Pip Boys could have caught on

So, the precursor of the Pipboy?

There were pip boys in fallout 1, no? That was '97
Edit: I just engaged my imagination and realized you might mean the precursor in our timeline
- Going to the comments is always a humbling experience. I literally had your exact train of thought before I opened the comments lol

For warehouse workers right?

I’ve seen devices just like this in picking warehouses, usually attached to a finger-worn scanner.
- Yup, I had one while working at FedEx. It was pretty neat - I would pretend it was a raygun when I didn't have any packages coming down the line.
- You can see the cable going to the finger scanner in the picture, too

God, these things get uncomfortable after a bit. And they smell. We would pull them of the rack and they would still be wet with the previous shift's sweat.

What are/were they used for?
- I used them when I worked in warehousing in recieving and in picking. They also had a scanner module that was worn on a finger and connected to the device. They were neat at first but they never cleaned or replaced the straps and everybody sweats.
- Porn
You guys were doing it wrong. ¯°_o)/¯ We had these devices in hip-holsters that would attach to a belt, which of course had a few of its own caveats, but it was free-swinging at all times. Plenty of airflow. No smelly, sweaty equipment except for possibly the handheld scanners that went with them.

"Looks a lot older."

No, it doesn't.

Colour screens on mobile started becoming a thing in the early years of the 00's. I think my first colour phone was in 2002, a tiny resolution, and it was rather bougie tbh compared to the phones my classmates had.

And this in Finland, so we were a bit ahead when it came to getting mobiles.

That does seem a bit ahead. I remember being excited about different color backlights around 2004, maybe.
- Yeah, it was right when it hit the market. We weren't rich, so having one bougie item others were jealous of was kinda fun for a change.
  It was the improved model of a Nokia 3510, 3510i. This is a rare thing, but you'll have to translate the article as Wikipedia didn't have an English article on that. Oh it was marketed as the Nokia 3595 in the States, announced in 2003.
  So yeah, this post is one of those "ohgodimold" feels because the current generations views on how old things from my childhood look like are coming out.
  Hell, one day someone guessed my age. They guessed "a bit shy of 40?" and at first I was offended but then I remembered they are technically correct and it was rather depressing of a feeling. "No, haha of course I'm not... wait... yeah, actually.... that is correct (screaming internally)."
The first color phones were also small and didn't have a screen that looked more like a black and green computer monitor from the 1970's. This things design looks closer to a calculator watch from the 1980's than it does from a phone today.
- Genuinely no offense, but were you actually there in the early noughts? Like with enough age to have a cognition about what went around you?
  Because I have a few things here which would disagree with you.
  How does would this fit that description of yours?
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_9210_Communicator
  Colour screen, not that small a device
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_9500_Communicator
  2004 model

Did some time in a warehouse that had wrist mounted scanners like these. Had a little laser that also velcro'd to your fingers for easy scanning. Granted it was just so you could move boxes like a mule without dropping your scanner anywhere, but it was amusing to use while fallout 4 had just released. The conveyer even sounded just like the vault doors every time it started... Was prime low-key larping time.

Motorola made the wrist LoJack-a-mater?!

Looks like the thing Turunga Leela wears

Diy cyberdecks are definitely a thing. Hell, just strap a smartphone to your arm and you're 90% of the way there.

That’s literally what the Fallout 4 collectors edition Pip Boy was. Essentially a ‘case’ you put your phone in then wear. It also had an app that connected to the game as well and let you change gear and take meds, etc.

Not sold after 2013 is overstating it a bit. The current equivalent is the Zebra WT6300, but you could probably build your own for less than 10% of the price.

Yep, the only reason Motorola stopped producing them is because Motorola sold that business out to Zebra. Hell, zebra still supports the 4000, the 6300 is quite literally just a newer version.
Same deal with the MC33 scanner. My warehouse has an assortment of Zebra and Moto branded devices and Zebra handles servicing them all. Embedded industrial PCs don’t change much.

Updated version: https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/spec-sheets/mobile-computers/wearable/wt6300.html

It's Windows CE. Unless you like to be frustrated, don't bother. I used Windows Mobile 5/6, which was fairly similar, and that was an exercise in patience at the best of times.
Not too long ago, I had to deal with CE/win mobile again for some symbol terminals and holy hell, nothing has changed.
If you want to have an idea of how bad it is, blend Windows 8's metro start menu/settings interface with Windows 3.1 visual styles and you won't be too far off, just add in pretty much everything you hated from every version of Windows...
It suuuuucccccccks
- Yep. I had a Vadem Clio, which was fucking awesome in terms of unique and usable form factor, but it ran CE, which sucked ass. I still used the hell out of it just for drawing and writing though.
- In the specs it says it's upgradable to Android 16, so I think you can use your own OS.

Not quite the same, but many years pre the current tablet era, Fujitsu had its Stylistic line of pen-based tablets running Windows OSes and I wanted one so badly, but I couldn't afford one. I think their current line of tablets is still called Stylistic, but they're not special anymore.

Orbital strike inbound!!

Buzz Lightyear to Space Command. Come in Space Command

There are also smartphone arm- and wristband holders. Usually marketed towards sport activities, but if you just want that pip-boy-esque experience...

summon demons with that mf

[Angry Mechanicus noises]

Electa Woman and Dyna Girl.

It looks like those police-car terminals