My PCBlog
Who is trying to face down Apple’s anticipated tablet this spring?
Here’s a partial list covering tablets from larger hardware companies like Dell and HP, along with lesser-known devices and a few e-readers. The pricing details and public launch dates aren’t available on all of these yet, so we’ve provided what we know and linked to deeper reviews.
HP’s Slate computer
This video demo shows the HP tablet that runs on Windows 7. HP is also reportedly building another based on Google’s Android OS. When Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer demoed it on-stage at CES, he was spare with details and used it to read a book using Kindle software. Using the touchscreen, he swiped through the pages, then went onto Amazon, where he purchased and downloaded another e-book.
OpenPeak Tablet powered by Intel Atom chip
Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini showed off a tablet using an upcoming Atom chip dubbed “Moorestown” during his CES keynote speech. It’s a prototype with no firm dates for launch.
HP’s tablet-laptop hybrid, the TouchSmart tm2:
This kinda qualifies. It’s a fourth-generation touchscreen laptop with a swivel 12.1-inch screen that can be turned into a tablet. You can enter things with your finger, full-size keyboard, or a digital pen. It has a capacitive multitouch display that recognizes multi-finger gestures such as pinching or swiping and an aluminum case with a Riptide engraved illustration. (See Dean Takahashi’s full take on HP’s lineup here.) This laptop starts at $949.
Dell
It has a five-inch display and is supposed to complement (not be a substitute) for a conventional PC. The small size may hurt the product in the long-run, since it duplicates the feel of a smartphone instead of an actual tablet computer. The more promising features seem to revolve around connecting multiple tablet users at once — users will be able to swipe and send pictures to other tablets, or connect tablets to play games together.
ICD’s Vega
The Android-based Vega specializes in home scheduling and other basic functions and will come to the U.K market later this year with T-mobile. We covered the first appearance of the Vega back in November. Developed by Seattle-based Innovative Converged Devices (ICD), a mobile computing engineering firm, the Vega includes features that make it a solid in-home device, suited for the average family kitchen, including a 15-inch touchscreen, NVIDIA Tegra 250 mobile web processor, full HD 1080p video playback, 3G, Wi-Fi and a T-Mobile SIM card. The carrier hasn’t released pricing. (We did a longer take on the device here.)
Marvell-based Alex Reader
This dual-screen reader from Spring Design runs on a Marvell processor and has not one, but two different kinds of displays. The smaller screen is an Android tablet while the other is an electronic paper display with an LCD. It comes out next month retailing at $399.
Skiff
This is an e-reader, not a tablet. It’s an 11.5-inch device comes from a company backed by newspaper and magazine publisher Hearst Corp. It’s got a 1,600-by-1,200 pixel resolution, which is enough to view an entire page of The New York Times up-front, according to Engadget.
Asus
Another netbook-tablet hybrid here. It’s two pounds and one-inch thick. It comes with a TV-tuner, GPS and should be out in March.
Cydle M7
This Korean electronics company entered the Tablet fray this month with a $199 Android-powered device. It has a seven-inch resistive touchscreen and should come out in the spring. (See Engadget’s slightly longer take here.)
MSI
MSI has built a 10-inch Android tablet that’s based on one of the new chips Nvidia showed off this week and has a capacitive display, which is very responsive. (Engadget has more here.)
Notion Ink
Here’s another Android-based tablet from Notion Ink. It’s on a 10.1 inch Pixel Qi display (which is what Apple’s version will reportedly run on). It comes with GPS, a digital compass, an accelerometer and even water sensors. There’s a three-megapixel camera that comes with autofocus and can record video. There will be a 16-gigabyte and 32-gigabyte version. (Slashgear has a longer take on it and Engadget tests it hands-on here.)
Compal
This is a seven-inch tablet that runs on Android 2.0. Engadget gave it a pretty horrible review, complaining about the lack of GPS and Bluetooth. It also has a resistive, rather than a capacitive touchscreen, which makes it less responsive to touch.
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There are tons of uses for displays that can be connected to a PC or other video input source that have nothing to do with home theater or general computer use. Some of the largest displays are aimed at use as digital signs like we see in airports and at some businesses. NEC has pulled a massive display out of the shadows called the P701.
The giant display has a screen measuring 70-inches and is designed to operate continuously. The huge screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a contrast ratio of 2000:1. The screen has a typical brightness of 420 cd/m2 and a maximum brightness of 600 cd/m2. NEC builds thermal protection and internal temperature sensors in to prevent damage caused by overheating.
A sealed design helps the screen survive environments with dust, grease, or steam and the display has a built-in expansion slot. Other features include a real-time clock and a scheduler that will shut the display down when it’s not needed to save power. A version of the P701 with a TV tuner called the P701-AVT will be offered as well. Both versions of the display will ship in March with the non-tuner version selling for $11,799.
If you desire an advanced desktop PC, then you will want to find one with the latest in processor technologies as well as upgraded internal features to boost your productivity. The HP Pavilion Elite AMD Quad Desktop PC, Model: M9340F is advanced, yet still user-friendly. With a powerful processor, decent hard drive space, this PC is designed for advanced users as well as novice ones. I highly recommend this desktop computer for any buyer based on its stability and advanced performance.
Product Ratings:
User-Friendliness: 4/5 Stars
Processor Quality: 5/5 Stars
Product Features: 4/5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Product Overview:
The first feature that I wish to talk about within this HP Pavilion Elite Desktop PC is the unique processor. This computer comes with the AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core Processor. This unique processor features four execution cores, which will quadruple your productivity and speed. If you are constantly running numerous programs at one time, you will be quite surprised at how this desktop keeps up its lighting fast response time even when in maximum use.
The hard drive for this desktop is outstanding. You will be able to utilize the 750GB SATA hard drive to store all of your digital entertainment files. I have found that this is the perfect entertainment computer, as it has ample amounts of storage space as well as a fast-acting processor. The hard drive also comes with a run speed of 7200RPMs, which is extremely fast.
You will be able to not only listen and watch CDs/DVDs, but also burn them through the SuperMulti Drive, with a run speed of 16x. This unique drive will provide you with ample amounts of power to quickly burn your home movies and CDs and with the LightScribe feature, you can create laser etched labels on your discs.
You will be able to instantly connect to the internet through the 802.11b/g/n wireless interface. Of course, there are other ways to connect to the internet, such as through the 56KB dial-up modem and the 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port.
One of the coolest features of this desktop is the TV Tuner. You will be able to access genuine high-definition television programming directly onto your computer. You will be able to also record and rewind your favorite television shows, much easier than signing up for an external DVR subscription.
Price and Availability:
This wonderful HP Pavilion Elite AMD Quad PC Desktop can be purchased online and through retail stores for an average price of $950.
