Always Innovating: Touchbook

Miyagi · 14th March 2009, 3:14 PM

Hi All,

Apologies if this has swung past here before but I couldn't find it with my rudimentary search ninja skills.

Website URL

Raw Specs:

- 9.4" x 7" x 1.4" for 2 lbs (with keyboard)
- ARM Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip
- 1024x600 8.9'' screen
- Storage: 8GB micro SD card
- Wifi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth
- 3-dimensional accelerometer
- Speakers, micro and headphone
- 6 USB 2.0 (3 internal, 2 external, 1 mini)
- 10h to 15 hours of battery life

At $299USD (Tablet only) or $399USD (with Keyboard) it looks promising and has some nifty design features (internal USB slots so things aren't hanging off).

Flexibility of OS too... (FAQ)

Preorder only available in the US... thoughts?

Cheers,
Miyagi

SLATYE · 14th March 2009, 3:27 PM

They make a big deal about using the ARM CPU to get much better battery life than Atom-based netbooks. What they fail to mention is that ARM is not an x86 CPU, so you can wave goodbye to any desktop version of Windows, most standard versions of Linux, and any other software written for x86 machines. The ARM CPU may well be too slow to handle high-resolution video too.

They also make a big deal of using SD cards instead of a HDD, allowing long battery life and no noise. Again, what they fail to mention is that SD cards are slow and expensive for the capacity that you get.

The detachable keyboard is nothing new; Compaq's TC1000 did that years ago.

It looks like a decent idea, but I don't think it'll be popular. Running Linux was enough of a problem for the netbooks, but this one can't have the default OS replaced by XP and the number of applications will be very limited.

EDIT: this sort of thing works for devices like phones; nobody expects to be able to install a vast amount of software or a desktop OS on their phone. This device looks like a laptop, and users will expect to be able to use it like a laptop. They won't be able to, because it only looks like a laptop - the hardware is nothing at all like a laptop.

14th March 2009, 3:14 PM	#1
Miyagi Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Point Cook, Vic Posts: 437	Always Innovating: Touchbook Hi All, Apologies if this has swung past here before but I couldn't find it with my rudimentary search ninja skills. Website URL Raw Specs: - 9.4" x 7" x 1.4" for 2 lbs (with keyboard) - ARM Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip - 1024x600 8.9'' screen - Storage: 8GB micro SD card - Wifi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth - 3-dimensional accelerometer - Speakers, micro and headphone - 6 USB 2.0 (3 internal, 2 external, 1 mini) - 10h to 15 hours of battery life At $299USD (Tablet only) or $399USD (with Keyboard) it looks promising and has some nifty design features (internal USB slots so things aren't hanging off). Flexibility of OS too... (FAQ) Preorder only available in the US... thoughts? Cheers, Miyagi __________________ FordXR5Turbo.com \| FordXR4.com \| HsvvxR.com

14th March 2009, 3:27 PM	#2
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 21,040	They make a big deal about using the ARM CPU to get much better battery life than Atom-based netbooks. What they fail to mention is that ARM is not an x86 CPU, so you can wave goodbye to any desktop version of Windows, most standard versions of Linux, and any other software written for x86 machines. The ARM CPU may well be too slow to handle high-resolution video too. They also make a big deal of using SD cards instead of a HDD, allowing long battery life and no noise. Again, what they fail to mention is that SD cards are slow and expensive for the capacity that you get. The detachable keyboard is nothing new; Compaq's TC1000 did that years ago. It looks like a decent idea, but I don't think it'll be popular. Running Linux was enough of a problem for the netbooks, but this one can't have the default OS replaced by XP and the number of applications will be very limited. EDIT: this sort of thing works for devices like phones; nobody expects to be able to install a vast amount of software or a desktop OS on their phone. This device looks like a laptop, and users will expect to be able to use it like a laptop. They won't be able to, because it only looks like a laptop - the hardware is nothing at all like a laptop. __________________ Main system: Pentium-D 805 \| 1GB (2x 512MB) PQI DDR400 \| Gigabyte 8I865GMK-775 \| Xtreama Radeon 9800Pro with Zalman ZM-80HP-D \| 320GB WD SATA HDD \| Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600 Last edited by SLATYE; 14th March 2009 at 3:30 PM.