OQO didn’t create the first MID device, but they sure did make the most powerful and expensive devices (up there with the Sony UX series). Unfortunately, OQO died on the verge of releasing a breathtaking device designed with the budget conscious in mind. It seems that it might live on after all, but at a ridiculously high price.
For around $4700USD you get a 4.8 inch multi-touch screen, powered by an Intel Atom Z550 (2ghz), 128GB SSD, 2GB of RAM and all the wireless options you could desire. It will also continue the OQO tradition of a slide out keyboard with integrated mouse.
While it is priced right out of the market, it is good to see OQO trying to break into a market that seems to only be interested in tablets.
While it’s known that Android 2.1 isn’t exactly designed for tablets, the hardware coming out is definitely looking impressive. The next to the pad (get it) is a Tegra 2 based device from a German company, Interpad.
Being in the same 10″ range as another famous tablet, it features much more impressive hardware. Dual Core Cortex A9 Tegra 2 giving it unparalleled processing and graphics power, 1 GB of RAM (4 times what the iPad currently has), HDMI output to push all those FullHD movies and games to a much larger screen, and 3900mAH battery for 9-12 hours of battery life.
If you think the hardware is impressive then the price is the icing on the cake. For just over $500USD this baby could be yours when it is released sometime before the end of the year. If Google can get a more tablet friendly OS out the door before Christmas, I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t get one (other then the fact they will probably never leave Germany)?
SmartQ have been in the tablet game for a while now, with their 5 and 7 series of tablets. Today, SmartQ will continue that tradition with a refresh to the 7 series of tablets, the T7.
Replacing the colour E-reader want to be; the R7, the new 7-inch T7 features Android and a speedier processor (720mhz). It also gets a battery increase to 4,700mah, hopefully bringing it closer the to magical 10hr life.
The SmartQ T7 will be a released sometime in the future, and will start at $219USD and range all the way up to $292USD (EVDO/WCDMA). The SmartQ’s use to get decent reviews when they were the only players. I will be interested to see how they perform with such a massive range of similar tablets already available.
Huawei have finally got their pretty looking 7″ Android 2.1 based tablet up for preorder. The Snapdragon based S7 is available for preorder from Expansys for a heavy £299 ($US445).
While it is a lot more then the current horde of Chinese Android tablets, it will be the first with a 7″ capacitive screen (800×600) also featuring Cortex A8 Snapdragon processor (at 768mhz). If that excites you, the device is said to be shipping within the next 10 days.
If you want to be dazzled by an user interface today, check out the video below.
The video is an example of an early alpha copy of the MeeGo OS for tablet PC’s. Lets hope they can make all the apps this pretty and get it in our hands sooner then later.
iPed is yet another iPad clone out of China, but with the possibility to be much more. The iPed M16 has the advantage over other Chinese knockoff’s of having a 1Ghz ARM Cortex A8, where most others are using ARM11 or older processor’s. It also runs Android 2.1, which would be nicer if it actually had an app store for 10″ device’s.
They will be shipping out the 29th of June for $US299, and will also have a WinCE 6 option (for people who like pain).
JKKMobile were lucky enough to get a sweet hands on with one of better Android tablets coming out, the Viliv X10. There is a video of them at Computex having a play with the custom interface, which seems to sit neatly on top of the underlying Android OS and Cortex A8 processor.
Samsung have leaked what looks to be a giant Samsung Galaxy S. It came from Samsung South Africa’s Twitter account and included the attached image. Not a lot of information was included, but it does have a 7″ Super AMOLED screen (which looks fantastic in the shot) and a 3.5mm headphone jack (stop the press’s).
Now Samsung, if you are going to tell me that I have to wait till 2011 to play with one of these I will…have to wait I guess. Will try and update when more information is Twittered.
If you want to see an iPad get its arse handed to him in a 1 on 1 vs a PixelQi jump over to ARMDevices.net. Just like a vampire, the iPad gets destroyed by the sunlight, where the PixelQi brushes it off without a second thought. Makes you want a Notion Ink Adam tablet already. Looks like the tablet space is going to heat up real soon.
People downplay what OLPC have done for the world. While Intel, Asus and all others have used the netbook market to find a new way to extract money from consumers pockets, OLPC have stuck it through with helping developing countries get their Facebook on. That isn’t quite true. The OLPC is about education and equal opportunity.
There has also been one issue with the OLPC, and that is the price. Originally it was priced at under $100, but by the time it was released it was around the $200 price range. It was great that it actually came to market (instead of becoming vapor), but it was hard for reviewers to let go of the price promise. OLPC is attempting to change that with the upcoming XO-3 model, which will have better hardware under the hood, with an even less reachable price of $75!
The XO-3 which is expected to have its first working prototype by the end of the year, leaves the realm of netbook, and heads more towards the tablet market. This makes more sense, as it is one piece that has no moving or small parts to be easily broken and lost.
The device will be based on the Marvell Moby (10-inch, 1Ghz etc..) reference designs, and if you can think back a couple of weeks, Marvell themselves said they could pop the things out for under $100 each. Plus, it should be using the SmartQi screen we have all heard so much about, making it one of the most interesting devices coming out.
Now while skeptics may be doubting, I think this is possible. Maybe not for the $75, but close enough to that for people to simply be happy. Anything that helps the world get to a better place is always welcome in my books.
OQO didn’t create the first MID device, but they sure did make the most powerful and expensive devices (up there with the Sony UX series). Unfortunately, OQO died on the verge of releasing a breathtaking device designed with the budget conscious in mind. It seems that it might live on after all, but at a ridiculously high price.
