The rumours of an Apple tablet just don’t seem to go away, but what are we supposed to do until it arrives? And would you even want one if it did? Whilst there have been hints that Apple is preparing the next version of Mac OS X for a touch interface, a more obvious choice would seem to be a version running the iPhone OS. And the problem with a tablet running the iPhone OS is all the restrictions that come along with it too - no browser choice, the application approval process and lack of expandability.
For my purposes, I’d like a small machine for casual coffee shop reading, web browsing and maybe a spot of development with a wireless keyboard attached. Windows 7, especially with it’s touch pack, and Firefox would be ideal for this purpose.
Previous attempts at UMPC and Tablet PCs haven’t caught on, so short of building your own, what’s coming soon or out there already?
Axiotron Modbook
When talking Apple tablet PC or media pad, then Axiotron Modbook immediately springs to mind. Basically take a MacBook, cut it in half and place a touch screen placed on top. Whilst this produces a decent outcome, for my needs this is too expensive and too heavy.
Pros: Decent hardware, can run Mac OS X and Windows
Cons: Expensive, Heavy
Sahara Slate
The Sahara Slate is a full featured Tablet PC, based upon a low voltage Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.5 GHz. The choice of CPU could leave it slightly on the anaemic side. With a sleek design that owes a lot in common with the Modbook, the Sahara Slate PC proves it’s a ground up slate design by it’s relative slimness and light weight. The main issue is that, like the Modbook, it comes with a laptop specification price tag.
Pros: Nice design, Ground up slate design
Cons: Expensive, Could be lighter (1.6kg)
Motion Computing LE1700
The Motion Computing LE1700 features pretty much the same specifications as the Sahara, however is a shade lighter at 1.5kg. Motion also produced a rugadized tablet, the Motion J3400 with a beefier 1.6ghz CPU but is however a tad heavier.
Pros: Ground up Slate design, Faster CPU on J3400
Cons: Expensive, could be lighter (1.5 kg)
AMtek T10L
A netbook tablet would seem to hit the sweet spot, an inexpensive machine featuring the now standard netbook components (1.6 Ghz Atom, 2GB ram, 80GB disk). This is what AMtek appear to offer, however no word yet on availability or pricing.
Pros: Light (1.18kg), Cheap (hopefully)
Cons: Relatively unknown manufacturer
Archos 9
Archos recently released details of a netbook tablet shipping with Windows 7. Featuring a new Atom Z515 processor clocked at 1.2Ghz, I’m not sure how the processor would hold up. Also, in the demonstration video, it looks like the tablet doesn’t have Aero glass enabled. As the Archos 9 runs Windows 7, it’s release date isn’t going to be until at least October 22nd.
Pros: Weight (less than 800g), Price (hopefully)
Cons: Processor speed?, Windows 7 Aero?
Honourable Mention: CrunchPad
Not many details on the CrunchPad yet apart from a few videos floating about on YouTube. Whilst the machine itself looks great, I would be concerned that an inflexibile the operating system would put this firmly in the realm of consumer electronic device rather than full PC.
Pros: Atom based (hopefully cheap), Thin (18mm), light tablet design
Cons: Flexibility in custom Linux operating system
Conclusion
It seems that in the next few months we’ll see a lot developments in the slate PC form factor - perhaps the Tablet PC is finally coming of age? Whilst these upcoming machines look promising, there is always the possibility that Apple could come out with a device that would blow them all out of the water…