iWonder why the logo is upside down

Among Marvell's many demos at MWC this year was a curious white tablet out of well-traveled ODM Foxconn -- the so-called iWonder -- that will see duty in China later this year. It's got a pretty awful 10.1-inch display (resistive with nary a trace of meaningful brightness or contrast), but when you consider that they're targeting an exceptionally thrifty price point in the low $100s, it's actually a pretty reasonable package. It's got Android 1.6, WiFi with a dedicated hardware on-off switch, an accelerometer (though it was totally flaky on the version we used), and a handful of touch-sensitive buttons around the bezel, including last- and next-page buttons for using the iWonder as an e-reader. Marvell touts that the tablet is using its reference design as a starting point -- now the next trick is helping Foxconn find a decent LCD supplier. Follow the break for some video of the iWonder showing off its Donut prowess -- if you can avoid the distraction of the curiously inverted logo, that is.

iWonder why the logo is upside down

[Koneck Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:51AM]

never find a better title.

[DcMeese Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:14PM]

@Koneck

I'm surprised Apple didn't copyright all words starting with an "i" that have a capital as the second letter.

[abhisheksuman Posted Feb 18th 2010 4:47PM]

ɹǝpuoʍı

[luckysong Posted Feb 19th 2010 1:36AM]

@Koneck

It is funny that the editor did not even pretend to try to rotate the device other way around. Anyway, it is from China, must not be good. Because those are stupid engineers, they do not know the english words, just like people here do not know Chinese words along side the iWonder logo. See they are also up side down. Nah, Chinese are all morons.

[endgadget Posted Feb 19th 2010 1:50AM]

@Koneck
What better way to get publicity?

[MosesusedaniPad Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:53AM]

Doesn't Apple own the rights to putting an "i" in front of a product's name?

[CBONE Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:58AM]

@MosesusedaniPad

No.

[commenter7 Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:00PM]

@MosesusedaniPad

iGoogle
iCarly
iKEA

[Torpor Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:25PM]

@MosesusedaniPad

iRiver

[ciaranhanratty Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:27PM]

@MosesusedaniPad the BBC's iPlayer

[eliazar Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:28PM]

@MosesusedaniPad
iDontThinkSo

[TheKingOfHyrule Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:40PM]

@MosesusedaniPad
iWonder what's for DINNER....

[Elranzer Posted Feb 18th 2010 1:20PM]

@MosesusedaniPad: Even Cisco owns the name iPhone. Apple is licensing the name from them.

[Hoobaloo Posted Feb 18th 2010 1:28PM]

@MosesusedaniPad

Wow, another brainwashed Apple follower...

[angermeans Posted Feb 18th 2010 4:42PM]

@MosesusedaniPad LOL no I don't think they could do that

[ChazClout Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:54AM]

¿ʇxǝʇ uʍop ǝpısdn sǝsn ʇoıpı ɟo pıʞ ʇɐɥʍ

[ChazClout Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:55AM]

@ChazClout
˙˙˙sɯǝǝs ʇı ƃuoɹʍ ,,puıʞ,, llǝds ʇɐɥʇ puıʞ ǝɥʇ

[unwynd Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:09PM]

@ChazClout lol, btw how do you do that upside down comment?

[ChazClout Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:17PM]

@unwynd
I used this site. http://www.sherv.net/flip.html
(: ˙llǝʍ ʎʇʇǝɹd sʞɹoʍ

[DcMeese Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:24PM]

@unwynd

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=upside+down+text

[gurkha Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:38PM]

@DcMeese cool way ... man .. i love that google thing ...

[unwynd Posted Feb 18th 2010 2:02PM]

@DcMeese ¡ʇɥƃnoɥʇ ı ʇɐɥʇ ɹǝqɯnp ǝq uɐɔ ı

[Vman Posted Feb 18th 2010 7:41PM]

@unwynd
Than?

[Rebel6381 Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:56AM]

Um, yea the default orientation is with the 3 dark grey icons towards the bottom so the "iWonder" reads vertically from bottom to top.

*Mystery Solved*, my check is in the mail right? :P

[Sheldon Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:59AM]

@Rebel6381
Damn, you beat me by a minute!
Actually, having seen the entire video, I think the screen is around the wrong way as when a game starts up (in portrait mode) it puts the grey buttons at the top!

[snowglyder Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:23PM]

@Rebel6381

It's all messed up. The orientation of the home button puts those at the bottom, but then the arrow isn't a 'back' button. Who the hell made this thing??

[Sheldon Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:57AM]

"curiously inverted logo" and (video)"there is no left-right but there is an up-down"
Did you not think that maybe what was being referred to as the left is actually intended (although the software isn't there yet) to be the top? Y'know, to match up with the orientation of the Home button along the bottom(/right)?

[GenericMessage Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:57AM]

Great, know where gonna hear a bunch of "i wonder....blahblahblah" jokes.

[ChazClout Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:01PM]

@GenericMessage
iWonder. Why did you put a k in "now" and a h in "we're"? ;-)

[GenericMessage Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:02PM]

@ChazClout

'cause thats how we talk in ahmhurika.

[GenericMessage Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:05PM]

@ChazClout

also because chrome's auto spell is weird........

[TheKingOfHyrule Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:43PM]

@GenericMessage
iWonder what's for DINNER...

[Eternal Density Posted Feb 18th 2010 5:49PM]

@GenericMessage
iWonder, will it blend?

[GreatSunJester Posted Feb 18th 2010 11:59AM]

Accelerometer? Whatever side of the device is "up", is the top of the displayed screen?

[glamajamma Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:01PM]

Needs Ubuntu Netbook Remix

[jamesburton Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:18PM]

As well as stealing Apple's iProduct naming scheme they've also stole the Network Utility icon for "Google map".

iWonder if Apple will be happy about this.

[ChazClout Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:35PM]

@jamesburton
Good find!

For people that don't use Mac OS: http://chazclout.co.uk/a/iWonder.png

[MaTdg Posted Feb 18th 2010 9:46PM]

@jamesburton
Happy? No
Do something about it? No
Why? China.. Nuff said

[htd Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:26PM]

I think the demo guy just hold it upside down while been recorded, this thing has accelometer which will show it the direction you hold it, look at those home buttons, their icons are just to their edges, instead of aligning with the logo

[Alex R Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:30PM]

It was clearly a mistake that nobody noticed until it was made. Now they say: Yeah! It's quirky! In 10 years everything will be like this! We're Mavericks! The Daily Mail hates people like us, maaan!

[voodoo Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:36PM]

The logo is upside down probably because it is using the very cheapest variety of TN panel, I have seem them on lots of cheap Chinese PMPs. They viewing angles are bad all-round, but particularly bad specifically from below.

So they have loaded this crappy display in the prototype, realised that a user typically holds a tablet with slight tilt away from them (ie viewing from below) and flipped the whole UI so that the user is looking at it from the other side.

[max1001 Posted Feb 18th 2010 12:55PM]

It's 100 dollars touch screen pad, and you guys are talking about the logo?

[TIMMAH Posted Feb 18th 2010 3:53PM]

@max1001

Yeah, now we're talking "game changer".

[thunderbollock Posted Feb 19th 2010 4:42AM]

@max1001
Just what I was thinking. That price is awesome for a gadget you only use occasionally to surf the web on the sofa. Logo or no logo it is pretty awesome for the price. If you hate wacky logos you could cover it with a sticker.

[thunderbollock Posted Feb 19th 2010 4:49AM]

@thunderbollock
Just spotted that it also had USB and a card slot. You would easily pay $100 for a 10" digital high-res picture frame, which this could easily double as. Plus the resistive screen and stylus means it would be great for note taking. I hope Engadget follows this to launch.

I would hand them them out as christmas/birthday presents (to my family) at that price.

[Gadget Lover Posted Feb 18th 2010 1:15PM]

Maybe the display is upside down.

[pebcak Posted Feb 18th 2010 1:27PM]

Pixel Qi Screen plz.

[werty1432k Posted Feb 18th 2010 1:51PM]

The screen on that thing looks brutal!

[Magicland Posted Feb 18th 2010 2:09PM]

iWonder if there's an etch-a-sketch app for this thing. The accelerometer could clear the screen by shaking it...

[Accidental Posted Feb 18th 2010 4:15PM]

@Magicland That's what I tought, perhaps the accelerometer is out of whack