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FICkle finger points to Transmeta fete

Open that door, damnit!

Computex 2000 Thanks to our friends at Mobile Linux for pointing us to the fact that First International Corporation (FIC) is showing a Transmeta-based device at Computex this week.

Armed with this solid piece of information, we therefore tramped to the Grand Hyatt next to the conference centre here in Taipei, and took the lift to the 25th floor where we found, or rather didn't find, Transmeta lurking in a room rather grandly called the Presidential Suite.

Repeated hammering on the door on several occasions failed to get any response, but our frustration set us a-pondering.

If Transmeta has struck deals with other major hardware vendors other than IBM (reported yesterday), where exactly are they?

Having conducted a fine-toothed comb search later in the day to try and dislodge any other such items which may be lurking in the new mobile conference hall, we didn't find any, but did get a shot of the FIC unit, which we'll post later. Acer, Compal and Quanta are also understood to have Transmeta-beasts in their technical garrets.

The FIC device is called the Aqua 3200 and uses the TM 3200 processor at speeds of 366MHz or 400MHz and includes 64MB of synchronous memory and 16MB of Flash stuff. It has a 7.5in TFT screen, with cursor keys and a stylus, as well as 3D audio. It also supports MP3. It has a PC Card slot, two USB ports, and infra-red connectivity.

FIC's Aqua will cost around $600 or so, according to the firm. Much of that cost is due to the large LCD, although there are some indications prices of screens may drop later in the year. Plus, FIC and Transmeta will use PC Expo in New York later this month to really make a splash.

Oh, and we'll also be hammering on your Presidential door again, Transmeta. Wake up! (It's rumoured that David Ditzel is hiding behind the doors, which may explain why Cnet failed to gain ingress too). ®

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