Second Prototype of the $200 Open Source Tablet 259
holy_calamity writes "TechCrunch blogger Mike Arrington decided last year to invent a new class of low-cost internet tablet using open source hardware and software. The second prototype has been unveiled, sporting a 12-inch touchscreen powered by a Via Nano processor, 1 GB of ram and a 4 GB flash drive. It runs a browser and nothing else on top of a custom Linux build. 'Resolution is 1024×768, which means the vast majority of websites are viewed in full width without scrolling. The device also has wifi, an accelerometer (so when you turn the screen on its side you can view more of a web page), a camera and a four cell battery.'"
resource sucking (Score:5, Funny)
skips resource-sucking parts of the operating system and focuses on the browser?
skips resource-sucking parts of the operating system and focuses on the browser?
skips resource-sucking parts of the operating system and focuses on the browser?
What alternate reality is this guy writing from!
Screen enlargement (Score:5, Funny)
an accelerometer (so when you turn the screen on its side you can view more of a web page)
I need a larger screen too. Must get myself one of them accelerometers.
Why is this taking so long? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm just utterly amazed it's taken this long for somebody to have a serious stab at a device like this. I've been asking for one for years. I got a Nokia Internet Tablet, but it's just too small. When Asus brought out the Eee and then everybody copied them within months I though they'd get the hint a build web tablets with the same kind of kit. But they haven't. Weird. This is exactly the kind of thing I want for browsing the web around the house and they will sell even faster than netbooks have, just as soon as somebody vaguely credible brings a reasonable quality one to market.
As to all the people wondering what else it will be able to do other than run a browser: It's an x86 box running Linux. It'll do whatever the hell you want it to do. Yes to PDFs, yes to ssh, yes to media player, yes to OpenOffice, yes to IM, yes to blowjobs on the beach, yes to absofuckinglutely everything you can do on any other Linux box. It's just a keyboard-less tablet netbook (not that that's not awesome).
(I lied about the blowjobs)
Re:$299 is a world away from $199. (Score:1, Funny)
In fact, that's how I read in bed: with an old LCD monitor connected to the desktop next to me, in my hands, with the power and VGA cables going off to the side. (I scroll with the mouse, in my other hand).
You share your bed with a desktop computer? I hope she has the appropriate interfaces.
Re:Tablet using Ninnle Linux! (Score:3, Funny)
I do not know.
However, I would urge moderators to mod the grandparent down; TFA clearly mentions Ubuntu Linux.
Re:BOM? Dev cost? (Score:3, Funny)
Don't put yourself down like that, your very acute.