Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 18:30:21 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <busdepot@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <busdepot@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject: EPODS (Internet/GPS access from your bus)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
This is only somewhat Vanagon related but I thought I'd make you all aware
of it.
Some of you may remember the I-Opener hack mentioned on the Vanagon list
some months ago. Some people talked about using it in a Bus/Vanagon as a GPS
unit. Well, there is a new alternative now, that appears to be extremely
well suited to mobile use for internet, email, mapquest, gps, etc.
The Epods was marketed as an internet-appliance, like the I-Opener. It's a
$600 unit, but was sold below cost ($199) with the requirement that you sign
on to a year of internet service for about $40/month. The company invested
millions, only to run out of money and go under just a couple of months
after starting to ship product. So the "required" internet service is no
more. However, hackers have figured out how to crack its password so that
it can be used with any ISP you want.
This is a really futuristic little toy. It is about 2 lbs and looks kind of
like an Etch-A-Sketch. (No, you don't turn it upside down and shake it to
restart the computer. :-) The "Etch-A-Sketch screen" is actually an LCD
color monitor (like on a laptop). The screen is touch sensitive, so you
simply point and drag right on the display screen itself rather than using a
mouse. Or you push a button to pop up a "keyboard" right on the
touch-sensitive screen. (An external keyboard and mouse can also be used.)
So basically, the LCD screen is the entire computer; nothing else to carry.
The operating system is Windows CE. The unit has an 8 hour battery, 56k
modem, and PCMCIA, serial, and USB ports. You can use it with a wireless
modem, or use certain web-enabled cell phones as a modem with the correct
adaptor. It has no storage drives, instead storing onto internal memory or
onto CompactFlash cards (as used on digital cameras; not included).
Basically this is somewhere between a palm pilot and a laptop, but smaller
and cheaper than a laptop. Of course, if you're used to a "real computer"
you may be disappointed with the speed and capacity of this; it is just a
Windows CE device after all, not a Pentium III, so keep your expectations
realistic.
My plan is to use it for internet and email access when on long trips in my
Westy (via my cell phone), in hotels, etc. It is so small than it can fit
anywhere. It would also be nice to be able to pull up mapquest.com on the
internet if I got lost while driving (or if a traffic jam required an
alternate route). Although I do not plan to use it for GPS, apparantly you
can (see the bulletin board posts). I also plan to put a cordless modem
adaptor on it so I can use it around the house as a completely wireless
internet browser - no phone or power cord! (The unit is literally magazine
sized, so you can just sit on the sofa or wherever and browse the internet
as if you were reading a magazine.)
These units have been very hard to come by, as they are still selling for
the $199 price that assumed a high monthly contract (which is supposedly
unenforcable now because the company that required it no longer exists).
Therefore they are selling for way below the true market value. Mine is on
the way but has not yet arrived. I had thought of waiting until I'd actually
played with it to suggest it to the list (rather than suggest it based only
on other people's reports, as I am now). But availability is becoming so
tight that by then, there could be none to be had. So I thought I'd mention
it now for those who want to be daring. Even now you may find them quite
difficult if not impossible to obtain. (I _may_ have an extra one depending
on whether a family member I ordered it for wants it; not sure yet but email
me right away if you can't get one via the below link.)
If you're interested in trying to get one, here are the links:
http://www.absolutebeanies.com/sitehold/www.epodsinc.com/corporate/epodsone/
specs_orig.html
for a mirror of the now-defunct product website (specs etc)
http://www.geocities.com/epodsfiles/ for info on how to hack it and where to
buy it. (Best bet is probably the Salton outlet.)
http://www.kenseglerdesigns.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl?Action=Show
Board&Board=EpodsOne
for discussion board on further hacks, modifications, etc. (The above
geocities site also links to this.)
The usual disclaimers apply. Everything I wrote is what I have learned from
the above sites, etc. and are not verified by me. YMMV, etc.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
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