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Android Portables Hardware

Samsung May Release an 18" Tablet 177

Posted by timothy from the why-stop-there? dept.
A report at PC Magazine says that Samsung may soon field a tablet to satisfy people not content with the 7", 9", 12", or even slightly larger tablets that are today's normal stock in trade. Instead, the company is reported to be working on an 18.4" tablet aimed at "living rooms, offices, and schools." There's a lot of couching going on, but it sounds like an interesting idea: It's said to run Android 5.1 Lollipop and be powered by an octa-core 64-bit 1.6GHz Exynos 7580 processor. Other rumored specs include 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot with support for cards up to 128GB, and a large 5,700 mAh battery. The device also has an 8-megapixel main camera (and you thought people looked silly taking photos with their iPads) and 2.1-megapixel "secondary camera."
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Samsung May Release an 18" Tablet More

Samsung May Release an 18" Tablet

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  • Should it be still called an tablet? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SYSS Mouse ( 694626 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @05:52PM (#50376341) Homepage

    It is bigger than some of the laptops.

  • Good (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Quick Reply ( 688867 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @05:55PM (#50376353) Journal

    Finally something appropriate for the older crowd with poor vision. Add Keyboard & Mouse support and a stand and you are giving a PC a run for it's money when it comes to basic computer tasks for a home user, who have found tablets to be too small in the past.

    • I think you were meant this as a joke. Larger Screen, mouse and keyboard you don't have a tablet but a standard PC, running a baby mobile OS.

      • Thus the ASUS Transformer and its ilk.

      • If the keyboard and mouse are optional it's still a tablet. People like tablets.

      • Yeah. I really hate Android and iOS on larger screens. Samsung has made some modifications to allow multiple apps at the same time, but it doesn't work for all apps. I understand that the next version of iOS is going to allow side by side apps on iPad like MS has with Windows 8. But both are pretty weak when you try to use them on such a large screen. Large touch screens is one place where Windows still has huge advantages.

    • What's wrong with a 17" laptop? They're been around for over a decade.

    • I pushed the low-PPI display concept at my last job because we had a lot of people in their 50s and 60s who were always leaning in and squinting to see their standard-PPI monitors. 1366x768 on a 27" display can really reduce eye strain for people who have trouble reading a standard display. And it completely eliminates the issues of inconsistent scaling and requires no special support from the OS or applications. My boss threw out the usual "if we give Frank a 27" monitor, everybody will want one" reject

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      Except the older crown are unlikely to buy it. Tablets come with a build in device to guarantee 100% failure and require a costly repair or replacement. Fixed batteries guaranteed to fail, I really do not understand people who buy a product on that basis, not at all. The most expensive thing I have ever bought with a fixed battery, one of those silly greeting cards. I was going to buy a tablet, I never knew, just had a use for one and upon investigation, nu uh, I ain't that stupid. The reason by idiots tha

      • was going to buy a tablet, I never knew, just had a use for one and upon investigation, nu uh, I ain't that stupid.

        Yes, actually you are.

        I use my nearly 5 year old iPad 2 about 7-10 hours per day, every day, and I have yet to notice any drop in battery life. WIth modern Lithium Polymer batteries and a reasonable charging system (albeit not always present in cheapie mobile devices), you can expect many, many recharge cycles.

    • Waaaaaay ahead of you: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/l... [lenovo.com]

      I've got a yoga thinkpad that can be taken apart to change the hard drive (put a spare SSD in mine), upgrade the memory or (gasp) replace the battery so the device isn't worthless in a couple years. The yoga thinkpad is only available in sizes up to 15.6" but for me 18" is too large (had an ASUS 17.3" lap monster at one point, awesome machine but never again)

      I had bought an Android tablet four years ago for teaching. I like the low profile device

    • Just to clear up some confusion of what I meant, it's not the form factor on it's own that's interesting, it's the software stack the comes with it. It doesn't matter if it's a 17" Laptop or that it's a an 18" Tablet form factor, the fact is giving access to Android OS (with full hardware support, eg: sensors) on this large a screen opens up possibilities where end users are capable of managing their own device (including the installation of 3rd party apps) on a screen size (with the right DPI) that they ca

      • It is certainly a cool development platform to develop for Android on Android.

        And for my Mac it is a superb external screen, via AirDisplay. Being able to use my mac by "touch" is already a reason to buy such a thing.

    • Finally something appropriate for the older crowd with poor vision. Add Keyboard & Mouse support and a stand and you are giving a PC a run for it's money when it comes to basic computer tasks for a home user, who have found tablets to be too small in the past.

      I have a tablet from Samsung that was purchased for $200.00 It has a slot for extra memory, earphones, and an attachable keyboard (which was included). There is a micro-usb connector and I purchased an option to allow micro-usb to a usb-hub. Thus, I can use it for browsing the web, taking notes, recording conversations, and email).
      I have Dropbox on it, so that my notes are stored therein. When I get home, I pickup my notes using my desktop system.

      Yes, in my life, Windows is history, something I used a fe

  • Dell already sells an 18" "All-In-One Desktop" XPS 18 which is thin enough to be a tablet and has batteries and a touchscreen. I have owned one for over a year and it is very nice. Fast Core I7, 8 GB and a terabyte of hybrid disk. They sell less tricked out versions as well. Other than the Android OS on the Samsung and the Windows 8.1 on the Dell they sound pretty comparable. Not sure this is a really new idea.

  • Camera, memory, apps (Score:5, Interesting)

    by crow ( 16139 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @05:58PM (#50376361) Homepage Journal

    Several things that they need:

    The front camera needs to have a built-in swivel, so that it can aim if the user is at an angle from the device.

    Try 4GB instead of 2GB RAM. That's probably just bad info, as other Samsung products already have more memory.

    Apps! They need lots of special apps to take advantage of this. They should partner with gaming companies to have app versions of Monopoly and other well-known board games where the tablet is the board, and players sit around it. It may even use bluetooth to let players have secret information on only their handsets.

  • I'm waiting (Score:3)

    by AndyKron ( 937105 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @06:07PM (#50376403)
    I'm holding out for the 64" tablet.

    • Re:I'm waiting (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23, 2015 @06:29PM (#50376517)

      I'm holding out for the 64" tablet.

      Well, 64.0" ought to be enough for anybody.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Adriax ( 746043 )

        Bah, maybe in 2010. But this is 2015, 204.8" is the base minimum to use today's apps.
        The next big thing is Google's new Android '95 OS, which is multi-tasking but needs atleast 819.2".

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by alexhs ( 877055 )

      I'm holding out for the 64" tablet.

      I'm holding out for the five blades tablet.

    • I'm holding out for the 64" tablet.

      Well Andy, given that the average male arm-span is 69", I'm guessing you'll go cross-eyed looking at it.

  • Samsung Galaxy 18" (Score:3)

    by drpimp ( 900837 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @06:09PM (#50376413) Journal
    You know you want to laugh with everyone holding this up to their head. Or even better, in front of their face while driving in traffic.

  • Will someone just please make me a coffee table where the surface is a touchscreen?

    And make it resistant to bean dip and highball glasses. And my stinky feet.

  • Music Score (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    There are currently very few options for musicians who don't want to carry books around. Hopefully this will be more affordable than the current available products.

    • Agreed, and with modern digital mixers, a large touchscreen would be great.

    • There are currently very few options for musicians who don't want to carry books around.

      Yuja Wang plays in her concerts directly from an iPad. I know people who prefer Windows tablet (not sure why, but no accounting for taste).

      Hopefully this will be more affordable than the current available products.

      At 18 inches? Doubtful.

  • Android? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @06:39PM (#50376565)

    I'm all for a big tablet. As someone who regularly works with large drawings having what effectively amounts to a digital piece of paper is a killer feature for me.

    But not Android. The entire Android design is centered around small screens, apps designed to fill entire screens, big buttons, large keyboard areas etc. There would be signficant amount of hackery needed to make an 18" tablet useful (which I don't trust Samsung to get right or support going forward), and there are little to no productivity apps that would make an 18" tablet useful in the Android market.

    A PC in that form factor on the other hand would make me part with my money.

    • But not Android. The entire Android design is centered around small screens, apps designed to fill entire screens, big buttons, large keyboard areas etc.

      That and whatever version of Android it ships with is the one you're always going to have on it. At least that's what Samsung taught me when I bought a Galaxy Tab.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tsqr ( 808554 )

        That and whatever version of Android it ships with is the one you're always going to have on it. At least that's what Samsung taught me when I bought a Galaxy Tab.

        I'm a little surprised at this. I've had two Android updates since purchasing mine; currently at 5.0.1. Granted, I waited a while, but the updates straggled in eventually.

    • I'm all for a big tablet. As someone who regularly works with large drawings having what effectively amounts to a digital piece of paper is a killer feature for me.

      Consider buying a Cintiq. It's exactly what you are asking for, with superb software and stylus support, at sizes up to 27" diagonal. A bit expensive, but this is a niche market, and you get what you pay for.

      • Cintiq's are only good for essentially fixed workspaces. The 13" model is only 2.6 pounds, but the 22" model weighs 19 pounds and the 27" is 20 pounds - and none of them come with a battery. Panasonic had a 5lb, 20" 4k model (at least as vaporware), but at $6-7k, it was definitely a pricey option.

        I'm, honestly, not sure if it's really worth it to get an 18"+ screen at the severe cost of portability. I'm kind of hoping that the Surface 4 comes in a 14" size with a super thin bezel, as it would be barely lon

    • Here you go:

      https://www.asus.com/AllinOne-PCs/ASUS_Transformer_AiO_P1801/

      Asus gleefully awaits your money.

      • "Standalone 18.4-inch tablet powered with an NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core processor"
        " detach its 18.4-inch Full HD display and it instantly transforms into a multi-touch Android tablet."

        That's the problem - it becomes an over-glorified pda as soon as you undock it. And there's no pen support. Nobody does technical drawings with their fingers, or crayon-sized markers.

        • Fine, fine. Dell awaits your money:

          http://www.dell.com/ca/p/xps-18-1820-aio/pd

          • Erm still no pen support.

            The rumoured Surface Pro 4 14" would be closer to being useful and productive. But still could be bigger. As much as I hate MS, especially as of late, they seem to have produced the only really functional convertible unit.

    • An 18"+ iPad that runs MacOS instead of IOS? Probably getting too close to Surface Pro territory...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Get one of 27" QHD combined monitor and pen interfaces [wacom.com] and strap a little Intel NUC or similar super small PC to the back. They do smaller ones if you only want 18".

      • The result still smells more like an 80s era luggable computer rather than a tablet. You can fit a LOT of battery behind 18" of screen. As far as tablets go it should be one of the easier ones to manufacture.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bazorg ( 911295 )

      A PC that size? Well there's The dell xps 1820 AIO. Essentially a sort of imac with a battery. Unless you are Hafthor Bjornson, you'll use it your desk and move it other places rather than as a normal tablet...

      • Working with large drawings implies that I'm after some of the features common of Samsung's larger tablets, specifically Pen support. Bonus points for Surface style support which includes palm detection. All the Dell has is a clunky touchscreen which is very primitive compare to what is offered on Samsung Notes.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @07:04PM (#50376667)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by swb ( 14022 )

      I always thought the print magazine format would have done well on a tablet that could display at least one full page of a magazine at a size identical to the print edition. I don't find the app versions of magazines nearly as satisfying as paging through a physical magazine and the reduce-and-zoom stuff like Zinio does isn't very appealing either.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shinobi ( 19308 )

      Oh yes please, a proper A4 tablet with at minimum Galaxy Tab Note class touchscreen sensitivity etc. I currently run a Tab Note 2, and it's decent for note-taking, sketching, diagrams etc with a stylus, but full A4 size screen would make for a much better experience.

      • Onyx Boox have an e-ink tablet that you can put in landscape mode to show half an A4 page at full size at a time. It's good for many PDF files. Of course some others for some insane reason are encoded badly enough that you need the grunt of a recent desktop computer to avoid rendering times of many seconds per page.

        • I've wanted a pdf reader even on desktop that renders the whole document, even if that would waste say a GB of RAM or two. No more white page that fills up or "spinner" that shows for a second.
          If using a recent graphics card (such as a cheap 2GB one) and the pages are rendered to textures, you would fill the otherwise empty graphics RAM.

    • Yeah, but then you'd really need a pixel-accurate stylus interface, and that's not how Steve would have used the iPad so it's not allowed to exist. I waiting for 4 iterations of iPad, and tried about every passive and bluetooth-active pen replacement on the market before giving up on that pipe dream. I bought a convertible windows laptop last year, but the software is just now catching up (Bluebeam seems to understand and almost gets it right). Sadly, my screen cracked entirely of it's own volition and I ca

    • I considered iOS devices at one point but I kind of like having a file system. As a result I've stuck to Windows based like Surface and transformer laptops (Lenovo Yoga Thinkpad is nice).

    • Ever since the iPad 1 shipped, I've advocated a range of iPads in all the standard drafting sheet sizes, from A (8.5" x 11") to D (17"x22"). Direct manipulation on large, high-DPI displays would make for an amazing user experience for CAD.

      Of course, if I spent the money that a 17x22" device would cost, there's no way in hell I'd settle for Android. I LIKE getting OS updates.

      -jcr

      And thus is the main disadvantage of iOS - you get what you're given, and nothing else...

  • It's the 80's all over again (Score:5, Funny)

    by EvilSS ( 557649 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @07:08PM (#50376679)
    I keep waiting for Samsung to resurrect the 1980's boombox with their ever increasing phone and tablet sizes. Teens walking down the road, a giant touchscreen device on their shoulders blasting the latest from Justin Bieber....

    I didn't say it was a pretty future....

  • Hey, great! Here's an idea to improve it further: (Score:5, Funny)

    by kheldan ( 1460303 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @07:22PM (#50376733) Journal
    Attach a keyboard to it, with a hinge, so you can close the whole thing up, protecting both the screen and the keyboard.You could even put little feet on the bottom of the keyboard part, so when it's open it won't slide around if it's on a hard surface. While you're at it, put most of the electronics under the keyboard, along with the battery, so the center of gravity is lower; it'll make the whole device more stable when it's open.

    Now we just need to come up with a name for this..
    • No, no keyboard please. I've been waiting for a reasonable 13+ inch tablet to replace my 3 foot stack of music books for my piano. I scanned my most-used music scores long ago (or downloaded from imslp.org), and used to use a 12.1" PC tablet a decade ago for this purpose (it had a 1440x1050 screen, vs the 1024x768 or 1366x768 which was common at the time). I'd consider that size the absolute minimum size and resolution - the notes are (barely) large enough to easily recognize at typical reading distance
    • A keyblet?

  • Tablet? (Score:3)

    by penguinoid ( 724646 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @07:25PM (#50376753) Homepage Journal

    More like table.

  • Too small (Score:5, Funny)

    by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M ( 4212163 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @08:02PM (#50376893)

    I'm still awaiting delivery of my 2000" TV.

    Signed,
    Frank.

  • Nabi Big Tab (Score:4, Informative)

    by Space ( 13455 ) on Sunday August 23, 2015 @08:07PM (#50376925) Homepage

    How about a 24" family tablet?
    Nabi Big Tab [nabitablet.com]

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Having seen one, the page you linked to is a bit disingenuous - it has something like a 5-minute battery, so that it's "room portable". But it actually has to be plugged in to be used.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sloppy ( 14984 )

        it has something like a 5-minute battery

        I, for one, am delighted that UPSs have become expected built-in features for PCs. Keep raisin' that bar, buyers!

  • B4 (Score:2)

    by JanneM ( 7445 )

    Slightly larger than B4 size overall, but with a wider format. The width is 1.9cm wider than A4 and 11cm longer. Plenty of space to show a full A4 PDF and even scale it up a bit, and still have controls, status bars and the rest on the top and bottom.

    If it is light enough, this would be an excellent device to read and annotate research papers. Your typical 10" tablet is just too small to fit all of a double-column paper on screen and still keep the text readable. Zoom in on one column and you no longer see

  • I remember when I got a Dell Streak 5, smartphone in 2010...everyone laughed "it's too big" Then the next year, Samsung came out with the Galaxy Note...everyone said it was too big. Now, just about ever smartphone maker, INCLUDING APPLE has a 5" or bigger screen, so, who's to say an 18" tablet is too big? Time will tell. If they made a rugged one, I'd get it for work and give up lugging around my laptop.
  • If it doesn't include a sub-woofer, it's just not worth it.

  • Let's have a tablet on the floor instead : no problem holding it in the air, no gorilla arm, in fact you don't need arms to use it! Keyboarding will be good exercise, toes can be used for fine drawing and even butt dialing can get literal.

  • Make that a wireless remote screen that connects to my desktop PC at home for less cost than a normal tablet and let's talk.
  • I bought an Acer DA220HQL, a 21.5"(!) Android tablet.
    It's actually more useful than it seems. We mounted it on the wall in a space we always pass by, and I set it up with Google Keep and Calendar, and synced the family calendars to it, as well as the shopping lists. I did have to use Raccoon to get the apps to install on it, and there are a couple reflow issues with they layouts, but you really can't notice. Now, could we look at a calendar or the shopping list on a phone? Yes, but you don't always have y

  • Just prop it up on a stand, obviously add a keyboard and a mouse, and it's exactly what I wanted in 1988, when I was 8 years old.

    It took me another few years to get a great desk, but it was worth the wait.

    To be clear, I'm still using the 11 foot long solid wood desk, but my AT machine -- 12" screen, 20MB of HDD -- is missing in action, absent without leave, and lost across moves.

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