Wireless Tablet
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

After creating a presence in the slate market with the Windows CE-based ePlate 600 and 630, Hitachi decided to try something new. The VisionPlate is not a Tablet PC as it does not have an active digitizer or a hard disk. It does, however, have sufficient processing power to run Midori Linux or Windows XP Embedded. This is a lightweight webpad that uses a power-efficient Transmeta Crusoe processor (no fan needed) to run off Flash memory. The ruggedized slate is thin and light and ready for wireless communication or use with a variety of Linux and Windows supported USB peripherals. On the software side the VisionPlate comes with a Citrix ICA client, webbrowser, MPEG player, pdf viewer, screen rotation utilities and (in the Linux version) the entire Gnome environment. Primary application is as a thin client in healthcare and similar environments.

While the WHite Board site www.touchboards.com carried the VisionPlate for a while, unfortunately Hitachi discontinued this interesting product.