But thanks to a big battery, Wi-Fi networking and a smidgen of computing power, the Airpanel can remotely control a Wi-Fi networked PC running Windows XP Professional.
The company has already financed 175 experimental wireless networks using Wi-Max, a longer-distance version of the Wi-Fi networking standard.
The NAS drive connects via an Ethernet cable to a wireless home-network router, which enables laptops and other devices equipped with Wi-Fi networking to use the drive wirelessly.
They include a touch-screen, an illuminated display and support for Wi-Fi networking.
The so-called Wi-Fi networking standard is rapidly become available in "hot-spot" locations like airports and coffee houses.
Amazon buyer reviews moan about Wi-Fi networking woes and poor tech support (there is no phone help at all).
An additional complication is that some frequencies used for the wireless cameras overlap with those for Wi-Fi networking systems.
The Pre comes with eight gigabytes of storage, GPS navigational capabilities, Wi-Fi networking and a slide-out keyboard.
"Intel has raised the level of the water and is floating all the boats," said Glenn Fleishman, editor of Wi-Fi Networking News, a Web-based daily newsletter.
Inside there is an Intel Centrino Pro processor and the Lenovo Ultra Connect II system for cellular and Wi-Fi networking.
It started providing wireless Internet connections in 2000 with the popular Wi-Fi networking standard in airports including Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, and San Jose, Calif.
