Smartbooks

As bookstores and the printing industry continue to compete with e-books and e-readers, one publishing company  has come up with an alternative strategy by using new media to their advantage. Atria will publish the first print book to be outfitted with a smart chip, one that is read by smartphones and will offer additional information [...]

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Video courtesy of lordfingle

I’ve been using an Asus Eee PC MT91A (multitouch convertible netbook) running Windows 7 for about 9 months now. And, as I’ve noted here before, the touch experience on this netbook can only be described as horrible. Windows 7 is simply not touch friendly. And, even if it were, software are not touch friendly either (and why should they since they were designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse). I’m not the only one with this opinion. Check out the video above which is discussed at some length in the 52 Tiger blog.

Windows 7 tablet vs. iPad

I should note that the Windows 7 tablet computer used in the video demo is running orders of magnitude faster than the Atom Z520 powered Asus Eee PC MT91A. However, the tablet demonstrated is apparently some as yet unreleased device prototype.

There’s been a bunch of previews and reviews of the smaller-than-a-netbook Viliv N5 since CES. The N5 is a sub-one-pound micro-netbook that looks a lot like the Windows CE based Handheld PCs from a decade ago. The N5, however, runs Windows 7.

Laptop Mag: Viliv N5 Hands-On: The Power of a Netbook in the Palm of Your Hand

Pocketables: Review: Viliv N5

Liliputing: Viliv N5 handheld mini-notebook now shipping in the US

Liliputing notes that the N5 is shipping in the US. However, the supplier is Dynamism who is a well-known importer of hard to find devices. So, you probably won’t see the N5 anywhere except in the hands of a few enthusiasts. And, at $649 (WiFi) and $799 (3G), you probably won’t see many of them being purchased (it is not an iPad, after all .

My point is this: These kind of devices demonstrate there must be interest (if not demand) for a sub-netbook sized computer with a physical keyboard. Microsoft should stop trying to lead by following the iPad/tablet/slate trend and re-invent the Handheld PC form factor. I thought it was a great form factor and tool back in 2000. It could be even better in 2010. But, please don’t build it using the slow-booting, touch-unfriendly Windows 7. Take a look at Windows CE, Microsoft! You’ve had it on the market since 1996. It is an instant-on/instant-off(suspend) platform with experienced developers ready to build touch friendly apps. And, oh yes, physical keyboards are a good thing.

Microsoft announced the Tablet PC way back in 2001. It was an intriguing Windows-based product concept that was slow and expensive. In 2006, Microsoft announced the UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC, AKA Project Origami) that was an intriguing touch based PC running Windows. The UMPC was supposed to be priced around $500. However, manufacturers tended to price it well over $1200. In addition to being expensive, it was also very slow. It is now 2010 and we learn from ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley that:

Microsoft’s Ballmer: Windows 7 slates are coming this year

This is, I believe, a serious mistake. Windows 7′s Tablet PC interface may provide a reasonable stylus based environment. However, it does not have any significant touch based interface based on my use of Asus Eee PC T91MT (multi-touch) netbook since late last year. If Microsoft provides a special touch interface for these Windows 7 based tablets, the vast majority of Windows applications will still not be touch friendly. Microsoft should look to Windows CE to create a fast relatively inexpensive tablet platform. In my experience the Eee PC T91MT running Windows 7 Home Premium is, you guessed it, too slow and expensive.

Image courtesy of Intel

MeeGo is the Linux-based mobile device platform that was created by merging Intel’s Moblin project with Nokia’s Maemo (both also Linux based). I installed MeeGo on a netbook and used it for a week (leaving my iPad behind) and wrote about my impressions of the experience last month.

MeeGo 1.0 on an Acer Aspire One Netbook: Initial Impressions

I found it interesting but ultimately unsatisfying experience. Could it be that MeeGo is simply more suitable for a touch screen device? We may find this out soon as Intel announced that:

MeeGo Handset Code Unveiled for Developers

This release includes the MeeGo Touch UI framework. If a future end-user release supports the Asus Eee PC T91MT (multi-touch) netbook, I’ll give it another try.

If you can remember as far back as early 2008, the netbooks back then only shipped with variants of Linux. Microsoft Windows became available by the summer of 2008. But, Linux essentially blew its early lead and never recovered. But, as a long time UNIX/Linux user, my first netbook (the 1st generation Acer Aspire One) came with Linpus Linux Lite pre-installed. And, this netbook has had a variety of Linux distros installed on it since then: Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Moblin, and MeeGo. However, while all of these mobile platforms based on Linux work on Atom powered netbooks, none of them are work on netbooks with touchscreens or tablets (MeeGo has has a release for the ARM-based Nokia N900, however).

Now, however, Canonical, the company behind the relatively successful Ubuntu Linux distro, is now developing a tablet version of their platform.

Canonical developing Ubuntu OS for tablets

An Ubuntu Linux for tablet computers has a huge competitor blockings its way to adoption and success. And, no, I’m not speaking of the iPad. Ubuntu’s main competitor in the tablet space is another Linux based mobile platform: Android. Android has a huge headstart and more than a small amount of success with smartphones. I expect Android based tablets will also find its audience and some success.

Hot Hardware provides a useful overview of four more than a dozen tablets introduced during the recent Computex trade show in Taipei.

Computex 2010 Tablet PC Round-up

We may not see any of the devices announced and displayed at Computex. However, there are a couple of notable aspects to note and wait to see if they show up on our shores.

- A number of tablets run Windows 7. But, Windows 7 is not really designed for touch tables (vs. pen/styus). And, even if it were, very few Windows applications are designed for use by touch.

- All four discussed use Intel processors unlike the iPad and Android based tablets we’ve seen so far

- Highly variable battery life lengths. One was as low as 5 hours

When I first read this news

Google VP: Chrome OS Release in Q4

my first thought was: Does anyone care? Isn’t everyone really waiting for Android tablets and smartbooks? However, after learning about AT&T’s new (worse) wireless data plans

AT&T Ruined Their iPhone Tethering Option Even Before it Launched!

my next thought was: Wow, AT&T just turned a the essentially browser-only Chrome OS platform into a WiFi-only device. Who would use this with only 2GB per month of data? Remember my previous example, the BBC America Survivor’s first episode weights in at 2.59GB (HD file).

Here’s something that caught me by surprise:

ASUS Eee Tablet preview (Engadget preview with video)

Why the surprise? How about a few descriptive words to give you a hint: Tablet, stylus, grayscale display. If you are old enough, this might remind you a lot of the first Apple tablet product: The Newton Messagepad.

Writing in “ink” with the stylus looked fast enough to keep up with the writing activity (pure ink, no handwriting recognition displayed). Unlike the Newton, the Eee Tablet only works with the supplied stylus (probably an “active” device vs. a passive one).

Gizmodo reports that it has a 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, USB port, and microSD slot.

Price? Eeeuser.com reports it will cost between $199 and $299. If it has the ability to synchronize recorded sound with handwritten ink notes, I will definitely give this a look over as a possible replacement for my LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen.

A quick read through reports about the upcoming second attempt by the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project to produce a low-cost but technology rich tablet for children might make you drool and wish for one yourself regardless of age:

OLPC’s Negroponte Says XO-3 Prototype Tablet Coming in 2010 (PC World)

Negroponte: One Laptop Per Child is now a $75 Android Tablet (CNN/Fortune)

But, Forbes’ report paint a quite different picture:

One Laptop Per Child Revamps Tablet Plans

Forbes’ article notes a list of changes from earlier statements that paints a picture of design by compromise:

- No all plastic components for increased durability
- Not waterproof
- Not half the thickness of an iPhone
- No 8GHz (really?) processor
- No Pixel Qi dual-mode display

Despite this disappointing report, I should note that while the original OLPC XO was also disappointing from a hardware, software, and sales point of view, it still managed to inspire the netbook revolution. I won’t be surprised if the XO-3 inspires new thinking in the tablet computer space too.