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It's pushing things to be calling a 4" device a "tablet," but there was a crowd around the bigger tablets, and this thing was free, so I played with it and I like what I saw. The ViewPad 4 is a PDA sized Android tablet running 2.2 on a 4.1" (800x480) capacitive multitouch screen. The "tablet" will be driven by a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, making it more of a mid-range performer against all the Tegra 2 phones coming out. And yes, as it turns out, it will have the capability to make voice calls when it comes out in mid 2011. Pricing will be up to the carriers according to ViewSonic. It's a solidly built device that felt really sturdy, although a little heavy. It will come with both a front facing camera for video chatting and a rear facing 5MP camera for photos/video. A nice bonus that comes with full phone functionality is full access to the Google experience, which includes the app store. On it's own this is a neat little device. As an android based iPod touch competitor, it's a neat device as it would only be competing against the Archos 43. But as an Android based smartphone, it would have to be very well priced to have a chance.
The Samsung 7 series is an interesting take on the convertible tablet. Rather than look for a new way for the screen to rotate, like Dell's Inspiron Duo, Samsung went the slider route. This form factor is common among cell phones, but does is it work for a 10" tablet? Yes, yes it does. Samsung has managed to keep their slider to 2.2lbs, which is the same weight as the ExoPC and clones. Sure, you're getting 1" less screen space, but the same number of pixels, and a full physical keyboard. Samsung has also managed to get their slider to open to a much more useful angle than Asus. The Asus slider's screen still sits back at a pretty steep angle, even when fully open. The Samsung's screen will come up to a normal netbook level. The main advantage to this option over the tablet + BT keyboard option (which are best on a table), is that the Samsung will sit comfortably in a lap in laptop mode. With no twisting hinge to bulk the device up, it's also smaller and lighter than other traditional netvertibles like the Asus t101-mt, which was also on display at the Intel booth. While Samsung was rather stingy with their device, hiding them behind velvet ropes and never letting them leave the hands of the reps, Intel's tablet folks allowed me to hold it in both tablet mode and netbook mode, although they did the sliding. The tablet is thin and light for being a full convertible, and would definitely be worth the minimal bulk over a slate for those who want an attached keyboard. Now for the meaty bits. The 7 series will be powered by an Atom Oaktrail processor running at 1.66GHz, which is a notch up from most of the Oaktrail machines we've seen. It will also come with 2GB of RAM, and either a 32GB or 64GB SSD. WiFi and Bluetooth will be standard with optional 3G connectivity. The 10.1" capacitive multitouch screen runs at 1366x768 which I find to provide a significant boost in usability over the netbook standard 1024x600. Samsung is also promising 9 hours of run time. A final bonus usage case as described in the press release: "The Samsung 7 Series acts as a connective hub with other devices to improve the entertainment experience thanks to Samsung's device-to-device connection solutions. Samsung AllShare™ enables users to control, search, swap and play videos, photos, and music across a full range of DLNA® (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified Samsung devices, ranging from cameras and smart phones to TVs and PCs. "
Netbook Navigator was one of the first to actually get a Windows slate to market after CES 2010, and they're back in 2011 (although in rather harder to find, out of the way booth) with two new slates and an upgrade to their current Nav 9. The Nav 7 will be the first of their new slates to make it to the market. It's got a 7" (1024x600) capacitive multitouch display with an accelerometer for rotation. Like their other slates, it will be powered by an Atom processor (Z515 or Z530) with 1 or 2GB of RAM. Storage will be 16 or 32 GB SSD options. Wifi and bluetooth are standard, and 3G will be optional. There is also a front-facing 1.3MP camera for videoconferencing. Windows on 7" capacitive screens can be more difficult to control, as UI elements start to get very small for the less accurate capacitive screens. The Nav 7 adds a touchpad to the back of the device, under where your right hand fingers will grip, to give greater control over the cursor. Then, there are mouse buttons on the other side that sit comfortably under left hand fingers. The Nav 7 is lightweight, and I love the 7" form factor for one handed holding. However, Viliv has raised the bar on thinness with their new x70, which leaves the Nav 7 feeling a little chunky and bezelly. The highlight of the Navigator series is their Windows 7 overlay, the Nav UI. I've seen many attempts at creating a more "touch friendly" overlay to windows 7, but they generally amount to little more than a fancy launcher with laggy animations. It does have a nice app launcher, but with easy access to all the application on the machine, not just the few shortcuts that can take a while to configure. I really liked the notification center as a one stop overview of incoming communications and news feeds. There are also widget options and a fast way to switch between currently running applications. Orientation switching via the built in accelerometer was medium fast. While it's not as solidly built and svelte as the Viliv x70, it's coming up for pre-order in just two weeks, and should ship a month later, much sooner than the Viliv will hit the market. Also, it should come in at a much friendlier price point than the Korean import.
MSI's Windows based Windpad 100W is a 10.1" (1024x600) capacitive touchscreen slate, powered by an Atom Z530 at 1.6GHz, with 2GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD. These are pretty standard specs for current Windows slates, but so many of the slates shown at CES were already working on the Oaktrail platform. It's a step up in performance from the slower Z515s with only 1GB of RAM (I have both an Archos 9 and Viliv x70 on those older specs, and they are adequate for simpler tasks), but not all the way up to Oaktrail, and MSI has priced it accordingly. The 100W should be out in Q1 2011 for $499. This is not a bad price for those unwilling to pony up for an ExoPC or clone, or for one of the slates with an active digitizer like the HP slate or Motion CL900. That said, you won't be writing anything on these unless it's with the Windows TIP keyboard. The screen response is just too slow for inking with a capacitive pen to be useful. The build quality also fits more with a second tier slate. It's relatively lightweight at only 1.7lbs, but the thickness makes it feel a little cheap. The viewing angles are also pretty bad. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to try the Wind Touch UI experience, but I have a feeling that with these specs, plain Windows is going to be a much more responsive way to get around the device.
It's just an exoPC in with red accents. They did also have a touch screen all in one desktop, and a strong focus on media consumption. My organizational skills are failing though, as I can't find the notes I thought I took. Perhaps I never actually wrote anything down, in which case, I need an indexer for my brain. Luckily, they are on the internet, if you'd like more information. From their website, it does look like they've managed to hit some compelling price points. They also have offices in Mexico and plan to target emerging Latin markets.
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