It’s something we’ haven’t reported on before despite all the rumours but today could be the day that changes.
BlackBerry DevCon10 is starting today and there’s a high chance that we’ll hear something about the BlackPad or at least the related operating system and app ecosystem. (Keynotes start at 1300 Pacific.)
Blackpad is the rumored tablet product from RIM and although no official word is out on the specs, many commenters feel confident that it will be a 7 inch tablet running software from QNX, a company that RIM bought in April of this year. Other information indicates that it will run on a Marvel platform.
Seeing as this is RIM, there’s likely to be a productivity and security slant which will pitch the solution right next to Windows-based tablets (which is why we’re reporting it here on UMPCPortal.) The design is likely to be thinner and lighter than current Windows tablets and UMPCs (take the Viliv X70 EX as an example of a current Windows-based 7 inch tablet) so if RIM can grow a range of serious, well-engineered and supported applications over the next year the Blackpad certainly has a chance. Without 3G, it’s likely to be relatively cheap and easy to approve too, potentially making it the de-facto accessory for all Blackberry owners. Rolling a Blackberry phone and Wifi-Only Blackpad tablet up into a neat carrier deal shouldn’t be too hard at all and we suspect that’s where RIM are going with this.
Don’t expect a cool gaming or entertainment device but do expect something that can be used for more than just emails and that could be a no-brainer add-on for a Blackberry owner. As for the keyboard we suspect ‘no’ but we hope to be surprised.
If news breaks today, check back here for details, product page, analysis and discussion.
I was fortunate enough to bump into Stephan Odoerfer of 4TiiToo on my way to San Francisco last week. 4TiiToo are one of the two companies that are responsible for the WeTab and being with Stephan on a 10hr flight gave me a good chance to test the device out, albeit without Internet. The WeTab is the first MeeGo-based product to hit the market and although it’s not quite what you’d expect if you’ve tested out MeeGo betas on your netbook, it does show what’s possible with the core system and QT-based user interface. Shipments started yesterday and we’re expecting the first retail reviews very soon.
One of the first ‘retail’ reports I’ve seen so far is from one of the WeTab partners, AndroidPIT [report in German], who are to provide the marketplace for the Android ‘virtual machine’ that will form part of the operating system. That won’t ship in initial versions of the device and it should also be noted that Intel’s AppUp is also unavailable for MeeGo at this time. I’m not expecting the WeTab to have any sort of ‘store’ before the end of the year which could limit its flexibility in the early months and shock a few reviewers as they work past the fun user interface into ‘getting things done’ territory.
At about 1KG (it feels heavier than the stated 800gm) the WeTab is without a doubt a two-handed device that will be used in much the same way as the iPad propped up on a table. Belly-surfing (my new word for laying down on the couch and propping the device on the stomach) is also possible as is the classic sit-and-read position but just as with the iPad, the weight becomes noticeable after a short while.
WeTab had some real design challenges on their hand when they made the early decisions on the WeTab tablet. Firstly, they needed to satisfy requirements of publishers who need a large-screen on which to typeset their content and advertising. Secondly, WeTab had only a few choices of platform. Starting with a Celeron processor back in the day, the final choice was the cheap and cheerful netbook platform. With a 10 inch+ form factor the netbook platform fits but it’s certainly not the most efficient of platforms. A switch to Oaktrail in 2011 seems like a no-brainer for a ‘WeTab Plus’ bringing lighter weight, thinner design and a much much better screen-off active standby mode. Oh, and while we’re talking about the screen, don’t forget that the backlight on that is going to take a lot of power. I’ve estimated in-use battery life to be in the 4hr range for the WeTab but I know for a fact that if you hit up YouTube too hard along with a bunch of browser tabs and apps, you’ll be feeling the heat build and watching the battery drain to zero in under 3hrs. Thank goodness there’s a charging/docking port on the bottom of the device.
I like what WeTab are doing here and I’m impressed at the following they’ve created in the tech community but I’m not too positive about sales numbers for WeTab V1. Apart from what appears to be a sub-optimal size and weight, its early reviewers are going to be less than impressed at the lack of applications on the device. OpenOffice, a browser, media player and an email client are included but where are reviewers and early owners going to get their ‘buzz’ from? The UI? My feeling is that the WeTab needs more than just a flashy user interface and it highlights the issues that all MeeGo devices are going to have until the AppUp or Ovi store appears to fill the gap. When AppUp and Android arrive on the device, you’ll be looking at a different picture so I hope those early reviews don’t hang around on Google for too long!
Check out our WeTab page for images, links, videos and of course, specifications.
We’ve had talks with Linpus about MeeGo before but in a discussion at IDF last week we got down to some more details about the MeeGo Slate Edition and it sounds like we’ve got potential here. Remember, Linpus have supplied Acer with Linux builds in the past.
What we know right now is that Linpus already have a MeeGo build and it’s highly likely that they will be supplying that to one of the major netbook manufacturers however their plans for Slate Edition are firm for a Q4 release and will build on MeeGo 1.1 that is due in October. Respect to Linpus for their intention to make this a publicly-available distribution. Apparently, Linpus Lite Tablet Edition will come with 7 applications too. (See right.)
What does it mean for us? Well, for N-series tablet owners (ExoPC and similar) it means you’ll get an option. Remember, the Windows 7 + overlay solution offered on some of these products will be fairly heavyweight and switching to the Atom-optimised MeeGo is likely to bring speed and battery life improvements. For Z-series owners (X70, S10 and others) this should be an option too because Linpus are developing with Oaktrail and Moorestown platforms in mind. The GMA600 on those should (no guarantees at the moment though) be backward compatible with the awkward GMA500 on these products.
The best news is that there’s a real likelihood that this will get picked up in an Oaktrail or Moorestown product and that should mean one very significant difference always-on. Oaktrail and Moorestown are built with ‘power island’ capability which can be controlled by core software in MeeGo to bring extremely low-power idle states.
Linpus won’t be the only conmpany working on a touch-enabled MeeGo core but It looks like Linpus are in a good position to be able to step ahead of the rest if they can get this running on an Oaktrail or Moorestown product.
P.S. Don’t forget that AppUp will be compatible with this too so if that takes off, Linpus could be on to a winner.
We’ll be getting updates from Linpus when they happen so stay tuned.
The Duo is looking very very close to production so official specs should be out soon. 1024×600 capacative screen, docking station, N550 Atom CPU and other specs should be confirmed soon. Here’s another video (see a demo of the swivel mechanism) I got of the Duo this afternoon at the Intel AppUp Elements event in San Francisco.
I’m flying to San Francisco tomorrow and so you’re unlikely to hear much from me until Intel’s IDF starts on Monday so before then I thought I’d promote a couple of reports and offer them to you as an e-pub so you can read them at your leisure over the weekend. Of course, you can read them online here too.
Following up from my post on the Viewpad 100 the other day, here’s a hands-on video. You’ll see Android is fast alright but again, without the always-on hardware platform and no way to switch quickly between the two operating systems, you’ll probably find your self sticking to Windows 7. As a Win 7 TabletPC this is worth considering. 4.5hrs and good performance for 549 Euros isn’t bad.
