Brits take iTablet moniker for 12in iPad rival Apple may have decided against the appellation 'iTablet' - one of the rumoured names for the product now known as the iPad - but that hasn't stopped UK computer supplier X2 claiming the name for its own. The iTablet range comprises at least two models: one with a 12in, 1024 x 768 display, the other with a 10.2in screen of the …
That's one of the worst chop jobs on a photo I've ever seen.
The index finger on the right hand is in the wrong place / dislocated, the cropping around the left hand is atrocious (can see a daker outline on little finger), in fact it looks as though the guy is holding a much thicker device and the "iTablet" is just slipped in its place.
Plus, it's running xp, not 7.
I don't want a 3lb brick that's a full PC, that has to be MAINTAINED like a full PC and requires full, expensive PC licenses separate from the licenses I already won on other PCs, and has to be secured like a PC, and uses a PC OS that a touch interface is at best hacked on top of, and the software I load on it is not designed inherently to be used in a touchscreen environment and does not support multitouch.
Further, Windows won't run 24x7 in standby, notifying me of alerts even when it's "off." The iPad is always on in standby (30 days of it), and is near constantly collecting mail, massages, chat events, and other notifications. Windows in hibernate isn't going to do that.
Further, Windows is slow to load, the tablet is instant on, like a cell phone.
A Media tablet needs to be :
- a slick interface
- always connected
- instant on
- take care of itself
- basically, a COMPANION to my PC, not another damn machine I have to care for and lug around.
I might as well just have a frigging laptop if i have to accept all the disadvantages of one anyway... A full keyboard and a mouse is a better interface for the majority of work, but I'm NOT doing WORK on this, I'm using it for entertainment; checking news, reading, watching video, keeping up with popular sites, uploading my latest snapped pics. It does everything the PC should be forced to, everything I want to do quick, without hassle, and without additional software. making it a great platform for games in addition, a bluetooth camera optional for the 20% that will do video chat (thats for NOT including that btw... I really can't imagine a camera that doesn't point at my face unless I contort and hold the unit in an uncomfortable position, while the person on the other end watches the video shake as I shake.... BAD idea to have a camera in a tablet for chat, it BEGS to be externalized!)
An what may I ask is this essentially full blowen but underpowered touch enabled Win7 PC going to cost me? HP is currently charging a $700 premium on their 22" all-in-one just for adding a touch screen... It's certainly not going to compete at the $499 price point. And 3G is extra? and it;s a full PC? OK, so $60/month for a capped plan instead of $29 for unlimited too, and the PC tablet requires a contract?
Seriously, do they really think we're that thick???
1) Does it have a capacitive touch screen?
and
2) Does it have a UI shell that is optimised for a capacative touch screen?
If the answer to these questions is no, then how is it any better than any of the other windows-based tablets that have failed to achieve any significant success over the last ten years?
Windows is never going to take off on tablets until MS accepts that the UI is fundamentally ill-suited for use with touch screens of any flavour.
The iPad's battery life exceeds the attention span of its user. Regardless of how attractive it is as a toy 10h are more than most people can handle so after they are done they will happily put it away on its charging craddle.
You simply cannot attain these numbers using Wintel. So this "tablet" will either have to be tethered or will have sub-2h practical battery life (playing something encoded in H264).
Just goes to show how "far off" the "industry innovator" (usually referred by el reg as Chipzilla) is from real innovation as well as how much crap does a modern PC do for nothing to ensure that the symbiotic MSFT-Intel-OEM relationship continues to flourish.
This would be ideal for the girlfriend and daughter - they need software compatibility with Windows 7 in devices of their own (would replace a very elderly W2K laptop and stop fighting over my desktop PC) but they don't type much and the iTablet's mobility would help stop everyone congregating in the study!
Proper multitasking and the aforementioned app compatibility mean I won't have to shell out for new apps as well. Which is nice. As long as they're around the £300 or less, I might consider a couple of them. Much more compelling that the iPad.
When people were still speculating about the ipad and how it would include all the things this does but the ipad doesn't I was thinking that I might have to put aside my dislike of all things apple and finally buy one of there products.
thankfully Darth Jobs saved me from my moment of insanity by cocking the whole thing up to the point where half the IT industry were trying to figure out what it's actually *for*! (I quite like the 'it's a portable tv that doesn't play tv' story I found here.
This however, might by worth a punt depending on price.
"But the iTablet runs a full-scale, multi-tasking OS: Windows 7."
Pic shows Windows XP ;-)
I'm sure this was probably said for mobile phones and laptops in previous years but why is everyone so keen on a built in camera for the tablet? Just seems to me an extra feature that many will have little use for.
Bluetooth capability so you could send photos from a phone if required would probably suffice.
I just can't imagine walking around taking photos with a 12" tablet..
I would guess this won't have the nice touch interface the iPad will have though :-(
Looks nifty, but I bet it costs more than the iPad! However, it looks fantastic for robotics hobbyists, the unit could be mounted on a robot, better if you can specify a SSD storage instead of spinning disk.
The article says, Windows 7, the unit in the picture is XP - which is it? Additionally, can it do Linux? (in a useful way, so the touch screen works properly).
Smiley face, as it reminds me of Gerty.
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