MSI's Slatebook 10-inch Atom tablet is not what we've been waiting for
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 11th 2010 9:42AM
posted May 11th 2010 9:42AM
posted May 11th 2010 9:42AM
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desktop OS on a tablet = fail.
@TomSawyer Agreed. Well, a portable tablet at least. It's great on a touchscreen desktop, but a netbook sans the keyboard is not what people want.
@TomSawyer Wouldn't be comfortable saying that a year ago... but like it or not... Apple did change my perspective of how this new class of device can be designed/used ...
@TomSawyer it needs to be cheaper, other than that, I think a tablet theme for it plus some tablet oriented applications should be good enough, you can connect keyboard/mouse to make it netbook.
@TomSawyer
Yeah but in order to do a mobile OS on a tablet you have to be able to support it and make sure there are compatible apps and all the drivers work properly (ie. no lag in UI, 3d graphics working, flash video, etc..).
MSI is not known for their support -- they are known for their cheapo products. I think they realized this and that's why they canned it. They will probably sit back, wait for someone else to put all the work in, and then create a copy and use other people's code.
@htd That price thing becomes harder when you put in a full OS
@TomSawyer I think tablet/slates need their own OS. I think the iPad's mobile OS is as lacking as this slate's Windows 7 OS is bloated. There are several Linux "light" distros that are probably much better suited including Google's upcoming ChromeOS. But then again Android 2.2 is looking very capable.
@baltwade
It's not lacking in anything it was designed for. Maybe it's lacking something you need/want, or it is lacking something it does not have the hardware for (like a camera), but the OS isn't lacking anything at all, in fact it's very powerful and complete, and I'm saying this based on what I see looking from the 'inside', ie: what the SDK and OS libraries offer, not just what Apple allows you to use or not use.
It's just what I wanted, unlike the iPad it has a real OS and I hope at least one USB port. A portable device needs to be portable, having a real keyboard might be good for some, but not for all. The price/specs seem good.
@TomSawyer
Too bad, basically THE difference between Vista and 7 is the touch interface (besides a bunch of minuscule tweaks), and now people are saying they shouldn't have even butchered the task bar for touch-ability.
@David Bailey How do you know what people want?
@TomSawyer Actually, I would love to see Windows 7 on a tablet. Solid OS.
@Sarcasme How does anyone? Apocryphal opinion.
@Wesscoast
there's a big difference between the gimmicky "touchsmart" PCs and an OS built for touch. It's tangible and real. For the past decade, microsoft has refused to acknowledge that. Maybe - just maybe - Win Phone 7 will be a good platform and they can make a useful tablet from that. Otherwise, more "productive" touchscreen notebooks will require highly polished GUI overlays and strong processors to run Win7 - two things which are generally lacking right now.
@TomSawyer
I agree 100% desktop OS on a Slate is worthless, also the widescreen format is another No-Go for a Slate (or for Netbooks for that Matter)
@TomSawyer
That's just anti-MS FUD. Windows 7 is a great touch OS.
The tablet is not a place for a desktop operating system. The input for tablets is all finger based, and fingers are a lot less accurate than mice cursors. The desktop OSs are designed in a way that a mouse cursor can interact with detailed and small components. Fingers would not be able to navigate through Microsoft office, not any program for that matter. Android is the way to go!
@Servomech HP didn't seem to think so after trying it on their Slate.
@canusemynick What you are calling "a real OS" is a desktop OS made for a keyboard and a mouse. Windows 7 works fine on a PC, yes.
But what you, and others, are missing is that the same OS won't work well on a tablet, because the user interface and performace per watt requirements are completely diferent from a desktop PC or a laptop.
HP, however, realized this problem and chose to give up on Windows for their Slate. That should tell you something.
@TomSawyer They came out w/ tge archos 9 tablet with win 7 & I gotta say it works awesome. So get your facts straight 1st before u start saying it's a fail. LMAO, I'm just kidding, it sucked donkey balls, lol. The touch sucked & it came with a stylus that don't work that good either & it's slow
@TomSawyer Every tablet is dead to me until HP Release a WEBOs tablet. Gonna put my blinders back on.
@TomSawyer
I disagree, I want a real os, not some crappy android.
@Shawnzee Android is far from ready for a slate.
@chandi
Change your perspective?
Sounds more like lowered your expectations. That's cool, though. That's what Apple does.
@TomSawyer
WeTab, here I come.......!!!!
@TomSawyer You guys just love to repeat everything that Steve "Jesus" Jobs says. So how's the iPad GUI much different than a regular desktop OS? you have a desktop with icons, when you click on the icons, they open. WIndows 7 will accept gestures for scrolling, moving between pages, etc. and will provide a on screen keyboard that also gives text predictions as you type, conveniently close to the actual keys for faster typing. tIn fact, Win7 comes with two onscreen keyboards, the Easy of Access keyboard and the TabletPC keyboard, which also does character recognition. So we have the same icons on desktop, same windows that open when you click on them, same scrolling gestures, same on screen keyboard, but in Windows, true multitasking, you can use any app you want, connect to network drives, print, wireless sync, flash, etc. It won't last 10 hours, but you can carry extra battery or a car charger is that is so critical. The iPad is fine, but really there isn't anything substantially different in terms of GUI than a regular desktop OS, just the same paradigm of icons over a desktop.
@TomSawyer
Why a fail? Have you used a HP TC1100 with the dpi set to 125% or a Latitude Xt/XT2? Or a HP TM2 etc etc????
Maybe if we stopped repeating what other people state and actually use the product before making up our minds. No-one wanted a tablet before even though there have been many.. even non-windows tablets are out there.
@ckeledjian Ignorant much?
@Sarcasme Actually, I want a tablet that I can sync my mobile phone with. It's that simple.
@TomSawyer
Nonsense. It might not be for you, but it is definitely for me.
I always use desktops, because laptops are heavy. And most of the software I use is windows based and I like windows 7. That simple. And I am not interested to redo/buy all the software for Apple or anything else.
I just need modest windows machine, but as light as possible with at least 4-5 hours battery.
@wmac I don't understand how you could say that laptops weigh too much, maybe you should get in the gym a little more often.
@TomSawyer I've got an ASUS UL30vt laptop that runs Windows 7 64-bit and the battery lasts 10 hours solid. The only thing missing from this machine to make it a tablet is a touchscreen. It is light and portable and the OS is tight. Anyone who doesn't want a slate/tablet to have a normal OS isn't a power user. In order for the slate/tablet to take off as more than a coffee table cutiepie you'll need an optional stylus for design/brainstorming and a normal OS. Windows 7 is a great OS. Wait till ASUS proves you wrong. I hope you like shoe.
pass
@Nubee
Intel's Atom Zxx? Aren't these the oldest of them all? With Windows 7?
Sounds like the real pros were working on that one. Double pass!!
@Nubee
I don't know what to even pass on, they provided a picture of the android one there it looks like?
@schultz
That's why they said "like the Android Tegra 2 tablet shown above". Apparently no pics of the actual unit and though if it's running windows 7 I don't even need to see a pic to pass immediately.
@SeeKo The VAIO P runs Windows 7 quite nicely on Z series processors, albeit the highest-spec ones.
@SeeKo
No, those are not the oldest of them all, that would be the N 270. The Atom Z series are actually premium Atom processors, being quite a bit smaller in size and being focused on providing significantly better battery life than the N series.
That added value isn't worth all that much anymore though, as the new N series is about as energy efficient. One other difference would be that the Z line-up does support 1080p playback, while the new N most certainly cannot. The smaller size, for both processor and chipset, could also be a deciding factor.
As for running Windows 7. The Atom Z used to be coupled with Vista. That didn't always work brilliantly (on the lower end models), but Windows 7 is more like XP in terms of hardware requirements and should pose no problem. Certainly not if they use one of the higher end models, which I expect they will, considering the Z line-up indeed isn't the newest of them all either.
And considering they are using the premium Atom, a sub 500 dollar price is quite nice. These processors are usually found in products quite a bit over 500 dollar. For anything less I wouldn't trust it to survive being used in everyday life for long.
Although I may not be buying this one, I am glad MSI did take this route. It provides the opportunity to actually try Windows 7 on a tablet before buying the Adam or iPad.
I will not tolerate such foolishness!
(will that do?)
@AdamSpruijt
This will NOT stand sir!
@Tes
I would tell you what i feel about this... but YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Enjoy that MSI.. get back to making good products now kthanks.
@AdamSpruijt That dog won't hunt, mon senoir.
Would rather see Android...it's more fit for a tablet. MSI - unless you can make a Windows 7 based tablet flawless and utilize multitouch to the level of performance you get with the iPhone and popular Android devices, you're making the wrong move.
I will certainly not buy an Atom tablet unless they demonstrate the 16hrs web-browsing and 8hrs hd playback capabilities the Tegra2 promises.
iPad. The magical device that makes the haters hate.
@TheEvilMachinist Yup. Seems like most of these tablet makers were banking on $1000 price point rumors, said we can cut that in half! and now went FUCK! when they saw the real thing. Atom + Windows 7 + touchscreen in a 10" or less form factor is super fail.
@icase81
Congratulations potential iPad killers, you've just been outsmarted by Steve Jobs.
It looks too big to handle...
@DoctarPeppar
That's what she.... oh yeah I guess you're right.
KEEP ANDROID!!!!