The small QWERTY clamshell lets young users send messages away from the desktop, anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network.
The best thing about the Zipit Z2 wireless messenger may be the fights it prevents. If you have teenagers at home who monopolize the computer just to instant message their friends, the Zipit may keep them off the PC and send them back to the couch, where they belong. Alternatively, Zipit suggests that parents could avoid costly cell phone bills, due to the unlimited data plans required for IM power users.
We're not sure we buy into all of that, but we definitely know some younger messaging fiends who wouldn't mind slipping a dedicated IM device into their pockets. The Z2 has a wide, comfortable keyboard, larger than you'd find on even the largest messaging cell phones, like the Sidekick LX. It can access AIM, MSN and Yahoo instant messaging services simultaneously, and gives you a unified buddy list if you use more than one protocol. This device is so devoted to messaging, it has a dedicated smiley button, which we have never seen before, but now we want on our Treo :-)
In addition to instant messaging, the device also sports a miniSD card slot, and of course you can't make anything these days that doesn't also play music and show photos. The Zipit Z2 does a surprisingly good job with the music, for a messaging device, displaying album artwork in a nice looking player window. Photos looked good, as well, thanks to the device's nearly-three-inch QVGA screen.
The Zipit Z2 has removable faceplates for some different color options, though we think Zipit would be wise to expand these. Maybe include some cool graphics and start cobranding with the rock bands the kids are listening to, like the G-Unit, or some such.
Surprisingly, the device uses wireless 802.11g, which may be overkill. Or, perhaps Zipit should go all the way and offer a Web browser, too, since they already have a large screen, a large keyboard and fast networking. In our hands-on time with the device at the Digital Life Holiday, we found it very easy to use. The device may have been a bit chunky, but this isn't a cell phone, so we don't imagine teens trying to slip this into the pants pocket of a business suit. The keyboard was soft and comfortable, and we could easily imagine kids lying around the house typing on it, instead of on their smaller cell phones, or sneaking a peek in the back of a Wi-Fi-enabled classroom.
The Zipit Z2 wireless messenger should be available later this month. It will set you back $150, which is a bit steep, considering even Zipit's CEO, Frank Greer, admitted to us that the device won't be replacing a cell phone. Still, the components involved, especially the fast Wi-Fi and the QVGA screen, mean this isn't a cheap toy, but rather a real messager aimed at a younger crowd.
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