Features – Hardware and Software

The MSI Windpad 100 has all the makings of a standard, present-day tablet: touch capacitive screen, onboard video and audio play, web browser, a front-facing camera. There’s an HDMI video port, an expansion slot, and 2 USB ports. A 32GB solid state drive and 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor boots its Windows 7 Home Premium platform.

What is unique about the MSI Windpad is the added Wind Touch UI layer on top of the Windows screen. The layer is designed to simplify access to and launch of applications. (The functionality can be turned off also). When scrolled down, the touch-friendly dock would roll over to reveal another layer of applications.   

The MSI Windpad comes with a 10-inch screen framed by a shiny black chassis. With a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, texts and images are sharp and bright. On the right side of the screen are four big buttons that serve as shortcut buttons to most frequently used applications.  

The tablet is made entirely out of plastic. According to MSI, the Windpad 100 has about 8 hours of battery life.

The Bottom Line

The MSI Windpad 100 is still in its prototype form, so we may be able to see the issues addressed by the time the product hits shelves. For now, the Windpad 100 tablet looks very competent. Anyone who wants a tablet with some cool features and lets you watch YouTube or do multiple things at once, the device may be available in stores before the year ends.

Features – Hardware and Software

The Asus EEE Pad EP’s 12.1-inch frame houses two docking stations – one consists of a Bluetooth keyboard, and the other includes a 500GB hard disk inside and also an additional battery. The second dock gives you the option to turn the tablet into a hybrid laptop.

Despite its extra size, the Asus EEE Pad EP 121 easily tops the smaller Apple iPad in terms of lightness and slimness. The device only weighs 1.48 pounds; its body girth of 12.2mm makes it easy to hold with your hands.

The Asus tablet’s bigger frame allows it to accommodate a larger battery needed to power up the Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor and Windows 7 OS.

The extra large screen approaches the size of the smallest-sized laptops, but if anything, the bigger screen real estate offers more comfortable viewing experience. The EEE Pad EP121 also houses an HDMI video-out, USB ports, SIM card slot, 2 MP camera, and a microSD slot.

The Asus EP121 tablet has 10 hours of running power.  

The Bottom Line

For those who are tired of toting heavy laptop anywhere, this lightweight, aluminum-shelled $399 entry from Asus may hit the streets in Q1 2011. With or without a keyboard, the Asus EEE Pad EP121 offers solid computing experience. Plug in the keyboard when you need to create long Word documents, or remove the keyboard when going out. You can use it curled up in sofa or at a study desk. No other tablet offers such versatility yet.

The Archos 2^nd generation device may have become bigger and beefier, Archos’ 2^nd generation entry is still for the budget-minded. If you are full-feature portable computing device that is easy on the wallet, the Archos 7 Home Tablet comes with a $199 retail price.

Features – Hardware and Software

With a frame of 7.5 x 4.3 inches, the Archos 7 lacks the pocketability of the Archos 5, but it also comes with wider, 7-inch TFT-LCD screen. Girth is also increased to 0.6 inches and weight to 1.4 pounds, making the device less suited for long periods of couch computing. On the left side of the screen is a dock that contains shortcuts icons of your favorite media files.

With bigger body comes bigger package. The device packs on a hefty 320GB onboard storage. That’s roughly equal to 3.2 million photos, 400 movies, or 190, 000 songs. If that’s not enough, there’s a microSD expansion slot that can support up to 32GB cards. Battery life has also improved. The Archos 7 can handle up to 39 hours of music or 10 hours of video playback with each full charge.

The device can handle a lot of media applications. It can display HD videos, surf the web, view photos, and more. There’s no 3G, but the device is bundled with a WiFi modem.

The Bottom Line

The Archos 7 Home Tablet may lack the wow-factor of the iPad in terms of specs, but it still packs core Android feature including Web and video/audio playback. Already available for pre-order from Amazon, its $199 price makes it compelling, particularly to students and for anyone with a budget in mind.

The Taiwanese manufacturer Asus single-handedly built the netbook market with a combination of low price and solid mobile computing technology. But as Asus CEO Jerry Shen anticipates, the coming of the iPad and other tablets will cannibalize 10% to 20% of the netbook market. Now Asus is hoping to offset future decrease in netbook sales with a tablet device. At the CES this year, Asus displayed a non-functioning prototype of their tablet called Asus Eee Pad. DigiTimes reported that Asus’ entry into the tablet market will be put on display at the Computex trade show in June. Expected release is in July.

Will Asus be able to replicate its success in the netbook market with its Asus Eee Pad?

Features – Hardware and Software 

Details about the upcoming Asus tablet are scarce, but one word on the street is that it will run on NVDIA’s Tegra chipset. This will allow the device to display high resolution  (1080p) HD videos and 3D animation without using too many resources. No word yet about the Asus Eee Pad’s exact battery life though. The device will both have 3G and WiFi connectivity.

The Asus Pad will also be powered by Google’s Android OS and will have a 7-inch screen display with multi-touch capability. The finger-friendly tablet has a pretty chassis but looks a little thicker than the iPad. On the right side of the face the device are five control buttons. The power button is on the left.

Asus is also building features that the iPad lack such as support for Adobe Flash, USB for connecting peripherals, and 0.3 megapixel webcam. However, the Pad will offer the same storage capacity as the iPad’s cheapest model – 64GB flash memory.

The Bottom Line

Little is known about the Asus Eee Pad at this point, but with a $500 price point, we might be seeing a device as compelling as Asus netbooks.

Since the prototype of the dam tablet was unveiled at the CES 2010, the Notion Ink tablet  has been a hot topic in the gadget world. Packed with better technologies, the Adam offers to redefine your entire reading and computing experience. Screen is designed for visibility in all lighting conditions, and battery life is longer. A built-in camera gives you 180 degree view settings. The Adam also promises a killer feature: a trackpad that supports multiple hand gestures.

Features – Hardware and Software

The Notion Ink Adam Tablet comes with two distinctive features. One is a smartpad or trackpad mounted on the rear of the tablet. Gadget owners can use the trackpad, which supports full gesture, to move the cursor or scroll down pages. Notion Ink said they have also added fingerprint and scratch-resistant coating to the screen display. Navigating via the touchscreen shouldn’t be a problem either.

The Adam will also be a demonstration of Pixel Qi LCD display’s flexibility. Curl up on a couch or bring the tablet to the beach:  Pixel Qi’s groundbreaking technology makes the Adam easy to read in all environments.  You can view the Adam indoors as a regular full-color LCD display, or switch to grayscale, eInk style mode when outdoors.

The Notion Ink Adam Tablet measures 6.3 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches. It will use power-frugal NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset, making the Adam excel in battery life even while delivering high video and imaging resolution. The tablet is said to be capable of playing16 hours of full HD video. When switched on to black and white mode, the Adam can last up to 160 hours on a single charge.

The tablet is also integrated with a 3.2 megapixel video camera with a patented swivel action. When facing the screen such as when video chatting, you can use it as a webcam. Then you can rotate the camera to use it for regular video or still photography. The 180 degree swivel camera allows Notion Ink to reduce costs and design space for two sets of optics.

Standard features include: accelerometer, ambient light and water sensors, Flash support, A-GPS, digital compass, USB ports, UMTS/HSPDA, WiFi, and Bluetooth. Buyers can have a 16GB or 32GB model. Both support SD slot for augmenting storage.

The Bottom Line

The Notion Ink Adam Tablet is expected to go into retail in June 2010. Price tag is a tentative $300 +.  With well-thought out hardware design, the Adam offers excellent all-around tablet experience regardless of whether you want to use it for surfing the web, watching YouTube videos, or reading books.

Features – Hardware and Software

Originally called the CrunchPad, the JooJoo Tablet comes with a 7.8 x 12.8 x 0.7 -inch solid frame made of hybrid plastic. Despite its generous screen size, the tablet is thinner than a MacBook Air. It doesn’t feel heavy even when after long hours of use. Gently curved back makes it feel good to hold.

With a browsing engine based on WebKit, the same one that powers Chrome and Safari, the JooJoo tablet is your portable gateway to the World Wide Web. As it packs a powerful 1.6GHz Atom processor, page loads are impressive, though not Chrome-fast. The device takes a mere 9 seconds to boot.  

Unlike most Window-based tablets like HP, the JooJoo Tablet can handle multi-touch and hand gestures, such as pinching and finger swiping, pretty well. Unfortunately, there’s no zooming function. (Pinching switches you between windows and homescreen). On one hand, who needs zooming when you have 12 inches of screen?   

With higher screen resolution than the iPad (1366 x 768), images are brighter and sharper. Combining video resolution of 1080 and fast streaming capability, watching YouTube videos is a pleasure. To run HD Flash videos faster, go into full screen mode.

There’s also a Bluetooth connection for wireless transfers from/to your mobile phone, and web cam and mic for video chat. While the JooJoo Tablet doesn’t have a native support for PDF, you can view the document using Google’s online PDF doc reader. 

The Bottom Line

Despite a rocky start due to a high profile legal dispute with TechCrunch, Fusion Garage’s former manufacturing partner, the JooJoo Tablet is poised to give you great couch computing experience. For those who want a Chrome Internet Tablet, the device looks polished and solid. Now, if Fusion Tablet could only lower its price, we might see a brighter future for the JooJoo.

First demonstrated at the CES 2010 in Las Vegas, the Astri MyID is another device taking a stab at the dual screen eInk + LCD touchscreen tablet world. This third generation offering from the Hongkong-based company Astri aspires to be your web browser, multimedia player, e-book reader, daily newspaper, and school/classroom organizer in one pocketable device. Hinted to retail at $150, it is a bargain for a truly promising device. 

Features – Hardware and Software

With a second generation tablet already used in elementary schools in Hong Kong, one can be confident that Astri knows what they’re doing. MyID (My Internet Device), like the Asus eee Budget PC, sports two screens. One screen, designed for book and newspaper reading, sports e-Ink technology. On the epaper panel, you can open 6 books at the same time. The jog wheel found on the spine dividing the two screens carries the command for flipping between ebooks. The other, an LCD touch screen running on Android OS, does more complex tasks such as web browsing and playing YouTube videos. You can turn on both screens at the same time, but you can also turn off one when not needed to save power. MyID can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode.

Unlike most dual screen prototypes exhibited at the CES, the Astri comes in a pocketable size. The epaper panel is 5 inches wide, while the LCD display measures 4.8 inches with 800 x 480 pixels. At the button of the screens, users will find shortcut and menu buttons. The device responds to stylus input.

The Bottom Line

The prototype of the MyID shown at the 2010 CES gives a glimpse of the potential of Astri’s dual internet tablet. The design and functionality is not yet final, so we may be seeing less design flaws in the future. For now, the Astri MyID seems to be your most convenient web browsing solution and ebook reader in one. And if Astri can indeed keep the price low, the MyID will surely find a home in many consumer pockets.

Wacom sets another standard in graphic touch technology with its Wacom Bamboo. Adding multi-touch capability to the device, people can now use not only the stylus but also their fingers to navigate and actuate applications.

Features – Hardware and Software

The Wacom Bamboo tablet comes with matte finish and more streamlined design than its Intuos 3 predecessor. Sporting an A5 size, it is relatively small. It measures only 200 x 186 x 10.7 mm and weighs about 370 grams. Such dimension renders it more portability, making it perfect for scribblers on the go.     

The tablet still has 4 customizable Express Keys but now sports a scroll ring. Surrounding the ring are 4 keys: 2 are used as Forward/Backward keys but the functions of the other 2 can be customize. The function of the touch ring varies with the type of application being used; most of the time, though, it is used for scrolling or for zooming in and out.

The new Bamboo tablet still has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, but it is smaller by 25 percent than its predecessors. It has been redesigned to look more like traditional pen, but it is still packed with all Wacom classic features including two customizable buttons and eraser. The pen is still cordless and requires no battery. Wacom, however, improved its accuracy rate to +/- 0.05 mm. To use the stylus, you have to set it about 3mm from the surface of the table. This may seem strange at first, but once you get used to it, it’s a smooth ride for you.

The Bamboo tablet is Windows Vista and Mac compatible. Applications include Adobe photoshop, Corel painter, and Nik Color Efex.

The Bottom Line

Wacom is derived from a combination of the Japanese words Wa (meaning harmony) and Komu (meaning computer). The Wacom Bamboo Tablet stays true to the creed, allowing you to work in better harmony with your computer with its pen and touch technology. Home users and new users on the go may find it the perfect tool for their drawing or graphic designing needs.

Packed with a new web browsing engine called Maemo 5, Nokia’s latest addition does more than phone calls. With the Nokia N900, you can check on the news, place Skype calls, update your Twitter account, view friends’ Facebook updates, send emails, or watch YouTube videos. Sporting a 3.5-inch reflective touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Nokia N900 offers a great way to simplify your digital life.

Features – Hardware and Software

With body size measuring 110.9 mm tall, 59.8 mm wide, and 18 mm thick and weighing 181 g, the Nokia N900 will not win in the slim looks department. What adds to the bulk is the full QWERTY sliding keyboard. The keyboard, on the other hand, provides alternative – and more comfortable – typing to the virtual keyboard. A spring mechanism ensures smooth sliding action. 

With the hefty size come hefty functionalities. The device still comes with many call/messaging functions Nokia smartphones are known for, but the N900 is also trying to break new ground. With the new Maemo 5, the device works more like a mini computer. You can make and receive Skype calls, customize home screen, view maps, send email services, or purchase apps from the Ovi Store. You can run multiple applications at a time, and yet the speed of the device remains impressive. 

Featuring a wider 3.5-inch WGA panel, the device can display videos with 800 x 480 pixel resolution – higher than the iPhone or any Android phone. The virtual keyboard occupies most of the screen space and so allows fewer errors. 

Packed with an improved 32GB onboard storage plus support for up to 16GB external storage, you can store up to 40 hours worth of videos or thousands of MP3 songs, photos, and documents on the device.

Capturing images is easy. The phone houses a 5-megapixel digital camera with LED flash and a VGA front camera. The stylus used for activating the touch display is neatly tucked in the corner of the device.  With personalization applications, you can easily customize widgets, background pictures, and shortcuts on your device.
 
The Bottom Line

The Nokia N900 is ready to show you endless possibilities in fun and entertainment.  Combining stylish design, a suite of entertainment applications, and high-tech capability, it is for people looking for a powerful mobile Internet device rather than just a great smartphone.

Features – Hardware and Software

The market has a number of Windows 7-based tablets already, but most of them lack pinch and zooming capability. What particularly excites gadget lovers about the Rui X9 is its successful integration of pressure-sensitive, multi-touch experience into a tablet PC. 

The Rui X9 from the Chinese computer maker Wang Zhong Rui features plenty of reading and writing space with its 10.2-inch TFT touchscreen display. Given the device’s 1024 x 600 resolution, images and texts pop out with vividness and clarity. To set it further apart from other similar devices, Cool Rui X9 bills the X9’s screen as resistant to various types of damages including dust, smear, scratch, and fire.

The Cool Rui X9 tablet is about the size of a long legal paper. Though not pocketable, it can easily fit in your bag as it measures a mere 8.9 inches wide, 6.57 inches tall, and 0.97 inch thick. Weighing under 1 kilogram, it doesn’t easily tire your arm even when holding it for long periods. The device sports 3 USB slots, slot for a card reader, and a 1.3 megapixel camera.  It is WiFi ready, but there’s  also a SIM card slot that can support 3G if you wish to augment wireless connectivity to the device.

Powered by Atom 270 processor and a 160 GB hard drive, we should be expecting a stable device.

The Bottom Line

There’s no release date for the Rui X9 yet, but it is expected to launch in China. Price will be a defining factor on whether the X9 will make it across the Pacific into North American shelves. A nicely put and capable device, it’s going to be a cool thing to have around.