It's been talked about for years….and now…the FlipStart is for real. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. The FlipStart is the name of what like a miniature notebook PC….created by Vulcan…a company founded by Bill Gates' original partner at Microsoft, Paul Allen . The device is less than six inches wide…and a little more than an inch and a half thick. The keyboard is designed more for thumbtyping…BlackBerry style….but you can plug in a regular keyboard and mouse through the USB port. It runs Windows XP…has built in WiFi and Bluetooth…and wireless mobile broadband as well. When the top is shut…and external display is active. FlipStart senior director Robin Budd…

"It gives you read only access to your email, the last hundred emails you've received will always be cached in that rear display as well as your calendar information and all your contacts information. And the way that you use it is when your computer is in standby, and you're not running Windows… this rear display is still powered on. So that you can look up a phone number or you can look up your next calendar appointment, read your recent emails. the user can set the device to poll for new email automatically at a user specified interval."

The FlipStart has a bright, high resolution screen…and a built in camera. It faces competition from other ultra mobile PCs on the market You can find more information at FlipStartpc.com. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.