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SmartQ R7 e-reader boasts 3G, touchscreen LCD, magazine service and IPTV (video)
Late to the touchscreen MID party, Chinese manufacturer SmartQ was determined not to miss another opportunity. That's why it spent the month of April touting its new R7 e-reader as -- you guessed it -- the iPad killer. With the same ol' 600MHz ARM11 and 256MB of RAM inside as its ho-hum MIDs, that claim's quite a stretch, but our cohorts at Engadget Chinese actually found the Ubuntu-powered 7-inch SVGA touchscreen device moderately capable in a recent hands-on. Like fellow PMP / e-Reader the Onda VX560, the device supports 1080p in most every video format under the sun, reads e-books (PDF, EPUB and CHM), and has an optional USB 3G modem for on-the-go capability. Ubuntu standbys Midori and Pidgin handle web browsing and IM, respectively, and it can even stream live video and purchase Chinese magazines through SmartQ's services. Sluggish as it might be, for $1,680 RMB (about $250) we'd say that's a pretty respectable featureset. Video after the break, specs and hands-on pics at our source links.
ICD's Tegra 2-toting Gemini tested, briefly enjoyed
It's only been a single day since the Tegra 2-powered ICD Gemini promised us a world in which tablet PCs could magically make calls, sport webcams and play Flash content (yes, we're still a bit sore about that), but somehow one man has already managed to get his hands on a prototype of the wannabe iPad killer. The verdict? "Blisteringly fast," according to Stuff.tv, albeit buggy and thoroughly unready for market. The website liberally praised the large, 11.2-inch screen for superb color and detail even as it found the resistive touch controls sluggish, and was blown away by how quickly the 1GHz Tegra 2 dealt with web browsing on Android OS. Sadly, it seems there wasn't time to get Hulu running on the device, and important features (including those webcams) weren't working on this early prototype. But don't worry, the publication says the feature-packed slate won't even hit the company's native UK until August, when ICD expects carrier deals to be signed. Now, Stuff, assuming you haven't returned that shiny tablet -- how about you shoot us some video?
