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Small Android tablets on the way: E-book-friendly tablets without iPhone gotcha risks?
August 18, 2009 | 6:58 am
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By David Rothman
Worried about Apple banning legitimate third-party apps from the iPhone and iPod Touch in the future—despite denials of evil intent? Hey, there’s always Android.
And lo and behold, in the wake of talk about $100-$200 Android tablets, comes word of little slate-style machines intended to outdo the iPod. Maybe Archos prototypes, out of China? Or just fun concept machines? Don’t look for these babies at BestBuy next week.
The screens would be bigger than the 3.5 inch iPhone and Touch displays—somewhere between 4.3 and 5 inches. Hey, I can imagine FBReader on that. The CPU might be the RK2808, says a report from Pocketables. Essentially, I suspect, we’re talking about more robust, more flexible versions of the Nokia Internet tablets.
Excerpt from second Pocketables item: “…the unknown Android MID sports an undeniably familiar design with its curved metal back and rounded corners. However, if the first photo is to be believed, this device differentiates itself by having an SD slot and what could be phone functions. I know the photo is grainy and the face of the gadget shows no sign of a microphone or speaker, but you can still make out the words "SD card & phone storage" at the top of the screen.”
Not-such-good Android news: Some developers have reservations about the adequacy of phones from Google’s partners. As if to confirm this, we hear hear via jkOnTheRun that the operating system in the G1 can’t be upgraded. Time for Google to get into the smart phone biz—and maybe the tablet one, too—while keeping the system as open as possible?
Related: Techmeme roundup.
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Comments:
Five-inch backlit screen. Errrrm, that do sound familiar:
http://jkontherun.com/2009/08/16/the-5-inch-e-book-readers-are-coming-ive-already-got-one
Good to see great minds thinking alike. No mention of the newly revealed Chinese devices in the JK’s piece, but I know he’d approve. Meanwhile, to be technical, we’re talking about a range of screen sizes–4.3 to 5. Fingers crossed that this stuff will happen! Yes, dig those glowing screens!
Thanks,
David
If you’re concerned about Android’s possible hiccups, think about an Eee PC from Asus.com. Their B5-sized devices (and one is a tablet-style) would make great e-book readers, as well as netbooks. Many of them can be run on Windows or Unix, and cost $3-500 depending on model. I’d consider one of them worth more than any dedicated reader!