Android tablet

[chrismc]

It looks like the rumoured Apple tablet will have some competition (from something that is more than just vaporware). This one is expected to be shown off at CES 2010 (Jan 7-10).

Notion Ink Tegra Android smartpad uses Pixel Qi display

• 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 Pixel Qi display (LCD + E-ink)
• 8-core ARM CPU architecture
• Measures 6.3 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches, weight 1.7lbs
• 1080p Full HD video playback
• 3G UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE data (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR+A2DP
• A-GPS and digital compass
• accelerometer, proximity, ambient light, and water sensors
• USB, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microphone input
• 3-megapixel autofocus camera with video recording support
• 16GB or 32GB of SSD (plus SD-card slot)
• Battery life (internal Li-Ion): 48hrs standby, 8hrs of HD video playback, 16hrs of internet surfing over WiFi.

The coolest thing about this device is the Pixel Qi display panel. They work as color LCDs in regular lighting, but can be read easily as e-ink panels in direct sunlight. In addition to having a sunlight-readable display (which is especially useful for this crowd), e-ink displays only only use power to change the display (no constant draw for LCD or backlight) which helps battery consumption considerably. This would make the perfect E-book reader, as well as covering a ton of other bases. When can we get the VDEG in ebook format?

 

[haven]

Several other companies are expected to announce tablet-style computers that use ARM processors. Some use Android, and some use another version of Linux. Here are a few I've heard about.

Freescale is releasing a reference design for a tablet computer that uses their ARM Cortex A8 processor and support chips. The design includes a 7 inch color display. The Freescale machine could run Android or some other form of Linux.

Freescale thinks the machine would cost about $140 to build, so companies could sell it for less than $200 and still make a profit.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/freescale-reveals-7-inch-smartbook-reference-design-hopes-to-se/

Camangi has introduced its Webstation, a 7 inch tablet with 800 x 480 resolution and a Marvell 624 MHz ARM processor. OS is Google Android 1.5, but the Webstation can't easily run applications from the Google Market. Pre-release price was $385. Initial reports are that the machine seems a little sluggish while web browsing, so a faster processor would be a welcome upgrade.
http://www.camangi.com/index.html

Lenovo has announced the Skylight, a 10.1 inch 1280 x 720 tablet that runs using a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The battery life is expected to be 10 hours. Linplus Unix is the OS. Price may be $599

And, of course, there's the possibility that Google itself may use its Jan. 5th news conference to announce a Google-branded tablet, in addition to the Nexus One phone!