Web Tablets

From MobileRead

The history of web tablets is very equal to the history of e-book readers: During the internet bubble several companies revealed such devices. However the first generation of this devices were pretty lousy i.e. keeping their prices in mind. Unfortunately, companies did not spend much effort in developing 2nd generation devices but instead complained that there was no market for web tablets.

Now, when the hardware components are cheap and there is a pretty good infrastructure for web devices (private and public WLAN hotspots, 3G cell networks), the chances for web tablets are very good. But companies are generally extremely wary of releasing such devices. Possibly the introduction of the Nokia internet tablets (Nokia 770 and Nokia N800) will herald a renaissance of web tablets.

This matrix lists devices that allow browsing the internet via a wireless connection AND reading documents offline. Only currently available devices are listed:

[edit] Matrix

Brandname	iRex iLiad	Nokia Internet Tablet	ARCHOS 704 MOBILE DVR
Model	ER-0100	N800	704 WiFi
Manufacturer	iRex Technologies	Nokia	Archos

Dimensions	155 x 216 x 16mm (8.5" x 6.1" x .6")	144 x 75 x 13mm	182 x 128 x 20mm (7.05" x 4.96" x 0.78")
Display	(122 x 163mm) 8.1-inch XGA 1024x768 16 grey scales, 158ppi	4.1-inch 800x480 2^18 colors	7-inch 800x480 16 million colors
Display Type	E-Ink	TFT	TFT
Touch Screen	yes (WaCom Pen)	yes	yes
Full-screen Refresh Rate	0.95s	TFT	TFT
WiFi	802.11b	802.11b/g	802.11g
Bluethooth	n.a.	2.0 + EDR	n.a.
Other Interfaces	USB 1.1 (device and host), headphone, 10/100 LAN	USB 2.0, headphone, camera	USB 2.0 (device and host), headphone, TV-out
Memory	64MB Ram + 128MB free Flash	128MB Ram + 256 MB Flash	40 GB or 80 GB hard drive
Expansion Slots	MMC, CF Type II, USB Memory	2xMiniSD/RS-MMS	n.a.
Supported Services and Formats	PDF, XHTML, TXT, XEB, JPG, GIF, PNG, more announced for later	Internet (Opera8, Flash7), Instant Messaging, VoIP, Internet Radio, PDF, Picture Viewer, MP3	Internet (no Flash support), e-mail, PDF, MPEG-4, WMV, Divx (optionally: MPEG-2, H.264), MP3, AAC, AC3, JPEG, PNG, BMP
DRM	n.a. (specific reader software may support DRM)	?	Plays for shure (Music/Video)
Power	Li-ion 1100mAh	Li-Polymer 1500 mAh (BP-5L)	Li-Polymer
Battery Life	21h (planned), 11h (software 2.8)	3,5 h	5.5 h (movie playback) 25 h (music playback)
Weight	388g (13.7oz)	206g	630g (22oz)
OS	Linux	Maemo (Linux)	?
Boot Time	44s (with software v2.8)	?	?
SDK	yes (planned end Q4 2006)	yes	?
CPU	Intel X-Scale 400MHz	Texas Instruments OMAP 2420 at 320 MHz	?
Software	n.a. (Note: Device is accessible as generic USB storage device)
Services	iRex Technologies Delivery Service (iDS)
Publisher Partners	De Tijd, IFRA
Price	649€	250€	300€ (704 / 40GB), 400€ (704 / 80GB), 500€ (705 / 160 GB)
Misc Info	Company was established in 2001 as a Royal Philips Electronics spin-off		The main purpose of this device is to be a mobile media player that becomes a video recorder when plugged into an additional base station