Tap and go: This prototype device runs on the Android operating system and features a customizable home screen. The interface was created by Boston-based company Tap 'n Tap.
Tap 'n Tap
Tablets powered by Google's mobile operating system are set to debut.
Apple's iPad is certain to grab headlines when it hits stores next month. But a number of touch-screen tablets powered by Google's Android operating system will also debut this year. Competing with Apple's latest consumer gadget won't be easy, but analysts say the software behind these devices could give them a few key advantages.
Like the iPhone OS, which will power the iPad, Android was originally developed for cell phones. This means it will be fast and low-power. "Android is very responsive; it's instantly available," says Jeff Orr, a senior analyst for mobile devices at ABI Research.
It can also make use of apps already developed for Android phones. "The real benefit [of using Android] is that it taps into this ecosystem of developers that have latched onto Android," says Carl Howe, analyst and director of the Anywhere Consumer Research division of the Yankee Group. Most importantly, some of these Android devices come with features that the iPad currently lacks--the ability to run Flash, for example, as well as a webcam and software multitasking.
Several companies showed off Android-based tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Taiwanese computer makers Compal, MSI, and Quanta all gave demos of Android-powered devices with screens between seven and 10 inches and powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 microprocessor.
Also at CES was an Indian company called Notion Ink, which demonstrated an Android tablet called Adam. The company showed two versions--one featuring a lower-power Pixel Qi display with three display modes, and the other featuring a regular LCD. The Adam also uses the Tegra 2, features a rotating webcam, and is expected to cost between $327 and $800. It is scheduled to go on sale later this year.
French computer maker Archos already sells an Android tablet with a five-inch screen called the Archos 5 Internet Tablet, for $499. And, perhaps most significantly, the third-largest computer maker in the world, Dell, is rumored to be developing a five-inch, multitouch, Android-driven tablet, which may be announced later this year.
The latest Android tablets and Chromebooks suggest different "post-PC" worlds, both more complicated than the one Apple is going for.
Tablets on show at CES may be hampered by Google's unfinished OS.
The Chinese-made tablet falls short, highlighting problems with the Android ecosystem.
Android is a serious competitor to Apple and everyone else with proprietary systems (Apple, Palm, RIM, Microsoft, Nokia, etc.). This is why Steve Jobs decided to use the patent infringement card against HTC. And with great fury, I might add. They will lose in the end because Android is a highly disruptive technology. Why? Because it's open source.
You are correct. I predict that within 11 days, Apple will be no more!
I see no interface improvement from one to the other
Rubbing technology is very painful to me. I can only rub a screen for 15 to 20 seconds before I am in significant pain. I can not use the iPad, and now I won't be able to use the Android. So what's the difference? Both machines are useless to me. There have got be be others like me. I can't be the only one.
Re: I see no interface improvement from one to the other
Putting aside all the naughty comments that come to mind, I will be serious:
1) So, you can't use a mousepad either, I suppose. That stinks.
2) Perhaps you could use a sheer nylon finger guard. Cut the legs off tights for dolls.
Re: I see no interface improvement from one to the other
You might try the Nexus One if you can get your hands on one. The sapphire coated screen is a lot smoother and more durable than the plastic (polycarbonate?) screens most phones have.
But I'm sure these touchscreen units will have USB ports which you can plug real keyboards and mice in to. Android phones also have roller balls which allow you to do less finger dragging if that's an issue.
Yes,It's just before the war Apple vs Android.
Like previous case [JVC's VHS vs Sony's Veta],Some people guess Androids will win Apple. But in my point of view, it's not simple case. In case of encoding video file, we didn't need culture variable, it was just choice of technology. But, now the rule of game is influenced by culture. Steve Jobs said to rival Microsoft "They don't bring much culture into their products" in 1996. Despite Android's being open to every hardware, it is difficult for hardware manufacturers to collaborate together with same culture. Diversity is important but we need to focus on "Design and Story".
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
This document is part of the “How-To Guide for Most Common Measurements” centralized resource portal. This tutorial provides a detailed guide for measurement and device considerations to take temperature measurements using thermocouples. Get an introduction to thermocouples, which are inexpensive sensing devices widely used with PC-based data acquisition systems. Also review some specific thermocouple examples and learn how thermocouples work and ways to integrate them into a data acquisition measurement system.
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StevenDuque
2 Comments
If the iPad has a built-in camera, it still has a big comparative advantage to Androids
A recent Harvard grad's thoughts on the potential impacts of the iPad having a camera:
http://stevenduque.com/2010/02/the-ipad-3-reasons-why-a-built-in-camera-will-make-it-a-must-have-device/
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Gaetano Marano
246 Comments
>>> a new OLPC design blog >>>
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the OLPC project is a great idea that, unfortunately, haven't had enough success in its early five years of life, with a selling of less than 1.6 machines, so far, despite, the potential number of persons that might need this PC is of over two billion, worldwide, so, before the OLPC project fails, I've decided to start a new project called "MY Low Cost PC" to try to develop MY version of an affordable computer for poor countries and poor peoples, hoping to have the support of the OLPC team and of the PC industry, to develop, produce and sell my idea more quickly
and here is the blog where my project starts: http://www.olpcdesign.com/
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GaryB
119 Comments
Re: If the iPad has a built-in camera, it still has a big comparative advantage to Androids
Who the hell sez that iPad has no camera? It will have a camera. The fact that Job's didn't demo it probably just meant is wasn't working like he wanted it to. Note the delay in release of the iPad -- probably for just this reason.
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