WIZPY, THE PALM SIZED USB device to be introduced in India by Turbolinux will be sold in 4 GB version and comes preloaded with Firefox, Thunderbird, Skype, OpenOffice 2.1 and the Fuji OS. Wizpy can also double up as a portable media device, and can be used as a video player, music player, FM radio, voice recorder, picture viewer and e-book viewer.

 

Product name: Wizpy

Body dimensions: 84mm×42mm×12.2mm

Weight: 60g

Display Colour: OLED

Memory: 4GB

Body colour: Solid white/ black

Wizpy is a compact palm sized all-in-one next-generation portable device which allows users the power and flexibility to boot any computer in the world using Turbolinux operating system and make it theirs. Wizpy provides users their own mobile personal computer environment, and has the latest IT and multimedia features.

 

Wizpy allows you to plug into any USB 2.0 enabled PC, and run the Linux Operating System. It disguises itself as a USB CD-ROM drive which enables the Linux OS to boot without the user installing any actual components on the PC. This means now you don’t have to lug around your laptop, just access a PC and you’re off on your own, comfortable desktop environment. And best of all, no one can see what you’ve done or where you’ve been because it leaves no trace of history data.

 

The ability to save your accounts, bookmarks, data etc. makes this solution by Turbolinux very special. Imagine, you just sit on another computer, plug-in your Wizpy and there’s your operating system, data and the familiar look.

 

Files can be stored either in the documents folder, only accessible from within the Linux OS, or they can be kept in the media folder, accessible when the device is connected to the host PC. However, any files stored on the PC’s hard drive are inaccessible while the Wizpy is connected. This is intended to reassure people who lend their PCs to Wizpy owners: they will be able to do so knowing that the Wizpy user cannot ferret around in their files.

 

If the PC is connected to a network, users can surf the Internet or make phones calls using the included VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software. The device can also connect to supported peripherals.

 

Wizpy comes preloaded with Turbolinux Fuji OS, the Firefox Web browser, the Thunderbird e-mail client, Skype (VoIP) phone service and OpenOffice 2.1.

 

If you’re on the move, you can take advantage of the entertainment features that are offered by this all-in-one portable device. As a media player Wizpy has a 1.7 inch 256,000-colour OLED (organic light emitting diode) screen for viewing e-books, pictures, movies and video files. It handles OGG/mp3/WMA/AAC audio, XviD and MPEG4 video files and JPEG images. It also has a FM radio and a voice recorder to record sound to MP3 files.

 

Wizpy comes in at a pretty compact 84x42x12mm and a featherlight 60g, with battery life claimed at 10 hours.

 

Connected to a Windows XP machine the Wizpy is recognized and drivers are loaded but the same thing doesn’t happen on most of Apple Mac computers. Turbolinux is working on compatibility with Macs for future versions of the product.

 

There are a few things that can be improved. For example the up and down buttons on the front of the Wizpy operate the volume, but the on-screen volume bar is horizontal. Not perfect but also not a huge problem -- until you turn the Wizpy on its side to watch a video. Then you’re pressing the left-hand button to increase the volume but the volume bar is moving to the right.

 

The sensitivity of the FM radio needs improvement so that most of the FM stations be heard without static.

 

All in all, the Wizpy delivers its promise of a portable OS that can be used as a multimedia player.