CES 2010: Asus Prototype Netbook Turns into a 47 inch LED TV, a Tablet, too?!
Jan 9, 2010 Asus
CES 2010 is not always about finished products and releases, since it hosts tons of concepts and prototypes. One of these is the Asus product you can see below, a netbook that folds open into a tablet. There are no plans to make this a commercial product, but this is still an interesting concept.
What’s really strange about this device is that’s supposedly able to unfold into a tablet PC and a 47 inch LED TV. The netbook version of the device sports dual 9 inch touchscreen displays, one used as the keyboard and the other one as the normal screen. No physical keyboard is included and we learn that the big unfolded screen of the tablet uses OLED technology that makes it flexible.
[via gottabemobile]
Tags: CES 2010, LED TV, netbook, prototype, unfolding Asus tablet
CES 2010: Marvell Multimedia Tablet Made for Third Parties, Disappointing?
Jan 9, 2010 Tablet related
Marvell had quite a display at CES 2010, since their booth showcased quite a bunch of Android-based products, like the Dell Mini 3i, Entourage Edge, the Marvell Multimedia Tablet and the Alex eReader. The multimedia tablet mentioned before isn’t meant for consumers, but for third parties, that’ll brand the device with their logo and sell it as their own.
However, this device has quite a few issues, that you’ll find out after the break and video demo below:
The biggest flaw is the fact that if you press the BACK button, you’ll trigger the SEARCH feature and if you press the SEARCH button, it’ll perform the BACK command. Marvell’s representative said that it’s supposed to operate this way and in other bad news, the touchscreen is not all that responsive, specially since it misinterprets your presses and enters different apps.
Keep in mind that this is a prototype and a few software updates will probably solve every bug, but you really don’t want to show everyone such faulty products @ CES, do you? Too bad that the Mavell Multimedia Tablet based on Android looks really well, design-wise.
[via phandroid]
Tags: CES 2010, issues, Marvell Multimedia Tablet, prototype
CES 2010: Dell’s Streak Android Tablet Gets Demoed
Jan 9, 2010 Dell
We’ve heard about Dell Streak quite a while ago, October 2009 to be more precise, but now it’s time to get up close and personal with the tablet, since CES 2010 is going on these days. The device is a 5 inch MID, that was available in Las Vegas as a prototype, referred to by its maker as the “Dell Tablet Concept”.
Dell Streak runs Android OS, comes with a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, 3G connectivity and probably some AT&T services supported, since the carrier is working closely with Dell lately. In case you didn’t know, AT&T will be selling the Android-based Dell Mini 3 smartphone, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see the Streak in the operator’s portofolio.
After a couple of seconds of hands on experience, the folks of Pocket-lint and a few other sites present at CES claimed that the Dell tablet is very thin and promising. We’ll wait for the final spec sheet and more details, till we give a verdict.
[via slashgear]
Tags: CES 2010, Dell Streak, Dell Tablet Concept, hands on, prototype
CES 2010: Quanta Tegra 2 Prototype Tablet Gets Tested
Jan 9, 2010 Tablet related
Quanta has just shown off a new tablet prototype during CES 2010 at NVIDIA’s booth and the new device almost immediately reached the loving hands of the Engadget folks, who tested it. There’s a Tegra 2 chip inside this beauty, providing 1080p support, via a HDMI cable connected to the nearest HD display.
The battery life of this gizmo is pretty impressive, since, for example it can allow its user to listen to music for 140 hours, with the screen turned off. HD video playback will make the battery last for up to 10 hours, yet another impressive feat of this Quanta device. WiFi and 3G connectivity are also on board, while the OS of choice is Android.
The prototype is looking very hot and we sure hope that it’ll keep its cool looks and specs , till it makes it into production. Engadget’s editors complained about a very fragile back side of the display and the touchscreen missing taps, but this is a mere prototype, so we can forgive such flaws.
[via Engadget]
Tags: CES 2010, prototype, Quanta tablet, Tegra 2
Vega Tablet Prototype Gets Engadget Hands on Treatment
Dec 2, 2009 Tablet related
Engadget managed to score a unit of the mystery Android and Nvidia Tegra-based Vega tablet and they published their hands on experience for us all to see. Turns out that this is a prototype running Windows CE for now, probably because the device’s makers are fine tuning Android OS for the tablet.
The resistive touchscreen display is also not quite likeable for people accustomed with the quality of a new HTC smartphone let’s say. The Tegra hardware means that we’ll be seeing great performance on the device, specially when it comes to multimedia playback, gaming and other such features.
Engadget’s hands on experience demoes video playback at 1280 x 720 and the tablet handles it perfectly. Keep in mind that Zune HD and Vega share the Nvidia Tegra hardware, but the first is too small of a device to include a HD resolution display, so Vega will do HD decoding better.
[via umpcportal]
Tags: hands on, Nvidia Tegra, prototype, Vega tablet, video playback
NVIDIA Tegra Tablet is Real, Prototype Hands on Revealed
Nov 28, 2009 NVIDIA
Remember the recently published interview with NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and the tablet he was messing with at that time? Turns out that the device was in fact an NVIDIA Tegra tablet prototype, that’s just been analyzed via hands on experience by the folks of Engadget.
This is a Windows CE-powered piece of gear, with a resistive touchscreen display (15/16 inches diagonal), Tegra internals that resemble the ones on Zune HD and much more. The maker of this tablet is ICD and a partner for the sales of the device might be T-Mobile.
NVIDIA’s device is far from being finished, but it’s a prototype after all and it’s pretty good for what it’s supposed to be. The tablet is under an inch in thickness, supports 720p video playback and even comes with a wireless recharge station, a sort of base accessory that allows the gadget to recharge in upright position.
Who cares about the Apple Tablet when you see a great idea like this?
[via Engadget]
Tags: 720p video playback, hands on, ICD, NVIDIA Tegra tablet, prototype
Bridgestone E-book Reader, Flexible… Almost Like their Tires
Oct 27, 2009 E-Book Readers
Bridgestone is probably the last company you’d expect to showcase an e-book reader, but it appears they did and the product is quite interesting, because it’s a flexible gadget of this type. This is a world’s first and you can check out the gadget below, knowing that it’s based on electronic paper, instead of a standard LCD display.
Also, it turns out that the device will display content on the screen, even after you turn it off. Bridgestone claims that the prototype e-book reader packs a 10.7 inch display, measure 5.8mm in thickness, which is great compared to Kindle 2′s 9.1mm thickness. It can also display color pages and the e-book reader can be bent to some extent, thanks to its flexible components.
Bridgestone also unveiled another device, one that packs a 13.1 inch e-paper display, that supports cellphone connectivity, a 0.8 sec screen refresh rate and can display up to 4,096 colors.
[via Crunchgear]
Tags: Bridgestone e-book reader, electronic paper, flexible e-reader, prototype
Dell Streak, New Android MID, Caught on Camera
Oct 22, 2009 Dell
After surprising everyone by announcing an Android phone and disappointing everyone with the real product, Dell came out with Android MID, Streak, hopefully a more successful device than the Mini 3i. It’s a leaky day today, since we’ve just managed to come across images and a video of the prototype of this MID.
Dubbed Dell Streak (not confirmed), this Android 2.0 “almost tablet” should support 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and pack a 5 inch WVGA multitouch capacitive display, a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, a microSD card slot and Bluetooth. A 1300 mAh battery is also on board and we expect a front videocall camera to also make the cut.
Here’s the video showing the new device in action:
[via BGR]
Tags: Android 2.0, Android MID, Dell Streak, prototype, video demo
Apple Tablet Prototype Looks Very Much Like Microsoft’s Courier
Oct 19, 2009 Apple Tablet
While searching for the next step in the evolution of tablets and a hint regarding Apple’s future product, we’ve come across a very interesting prototype, or mockup if you want. It was showed on this blog and it’s a “miniature laptop in tablet form”, that resembles the Microsoft Courier tablet we’ve talked about before.
Also known as iSlate or Netslate, the device also looks a bit like a Wacom product combined with a Nintendo DS. This would make reading digital books and newspapers an easier task, as well as browsing through them, by flipping virtual pages. If you’re wondering about size, know that the prototype is an intermediary between an iPhone and the MacBook Air, measuring about 14 x 21 cm.
The two foldable parts are connected by a flexible hinge, for extra freedom of movement, while the OS is borrowed from the iPhone, plus some extra features from the standard Mac OS X. Gestures like “pinching” are also supported, plus “turning the page” and viewing extra layers of information and annotations.
You’ll also be able to use the device like a laptop, thanks to a virtual keyboard, but you’ll also be gaming thanks to on-screen controls and much more. The Apple tablet incorporates an AMOLED screen, very thin and energy efficient and if you’re wondering about the specs, here they are: SSD memory, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and no trace of USB and FireWire. Induction charging is also supported… Stunning device, simply stunning, so kudos to the designer!
[via lucasrosa]
Tags: AMOLED screen, Apple tablet design, iSlate, mockup, Netslate, prototype
Sony Vaio EL Prototype Laptop Packs Dual Screens
Oct 11, 2009 Sony
Sony has recently showcased its new Vaio EL laptop prototype, with the main appeal of having two OLED displays on board and no keyboard at all. The device comes with a touch-sensitive OLED display, that’ll replace the physical keys and allow the user to enter the world of touch input.
Also stunning is the fact that this laptop is very, very thin, so we’re really curious to have a look at its specs and battery life. It’s also possible that both or one of the displays are flexible, yet another reason to consider this a mere prototype, not ready for mass production.
[via Ubergizmo]
Tags: dual OLED display, flexible display, prototype, Sony Vaio EL
