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.
They had me til' I saw the words "Intel Atom". From my experiences, Atom almost always = heat (not something I can put up with, since I've got to constantly be holding the device).
This girl in the video said the touch layer cannot be teste yet... Well, I think that's the most basic thing about the tablet and you should start with it. Not leave it for the end.
It's so funny to see those tablets having 1 GB of RAM, 2GB of RAM and still struggling to make a snappy interface. iPad has 256 Mb. At least 4 times less. That makes me laugh at other companies, they are so much behind Apple...
Exactly. That's what happens when the software people are in constant communication with the hardware people... something only Apple is able to do because they design the hardware *and* the software.
Do you think the brilliant minds at LG had any contact with Microsoft while making this tablet?
Hell no. LG took some mediocre netbook hardware ... slapped a touchscreen on it... grabbed a copy of Windows 7 off the shelf... and prayed that it'll work.
Both you and Michael Scrip are trolling. Either that or both are completely dense as stone.
You're comparing devices designed for very different uses with an OS intended for very different uses. The iPad is an almost pure consumption device. Tablets with full OS are meant to be full productivity devices.
Which do you think is harder? Making a stripped down media player or making a functioning production level device?
Sayign that, Win 7 tablets are not my cup of tea. I'm in the camp that a mobile OS should be used, but let's get some perspective when commenting shall we?
I'm not trolling... I was agreeing with rybek. He said these Windows tablets have 4 times as much RAM as the iPad... yet the iPad's interface is snappier.
Why is that? I said it was because the iPad's hardware was designed with the iPhone OS software in mind. And that's why the iPad works so smoothly.
It doesn't matter what the tablet is for... whether it's a consumption device or a productivity device. These Atom-based tablets run like shit with Windows 7. Makes you wonder if that's why HP killed the Slate to possibly make a WebOS device.
I dunno... is this how *all* Atom-based Windows tablet are gonna be in the near future? Has there been one Windows tablet that you said "that's the greatest thing ever!"
The iPad may be a "toy" or just a big iPod Touch... but it does what it's supposed to do. And it's shipping.
We're seeing a ton of these Windows 7 tablets at Computex... and none of them work! They are just product demos... many of which will never see the light of day.
I'm with you... I feel that a mobile OS is better on tablets like these. But please don't call me "dense as stone." I'm entitled to my opinion just like you are.
@ounkeo Tablet is supposed to be a productivity device? It's very funny actually. Do you imagine a productivity device based on atom processor? Do you think word processing, movie making or programming will be easier on tablet than on computer? No. Tablets are supposed to be a consumer device and that's their only future.
WRONG. Who do you think has been buying pretty much ALL windows tablets for the past several years all the way to this day? Business users...
High end tablet makers such as Viliv or Motion Computing that put real processors into their tablets, and have usefult things like ports, and pressure sensitivity are aimed directly at businesses not consumers. You can argue all day about the pros of laptops over tablets. But someone can just as easily argue the pros of a desktop over a laptop. And the fact remains, that something is only as useful as it applies to you specific usage model. If you use your tablet with applications like Windows Journal, MS OneNote, or Photoshop/Corel, a laptop or desktop will NEVER be an apporpriate replacement.
If tablets becomes the new computing paradigm, which they are shaping up to be, Intel & Microsoft have not choice but to go all in, to be part of it.
However, getting excited about Windows 7 on tablets is like getting excited about WinMo 6 on smartphones: sure there is a nice touch façade, but it you dig deep enough you still encounter Windows, with all its complexity, menus, processing overhead, maintenance, etc.
Microsoft needs a "pure" touch computing OS for tablets. Perhaps, Windows Phone 7 will be that OS, perhaps not.
Tablet devices, as demonstrated by Apple's iPad, need to be: - simple & intuitive - touch-optimized - low/no maintenance - instant/always on - very responsive - low cost (OLPC is shooting for
@lord voldemort From www.ifixit.com "Decoding the part number shows there is 2Gb of memory inside. This translates into ~128MB of memory per die, for 256 MB total. (NOT 512MB, as we previously reported.)"
how serious is M$ to show a heavy netbook with under powered z530 and power demanding windows 7, besides the fact that windows 7 isnt finger friendly? how hard is it to use a different shell/theme?
@htd How hard is it to stop saying "M$"? I guess it depends on POV, whether you think it's underpowered or not, and if you think that, you really are NOT being forced to buy it.
Until Microsoft Makes a MAJOR change in thier thinking on Mobile devices windows Based Tablets (and smartphones) will fail, You Cannot Use a Desktop Operating system in a Mobile enviroment PERIOD!!
After handling netbook running Atom+Windows 7, it's clear that it can work just fine. Preferably w/ 2GB, but the addition of a Z-series processor is a plus. But it's all moot since they write: "they did affirm that the device will ... ship to consumers at some point in the future."
In other words, more worthless Tease-ware that isn't headed for the market anytime soon.
I don't do Apple, but clearly they're only manufacturer w/ the balls to announce a major product and then provide a realistic arrival date.
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posted June 1st 2010 4:04AM
@Cyberdyne Systems Awesome, thanks for the info, appreciated!
They had me til' I saw the words "Intel Atom". From my experiences, Atom almost always = heat (not something I can put up with, since I've got to constantly be holding the device).
@TheEminent1 I would nout touch an Atom with a 6 foot pole, no matter how hot it was.
@mackenziepricee AGREED!!!
front facing camera = win
Sorpreso!
For what i can see so far, this is just an 10" external display/digital picture Frame showing a Picture of an Windows 7 running desktop computer....
@iRACK forgot to mention that it needs power supply from external power source to to so.
This girl in the video said the touch layer cannot be teste yet... Well, I think that's the most basic thing about the tablet and you should start with it. Not leave it for the end.
It's so funny to see those tablets having 1 GB of RAM, 2GB of RAM and still struggling to make a snappy interface. iPad has 256 Mb. At least 4 times less. That makes me laugh at other companies, they are so much behind Apple...
@rybek
Exactly. That's what happens when the software people are in constant communication with the hardware people... something only Apple is able to do because they design the hardware *and* the software.
Do you think the brilliant minds at LG had any contact with Microsoft while making this tablet?
Hell no. LG took some mediocre netbook hardware ... slapped a touchscreen on it... grabbed a copy of Windows 7 off the shelf... and prayed that it'll work.
@rybek
Both you and Michael Scrip are trolling. Either that or both are completely dense as stone.
You're comparing devices designed for very different uses with an OS intended for very different uses. The iPad is an almost pure consumption device. Tablets with full OS are meant to be full productivity devices.
Which do you think is harder? Making a stripped down media player or making a functioning production level device?
Sayign that, Win 7 tablets are not my cup of tea. I'm in the camp that a mobile OS should be used, but let's get some perspective when commenting shall we?
@ounkeo
I'm not trolling... I was agreeing with rybek. He said these Windows tablets have 4 times as much RAM as the iPad... yet the iPad's interface is snappier.
Why is that? I said it was because the iPad's hardware was designed with the iPhone OS software in mind. And that's why the iPad works so smoothly.
It doesn't matter what the tablet is for... whether it's a consumption device or a productivity device. These Atom-based tablets run like shit with Windows 7. Makes you wonder if that's why HP killed the Slate to possibly make a WebOS device.
I dunno... is this how *all* Atom-based Windows tablet are gonna be in the near future? Has there been one Windows tablet that you said "that's the greatest thing ever!"
The iPad may be a "toy" or just a big iPod Touch... but it does what it's supposed to do. And it's shipping.
We're seeing a ton of these Windows 7 tablets at Computex... and none of them work! They are just product demos... many of which will never see the light of day.
I'm with you... I feel that a mobile OS is better on tablets like these. But please don't call me "dense as stone." I'm entitled to my opinion just like you are.
@ounkeo Tablet is supposed to be a productivity device? It's very funny actually. Do you imagine a productivity device based on atom processor? Do you think word processing, movie making or programming will be easier on tablet than on computer? No. Tablets are supposed to be a consumer device and that's their only future.
@rybek
WRONG. Who do you think has been buying pretty much ALL windows tablets for the past several years all the way to this day? Business users...
High end tablet makers such as Viliv or Motion Computing that put real processors into their tablets, and have usefult things like ports, and pressure sensitivity are aimed directly at businesses not consumers. You can argue all day about the pros of laptops over tablets. But someone can just as easily argue the pros of a desktop over a laptop. And the fact remains, that something is only as useful as it applies to you specific usage model. If you use your tablet with applications like Windows Journal, MS OneNote, or Photoshop/Corel, a laptop or desktop will NEVER be an apporpriate replacement.
@Luxury Guy "Who do you think has been buying pretty much ALL windows tablets for the past several years all the way to this day?"
You mean the same windows tablets that barely sold to begin with?
More iPads sold in two months than all tablet PC's combined, could not muster in one year.
Apparently the business market isn't that sweet a peach for tablet computers.
You talk about Viliv and Motion, but what are they doing in the market? Nothing, that's what. Their approach is a marketing dead-end.
PixelQi please... THX!
If tablets becomes the new computing paradigm, which they are shaping up to be, Intel & Microsoft have not choice but to go all in, to be part of it.
However, getting excited about Windows 7 on tablets is like getting excited about WinMo 6 on smartphones: sure there is a nice touch façade, but it you dig deep enough you still encounter Windows, with all its complexity, menus, processing overhead, maintenance, etc.
Microsoft needs a "pure" touch computing OS for tablets. Perhaps, Windows Phone 7 will be that OS, perhaps not.
Tablet devices, as demonstrated by Apple's iPad, need to be:
- simple & intuitive
- touch-optimized
- low/no maintenance
- instant/always on
- very responsive
- low cost (OLPC is shooting for
@rybek ipad has 512 MB ram please check before posting
@lord voldemort From www.ifixit.com "Decoding the part number shows there is 2Gb of memory inside. This translates into ~128MB of memory per die, for 256 MB total. (NOT 512MB, as we previously reported.)"
Maybe you should read more precisely.
If you see a tablet with win7 they blew it
Only 1GB of ram for Windows 7...LOL. My netbook struggles to use Windows 7 with 2GB, I can't imagine this tablet will be very usable.
Fail
how serious is M$ to show a heavy netbook with under powered z530 and power demanding windows 7, besides the fact that windows 7 isnt finger friendly? how hard is it to use a different shell/theme?
@htd
How hard is it to stop saying "M$"? I guess it depends on POV, whether you think it's underpowered or not, and if you think that, you really are NOT being forced to buy it.
Looks quite nice I guess. A bit plasticy, but I suppose it is LG after all.
Why do all the screenshots show 9:14am. Looks like a true non-working prototype.
Enough with Prototypes and Mockups. Just release them already.
I don't think Microsoft has anything to do with these tablets except for the OS.
Until Microsoft Makes a MAJOR change in thier thinking on Mobile devices windows Based Tablets (and smartphones) will fail, You Cannot Use a Desktop Operating system in a Mobile enviroment PERIOD!!
7200 mAh battery = awesome, wish more tablets had this.
i would say it needs more RAM. atleast 2gb if its running Home Premium. 1gb is not enough.
I wish we could have Win7 on the Moorestown tablet!!
Good to know there's going to be a ton of Windows 7 slates to choose from:
ExoPC
Asus
MSI
LG
iiView
Archos
HP??
Freedom and choice are wonderful things.
After handling netbook running Atom+Windows 7, it's clear that it can work just fine. Preferably w/ 2GB, but the addition of a Z-series processor is a plus.
But it's all moot since they write: "they did affirm that the device will ... ship to consumers at some point in the future."
In other words, more worthless Tease-ware that isn't headed for the market anytime soon.
I don't do Apple, but clearly they're only manufacturer w/ the balls to announce a major product and then provide a realistic arrival date.