencing player, a compact information appliance based on VIA's C3 x86-compatible processor.

How compact? The V5 measures 19.3 x 19.3 x 5cm (7.7 x 7.7 x 2in), says Nimble. It offers e-mail, web browsing, instant messaging, IP telephony and video conferencing. And being based on PC technology means it can be used as a PC too. Heck, it even runs Windows XP.

So yes, it is a PC.

It's a quiet one, though, operating silently. And since it consumes less than 12W of power, it has been designed to be left on all day (operating system crashes permitting, of course). The V5 has a built-in speakerphone, and there's Wi-Fi support too - you plug a standard 802.11 adaptor into the device's PC Card slot.

The V5 will ship next quarter for $699, so it's got a PC-sized price tag too. ®