Mobile Technology

The Magic W3: the mini-PC with phone capabilities that's not a smartphone

The Magic W3: the mini-PC with phone capabilities that's not a smartphone
The Magic W3 is claimed to be the world's first handheld microcomputer running on a full version of Windows 7, and can also be used to make telephone calls
The Magic W3 is claimed to be the world's first handheld microcomputer running on a full version of Windows 7, and can also be used to make telephone calls
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The rear of the Magic W3, showing the stereo speakers
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The rear of the Magic W3, showing the stereo speakers
The Magic W3 microcomputer runs a Magic Telephony Touch User Interface to cater for user voice and texting needs over a suitable quad-band GSM network
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The Magic W3 microcomputer runs a Magic Telephony Touch User Interface to cater for user voice and texting needs over a suitable quad-band GSM network
Document creation and web updates can be undertaken using the onscreen keyboard, or via a USB or Bluetooth physical keyboard
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Document creation and web updates can be undertaken using the onscreen keyboard, or via a USB or Bluetooth physical keyboard
The Atom-powered W3 runs on a full version of Windows 7 Home Premium for multi-tasking productivity
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The Atom-powered W3 runs on a full version of Windows 7 Home Premium for multi-tasking productivity
Not a smartphone with computer power but a microcomputer capable of making telephone calls
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Not a smartphone with computer power but a microcomputer capable of making telephone calls
The Magic W3 is claimed to be the world's first handheld microcomputer running on a full version of Windows 7, and can also be used to make telephone calls
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The Magic W3 is claimed to be the world's first handheld microcomputer running on a full version of Windows 7, and can also be used to make telephone calls
The 4.8-inch touchscreen display is capable of 720p high definition playback and there's a 1.3 megapixel webcam for video conferencing or web chat
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The 4.8-inch touchscreen display is capable of 720p high definition playback and there's a 1.3 megapixel webcam for video conferencing or web chat
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Recently, devices like LG's Tegra 2-powered Optimus 2X have blurred the lines between smartphone and mini-computer but they're still geared towards the former. The Magic W3's primary function is as a handheld computer that also happens to have telephone functionality. What's the difference? The Atom-powered W3 runs on a full version of Windows 7 Home Premium for multi-tasking productivity and includes 32GB of onboard solid state storage.

In addition to the Windows 7 OS, the Magic W3 microcomputer runs a Magic Telephony Touch User Interface to cater for user voice and texting needs over a suitable quad-band GSM network. An Intel Atom Z530 processor running at 1.6 GHz provides the computing power, with support from 1GB DDR2 RAM. The 4.8-inch touchscreen display is capable of 720p high definition playback and there's a 1.3 megapixel webcam for video conferencing or web chat.

Not a smartphone with computer power but a microcomputer capable of making telephone calls
Not a smartphone with computer power but a microcomputer capable of making telephone calls

The device also benefits from 3G, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g wireless connectivity, and in addition to the obligatory SIM card slot also sports mini-HDMI, mini-USB and microSD. Completing the specs checklist is built-in GPS, accelerometer, dual microphones, stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Having a full version of Windows running on a handheld device may have been enough of an attraction just a few short years ago to make the Magic W3 a huge success, but it's questionable that it will be able to compete with the many more advanced mobile offerings either already or soon to be available. That said though, there's nothing wrong with having another choice for mobile computing.

At the time of writing, there's no word on pricing or availability.

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6 comments
6 comments
ImpureScience
Nice idea, but Windows 7 is hardly enough of an attraction to get me to wake up and leave R\'lyeh. A full version of another, happier OS development tools would be cool.
alcalde
Just slap something like openSUSE on it and you\'ll have a replacement for Nokia\'s N900.
Atul Malhotra
Er what??
u gotta be kidding me...even an OS so nimble and flexible as Android Froyo
has had problems when coming to 5 inch devices or bigger...and had to be modified in Honeycomb...
Windows 7 in a 4 or 5 inch touch device, bound to be a disaster!


Facebook User
7 inch, linux/open- then its got me!
Jeff Sell
But will it blend - I mean, "will it hackintosh?"
Paul Harris
Its no better than a Dell Streak really...