Microsoft isn't kidding around about showing Apple it's serious in regard to competing in the tablet space, and while most of the devices surrounding its Computex booth were locked down tight, we were able to spend a few exclusive minutes with a brand new LG that showed some serious promise. Boasting a 10.1-inch LED capacity touchscreen, the UX10 was one of the most solid tablets we've had the opportunity to touch. The prototype on the floor was equipped with an Intel Atom Z530 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing webcam, an SD card slot, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 7200mAh battery and a micro-HDMI output. The entire front was smothered in glass, with an itty-bitty bezel and a striking pearlescent white paint job around back. Though, we couldn't help but notice the similarities in the logo when thinking of a certain Streak. Microsoft representatives couldn't comment on an estimated price, though they did affirm that the device will escape the prototype stage and ship to consumers at some point in the future. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and peek past the break if you're a fan of videos.
What do you like exactly? There are several faults on this machine that never is going to work, mainly Windows 7 and its desktop GUI, but there's also the widescreen display (not nice for reading), the slim bezel which makes it impossible to hold properly and the sluggish performance judging from the specs.
Like it too, but in the last year I have seen 1000s of tablets I would happily buy and not a single one of the batch has made it to the market. Actually is not even possible to buy a decently specced convertible netbook (with ion graphics, w7 premium, and HDMI out). I hope that at least I'll be able to waste some money on a Dell Streak before the summer or I am gonna be seriously disappointed.
@2her0ck Uhh, no its not. Just because a tablet has dual core xion 24Ghz Processor, does not make it better. Put together the BEST hardware tablet in the world, with 10 GB of RAM and XYZ Processor, but all the hardware means NOTHING if the damn thing is not gonna work properly or have too battery life. Sorry, but so far EVERY tablet that has shown and has come on the market (not the laptop tablets, but a tablet-tablet) has had a GOOD processor, USB, HDMI, etc etc. Those are all GOOD usable features, but where these tablets failed is NOT the hardware, but the software and its capabilities. What is a tablet good for if its got 3 hrs battery life? What is a tablet good for if the touch response is slugish?
When it comes to a laptop, YES, hardware will win. When it comes to a home PC, YES, hardware will win.
If the damn thing is a portable device, you better have good software/OS on it. Look at the damn JooJoo. Good hardware, but crappy a$$ software...
@kasser - SERIOUSLY... THIS! People go on and on about how Win 7 is less user friendly for tablets. Its a full OS, you can download any UI you want to sit on top of windows or even build your own.
@abedinthehouse Still dreaming about Windows 7 tablets, are we? I thought HP made it clear that even they're not stupid enough to throw away money on a pipe dream. If the HP Slate (or any Windows 7 slate) was even halfway amenable to consumers it would have been in consumers hands by now.
@MosesusedaniPad: HP's tm2 makes the iPad look like a joke. Of course, that particular tablet also converts into a laptop, and also has a Wacom digitizer built into it.
Then again, I guess I really shouldn't be comparing apples to computers...
Yes...they have learned that they can make people buy adapters to achieve that which should be achievable out of the box. There's a certain leading company in this field that is the master, why wouldn't you copy them?
"...they have learned that they can make people buy adapters to achieve that which should be achievable out of the box"
Seeing as it was a GENERAL comment on achieving tasks via dongles/adapters, how have I changed the subject? You can nitpick all you want but it's the same practice. You can't say "oh they've moved on from one peripheral to a totally separate peripheral so it's OK" like that makes any sense.
@Tes It doesn't matter how many ports 'this particular company' would add and you'd still be coming up with examples of ports and adapters to prove your point. Meanwhile, the rest of the world doesn't give a rats ass about an integrated SD card reader on their tablet. Maybe only 1 out of a 100 people have a use for it and the other 99 prefer a device that doesn't have all kinds of different holes all around that they'll never use. The 1 guy that actually needs SD to put photo's on his iPad can just buy the camera kit for the whole whopping $20 (wow, insane).
I get it that you prefer 3xUSB, SD, HDMI, DVI, VGA, headphone, mic, ethernet and kensington lock holes on your tablet, but most of us don't give a shit.
@Tes I know where you're argument is going, but that's not my point. We are arguing about 2 similar but different thing.
The 1st iPhone has a recessed headphone jack. The fact that it has a headphone jack implied compatibility with any headphones, but the fact it is being recessed denied that. The iPad doesn't even have nor advertised to have an SD card slot. When you bought an iPad, you know it doesn't have an SD card slot. When you bought the 1st gen iPhone, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and you would expect it to work with any 3.5mm jack, yet it didn't.
It would be the same train of thought if Apple put in an SD card slot on the iPad, but the slot is too thin for some SD cards to work.
What's with the swaering and emotion...it's consumer electronics. Grow up and calm down
@pika2000
Fair point. I believe that applies here...you would assume you could plug any 3.5 headphone into the jack. I also assume you could plug in any of those thin type 3.5 jacks that are now popular (again, everyone else taking design cues from Apple, although this is one design I really like) but I'm looking at the overall motivation here. It seems to compete companies are attempting to nickel and dime the consumer by charging for all manner of minutia for every port you may use.
@drange And before you start a whole story on the merits of SD cards or USB ports: the iPad has WiFi and BT, and it was never intended to replace PC's in the first place. So the vast majority of iPad users will just use their PC and WiFi to get/put stuff from/to their PC, no USB or SD necessary.
"And before you start a whole story on the merits of SD cards or USB ports"
Again...calm yourself. This whole "supporting" a corporation thing is strange...don't you get that? It's weird. Like sniffing ladies underwear weird. Like, having awkward feelings towards your own mother weird. Stop it. It's not endearing.
I own Apple tech, as well as MS, Samsung, Philips, Nokia, HTC and a myriad other technology companies products...it would be strange to do otherwise...they each have their strengths. I would as much "support" a multi-billion dollar tech corporation as I would "support" a detergent brand. "
@Tes I'm not emotional about this, I don't consider saying 'people don't give a shit' to be swearing, but I'm really sorry if you're offended by my wording. My experience is that hyperbole is the only form of rhethoric that seems to get through on teh interwebs.
That said, the only point I want to make is that in all the iPad related posts I've seen of you, you keep coming up with all kinds of reservations you have about the thing, all the stuff it doesn't do, how Apple is screwing the whole world over by making you buy adapters or not allowing this or that on it, it's all only negative stuff. It appears you don't need or want an iPad and/or don't appreciate its qualities, you know, the things it excels at, the things it was _designed for_. That doesn't matter, but please stop recycling the same old arguments I see everywhere on every tech site over and over again. Just accept the fact that there is a market for devices that are easy, instant-on, excel at a few tasks, allow convenient usage patterns that other devices can't match, but doesn't do everything a laptop does. An SD slot on every iPad really _is_ a bad idea, since it adds to the cost, it puts extra holes in the case, and nearly no-one will ever really _need_ it anyway. It doesn't limit the possibilities of the device in any way. Same goes for USB ports: what would you want to use them for anyway? A printer? Mouse? It serves little to no purpose on a tablet that's primarely a media delivery device.
Well if read any other than iPad related news yesterday I was accused of being an Apple lover or something to that effect for pointing out no one would be able to touch it in terms of battery life. On another post about tablets I talk about the fact Apple didn't simply make the mistake of trying to cludge a full desktop OS on it and that's why their beating the competition...basically I make comments relevant to the topic or the comment I'm replying to. I'm not one of these weird types that takes every criticism of a company they have zero relation to as a personal slight. Try objectivity for a change. I've been accused of being an Apple fanboy as well as hater in the same week by the sort of rabid idiot that takes brand loyalty to the stupidest levels.
Yawn.. at least until it's put through a review. Still not a believer in a full blown Win7 tablet actually being accepted widely.. no matter how many wish it so.
It's crazy stuff, the market for those who want a tablet that takes 20 seconds to boot, needs to be running AV and personal firewalls and spends half it's life telling you it's patching itself is miniscule.
What's the 'real world' performance difference between, say, the atom 330 and the z530 in this? Any word on the graphics capabilities of this thing (1080p offloading etc)?
@sim888 All Intel Silverthorne Z5xx processors come with the GMA500, which for all intents and purposes is much better than the GMA950, but it needs some serious driver work done. It has hardware decoding of H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, and WMV9 formats, and can play full 1080p content flawlessly. Now the difference between an Atom N330 and the Z530 is almost night and day horsepower wise. But the real kicker is that the Z530 only uses 2.4w of power, and the SCH+CPU uses just under 5w total. Those are amazing numbers for something that can fully run Windows 7, play 1080p HD, Aero, etc... This is coming from experience, as I own a Viliv S5. The only weak point of the Poulsbo Chipset is it's internal storage connection... Poulsbo features 0 (!) SATA lanes, only PATA, because it's more power efficient when the HDD/SSD is being heavily paged.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
posted June 1st 2010 4:04AM
*like*
@2her0ck, seriously a great job LG! but would had preferred 2GB RAM, 2mp Cam and a better processor...
Yesss!!! Bring on the Win7 Tablet options!!
ONT of these has to be in my hands soon..
Do you think intel still locked maximum tam ram to 2 gb ?, if not I will upgrade to 4gb with cheap price.
YES YES YES YES
@2her0ck Does that girl in the pictures ship with the tablet?
@Techno1q I hope she does!
@2her0ck
But 850 grams is a LOT! Don't want to hold that for a long time.
@2her0ck
What do you like exactly?
There are several faults on this machine that never is going to work, mainly Windows 7 and its desktop GUI, but there's also the widescreen display (not nice for reading), the slim bezel which makes it impossible to hold properly and the sluggish performance judging from the specs.
@Lundmark If the specs are better then the iPad's then its a WIN!
@2her0ck
Well no. It's about the user experience and judging from other netbooks with similar specs and OS, this aint gonna be good.
@2her0ck
Better Specs don't = WIN.....
@Lundmark
You can change the orientation at a flick, unlike the iPad, its a real OS - you can get it do whatever YOU WANT it to do.
@2her0ck
Like it too, but in the last year I have seen 1000s of tablets I would happily buy and not a single one of the batch has made it to the market.
Actually is not even possible to buy a decently specced convertible netbook (with ion graphics, w7 premium, and HDMI out).
I hope that at least I'll be able to waste some money on a Dell Streak before the summer or I am gonna be seriously disappointed.
@2her0ck
Uhh, no its not. Just because a tablet has dual core xion 24Ghz Processor, does not make it better.
Put together the BEST hardware tablet in the world, with 10 GB of RAM and XYZ Processor, but all the hardware means NOTHING if the damn thing is not gonna work properly or have too battery life.
Sorry, but so far EVERY tablet that has shown and has come on the market (not the laptop tablets, but a tablet-tablet) has had a GOOD processor, USB, HDMI, etc etc. Those are all GOOD usable features, but where these tablets failed is NOT the hardware, but the software and its capabilities.
What is a tablet good for if its got 3 hrs battery life?
What is a tablet good for if the touch response is slugish?
When it comes to a laptop, YES, hardware will win.
When it comes to a home PC, YES, hardware will win.
If the damn thing is a portable device, you better have good software/OS on it. Look at the damn JooJoo. Good hardware, but crappy a$$ software...
@kasser - SERIOUSLY... THIS! People go on and on about how Win 7 is less user friendly for tablets. Its a full OS, you can download any UI you want to sit on top of windows or even build your own.
@abedinthehouse
Still dreaming about Windows 7 tablets, are we? I thought HP made it clear that even they're not stupid enough to throw away money on a pipe dream. If the HP Slate (or any Windows 7 slate) was even halfway amenable to consumers it would have been in consumers hands by now.
@MosesusedaniPad: HP's tm2 makes the iPad look like a joke. Of course, that particular tablet also converts into a laptop, and also has a Wacom digitizer built into it.
Then again, I guess I really shouldn't be comparing apples to computers...
Capacity touch screen? Pretty sure you mean capacitive
@Jordo1234 Maybe some chinglish creeping in here?
@Jordo1234 Maybe its gonna hold stuff, like extra batteries or candy!
@Air2ground
ooooh! Candy, mmmm.. lets hope so.
why was the prototype on the floor?
You put 7200mAh, when the info. in the image itself says 7500mAh.
@Elliot Bridgewater both of em are big enough, I think.
all the tablets have the same design
@iamcriss
Is this a joke?
@Tes
they all look the same
@Tes
they all look the same
@iamcriss You are not the most observant kid in the neighborhood, are you?
@Techno1q
haha its my opinion to me they all look the same
have the same design but some are better than others
i personally prefer the ipad
Recessed headphone jack? Seriously? Come on, haven't we learned?
@pika2000
Yes...they have learned that they can make people buy adapters to achieve that which should be achievable out of the box. There's a certain leading company in this field that is the master, why wouldn't you copy them?
@Tes Yes, and is that company still doing it? Is that company still making products with that idea? :rolleyes:
@pika2000
Try plugging an SD card into "that companies" new product without an adapter and you'll get the idea.
@Tes I see how you do it, changing the subject. Let me ask you the question again, is that company still making products with recessed headphone jack?
@pika2000
"...they have learned that they can make people buy adapters to achieve that which should be achievable out of the box"
Seeing as it was a GENERAL comment on achieving tasks via dongles/adapters, how have I changed the subject? You can nitpick all you want but it's the same practice. You can't say "oh they've moved on from one peripheral to a totally separate peripheral so it's OK" like that makes any sense.
@Tes
It doesn't matter how many ports 'this particular company' would add and you'd still be coming up with examples of ports and adapters to prove your point. Meanwhile, the rest of the world doesn't give a rats ass about an integrated SD card reader on their tablet. Maybe only 1 out of a 100 people have a use for it and the other 99 prefer a device that doesn't have all kinds of different holes all around that they'll never use. The 1 guy that actually needs SD to put photo's on his iPad can just buy the camera kit for the whole whopping $20 (wow, insane).
I get it that you prefer 3xUSB, SD, HDMI, DVI, VGA, headphone, mic, ethernet and kensington lock holes on your tablet, but most of us don't give a shit.
@Tes
I know where you're argument is going, but that's not my point. We are arguing about 2 similar but different thing.
The 1st iPhone has a recessed headphone jack. The fact that it has a headphone jack implied compatibility with any headphones, but the fact it is being recessed denied that.
The iPad doesn't even have nor advertised to have an SD card slot. When you bought an iPad, you know it doesn't have an SD card slot. When you bought the 1st gen iPhone, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and you would expect it to work with any 3.5mm jack, yet it didn't.
It would be the same train of thought if Apple put in an SD card slot on the iPad, but the slot is too thin for some SD cards to work.
@drange
What's with the swaering and emotion...it's consumer electronics. Grow up and calm down
@pika2000
Fair point. I believe that applies here...you would assume you could plug any 3.5 headphone into the jack. I also assume you could plug in any of those thin type 3.5 jacks that are now popular (again, everyone else taking design cues from Apple, although this is one design I really like) but I'm looking at the overall motivation here. It seems to compete companies are attempting to nickel and dime the consumer by charging for all manner of minutia for every port you may use.
@drange
And before you start a whole story on the merits of SD cards or USB ports: the iPad has WiFi and BT, and it was never intended to replace PC's in the first place. So the vast majority of iPad users will just use their PC and WiFi to get/put stuff from/to their PC, no USB or SD necessary.
@drange
"And before you start a whole story on the merits of SD cards or USB ports"
Again...calm yourself. This whole "supporting" a corporation thing is strange...don't you get that? It's weird. Like sniffing ladies underwear weird. Like, having awkward feelings towards your own mother weird. Stop it. It's not endearing.
I own Apple tech, as well as MS, Samsung, Philips, Nokia, HTC and a myriad other technology companies products...it would be strange to do otherwise...they each have their strengths. I would as much "support" a multi-billion dollar tech corporation as I would "support" a detergent brand. "
@Tes
I'm not emotional about this, I don't consider saying 'people don't give a shit' to be swearing, but I'm really sorry if you're offended by my wording. My experience is that hyperbole is the only form of rhethoric that seems to get through on teh interwebs.
That said, the only point I want to make is that in all the iPad related posts I've seen of you, you keep coming up with all kinds of reservations you have about the thing, all the stuff it doesn't do, how Apple is screwing the whole world over by making you buy adapters or not allowing this or that on it, it's all only negative stuff. It appears you don't need or want an iPad and/or don't appreciate its qualities, you know, the things it excels at, the things it was _designed for_. That doesn't matter, but please stop recycling the same old arguments I see everywhere on every tech site over and over again. Just accept the fact that there is a market for devices that are easy, instant-on, excel at a few tasks, allow convenient usage patterns that other devices can't match, but doesn't do everything a laptop does. An SD slot on every iPad really _is_ a bad idea, since it adds to the cost, it puts extra holes in the case, and nearly no-one will ever really _need_ it anyway. It doesn't limit the possibilities of the device in any way. Same goes for USB ports: what would you want to use them for anyway? A printer? Mouse? It serves little to no purpose on a tablet that's primarely a media delivery device.
@drange
Well if read any other than iPad related news yesterday I was accused of being an Apple lover or something to that effect for pointing out no one would be able to touch it in terms of battery life. On another post about tablets I talk about the fact Apple didn't simply make the mistake of trying to cludge a full desktop OS on it and that's why their beating the competition...basically I make comments relevant to the topic or the comment I'm replying to. I'm not one of these weird types that takes every criticism of a company they have zero relation to as a personal slight. Try objectivity for a change. I've been accused of being an Apple fanboy as well as hater in the same week by the sort of rabid idiot that takes brand loyalty to the stupidest levels.
@Tes Just because someone has a different opinion than you doesn't mean they aren't calm. The only angst I have been reading has been coming from you.
Yawn.. at least until it's put through a review. Still not a believer in a full blown Win7 tablet actually being accepted widely.. no matter how many wish it so.
It's crazy stuff, the market for those who want a tablet that takes 20 seconds to boot, needs to be running AV and personal firewalls and spends half it's life telling you it's patching itself is miniscule.
@hmmmm
20 seconds to boot? You must be dreaming. ;-)
What's the 'real world' performance difference between, say, the atom 330 and the z530 in this? Any word on the graphics capabilities of this thing (1080p offloading etc)?
@sim888
All Intel Silverthorne Z5xx processors come with the GMA500, which for all intents and purposes is much better than the GMA950, but it needs some serious driver work done. It has hardware decoding of H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, and WMV9 formats, and can play full 1080p content flawlessly. Now the difference between an Atom N330 and the Z530 is almost night and day horsepower wise. But the real kicker is that the Z530 only uses 2.4w of power, and the SCH+CPU uses just under 5w total. Those are amazing numbers for something that can fully run Windows 7, play 1080p HD, Aero, etc... This is coming from experience, as I own a Viliv S5. The only weak point of the Poulsbo Chipset is it's internal storage connection... Poulsbo features 0 (!) SATA lanes, only PATA, because it's more power efficient when the HDD/SSD is being heavily paged.
@Cyberdyne Systems
Good info, thanks !