Freescale partners with Savannah school for some leg-stretching tablet concepts, makes a nice use case for Light Peak

Normally when you've got industrial design students going wild on computer concepts, you get a lot of wild, unrealistic computer concepts. There's plenty of that here, but this 10 week collaboration between Freescale, some of its top partners, and Savannah College of Art and Design students is yielding a bit of fruit. We particularly like this docking tablet that can slot into different docks depending on use case -- the two primary ones shown being a home entertainment setup and a pro audio breakout. Sure, it's still not the most realistic way to use a tablet -- we'd much rather have solid support for 3rd party USB devices in the near term -- but with a bit of Light Peak and some as-ye-unseen pricing, this could make for some pretty slick use cases.

[Dante of the Inferno Posted May 27th 2010 1:14AM]

Yeah, let's get rid of about 14 of those ports. That slims it down to a decent set of dimensions.

[Arkv2 Posted May 27th 2010 2:26AM]

@Dante of the Inferno
Didn't you read? those are docks. The actual unit is just another tablet. The dock filled with ports are the whole deal.

[DoctarPeppar Posted May 27th 2010 9:57AM]

@Arkv2
Read _before_ comment!?
What!?
This is a new concept....

[NikAmi Posted May 27th 2010 12:30PM]

@Dante of the Inferno I don't see an LPT printer port. Every docking station needs an LPT printer port!

/s

[abedinthehouse Posted May 27th 2010 1:14AM]

Its a gadget with SLR connections!
MUST BUY!

[condimentstation Posted May 27th 2010 1:19AM]

@abedinthehouse
XLR connections

[abedinthehouse Posted May 27th 2010 1:29AM]

@condimentstation
lol opps typo

[condimentstation Posted May 27th 2010 2:33AM]

@abedinthehouse
oops

[abedinthehouse Posted May 27th 2010 2:43AM]

@condimentstation

LMAO ooommmgg, wow that was a good laugh! Thanks.

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted May 27th 2010 6:48AM]

XLR . . . now that would interesting. Would it have phantom power? ;)

[abedinthehouse Posted May 27th 2010 6:53AM]

@Smart People Play Tuba
No it wouldn't. I'm pretty sure those are all outputs NOT inputs. You would only need phantom power for Condenser Microphones, and from what I can tell those connections aren't for you to attach microphones.....and even if you could (and it wasn't phantom powered) you could also get an attachment to supply phantom power.

[bolezhinkov Posted May 27th 2010 1:38AM]

yeah its a fun idea but without a couple more years of tablet designed chipsets this is just inconvenient because you're having to use an underpowered mobile processor at a very immobile docking station.

[fischju Posted May 27th 2010 1:50AM]

Leg stretching? Is that big flat surface for stepping on?

[Mustangsamjr Posted May 27th 2010 1:51AM]

That's kinda what I thought the apple tablet would have been, a content creation tablet with a dock for ports and to replace the apple tv.

[jon Posted May 27th 2010 2:56AM]

Definitely design students, and not engineering students.
That thing has 2 component inputs (really?), and no AC connector.

[noodles2k Posted May 27th 2010 4:23AM]

@jon who says they're inputs?

[abedinthehouse Posted May 27th 2010 6:50AM]

@jon
Those are all outputs.

[jon Posted May 27th 2010 10:36AM]

@abedinthehouse

Before I commented I read all 3 posts, nowhere does it say that those are outputs.
Even if that's the case, it still has 2 more and more useless component and composite connections and seems to be missing a AC plug.

Not to mention the fact that even a first year engineering student would have made the IO panel vertical so that you don't have cords sticking up in the open where they can be damaged.

[Foo Bar Posted May 27th 2010 9:31AM]

SCAD rules! Except in August, when Savannah is a sweaty broiler.

[xrkund Posted May 27th 2010 11:16AM]

those are XLR inputs. there is a 1/4" input incorporated into the connector in the center of the XLR. female XLRs are always inputs, males are always outputs.