Anything catch your eye, re: Japanese study?

I originally wanted this, but after seeing the final keyboard, I think I'll stick w/ a more netvertible-like thing: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Slate-EP121-1...B004HKIIF8

I heard they also have some kind of 7" handheld Android device that has a stylus which is both capacitive and pressure-sensitive.

Looks like they ended up using the original vision for the EP121 for the 'Transformer': http://androidos.in/2011/01/asus-eee-pad...-ces-2011/

I still have the same question which is whether it can be reversed in the dock and folded backwards, so you don't have to separate it when you want to operate it like a tablet. I'm guessing you have to, though. And the 'Slider', that one, it looks like you can't close it with the screen inward as well as outward. I guess I'll get a viliv...

I have to buy a notebook/netbook before April and I'm contemplating AMDs Fusion platform. Performance isn't stellar (it becomes stellar when you factor in power draw) but my main concern is portability, ability to do everything like my desktop (though a bit slower) and battery time. This will be the main computer on my trip to Japan so I'm aiming for something with a 13" screen (for web, hd content & maybe a simple game).

I'm mostly interested in what Sandy Bridge will do for the ultraportable scene. Not quite content with current models, as they either have insufficient battery life, crippled cpu or horrible screens. Yes, I am a picky bastard.

Although I have to say, I've been sufficiently amazed with the user experience on the iPhone to gladly buy a mac, scorn from everyone I know aside. If only apple would release an Air on the new architecture, presumably without an 'external' GPU, that might be the perfect compromise.

I just found out about this thing: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/clam...d-2010057/

Maybe I'll just get that when the iPad 2.0 comes out. Knowing me, after I get it I'll decide I never really wanted the keyboard option anyway.

As for the EP121, this seems like it might be better: http://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-LIFEBOOK-T...B003WH6ZZW

nest0r Wrote:I just found out about this thing: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/clam...d-2010057/

Heh, that's pretty cool. My largest gripe with these tablets have always been the lack of a physical keyboard - I just couldn't see myself doing any sort of heavy writing on them.

astendra Wrote:

nest0r Wrote:I just found out about this thing: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/clam...d-2010057/

Heh, that's pretty cool. My largest gripe with these tablets have always been the lack of a physical keyboard - I just couldn't see myself doing any sort of heavy writing on them.

The only problem is they're conspicuously avoiding shots of the keyboard when in tablet mode. I think it's actually exposed, doesn't swivel like a netvertible, which I think I'd find problematic. Plus it doesn't seem like they've released anything for review, which gives me that same feeling entitled movie reviewers get when movies aren't screened before release so people can spread the word on whether they're worth the money.

There's also the ZaggMate, which looks really clumsy. Guess I should wait and see if the clamcase thingy changes when the iPad 2 comes out.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375317,00.asp

[ファブリス]

The clamcase is pretty ugly, imho. I'd rather use the bluetooth keyboard, or the keyboard dock for iPad, than have an iPad that looks like a portable. The reason for iPad's success is that it is *not* a portable.

With that said: Lessons at CES - how your tablet can compete with iPad

Andy Ihnatko Wrote:It’s useful to note that Apple, a company not noted for a lack of self-confidence, invested the time and the money to build its own suite of Office apps for the iPad. This guaranteed that on launch day, the iPad would have the word processor, the spreadsheet, and the presentation app that could justify its $499 price tag ... and that these apps would celebrate the advantage of a slate form factor over a tablet.

I don't own an iPad but been watching many shows on TwiT where you can see the apps and one thing comes clear, the 10 inch size is really practical and usable for writing and composing documents.

Now seeing Motorola's ad describing the iPad as a "iPhone, only bigger" is pretty funny. That shows they totally miss the point. The iPad actually is a new experience. Whereas the 7 inch tablets really are like Android phones, only bigger.

ファブリス Wrote:Now seeing Motorola's ad describing the iPad as a "iPhone, only bigger" is pretty funny. That shows they totally miss the point. The iPad actually is a new experience. Whereas the 7 inch tablets really are like Android phones, only bigger.

Exactly my thoughts. I can imagine how can you market & sell something that is too small to comfortably do anything on it, too big to be considered portable (ie. portable like a phone). If you have to take a backpack or sack of some sort to carry your gizmo why on earth would you opt for 7inch vs 10inch? The only common thing in the world that a 7 inch device fits into and 10 inch doesn't is a womans handbag but somehow I doubt women are a prime target of these gizmo's.

7 inch is a huge, clunky phone that doesn't allow you to make phone calls...

I see tablets as a "couch" computer that rests in your living room ready for some light browsing, checking emails etc. while you watch TV, cook dinner or whatever people do in their living rooms. Another option is a carry on computer for special tasks (think of census workers with an app for that or ups guys).

ファブリス Wrote:The clamcase is pretty ugly, imho. I'd rather use the bluetooth keyboard, or the keyboard dock for iPad, than have an iPad that looks like a portable. The reason for iPad's success is that it is *not* a portable.

With that said: Lessons at CES - how your tablet can compete with iPad

Andy Ihnatko Wrote:It’s useful to note that Apple, a company not noted for a lack of self-confidence, invested the time and the money to build its own suite of Office apps for the iPad. This guaranteed that on launch day, the iPad would have the word processor, the spreadsheet, and the presentation app that could justify its $499 price tag ... and that these apps would celebrate the advantage of a slate form factor over a tablet.

I don't own an iPad but been watching many shows on TwiT where you can see the apps and one thing comes clear, the 10 inch size is really practical and usable for writing and composing documents.

Now seeing Motorola's ad describing the iPad as a "iPhone, only bigger" is pretty funny. That shows they totally miss the point. The iPad actually is a new experience. Whereas the 7 inch tablets really are like Android phones, only bigger.

It uses a bluetooth keyboard. The clamcase makes it look more like a netbook than a portable, if by portable you mean handheld. Except when you reverse it, then it makes it look like an iPad.

I don't really get all these conversations people have about how to define form factors, etc. Some of the philosophizing is fun, but meh. I don't really think in those terms. To me, I simply have fundamental and specific goals and I think about how to accomplish them in as few devices as possible. So far I have it narrowed to a handheld, i.e. something I can carry in my pocket and hold with one hand for a primary set of purposes, and something easy to carry around all day that has both a physical keyboard option I can implement in seconds, and a touchscreen that will be highly responsive to a stylus, at which point I'd want to minimize the keyboard in seconds. I don't care if it's a netvertible with a really good capacitive screen or a folding tablet case with bluetooth keyboard, but so far the latter seems the best way.

I'm not going to carry the keyboard separately rather than use a cleverly designed case, or buy both a netbook and a tablet and carry them around because of narratives about tablets' purposes.

I also think 7" is a weird size: too small to use one way, and too big to use another.

Why am I coming off so snarky lately?? Sheesh. I'm taking a timeout till someone gets 3600 comments or more.

[ファブリス]

I meant the Apple Wireless Keyboard. For Mac users this is probably one of the better choices, since it can also be used with any Mac desktop.

Actually doing a quick search it appears that both the bluetooth and the wired aluminium keyboards from Apple work on PCs.

I used myself a "wired" aluminium keyboard on my Windows XP PC for more than a year before moving permanently to a Mac. The feeling is great. I had gotten so used to it that I also asked for one for my PC at work. You need to do a little digging to get the drivers from Apple's Boot Camp software. Cherry on the cake: you get the Volume Up/Down and CD Eject functions including the "hud" display on the screen.

TLDR: if you get a Apple bluetooth keyboard to use with an iPad, you can also use it on your PC.

EDIT: sorry, by "portable" I meant a "laptop".

I'm completely underwhelmed by the proliferation of tablets and netbooks. I had a couple of netbooks, and the size is all wrong. Similarly with a tablet - the size is cool, the touchscreen thing is kinda neat but then you need a keyboard to do any real work.

I'm now perfectly satisfied with my device range, I never want for anything. I have a 13" MacBook Pro, and iPhone 3Gs 16GB, and a Kindle 3. Between those 3 things, I can do any learning or entertainment activity I ever have any desire to do. I highly recommend the combination to anyone.

There's an iPad in our house, and I've played with it extensively. It's not worth it. They cost so damn much, for a couple of hundred more you could get a freaking awesome MacBook Pro which actually does computing, or an iPhone which does all the same appy things but you can carry it in your pocket.

Meh to the iPad, and all tablets. Meh to all of you! *Shakes fist*

Blahah pretty much echoed my sentiments so far, to be honest. Which is refreshing - I don't really understand this tablet craze; I'd rather buy a good macbook. I guess my mind is half made up and I'm just waiting for info on the line refresh to see what happens.

[ファブリス]

Looks nice, didn't see this one yet.

Things I want from CES:

Massage chair.

http://www.tested.com/ces-2011-hands-on-...ir/47-243/

Adjustable desk. I sort of want to stand while on the computer. Sort of...

http://www.tested.com/ces-2011-hands-on-...sk/47-242/

ファブリス Wrote:Looks nice, didn't see this one yet.

I took the plunge. Hope it's not noisy. Most reviews said it isn't, but that's kind of subjective and hard to tell with videos.

It's only slightly more expensive than the 64gb iPad. Comparing the specs (admittedly apples and oranges but that only goes so far) and my preferences, can't say I'm unhappy.

I'm waiting to see how the Lenovo "Le Pad" U1 turns out when they finally adapt Honeycomb for it. It's an interesting concept: take a laptop base, where you run Win7, press a button, and the screen detaches and becomes an 10" Android tablet running Honeycomb. (Or it will when Google finishes it, and Lenovo finishes skinning it.)

Downside: you wind up with an underpowered laptop and it's expensive. (~$1300.)
Upside: you only have to buy 1 thing to get 2.

(has a good demo video)
http://gizmodo.com/5726008/lenovos-u1-hy...l-me-twice
(has an okay demo video)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/lenov...android-2/

rich_f Wrote:I'm waiting to see how the Lenovo "Le Pad" U1 turns out when they finally adapt Honeycomb for it. It's an interesting concept: take a laptop base, where you run Win7, press a button, and the screen detaches and becomes an 10" Android tablet running Honeycomb. (Or it will when Google finishes it, and Lenovo finishes skinning it.)

Downside: you wind up with an underpowered laptop and it's expensive. (~$1300.)
Upside: you only have to buy 1 thing to get 2.

(has a good demo video)
http://gizmodo.com/5726008/lenovos-u1-hy...l-me-twice
(has an okay demo video)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/lenov...android-2/

Yeah I also like the one where it spins around on an axis? Some interesting designs but at the moment I'm still hoping the swiveling netvertible form factor continues to evolve.

BTW: http://dvice.com/archives/2011/01/legs-on-with-cy.php - Legs-on with Cyberdyne's mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton

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First Impressions Using Android Honeycomb, Google’s iPad Rival
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/02/android...comb-ipad/

Not too keen on the home screen UI, but looks promising!

Interesting! Reading that I feel I know a bit more about the whole iOS/Android thing. I wonder if that action bar is what Apple had in mind, re: the rumours about losing the home button. At any rate, now that I've played around with my current collection of new devices, I feel like there's still a niche to be filled: the consumption-only tablet.

Although, perhaps by the time I end up getting some tablet to function as a kind of tossed about coffee table reader, the convertible tablets will have evolved to where the distinction between productivity and consumption devices is moot.

I'll continue to wait and see. Just give me something in Honeycomb that's rootable. (So no Xoom.) Any deficiencies in the OS that comes with the tablet can eventually be overcome, thanks be to XDA.

I really hate it when manufacturers tart up the OS and make it harder to upgrade the blasted things conventionally... all they do is make more convincing arguments for rooting the phone and running a custom OS. -_-

I wish that Google would discourage the practice with Honeycomb, but after reading some of the statements at CES from manufacturers, I don't see that happening anytime soon. (Lookin' at you, Lenovo...) Seriously, how do they think they can make Honeycomb "better"? They should work more on making the things work properly and getting them out the door on time.

Toshiba has an interesting looking tablet planned for "Spring," and LG has their 3D tablet coming out for T-Mobile in March. I'll check those out, although I have no idea why I'd need a 3D anything, let alone a tablet.

The HP TouchPad seems to have caused a stir: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20031111-1.html

Here's something about the HTC Flyer: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...15284.html

Apparently it has some software similar to the OneNote audio/handwriting sync I mentioned earlier, called TimeMark.

I've been learning more about stuff I can use with the HP TouchSmart tm2. Getting really hooked on the stylus + multitouch combo with this and the iPod Touch, though not quite ready to become a total nerd and get the SmudgeGuard like this person: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2010/06/28/...book-t900/

Okay, I'm thinking about it...

Also: http://www.technewsdaily.com/the-anti-ta...late-2132/ - Pretty sure it's vapourware, though.

Yeah, I think the Flyer will be compelling given some more time to develop. I want to see more applications for the pen, though. I think it'll take a while for it to become something that I want to shell out $700 for.

For starters, I want Honeycomb on it, and since HTC has to customize the OS to fit the pen in it, that means updates are going to be delayed every time Google comes out with a new version of the OS... which is kind of annoying. Google needs to figure out OS development. They have a great mobile OS, but they distribute it in a really awkward way.

In the Android tablet mass of black slabs, I'm leaning towards the Toshiba black slab. They've stuck a real USB port on it, and a real SD card slot on the outside of the device. So you can just pop in any old SD card from your camera and show off those pictures... or watch movies you've saved on a few cheap regular SD cards, instead of having to shell out $130+ for a 32GB microSD.

Looks like the Toshiba is going to be out "sometime in April."

I actually Googled “black slab” because it sounded cool. hehe. Did you mean this?

http://top10.com/mobilephones/news/2011/...announced/

What kind of stuff would you like to see for the pen? Do you mean apps with a kind of Nintendo DS functionality?

I'm really impressed by Wacom's technology. I'm such a n00b, I'd never used a stylus before, so having pressure sensitivity, flipping it around and having an ‘eraser’, and the idea of a remote device without a battery is still so new to me. ;p

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e...Technology