ASUS Eee Pad coming soon?
By Vlad Savov 
posted December 10th 2009 6:22AM
posted December 10th 2009 6:22AM
posted December 10th 2009 6:22AM
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Joojoo but with windows. Maybe even a CULV setup. I hope it at least uses nvidia ion.
The same thing they release every day Pinky,
A weak atom processor, 1Gb of ram and little/slow SSD storage. Probably no optical media and windows 7 installed. priced between $600~$700.
Here's hoping it has full Wacom digitizer support, a full bluetooth stack, and at least ion graphics.
The faster these tablets hit the market, the faster they can fail yet again and we don't have to hear about this BS anymore. MIDs failed. "Pen computing" failed.
WTF would anyone other than a waitress, inventory-taker, or sales rep do with one of these? Especially when they're bound to be woefully overpriced and underpowered when compared to a laptop. At least a decent laptop has things like an ExpressCard port so you can actually have mobile Internet. People act as though a device with 802.11 is connected to the Internet as you walk around the city or even the block. Obviously it isn't. So what we have here is a giant, unwieldy, unpocketable iPod touch at best.
What's the point? All you can say about tablets is that they're more useful that the other overhyped computing boondoggle of the last five years: multitouch.
@Information Central
You can buy many Tablet PCs with 3G. My lenovo x61 tablet has everything a "real" laptop has. The other common brands (fujitsu, hp, acer) are comparable.
They're all trying to beat Apple to the punch, that's for sure. No way the devices will succeed any more today than it did in the past, but they probably want to be there first when the general public gets introduced to the idea. Things could get absolutely hilarious if 2010 goes by w/o an Apple pad announcement, though.
@Muu
I love apple punch.
@Information Central
I'm sorry but you fail to acknowledge the entire student demographic from K-12 to AA to PHD.
It would also be nice to efficiently use resources by going digital with notebooks and text books thus saving paper, ink and lowering the rates of deforestation. Not only that but saving time when looking up notes and physical space. I can't wait to do away with notebooks and book shelves by going all digital at school. Believe it or not the future will move forward with or without you as is the nature of technology. Rejected at first but eventually will be adopted later once trendsetters pick them up and market them correctly.
The main problem with previous attempts is that they were underpowered and irritating to use, coupled with bring overpriced. As technology improves it comes closer to the conceptual tablet, which is a very good idea. It's a lot like early PMPs or handheld 'organizers'.
@Eternity
"I'm sorry but you fail to acknowledge the entire student demographic from K-12 to AA to PHD."
Do I need to? I would have thought this is an obvious example of the relative worthlessness of tablet computing. How are you going to take notes in class with one of these things without a keyboard? Tap them out with a shitty "virtual" keyboard? Scrawl them out with a stylus on a slick plastic surface?
A cheeseball netbook would kick the ass of a tablet for classroom note-taking.
You might have a point about textbooks, except a tablet with a backlit computer-style screen is not suitable for them either. You don't want to be trying to read off one of those things for hours at a time. If you did, the computer would once again be a viable option. An E-book reader would be pretty cool for textbooks, though.
@Muu beating Apple to the punch? Tablet computing has been around forever. IF Apple releases the unicorn into the real world, I'm sure a lot of revisionists will start saying Apple invented it though.
Needs:
wacom dual digitizer (pen & capacitive touch)
no keyboard
lots of wireless
2gb+ of ram
64gb+ ssd (intel's 80gb ssd preferred)
very good battery life
Nice:
ion
display port
decent built-in mic and webcam
I think if anyone can do a tablet/e reader cheaply, it's Asus.
A Padd? Does it have LCARS?
4-7 inches diagonally? No thanks. I'm actually considering the T91 mt (win7 version), but a pure tablet that drops the keyboard and is a similar price sounds great. But more like a 9-11 inch screen, please.
pads are for women, tablets are for men. :)
@One Luv Indeed.
No company understands what consumers want and consumers themselves are clueless about what they want. I am waiting for Steve "Jesus" Jobs to tell consumers and rival companies what a tablet is. I am waiting until Mar 2010 for the apple tablet.
I'm super excited that you didnt mention the as of yet uncertain Apple Tablet in this article like every other reporter out there. Kudos for not being a 'tard.
If its true, Asus will design a well pad!
I disagree with those of you who declare this as DOA.. This is exactly the type of device I have been waiting for and needing. I need a handheld for ebooks and audiobooks; without hinged kbd (to make portrait mode practical); large enough screen to read, plus wi-fi for tether-less media transfers.. (3g with it's cost, contracts, and restrictions can go to blazes)
itouch, pda's and mid screens are too small for me, laptops and netbooks are portrait mode, and ebooks aren't broad enough to run book media that comes in html, doc, txt, pdf, lit, etc. like a general purpose computer can. Plus if I want to use it for music, I'm not limited to the codecs the hardware manufacturer deigns to allow me to use ( I like ogg and flac).
I'd even prefer it to come in monochrome/e-ink display for (hardware)cost and battery life savings. No problem emailing and Im'ing in monochrome. Hey, it could even do voip!
On the OS side there's netbook remixes of Linux. MS could effect the same thing by allowing special options branch off the general win-7 installer. Add a 'monochrome' color scheme to either OS and 'voila!' a kindle/pmp killer!
Let phones make phone calls, color devices play videos, and game devices play games. I need this device for the other stuff. You don't need a $500 machine that makes 27 kinds of coffee and has an optional dvr, when what you really need is a toaster.
Correction: "laptops and netbooks are portrait mode"
Should read: "laptops and netbooks are landscape mode"
I'm really looking forward to all these new tablets. I think the two real powerhouses when released will put all these other toys on the back shelf permanently though. And that's the Apple Tablet and Microsofts Courier.
My main problem with the eee series (after seeing what they did with a tabletop computer) is that they're shoddy junk compared to any other company. Cheaper, perhaps.
Color me skeptical that their tablet is going to break the trend and not feel more like an Etch A Sketch than a $400 product. Although, they'll follow other developers along, I suppose, who put out nicer products.
Hey guys,
Though the eReaders are extremely cool, access to the books can be tricky - check out, "When Free Isn't Free" found here : http://www.themarknews.com/articles/511-when-free-isnt-free
On the other hand, it's awesome that, "All That's Old is New Again" - http://www.themarknews.com/articles/730-all-thats-old-is-new-again
Enjoy!