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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The Consumer Electronics Show can get a bad rap from bloggers and journalists who have become jaded by seeing the same products over and over. So, it can be particularly satisfying to see new classes of products that haven't quite hit the mainstream, even if there may be some practical limitations to their ultimate success.

Two of those type of products that I saw at this year's CES include Lenovo's 27" table-top tablet and Nectar Power's fuel cell charger.

Lenovo 27" Table PC

table-tablet.jpg

It seems absurd when you first hear about it -- a 27" Table PC from Lenovo -- essentially a 27" tablet that you place on your tabletop. It runs Windows 8 and can also stand up to be used as a more traditional computer.

It doesn't sound particularly practical, but standing in front of it at CES, I was intrigued. When we saw Jeff Han's first multi-touch demos in 2006 or Microsoft's Surface Table for $10,000, our first reaction was that these multi-touch tables were the future, and we wanted one for our house. Now, you will be able to get one for approximately $1699 this summer.


There are some practical issues with a device of this type. Lenovo had to add their own custom interface layer on top of Windows 8 to accommodate the flat-table multi-touch action. They've also partnered with a number of companies such as EA to provide table-top multi-touch versions of their games, so software selection to start will be limited.

Given the relatively high costs of ownership, it's hard to imagine that this will grow beyond a niche product. As a result, it's also hard to believe that Apple would be ever interested in pursuing this market themselves.

Still, I'm glad this product exist and will be curious to see how it evolves over time.

Nectar Power Fuel Cell Charger

nectar-charging.jpg

It feels like fuel cell technology has been on the cusp for the past decade. We even reported back in 2003 that Apple was actively pursuing the technology for future PowerBook designs. Nine years later, and we haven't seen much in the way of practical fuel cell usage in our consumer electronics. Fuel cells promise a high density of energy using some form of replenishable fuel supply.

Lilliputian Systems is a 12 year old company that has been working on commercializing its fuel cell system. The company has raised over $100 million dollars over that time from investors. At CES, it has launched its first product called Nectar Power, which is available for pre-order at Brookstone.

Nectar Power is a fuel cell charger for your iPhone or any other USB-powered device. It comes in two parts: the charger itself and the disposable fuel pods filled with butane. Each pod provides your iPhone with 10 full recharges (55,000mW), which the company estimates could last you two weeks.

nectar-unplugged1-500x375.jpg
The initial cost for the charger itself is $299 and comes with an initial fuel pod. Replacement fuel pods cost $9.99 each.

That's where the numbers could get tricky. Despite the high energy density, the recurring cost of pod-replacements will make it hard to adopt it as your standard charging solution, while the high initial cost for the system will make it hard to buy to keep around just as a backup charging system. One notable advantage of the system, however, is that the Nectar Power system is said to retain its power far more effectively than a battery. An unattended Nectar would only be expected to lose about 10% of its charging ability over the course of year.

Overall, the product is fascinating and a taste of what's to come down the line as the product gets smaller/cheaper and expands into other devices.

Article Link: CES 2013: Lenovo 27" Tablet and Nectar Fuel Cell iPhone Charger
 

TheHateMachine

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2012
846
1,354
Anyone see a mention of the resolution? Bet it is 1080p. Meh...

Dat fuel cell thingy though... :cool:
 

Born Again

macrumors 601
May 12, 2011
4,023
5,216
Norcal
"Absurd" ?!

Seriously it's not your job to make such comments

You bring us the news

We make the judgements
 

Gemütlichkeit

macrumors 65816
Nov 17, 2010
1,276
0
Butane charger would be good to keep around in case of major power outages or remote travel.

But a very niche market to say the least.
 

theBB

macrumors 68020
Jan 3, 2006
2,453
3
Two highlights from CES:

Given the relatively high costs of ownership, it's hard to imagine that this will grow beyond a niche product.

Despite the high energy density, the recurring cost of pod-replacements will make it hard to adopt it as your standard charging solution, while the high initial cost for the system will make it hard to buy to keep around just as a backup charging system.

One deemed "niche", one pretty much can be summed up to be "useless" as a product in its current form. No wonder tech journalists are disillusioned.
 

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,518
2,821
Manhattan
The 27 inch tablet would be fun as group gaming device. Playing "air" hockey or monopoly would be awesome on it -- but I can't see much beyond that. The fuel cell is interesting, but only for those travelling to parts of the world without reliable power.
 

All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
"Absurd" ?!

Seriously it's not your job to make such comments

You bring us the news

We make the judgements

Frankly i'd rather see more of the journalists 'touch' around Macrumors, not to the point of a Gizmodo article but the articles of late here seem written by a robot.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
I think we can safely say, while maybe Apple doesn't try hard enough with it's product revs, Samsung (did you see their new fugly and unfunctional TV shape?) and Lenovo try too hard. Ultimately, its still the "a piece is missing" Apple device we all still want because it's designed for the way conventional people live.
 

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
The 27 inch tablet would be fun as group gaming device. Playing "air" hockey or monopoly would be awesome on it -- but I can't see much beyond that. The fuel cell is interesting, but only for those travelling to parts of the world without reliable power.

and not travelling by plane..
 

tctony

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2009
684
0
Giant tablet seems really future like. Would probably take a while before a lot of developers got on board, but that would have a ton of potential as a coffee table replacement :cool:
 

SmileyBlast!

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
654
43
In the future we are all going to need more hand sanitizer. Or they are going to have to develop antibacterial germ free surfaces for these screens that everyone will be sharing.
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,084
31,015
I think we can safely say, while maybe Apple doesn't try hard enough with it's product revs, Samsung (did you see their new fugly and unfunctional TV shape?) and Lenovo try too hard. Ultimately, its still the "a piece is missing" Apple device we all still want because it's designed for the way conventional people live.

I was at a conference last year where Malcom Gladwell spoke. The subject of his keynote was "practical innovation" and he used Apple as an example, saying they weren't first and sometimes not even second but it didn't matter because at the end of the day they produced a product people wanted to buy. I have no problem with Apple being more conservative and not just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
 

madmin

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2012
610
3,478
The table top tablet reminds me of those tables with built in space-invader games we used to see in pubs in the 80s. Would have been more impressive if the fuel cell charger used hydrogen instead of butane. ;)
 

Allenbf

macrumors 6502
Jul 7, 2012
351
0
Elsewhere, USA
My 5 year old thinks the coffee table is a playground as it is. No thanks on a $1699 jungle gym.

"Hey brat! Did you seriously just play with play-dough on my table-let?!"
 

shortcrust

macrumors 6502
Aug 7, 2008
476
105
An unattended Nectar would only be expected to lose about 10% of its charging ability over the course of year.

Anyone know why it would lose even 10%? If it's a gas canister then surely it shouldn't lose anything over the course of a year.

Apologies if I'm being thick!
 
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