Posts Tagged ‘Tablet’

Shenzhen-based Saycool passed a tablet computer called the M5A, pictured above, through the FCC today.  The device actually sports a decent feature set that includes a 5” touch screen with an 800 x 480 resolution, Intel Atom Z515 processor, Intel GMA500 graphics, between 8 to 32GB of storage, external storage via SD, 0.3MP webcam, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g WiFi. 

The M5A will run Windows 7, as pictured below.  In addition to its touch screen, the device can be controlled by what appears to be an optical mouse with left and right mouse buttons placed on the left hand side of the device.

The M5A weighs in at 12.3 ounces with battery, and measures 6.3” x 3.7” x 0.9”.  That makes the device a bit too large to comfortably pocket, but definitely portable enough to fit in a small bag or purse.

We’re not sure how usable Windows 7 will be on a 5” touch screen, and the device does appear to be a bit bulky, especially when compared to other tablets.  We’re also not sure if, or when the M5A will make it to the United States – currently Saycool’s products are only available in the US on a limited basis through importers.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Toshiba’s dual screen Libretto W100 laptop went on sale in the US on Monday, and as of late this afternoon the US version of the device appears to be completely sold out.  Some users who purchased the device from Amazon have even reported that their orders have been cancelled.

Toshiba has always maintained that the W100 is a limited edition device, but it looks like the company may have underestimated US demand for the device by quite a bit.  Considering the W100’s $1,100 price tag, we’re actually a bit surprised the device sold out so quickly.

If you really have your heart set on a W100, you can pick up a Japanese import version of the device from Conics.net, although this will cost you $1,460.  The Japanese version of the W100 does come with a few bonuses, however, including an extra battery and integrated WiMAX.

Source:  Pocketables

Last week we spotted the Archos 32 Internet Tablet on the FCC, and today an even smaller Android tablet called the Archos A28 made an appearance on the FCC as well.  Known as the “minidroid”, the device sports a 2.8” touch screen display, and will work in both portrait and landscape configurations, below, left.

Unfortunately, Archos’ FCC filings don’t provide much info about the device, and we’re not sure what version of Android it will run.  We do know that it will feature 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and what appear to be 8GB of Internal storage thanks to a Sandisk iNAND flash module.

The A28’s user manual shows screen shots of the device in use, below.  The device will have five home screens, although as you can see, the Android OS does look a bit cramped on the A28’s 2.8” screen.  The manual didn’t provide any pictures of a virtual keypad, and it will be interesting to see if a keypad is practical on such a small device.

Hongtiantai Co., Ltd. passed the 7” Windows Embedded CE 6.0 tablet, pictured above, through the FCC today.  The device features an 800 x 480 touch screen display, 1080p video playback via HDMI out, eBook reader software, support for up to a 32GB SD Card, and support for AVI, RMVB, DAT, WMV, MPEG, FLV and H.264 video.  There’s no indication of what kind of processor the device uses.

It is a bit odd to see Windows Embedded CE on a tablet, especially after all of the Android tablets that have sprung up in recent months.  However, this device may not even make it to the States – it appears to rely on a Chinese version of Windows Embedded CE.  We’ll keep you up to date if we hear any more news on this one.

Best Buy CTO Robert Stephens Tweeted a couple of interesting pictures today.  The first, above, shows an unidentified tablet next to an iPad.  The next picture showed the back of the tablet, where a RocketFish logo is visible.

RocketFish is a subsidiary of Best Buy, so it would make sense that Best Buy’s CTO would get his hands on early product prototypes.  But a tablet seems like a big leap for RocketFish, who is mostly known for their mobile phone cases and cables.

Subsequent Tweets by Stephens confirmed that the device pictured above is just a non-working demo.  That leaves us with no idea of how baked the RocketFish tablet actually is – it could be anything from a pure concept to a product nearly ready for store shelves.  We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Chinese-based Chinaleap (HK) Technology Co. passed the ARMM1 tablet, pictured above, through the FCC today.  The device, which looks like a bit iPhone, features a 7” WVGA 800 x 480 TFT touch screen, a 600MHz Rockchip RK2808A ARM9 processor, 8GB of flash memory and WiFi.

The image from the ARMM1’s user manual, below, suggests that the device will run Android.  However, the version of Android is not mentioned in the company’s FCC materials.  The ARMM1 will also feature a HDMI out port – a nice plus.  The device supports AVI, 3GP/MP4, RM/RMVB, FLV, MKV, MOV and WMV video formats.

There’s no word on pricing or availability of the ARMM1, but we’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

Rumors of a Samsung tablet have been floating around for the past few weeks, and according to the International Business Times the device will be formally unveiled by Samsung on August 11.  According to the site, Samsung’s tablet will be known as the Galaxy Tab, with possible features including a 7” AMOLED display, Android 2.2 (aka Froyo), a 1.2GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, 16GB of internal storage, microSD expandability, 3.2MP camera with flash and a front facing VGA camera.

Those specs don’t sound bad at all.  However, it’s not yet clear if the Galaxy Tab will have wireless data capabilities, or if the device will be offered through wireless carriers.  There is also no word on pricing yet.

The International Business Times is also reporting that Samsung plans to released 8” and 10” versions of the Galaxy Tab in November and December, respectively.  That’s good news for customers unimpressed with the original rumors that the Galaxy Tab will only be available with a 7” screen.

If these rumors are correct, it should be a busy holiday season for tablets.

According to Reuters, Samsung is planning to launch a tablet computer in Q3 2010.  The tablet will run Google’s Android OS, and feature a 7” touch screen.

With a 7” screen, Samsung’s tablet will be quite a bit smaller than the iPad, which has a 9,7” screen.  If Samsung does release this tablet in Q3, the device will go head to head with the iPad for holiday dollars this Winter.  Android does trail Apple in terms of tablet apps, but a 7” Samsung tablet may be offered at a more attractive price point than the iPad, which retails for at least $500.

We don’t know much else about Samsung’s tablet at this point, but with summer quickly fading we’re likely to hear more soon.

And we thought news of a Motorola tablet was surprising.  Earlier today, a Kmart circular revealed that the discount retailer will begin selling the GENTOUCH78, a 7” (800 x 480) touch screen Android tablet later this week.  The tablet will feature an 800MHz processor, 2GB of storage, 256MB of RAM, SD/MMC expandability up to 16GB and WiFi, all for just $150.

The tablet is manufactured by Augen, a Florida-based developer of eBook readers, netbooks and tablets.  We don’t know much about Augen either, but the company does appear to be an up-and-coming manufacturer of portable devices.

Source:  Engadget

Sure, the HP Slate may be relegated to the enterprise market, buy why not consider the UMPC891 tablet from Shenzhen Sinchun Electronic Co., Ltd. instead?

This tablet has an 8.9” TFT LCD touch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, and it’s powered by an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor.  Other specs include up to 2GB of RAM, Intel GMA950 graphics, up to a 250GB SSD, 802.11 b/g WiFi, 10/100 Ethernet, 1.3MP camera, 3 USB ports, VGA out, SD/MMC multicard slot, and Bluetooth.

The UMPC891’s user manual shows the device running Windows XP, but we’d guess that the device can be upgraded to the slightly more tablet friendly Windows 7.  The device measures 9.8” x 6.6” x 0.84” and weighs 2.2 pounds – not bad for a tablet.

Sure, Shenzhen Sinchun Electronic Co doesn’t exactly have the brand recognition of HP, but hey, at this point you don’t have many other options.  It’s not a bad looking device either – it actually reminds us a bit of a large iPhone 1G.

No word on pricing or a release date, but the device did pass through the FCC today, so an appearance in some form in the United States isn’t out of the question.