Six hot tablets at CES

1/7/2011 4:11 AM EST

I found the Notion Ink tablet really interesting. Unique mix of Sunlight readable E-ink type display & DualCore Tegra 2 CPU.

http://www.slashgear.com/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-at-ces-2011-05123431/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-preview-video/

BTW I have recently tried Ziio tablet in a Creative store. Its was very laggy and had resistive touch screen. Felt like a device from 2005. I dont know why creative bothered to put out this device to market.

1/7/2011 8:57 AM EST

I like the slide-out keyboard layout of the Samsung but being right handed would rather have the mouse on the right side. I would also rather have it run Android. Does the Samsung have both slide-out and touch-screen keyboard function as is done in most smartphones with this layout?

1/7/2011 10:01 AM EST

I like the way Asus had its tablets dock to a keyboard to form a notebook-alike without requring dual electronics as in the Lenovo U1 Hybrid. But I am curious about the LG tablet which had some buzz.

1/7/2011 12:23 PM EST

What's your collective take on pricing? These devices range from a couple of hundred bucks to, what, $700? You can get an excellent laptop for $700... but then again I'm a keyboard bigot.

Thoughts?

1/7/2011 12:47 PM EST

My guess (based upon similar screen sizes) pricing range will reflect OS: Linux will be lowest cost, Android middle of the road, Windows highest cost.

1/7/2011 12:55 PM EST

I wonder when Vizio gets into the market with the first $99 tablet.

1/7/2011 1:00 PM EST

This year atleast a 100 companies are launching Android tablets. SO IMO the ASPs of tablets will come down to 200-300$ level by 2012. Even currently some good tablets are selling at 400-500 levels. Checkout the links from my first post.

1/7/2011 1:04 PM EST

I wonder how long it will be before Sprint, Verizon, etc. will be offered package deals that include both smartphones/tablets together at a low cost. Seems like a great way to keep the hardware cost factor down and increase network usage revenue.

1/7/2011 1:49 PM EST

The current crop of "superphones" (of which include the iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy, and the HTC variants) really do a respectable job of displacing the need for tablets. A couple people that I know who were the first to rush out and get an iPad are now peddling them on eBay because between a phone with a 4+ inch screen and a laptop, they don't really do anything well... It's interesting that there is so much excitement about "the next operating system" with these devices. People are excited about their Android 2.1 getting updated to 2.2, even though the benefit is quite incremental. Compare this to the PC market of 10 years ago when every new program was an oohh, ahh... There are people in my office who automatically upgrade their iPhone as soon as a new operating system comes out, regardless of the contract timing, etc.

1/7/2011 5:03 PM EST

I've now also had a look at Research in Motion's PlayBack tablet, which has a 7-inch screen and will be available in 16-, 32- and 64-GB. I was told it will be available sometime in the first quarter. Playback was very cool and seems elegant, but with so many out there (and so many specs of Plaback and some others still under wraps that it's kind of hard to compare to the others.)

On price, I think there are wide differences at this time, but the low end is pretty low. The Ziio from Creative Labs is listed at $270, and I've seen some reports that it is being sold as low as $250.

Another company showing some interesting tablets here is Huawei... I can't keep up.

1/7/2011 10:57 PM EST

No Tablet like product from Sony. Sony will come out with good product to come close to Aplle iPAD.

1/8/2011 2:20 PM EST

Gloria? Name of a tablet. That is awesome America. These branding managers are taking more coffee overnight.

1/8/2011 2:22 PM EST

CES is not the right place to showcase the best technology. Apple has its own show and I wish most firms note that you do not get out the word in a crowded week like CES. Get your own time and run the show your own way

1/8/2011 6:57 PM EST

Tablets are one of the anticipated products in CES 2011 long before. These tablets are somewhat build around the iPad. I was hoping there would be more features such as HDMI, SD support. The Samsung tablet with sliding keyboard is one of the many which catches my eyes although it looks really similar to OQO which was launched 5 years ago. WeTab is interesting to me simply because it has different OS. I am very interested in knowing which OS will become the most popular OS for tablet or mobile device 3-5 years from now.

1/8/2011 6:58 PM EST

+700 bucks for a touch screen internet device? are they really serious? i can get quite nice laptos with small size to that price even though no touch but nice keyboard with tons of functionality.

Most realistic price for a pad would be max 500-600 bucks depends on screen quality. Indeed these reveals show that well have imminent boom of pad market. The biggest question mark is about perfect sizing. What is the most useful size for a pad? 5,7,10 or bigger? or even something really new?

1/8/2011 7:29 PM EST

The netbooks faced the same size question, and I believe the 10 inch came out to be the ideal size.

1/9/2011 12:22 AM EST

Will new Apple iPAD will be with hand writing recognization software? This may be a nice future and writing here on EETimes and drafting email may be more productive on this small device.

1/10/2011 4:53 PM EST

Dylan, seriously? Your list of six left out the Moto Xoom?

1/10/2011 4:57 PM EST

It seems like many of the tablet companies are trying to follow the cellular phone model, introducing their wares through the carriers. This seems like a poor match to me. It works fine for a phone, but even with smartphones it is less of given thing. Certainly laptops with integrated cellular haven't become mainstream. Is a tablet closer to a laptop or a cell handset? Will people tie themselves to a carrier or buy an 802.11 version and access the Internet through their home wireless or Mifi device?

Larry M.

1/10/2011 7:08 PM EST

I agree that the 3G option is almost a must have. If you are commuting on a train for example, 3G allows you to answer emails etc. whereas not all trains are WiFi equipped. Still I wish I had waited a year as I am sure the price of pads will be driven down by the sheer numbers of competition.

1/10/2011 7:45 PM EST

I tend to agree with Larry on the walled garden and the carrier issue (this doesn't seem to be a problem in China, where the carrier-device tether is pretty much non-existent).

We did a teardown of the Dell Streak and Archos 7 devices last fall (http://video.eetimes.com/search-video/arm-techcon-teardown-smackdown/678957972001?q=dell-streak). I was fascinated with the Streak's use proposition (is it a computer? is it a phone?). It's really both, but my mind--based on technology habits formed in the past 15 years-- says if something doesn't fall into the "phone" category or the "computer" category it's hard to embrace it.
I'm sure that's just a matter of time (especially as I use my awkward Blackberry for computing and telephony and apps while despising the screen size and cursing my aging eyes).

1/10/2011 9:34 PM EST

Tablet reviews should reveal the country of origin, as should all products.

1/11/2011 12:28 AM EST

@Davey - By country of origin, do you mean where it was designed, manufactured, or assembled? In many cases each of these can be different countries. In addition, how would that impact your buying decision if you had that information?

1/11/2011 12:53 PM EST

This article is pro-Intel. Half of tablets are using Intel Atom chip.
There are a lot of others going on there ......

1/12/2011 3:31 AM EST

I think xoom may be the best seller among all the tablets on show.

1/13/2011 12:47 AM EST

The best tablets at CES had Tegra2 not Intel... like XOOM. Where are they?

1/13/2011 12:52 AM EST

Hmm if you have any doubt:

"Just about all observers agreed, it seems, that the 10.1-inch, Verizon destined Motorola Xoom was the leading -- if not only -- true iPad competitor among the pack of Android contenders.

CNET echoed this consensus when it gave the Xoom its Best of Show award."

www.linuxdevices.com

1/13/2011 5:46 PM EST

LTE will add more cost. $499.99 may be the price.
AT&T can give it free for 3 years contract