Remember the
eviGroup Pad, the 10-inch tablet with 3G and a creepy looking AI slave built-in? We won't blame you if you forgot it, but maybe its more advanced cousin will be more memorable. If anything its name will be: Paddle. It's the same basic design as the Pad, a 10-inch keyboard-free tablet with netbook internals, but this one gets a swankier LED-backlit multitouch display along with SSD storage -- though a paltry 32GB max on flash is hardly an upgrade over the 320GB you can get on platters. Also new is an optional WiFi antenna to boost range and a new layer over Windows 7 called Scale that looks a little like being trapped on the inside of a paddlewheel of content (video below). How much would you pay for such decidedly evolutionary steps? For eviGroup's sake hopefully your number is somewhere around €699 ($945), because that's the MSRP when it starts shipping this summer -- a rather steep increase over the (already pricey) €500 Pad.
posted March 1st 2010 10:03AM
Too..... Many..... Tablets....!! *Brain melts*
@JayTBennett I agree. Ever since the ipad announcement we've had nothing but an overload of tablets coming out. I really don't think they will become as popular as everyone thinks. I have everything I need on my cell phone and have a computer at home. I have no need for a tablet. Does anyone really need a tablet?
@Mtmrob
There is no more than there ever was, which is why people are trying to gin up some demand for them with talk of "needed" features like....reading magazines, and watching movies 4 inches from your face.
..exlude/ipad..!! It does nothing!
Too..... Many..... Netbooks....!! *Brain melts*
@JayTBennett I don't know about anyone else, but the only one I find myself actually looking forward to is the Courier; and that's only a concept as far as I'm aware.
@JayTBennett
Yeah, I'm still not convinced of the *actual* tablet market out there -- but the point about this thing's price is a bit misguided. While the iPad does *start* at $500 -- let's be real: nobody will want that one. The Apple faithful will want the WiFi / 3G / most memory version. And that one is $900 after taxes. Don't forget to cough up for Apple Care, either. I doubt the Paddle is more worthwhile as a device, but it's certainly not significantly more expensive given the specs.
CPU? GPU?
@Nightryder21
It's more absorbent than the iPad!
@Nightryder21 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU
Steve can still rest assure. without bitten fruit logo, tv commercials & gadget boutiques in shopping malls, Ms. Daisy won't be aware of this product even if the price was deeply discounted.
@cyberblue maybe cause it is another failed attempt to mimic Apple but with Microsoft style and grace as it is...it will suck just as the last decade of Microsoft's products has. Wake up and smell the Snow.
@cherryboom
lol where are you?
Every time I walk into a Best Buy, *BOOM* HUGE black wall with a giant screen and fruit in them.
When I turn on the TV, its another iphone commercial (funny how it advertises the apps more than the phone itself).
To say they barely advertise is laughable. And they are ANYTHING BUT subtle.
@cherryboom Do you have to be beat in to your cult,..... Or just hand over your bank card and and ability to think for ones self....... Just wondering......
@cherryboom I'm sorry, what are you still doing here? Don't I remember you saying "FUCK Engadget! They're a bunch of frauds, I'm leaving" and all that other stuff? Yet...here ya are.
Like talking to a smoker who keeps reneging.
"I can quit anytime I want."
@cherryboom yeah because i see Zune commercials every time i turn on the TV and i've never seen an iPod or iPhone ad.
/sarcasm
@cherryboom
I agree with you cherry. You have to remember though, when it comes to gadgets, geeks want EVERYTHING. It doesn't matter if we'll use it. It's just like a 60 year old corvette driver that uses his car for cruising. SURE there's people who use corvettes for racing, but the most of them sold of the lot will trot down the road instead of galloping. For the simple user, an Apple is hands down the best computer you can buy. But for customization, horse power, and gaming, unfortunately you're stuck with Windows.
@GenericMessage
Are you trying to tell me that in a WAREHOUSE full of gadgets, that Apple is "marketing" their tech by making it visible to the consumer?
If that's what you are indeed saying, you sir are an ignoramus.
Also, I watch a fair amount of TV and I can't remember the last time I've seen an Apple commercial, which admittedly I'm thankful for. Those commercials, while informative, are getting old. They need to refresh the marketing ideas.
@N900
So you're telling me that because cherry got upset at engadget at some point in time, that it decreases his credibility or lessens his opinion however true or false it may be? Get a life and stop trolling.
@think before you react. I see iPhone, app store and mac commercials all the time on tv. And your bat's ass blind if you don't see the adds in mainstream movies, point being, all big companies promote in some way, shape or form( this contributes to the epic fail that is capitalism)
That video seriously made me nauseous and dizzy.
And is there some sort of aversion for external buttons on these wonder-plates?
Using a tablet without them is a serious pain.
@LAY Right.....cause you have such extensive experience with them! WAIT...they are not out yet so you are basing everything on a blind opinion. Here's your sign...( I hate that phrase but it was to fitting for you)
@lsills81
Uh, I own a tablet PC. I use it everyday.
Do you?
@LAY
That is right. A Windows computer without [Ctrl] [Alt] [Del] sounds like a Blue screen to me. Constant reboot and wait 2 minutes every time the thing locks up. And can you imagine Spam filtering software management on a Tablet. Window sucks for a Tablet.
@LAY http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1367
there is a list of Tablets for 2010 and not one is a tablet....which one do you have? Enlighten me please....I once was into Windows so I can be wrong.
@lsills81
@lsills81 Do you even realize that apple is not the first to do a tablet? They have been around for like a decade......Or more
@garysturn
*rolleyes*
Yeah because that's what I get (((ALL))) the time.
I have hard buttons for the start menu, arrow keys, to lock the screen, "enter key", and some others.
"there is a list of Tablets for 2010 and not one is a tablet....which one do you have? Enlighten me please....I once was into Windows so I can be wrong."
Well, all of those are "tablets". The term "slate", "UMPC" or a "convertible" doesnt negate the fact that they are tablets.
Mine is a ViewSonic V1100. YES it is not a 2010 tablet by any stretch, but it runs Win7 perfectly fine, has all of the ports I could ever need...and it runs Flash *ducks*.
@LAY you realize there is no convincing these people. in their minds Apple invented everything and Windows crashes every hour on the hour. i used to love getting into these arguments but now i just find them sad. its quite frightening that some people are completely devoid of logic or sense. i prefer Microsoft products to Apple but i am not so disillusioned as to think they are perfect and everything Microsoft does is better than everything else.
@garysturn
well, somehow i dont think i would need those much any more... my computer hasnt rebooted for over a year... i mean on its own... the last time it did, it was because of itunes
*sigh... where would we be without SJ...
@Wesscoast
Oh because "SJ" (Sal Jacobs?) (Sally Jones?) invented tablets...gotcha.
@LAY No no, I'm pretty sure it was Stan Jocelyn xD.
WOW....is this an iPad but without the internals that work so flawlessly or the most important thing "AN OS THAT IS NOT WINDOWS VISTA (Windows 7 is Vista with Service Pack 3!) As a matter of fact I want NOTHING from Microsoft's shotty ass development team. Windows has been out of the game for YEARS! I challenge you to give me 1, just 1...I mean fuc*ing 1 thing they have done correctly since XP( and marketing although MS's only strong point can't count).....certainly not an iKnockoff designed after their only competitor that keeps MS from looking like a Monopoly to the US Gov.
PS: Don't reply unless you have something concrete....an "I am jealous and hate Apple" tyrant doesn't count... .
@lsills81
And after finding his manifesto, lsills81 was found at the bottom of the city reservoir, anchored to the bottom by a G4 iMac he had tied to his leg before he jumped in.
@LAY Can you make an educated comment? Sorry but I've been on a PC since the 90's (until a couple of years ago).....kinda fell like I already have that proverbial mill stone around my neck. I see everyday how a Mac preforms better then any PC! That is fact...
@lsills81 You ask for educated responses, and facts, but provide zero of either in your posts. Must be an apple fanboy.......
@lsills81 "Windows has been out of the game for YEARS! I challenge you to give me 1, just 1...I mean fuc*ing 1 thing they have done correctly since XP"
and YOU want me to reply with something concrete.
@lsills81
Call it what you will, Vista SP3, a vista that works, etc, the bottom line is that it not only holds the record for the fastest OS sold, but to date its sales have run circles around Leopard and Snow Leopard combined.
Oh, and we can't forget the Xbox and the Xbox 360, something Microsoft didn't screw up since XP (RROD or not)
What you are is one of those people who decided to "Convert" to Apple and now you think you're better than everyone else because you've owned a Mac for 2 years. You are the reason that apple fanboys illicit so much hate towards themselves, your cocky attitudes because you THINK you're better than everyone else.
I swear, everyone who buys an apple product buys a chuck of steve job's conceited personality, and evidently there's enough to go around.
@PBB Lmao!
I think the most important question has yet to be answered: Is it a Bumpaddle?
Why make it concave like that? It's so distorted that it would be hard to read, anyway, but wouldn't it make sense for the center tiles to be the largest, rather than the smallest?
Ehhh that UI just made me throw up a little
Am I the only person who read that as evilGroup? Because that would be an awesome name for a company.
@AcerBandit I did as well, had to do a double take. Definitely would be a sweet name for a company
The iPad is 499 USD = 370 EUR.
Fix the article Tim Stevens.
@taligent Hmm... joke? Don't think so... seems too serious. Updated prescription needed? Perhaps. Seems most likely.
@TimStevens If you were going for Mordin Solus from ME2 you nailed it...
@pcwolff Proof I've been playing that game WAY too much! :)
@TimStevens
Tim, you write good articles. Now you need a sweet avatar to match your prowess.