Notion Ink Smartpad 10.1 inch Tablet Announced Ahead of CES

[cualexander]

What I envision

This is why Apple needs to release a tablet. Because Apple understands non-tech people. Non-tech people could give a rats ass about specs. They don't understand them, they don't care about them, and they mainly follow the KISS principle(Keep it simple, stupid).

So this crowd wants something just phenomenally easy to use, fantastic interface, and multipurpose. Apple's rep precedes them. Everyone knows that Apple always follows the KISS principle. Seriously. Does anyone need an iphone manual? Not really at all. Some phones on the other hand, you have to look up everything. Apple knows engineering. To me, you could accomplish everything with just a larger scale iphone. Think about it. The infrastructure is there. The app store is there. The iTunes store is there. Kindle app is there.

If Apple releases a tablet, I think it would sell like crazy. Think of all the uses. You could use it as a digital photo album. Sure you can pass your iphone around, but it's not as cool as it would be if it were bigger. Pinch-zoom on a larger scale is way cool. Internet browser, Ebooks, news, mail, everything the iphone does so well, just a little bigger. I don't look at it as supplanting the iphone, but a companion. Frankly sometimes when I'm lying in bed reading things on my iphone, I say, if only this were slightly bigger I would like it more. I envision it as a big iphone with a pop-out stand.

How many games would be cooler on a slightly bigger screen? What about watching movies on a plane? What about using it for recipes? The iphone isn't good for things you need to see from a distance. It just isn't. A bigger screen gives you so much more capacity for information. And then you have the older crowd who are put off by the iphone, but if it were bigger, they would get into it.

Apple could revolutionize the tablet market. And sync it all with cloud computing to the iPhone. Both devices sharing data. Kept in sync at all times. Totally change the game forever.

 

[DMann]

This is why Apple needs to release a tablet. Because Apple understands non-tech people. Non-tech people could give a rats ass about specs. They don't understand them, they don't care about them, and they mainly follow the KISS principle(Keep it simple, stupid).

So this crowd wants something just phenomenally easy to use, fantastic interface, and multipurpose. Apple's rep precedes them. Everyone knows that Apple always follows the KISS principle. Seriously. Does anyone need an iphone manual? Not really at all. Some phones on the other hand, you have to look up everything. Apple knows engineering. To me, you could accomplish everything with just a larger scale iphone. Think about it. The infrastructure is there. The app store is there. The iTunes store is there. Kindle app is there.

If Apple releases a tablet, I think it would sell like crazy. Think of all the uses. You could use it as a digital photo album. Sure you can pass your iphone around, but it's not as cool as it would be if it were bigger. Pinch-zoom on a larger scale is way cool. Internet browser, Ebooks, news, mail, everything the iphone does so well, just a little bigger. I don't look at it as supplanting the iphone, but a companion. Frankly sometimes when I'm lying in bed reading things on my iphone, I say, if only this were slightly bigger I would like it more. I envision it as a big iphone with a pop-out stand.

How many games would be cooler on a slightly bigger screen? What about watching movies on a plane? What about using it for recipes? The iphone isn't good for things you need to see from a distance. It just isn't. A bigger screen gives you so much more capacity for information. And then you have the older crowd who are put off by the iphone, but if it were bigger, they would get into it.

Apple could revolutionize the tablet market. And sync it all with cloud computing to the iPhone. Both devices sharing data. Kept in sync at all times. Totally change the game forever.

Based upon their track record, and what you've outlined above, they very likely will revolutionize the tablet market, after recreating it, that is.

 

[Skoal]

The ms courier, what an inspired name- is vapourware..

You mean like the awe inspiring name....iPhone?

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.5; en-gb; Archos5 Build/CUPCAKE) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1)

Wow, these specs are awesome. I think Apple may be too late. This is exactly the Tablet that I haver been hoping for from Apple. I fear that Apple is beginning to loose their technology edge.

That is quite possibly the freakiest thing I've ever seen.... ROFL LTD!

 

[kzin]

It runs MS-DOS 3.1.

So, I guess software and ecosystem might matter more than hardware specs?

Actually, it runs Android.

Android > iPhone

That puts this device way ahead of any Super-iPod-Touch rumors.

 

[peterdevries]

Sony Ericsson had a SDK that was accessible to anyone, with a phone emulator, that let you make apps for its different phones, following the standards of J2ME plus documented extensions (all documentation was available on their dev site back in 2004). This is long before the Xperia lineup, long before any kind of "smartphone" came out of them.

So I get it that you don't follow the traditionnal definition of a smartphone then, since for you, it's a phone with an SDK, which is quite larger than the "current definition" (that's the point, there is no current definition of a smartphone) as you put it.

Again, everyone who tried to prove me wrong in the end made my point for me. The only current accepted definition of a smartphone I can think of is this :

"A smartphone is our smartphone + any other very small subset of our competitor's phones that we can use to make our sale numbers look bigger than they are when using percentages".

OK, thanks. Can we now please give this a rest or have this semantics discussion in another thread? With respect of course.. No offence.

 

[kzin]

Qwerty?!

IMO, from several years of trying out different mobile gadgets, from tiny screens up through mid-range devices:

I need a physical qwerty on my pocketable.
I don't need a physical qwerty on my mid-range.

For the pocketable, typing on a virtual keyboard is too slow to do a lot of texting and note taking. I've used several. None of them are as good as a physical keyboard. Swype might change that, but until I actually use it on a decent device, I wont know. And then there's the "valuable screen real-estate" issue, on that small a screen. A virtual thumb keyboard on a tiny screen leaves you with little-to-no usable screen left for the application itself. To keep as much screen as possible available to the app, you need to have the keyboard not be on the screen.

For a mid-range (mainly 8"-11" screen size), a physical keyboard is going to be too big for comfortable thumb typing, and too small/cramped for real "in a class/meeting" note taking. You're going to want an external keyboard for meeting/class note taking -- USB or bluetooth, either one. For quick "keyboard short-cuts" in some apps, and quick and dirty messages, task list entries, etc., you're not going to need more than a virtual keyboard anyway. Meanwhile, the screen is now big enough that a full size thumb keyboard (as big as an entire iPhone) is still going to leave a usable screen area that's bigger than an entire iPhone (much less "just the patheticaly tiny screen on an iPhone").

Which is all to say: while I am absolutely critical of the iPhone's lack of a physical keyboard ... I have good logical reason for saying that this device is perfectly fine with just the Android virtual/on-screen keyboard. It's not hypocritical: I also refuse to buy Android pocketables that don't have physical keyboards.

Pocketable: has to have a physical keyboard, whether it's Android, Maemo, Ubuntu, or OS X.

Mid-range: physical keyboard is a waste of space and weight, no matter what OS.

 

[kzin]

Yet none are on the market.

You need to get out more.

Archos 7
Archos 9
Smart Q7
Smart V7
Viliv S7
Viliv X70
EviGroup Pad
BenQ S6
Wits A81
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle II
Amazon Kindle DX
B&N Nook

And a few others I've forgotten to name (ex: a Linux based e-reader, whose name escapes me, that you can add widgets and apps to, so it's more than "just an e-reader", it's also a general purpose tablet -- it was on of the products people thought the Nook was going to be based upon).

All are launched and available. All are mid-range tablets. All are in the larger scope of things mentioned for the iTablet, Notion Ink, and EnTourage eDGe (though, admittedly the Kindle family and Nook aren't as general purpose).

 

[DMann]

You mean like the awe inspiring name....iPhone?

It seems to beat the hell out of the dreadfully dismal name.....Zune.

 

[ogee]

To me, you could accomplish everything with just a larger scale iphone.

Personally I dont want an iPhone OS based tablet. I want a full, or slightly cut down OS X. I dont need a DVD or loads of connections, just built in speakers, 1 USB, 1 network connection and WLAN will do.

I see a great market for these as wall mountable intelligent devices that can be used as a media center, house control center as well as for computing. One on the kitchen wall, one in the bedroom, one next to the toilet etc, all with the ability to contact any other computer in the LAN or internet.

The problem with the iPhone OS is that its still virtually a closed OS, in the sense that apps have to be approved. I would like to be able to take any OS X app and use it. Most of the apps I would need already exist, but not on the iPhone OS.

As for mobile connection, I personally wouldn't normally need that, so if it was tied to a contract, it would be a deal killer for me.

 

[*LTD*]

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That is quite possibly the freakiest thing I've ever seen.... ROFL LTD!

Wasn't even looking for it, but when I saw it I couldn't let it go unused.

 

[*LTD*]

You need to get out more.

Archos 7
Archos 9
Smart Q7
Smart V7
Viliv S7
Viliv X70
EviGroup Pad
BenQ S6
Wits A81
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle II
Amazon Kindle DX
B&N Nook

And a few others I've forgotten to name (ex: a Linux based e-reader, whose name escapes me, that you can add widgets and apps to, so it's more than "just an e-reader", it's also a general purpose tablet -- it was on of the products people thought the Nook was going to be based upon).

All are launched and available. All are mid-range tablets. All are in the larger scope of things mentioned for the iTablet, Notion Ink, and EnTourage eDGe (though, admittedly the Kindle family and Nook aren't as general purpose).

We have an "mp3 players before the iPod" situation here.

 

[gctwnl]

MP3 players weren't that big when the iPod launched with really little to no exposure outside the geekland and it's fringes. Similar smartphones have really been limited to RIMing businessmen only a few short years ago.

Again tablets nice idea lots and lots of bad of implementations. Do these guys or Apple or anyone else have the magic formula to mark it work?
Well I'm going to wait till I have one in my hands to decide.

The advantage Apple has over these guys, is they are media darlings. Apple release something in this space then they will get coverage on every mainstream media outlet not just the tech ones. Even the MSN ones with presenters trying to badmouth the device and hide the look of glee at the same time.

That doesn't help them if the product does not fill a usability niche very well, e.g. Apple TV. If Apple does not make a great product for users, it won't sell, period. Apple can have a winner here, but I think that mainly depends on getting content providers (Murdoch e.a.) on board.

 

[gctwnl]

Actually, it runs Android.

Android > iPhone

That puts this device way ahead of any Super-iPod-Touch rumors.

Android is open and that is nice. But about as nice as Mac OS X being open (at the Darwin level).

But Android has serious fragmentation issues and its memory design makes in not good for apps with more serious memory requirements (like games, but also professional software). RoughlyDrafted had a good series of (in the case of architecture very factual) articles by Prince McLean on Android.

 

[KnightWRX]

We have an "mp3 players before the iPod" situation here.

No we don't. These tablets on the market right now are struggling (aside from dedicated e-readers like the Nook and Kindle, but those don't fetch the price that a general purpose tablet does).

MP3 players were booming before the iPod and continued booming after the iPod launch.

Not quite the same situation. I think this is why Apple is not commenting and probably not putting much effort in a tablet. Usually, Apple waits for a market to be successful, then releases a good product into it. With its brand, good design and integration, it then makes some good money off of it. If there's no money to be made in the first place, you end up with things like AppleTV or the Macbook Air.

 

[kzin]

Android is open and that is nice. But about as nice as Mac OS X being open (at the Darwin level).

An advantage that Android (and Mac OS X) have over iPhone OS X:

You can install any app you want, without Apple's approval (nor without Google's approval, nor HTC's, nor T-Mobile's, etc.). Just because it may get rejected by a particular store/market doesn't mean you can't still install it directly from the author.

That alone eliminates iPhone OS X from competition, IMO.

But Android has serious fragmentation issues and its memory design makes in not good for apps with more serious memory requirements (like games, but also professional software). RoughlyDrafted had a good series of (in the case of architecture very factual) articles by Prince McLean on Android.

All pontificating and FUD.

The software I want to run, runs fine on every Android device I've tried. Including the one I own. And, that includes a couple games (including an action/arcade game). The rumors of Android's shortcomings are greatly exaggerated.

 

[kzin]

No we don't. These tablets on the market right now are struggling (aside from dedicated e-readers like the Nook and Kindle, but those don't fetch the price that a general purpose tablet does).

Archos seems to be doing just fine. They're on their 2nd or 3rd generation of design (so they're doing well enough to warrant further investment in the devices), and are just about "the benchmark" of mid-range/non-pocketable media players. If you decide an iPhone/iPod is too small for watching movies, and a laptop sized player is too big ... Archos is pretty much the "go to" product line. If Apple enters the mid-range device market with a media player device, they're going to have to make sure they're competitive with the Archos family.

The Smart Q's also did well enough to justify a second generation (the Smart V's). I'm pretty sure Viliv did well enough to justify a second generation as well. (I'm pretty sure the X70 is the follow up to the S7, or visa versa)

Further, the point that LTD was making wasn't about that market being ripe, but about the fact that there already is a market there. It's shifting goal posts in comparison to what I was replying to (which was that "none of those devices are actually available yet"), but it's a valid point. Apple did it before (to Creative and co.'s MP3 players), so they could do it again, this time to Archos and Amazon.

And, I don't recall the MP3 market being a huge success before Apple entered it, either. There were successful players, but it wasn't a "must have" device before the iPod came along. Apple didn't enter an established and successful market and take it over, they entered an emerging market and turned it into an established/successful market. Not entirely different from the tablet and e-reader markets right now.

A better comparison for "Apple enters an established market and takes over" (or is at least making HUGE waves, they haven't taken it over yet) is the smartphone market. Not the MP3 market.

 

[nim23]

apple has waited too long

It may seem like it, but didn't Apple seem to take too long releasing the iPhone too? Which since has dominated the market.

 

[DMann]

The rumors of Android's shortcomings are greatly exaggerated.

The Android has a an application memory storage limit (heap limit) of 16 Megabytes.

This is, by any standards, a serious shortcoming, and is by no means, an exaggeration.

 

[KnightWRX]

And, I don't recall the MP3 market being a huge success before Apple entered it, either. There were successful players, but it wasn't a "must have" device before the iPod came along. Apple didn't enter an established and successful market and take it over, they entered an emerging market and turned it into an established/successful market. Not entirely different from the tablet and e-reader markets right now.

Your memory is very selective. Apple waited until the 128MB devices were common before entering the market, which was quite some time after the products first emerged.

They were in high demand at the time and already had dedicated sections at places like Best Buy, Circuit City and Fry's. Those were also the days of Napster going unpunished and everyone being on it to share mp3s freely.

Those players were flying off store shelves when Apple first launched the iPod, much to the chagrin of non-Mac owners when they found out you needed a Mac to use them.

The Android has a an application memory storage limit (heap limit) of 16 Megabytes.

This is, by any standards, a serious shortcoming, and is by no means, an exaggeration.

Wait, does it have an application storage limit or a heap limit ? Don't confuse things.

It has both. Application storage is limited to on-phone storage so it depends on the phone. Droid brings 256MB of storage for apps with its 512 MB ROM. You are exagerating things here, because this storage limit is only for the app itself (the executable file), which is always very small. All of the application's data can be stored on your memory card without any issue, the Android SDK provides facilities to access it transparently, much like Apple's NSBundle API does.

The Heap limit is something else. Java always has a heap limit, specificied usually by the -Xmx parameter on the command line. Davlik's is 16 MB. You have to first realise what heap is before you can judge if this is really a big issue. Heap is basically space reserved for dynamic allocation. 16 MB is not a bad value even for games unless you plan on loading uncompressed sound data in one go. Garbage collection and proper release of allocated memory would go a long way to preserving heap.

In other words, it's bad only if you're a ****** programmer or want to make an app that requires much more heap than it should on a mobile device.

This value is also 1 recompile away in the Android source, so Google can adjust it for future devices and revisions of Android in a heartbeat if need be.

So yes, you are exagerating everything.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Your memory is very selective. Apple waited until the 128MB devices were common before entering the market, which was quite some time after the products first emerged.

They were in high demand at the time and already had dedicated sections at places like Best Buy, Circuit City and Fry's. Those were also the days of Napster going unpunished and everyone being on it to share mp3s freely.

Those players were flying off store shelves when Apple first launched the iPod, much to the chagrin of non-Mac owners when they found out you needed a Mac to use them.

Maybe in your circle.... but i knew of NO ONE with one. Heck, i bought a cheap something or another to record something for my DD to memorize, and it was a horrid experience. Forget moving songs to it...

You don't seem to be able to think outside your circle and area - that obviously is NOT like the rest of the world.

I, and my family, had no interest in an iPod until it played videos too... but i'm not claiming that until then they weren't selling. They probably were, not just to "us".

Heck, i had a smartphone long before i had an iPod (and a PDA before that - that i didn't use for music)

 

[KnightWRX]

Maybe in your circle.... but i knew of NO ONE with one. Heck, i bought a cheap something or another to record something for my DD to memorize, and it was a horrid experience. Forget moving songs to it...

You don't seem to be able to think outside your circle and area - that obviously is NOT like the rest of the world.

I, and my family, had no interest in an iPod until it played videos too... but i'm not claiming that until then they weren't selling. They probably were, not just to "us".

Heck, i had a smartphone long before i had an iPod (and a PDA before that - that i didn't use for music)

You seem to be doing the exact same thing you're accusing me of. No my experience is based not on my small circle, but on a very big observation of the market at the time.

Also, if your family waited for Video iPods this shows me that you bore no interest for the platform until it was very much the defacto standard in the industry for portable music playback. You could barely find a portable CD player by the time Apple shipped the iPod video.

And horrid experience ? All the MP3 players before the iPod were simply flash memory devices. Plug it in with a USB cable, drag and drop songs on it, eject and voila. This makes me think you don't actually have any good recollection of the period of time before the initial iPod release.

Much less horrid than an iTune sync gone completely wrong which ends up erasing music you had on your iPod because you removed it from your library without thinking. Yes I know you can change that behavior, but it is iTunes' default behavior.

 

[DMann]

Wait, does it have an application storage limit or a heap limit ? Don't confuse things.

No, sorry for merging the two together. I meant to say:

The Android has a an application memory storage limit of 256 MBs and a heap limit of 16 Megabytes.

This is, by any standards, a serious shortcoming, and is by no means, an exaggeration.

 

[KnightWRX]

No, sorry for merging the two together. I meant to say:

The Android has a an application memory storage limit of 256 MBs and a heap limit of 16 Megabytes.

This is, by any standards, a serious shortcoming, and is by no means, an exaggeration.

But it's not in either case. See my above post. It's a gross exageration by a few blogs but has in no way affected users or developers.

 

[DMann]

But it's not in either case. See my above post. It's a gross exageration by a few blogs but has in no way affected users or developers.

I currently have 5.38 GB of Applications on my iPhone.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it would be necessary to compromise the amount of apps that I store, if they were to be restricted to a storage of 256MB.

If the 16 MB heap restriction bears little impact for most current app development, than so be it.

However, a 256MB restriction would seem to be a crippling one, for many.