My dream tablet

[Ricowan]

Been reading posts about upcoming Android tablets and, frankly, I'm becoming disillusioned. So, for my first post here, I'd like to list out the specs of what I want.

- 10" widescreen
- capacitive multitouch
- Minimum of 720p, preferably 1080p
(Specifically, 1280x720 or 1920x1080 pixels)
- Vanilla Android 2.2 or better
- 16bg internal memory, sdcard slot for external
- WIFI, I don't need it to be attached to a carrier, that's what my Droid X is for.

Is this too much to ask? I don't need a camera, front or rear. I just want a light, portable tablet to use around the house on my existing WIFI network, running Android without any bells or whistles.

 

[gurgle]

Honestly, at this moment, it is not available for sale .... YET. There are units demo'd that fit your bill. but think of the analogy of compressing PC advances from 20 years into a one year window. The first generation Android tablets are less than two years old. As a default, there will be WiFi on every unit. There has to be some type of network connectivity. Search on my posts and you will see a similar dream request post. What is coming will be impressive. What is available NOW ranges from old technology for Android to things that look good but have some issues.

I would recommend to be patient. Anything you buy today will look outdated in six months.

Just my opinion though.

 

[gadgetrants]

Been reading posts about upcoming Android tablets and, frankly, I'm becoming disillusioned. So, for my first post here, I'd like to list out the specs of what I want.

- 10" widescreen
- capacitive multitouch
- Minimum of 720p, preferably 1080p
(Specifically, 1280x720 or 1920x1080 pixels)
- Vanilla Android 2.2 or better
- 16bg internal memory, sdcard slot for external
- WIFI, I don't need it to be attached to a carrier, that's what my Droid X is for.

Is this too much to ask? I don't need a camera, front or rear. I just want a light, portable tablet to use around the house on my existing WIFI network, running Android without any bells or whistles.

I like your preference list, and other than WiFi, tend to agree with most of it. Problem is, the "forces" driving tablet design right now are a bit...how can I put this..."irrational"?

I think a fairly simple take on the market at the moment is that PC makers puttered around for a few years trying to convince us to buy tablet-PCs. Didn't really work. Then along comes Steve Jobs, the iPad project, and voila. Now we all want iPad-like tablets.

Of course, none of us want the exact same device. And Android-phone owners are pretty individualistic and self-sufficient (I have the original Droid)...we don't mind tinkering with our toys a little under the hood, and don't mind if our devices need a little bit of attention to get working the way we like. Unfortunately, we are experiencing a FLOOD of me-too tablets right now, all hoping to benefit from the poor-man's iPod phenomenon: sell something with an open-source OS, at 25%-30% the price of the iPad, and catch those of us who are impatient and willing to hop on a low-end product.

In many ways, this reminds me of the first year or so of Asus netbooks. MSI. Acer. Then Lenovo, Dell, HP...etc. Lots and lots of duplication. Same internal design, same specs. If a similar trend plays out with tablets, then early next year I think the market will start to diversify more, and we'll see tablets like the one you dream of buying. Or more specifically, options for configuring one exactly the way you want it!

-Matt

 

[kevinbuy]

Your dream tablet seems too ordinary!

 

[charliebrown408]

Honestly, our dream is also the tablet pc..
It provides the touch pad , i like it..

 

[Skepsis]

I guess I am waiting for a 'phone' with a large screen.

For me the anticipated Notion Ink Adam fits the bill and more with the Pixel QI screen.

I want the compass and accelerometer, GPS and camera to take full advantage of the world around the tablet.

It allows the full freedom of a phone in town and out with a larger screen, all it needs is to be water proof

 

[Ricowan]

Oh, I've been really patient. I've been playing with tablets since way back in the day with a couple GridPads (386 running Windows 3.1). Since then, tablets have either been too expensive or too feature sparse so I've been waiting and waiting. I still have those GridPads, by the way. I'm pretty excited about Android tablet possibilities; I guess I just don't understand why manufacturers have been so slow to bring out some different options.

For kevinbuy: If it's so ordinary, why can't I buy one? LOL I don't want any phone features in a tablet, that's what my friggin phone is for! I also don't want a keyboard for my PC with a track pad on it, that's what the mouse is for! Etc. Multitaskers have their place, I just don't think that place is a phone and tablet. My Droid X is the biggest I'd ever what a phone to be. I want to be able to read ebooks and magazines, play the occasional casual game, surf the web, maybe IM occasionally; all on a light weight tablet with a 10+ inch screen. Something to carry around in the house. That's all.

I thought of a couple more requirements:
- Bluetooth and RF transcievers so I can use the thing as a universal remote control.
- Standard USB plug!!!
- Android Market (this is a given if it has vanilla Android, but I thought I'd call it out anyway)

 

[gadgetrants]

This discussion has me thinking...and feeling a bit "contrary" again. Though I don't see anyone mention it, why put "HDMI out" on the feature list?

At first glance, of course it's a feature I'd love: you're at a friend's house, whip out the phone/tablet, he pulls out the HDMI cable (this is starting to sound a bit kinky, sorry!), and you show your home videos, latest pictures, whatever.

That sounds great, in principle. But I seriously doubt I would actually do something like that more than 2-3 times a year. Cool feature, but not one I'd use very often. It's kind of the equivalent of "he travels with photo albums" scenario. Really, who DOES that? A few quick pictures sure, but a whole album? After 5 minutes your friend's eyes will glaze over.

Another potential scenario is the "tablet-as-HD-media-player" option. Think about it: again you're at a friend's house, you have the latest Blu-ray 1080p rip, and you hook up to his giant TV.

But come on. If he's got that TV, there is a 100% chance that he already has some type of media center...HTPC, WDTV, PS3, cable/satellite, etc. The odds that the movie on your tablet is something you couldn't access some other way is slim to none.

That's my thinking out loud anyway. Very cool feature...but would I really use it?

-Matt

 

[Ricowan]

You're right, and HDMI output isn't on my feature list. I don't need it, don't want the extra cost of having it (that hardware has to add to the price of the tablet, doesn't it?) so give me the option. That and a few other things are why I'm not all that excited about the Adam, even though it is the closest so far to what I'm looking for.

 

[Ketsuban]

I think you'll be waiting a while for that screen size, but you might look at the Malata A1011 or the Advent Vega (at Dixons in the UK for £250, don't know how to get it elsewhere).

 

[wynalazca]

Besides the screen res and on-board memory, the Adam is the best option of devices that match the other specs. If the Malata A1011 (Flat Computing's Flatpad A10T in the US) had a FF camera, I'd be really tempted to get one. The price is nice at $465 ($395 if pre-order) and the site says it's going to ship this month. Needless to say, I will be waiting for the Adam. Current speculation from their recent blog posts make me think it will ship by Christmas.

 

[ufearme3]

Google "Notion Ink Adam Tablet"

 

[jcollardx001]

I've been watching NotionInk since January 9th, when I saw the first youtube video of the Adam. Over the last several months, I have become quite the expert on all the different specs for the knock offs. Recently, several mainline vendors have showcased some interesting products. Nothing hits the sweet spot yet, but some pretty tempting lures.

Samsung - Galaxy Tab is $599 US (locally) for a 7" tablet, maybe better IF I buy a $480 yearly contract for 3G.
Archos 101 - Seems interesting, but the research tells me, if I have problems, then don't expect anything to get fixed in the version I buy
FlatPad A10T - Sold out, for the second time, now need to wait until January (anybody got a review)?
HeroTab M10 - Looking good, But no bluetooth. First production version I've seen based on the Freescale reference model/CPU - Again, would like to see a review
And of course, getting back to the Adam. The machine that states it has everything I want. No set release date, no pricing.

 

[Ricowan]

There has been some news about the Adam recently: pre-orders will be available starting in December and it will have 20 apps that have been written specifically to take advantage of the larger screen resolution (email, calendar, etc.). Earlier news is that pricing will be $399 for the base model (WiFi and basic LCD screen), $449 to upgrade to either 3G or the Pixel Qi screen, and $498 for both upgrades. WiFi is standard on all three price options. This is all from the Tablets Planet site.

I'm perfectly content to wait for the 2nd gen Android tablets; official Google support of the OS on a tablet is very important to me, so Gingerbread has to be installed, at a minimum.