Category: Laptops

Neonode to turn OLPC Pixel Qi Laptops into Tablets

Posted by Charbax – July 27, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Energy Harvesting, Marvell, Pixel Qi, OLPC, Android

Neonode announced today a licencing agreement with the One Laptop Per Child project, turning a new version of the OLPC XO 1.75 Marvell Armada 600 ARM Powered Laptop into a tablet. Keeping the exact same form factor, keeping the exact same readability, keeping the same screen bezel form factor but adding in there the cheap Neonode IR based touch-screen technology. One Laptop Per Child thus far have shipped over 2.5 million Pixel Qi Laptops to Children in about 50 mostly developing countries worldwide. OLPC is still the biggest deployment of Pixel Qi screens worldwide, until someone as Google, Amazon or Apple comes in and gets it mass manufactured for commercial Tablet use. To keep the best possible readability, the least possible reflections in sunlight, using Neonode’s IR touch screen technology may be the best idea for the future of Tablets and Smartphones instead of capacitive.

Here’s the press release:

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – July 26, 2012 – Neonode Inc., (NASDAQ:NEON), the MultiSensing touch technology company, announced today a licensing agreement with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization that designs, manufactures, and distributes laptops to children worldwide, to embed Neonode’s MultiSensing™ touch technology into the next generation of OLPC’s XO-1.75 laptop, called the XO Touch. The innovative OLPC XO Touch 1.75 is a 7.5” combined laptop and tablet that has a Dual-Mode (sunlight-readable) TFT LCD display which rotates 180 degrees and folds flat over the keyboard for tablet/e-book or game mode.

Embedding the Neonode MultiSensing touch solution will allow OLPC to build a completely new type of rugged laptop-tablet that is extremely fast, cost efficient and energy saving, offering 100% visibility in bright sunlight. This is done without compromising the quality of the first-rate user experience, in full color, and with the highest resolution possible, i.e., 300 dpi. The Neonode MultiSensing technology consists of a state-of-the-art interactive touch user interface that includes gestures, multi-touch, and sweeps at an extraordinary scanning speed of 1000 Hz. Thanks to the energy efficient engineering, consuming just 2W, the XO Touch can be powered through alternative power generators like solar cells or even hand cranks. In addition, Neonode’s green engineering feature AlwaysON™, enables full gesture activated wake-up of the XO Touch when it is in sleep or off mode.

OLPC, created by faculty members from the MIT Media Lab, sells the laptops in large quantities to governments and private institutions around the world, that in turn issue them to children or schools on a basis of one laptop per child.

“We are honored to be collaborating with OLPC to produce the XO Touch, a truly pioneering and sustainable device that shows the broad versatility of our technology. This market entry confirms that our MultiSensing technology makes it possible to create a top class product that is both affordable and extremely energy saving and still has a user interface that is radical enough to satisfy the uncompromising demands of knowledge and entertainment thirsty children” says Thomas Eriksson, CEO Neonode. “Our company philosophy is to contribute to a better and happier world, and we have the opportunity to do so by supporting OLPC’s mission”

“OLPC is proud to partner with an organization that shares its appreciation for innovative and transformative technology. Neonode’s expertise in engineering and design will turn the XO Touch, which combines the best features of laptop and tablet, into a next-level innovative machine.” said Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at OLPC

See how awesome Neonode’s touch-screen technology looks outdoors in sunlight on a Pixel Qi tablet in this video I filmed in May 2011:

Here’s my video filmed with Neonode last February:

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Toshiba OMAP4470 Windows 8 RT ARM Powered Laptop and Tablet shown on video

Posted by Charbax – June 17, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Texas Instruments, Computex, Windows

I was looking for it at Computex, I couldn’t find it being publicly demonstrated yet, but here it is on a 1-minute video. This new OMAP4470 ARM Powered Laptop from Toshiba looks nice! Now it’s going to be even nicer when/if it gets confirmed that this new Toshiba ARM Powered Laptop can legally multi-boot with Android, Chrome OS and Ubuntu and preferably be sold well below $500 with or without the hopefully optional $85 Windows RT licence.

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Ubuntu on Android demonstrated at Computex 2012

Posted by Charbax – June 11, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Smartphones, Exclusive videos, Texas Instruments, Computex, Ubuntu

Just dock your Ubuntu on Android enabled phone to a dock and it outputs Ubuntu on your monitor/HDTV all powered by your ARM Powered phone. Is Canonical going to be able to convince all device makers to pay for it and to support it? Should Canonical try to make it an apk in the Google Play Store, based on the Android Native Code Development Kit for it to work on most current Android phones?

VIA launches $49 APC, ARM11 computer platform

Posted by Charbax – June 11, 2012
Category: Laptops, Set-top-boxes, Development Boards, Exclusive videos, VIA, Computex, Android

VIA shows it’s 49 USD computer, it is powered by a Wondermedia WM8750 (ARM11 SoC) at 800MHz. It is distributed with Android and supports 720p playback, has 4 USB 2.0 port, one 100Mbps Ethernet port, one VGA out and one HDMI out port, and standard analog input/output audio. It is build in a Neo-ITX form factor that allows to be used on any case that support Micro-ATX, it is expected to be released at the end of June 2012.

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I’m being interviewed about how I started video-blogging and announcing a new feature for ARMdevices.net

Posted by Charbax – June 5, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Smartphones, HDMI Sticks, Exclusive videos, Opinions, Allwinner, MediaTek, Linaro Connect, Android

Here’s a 15 minute interview of me filmed by the Novacut guys using multiple high quality DSLR camera angles (you can watch it in 1080p!). I’m showing off some of the latest gadgets that I found in Shenzhen, I talk about why and how I video-blog from all the worlds consumer electronics trade shows since 2004, and I announce my next big feature on ARMdevices.net which is a $20/year Membership system to get access to buy all the best gadgets that I find at the trade shows all over the world, sourcing directly from the factories in Shenzhen and to get access to scans or pictures of the business cards of the people/distributors/suppliers that I video-interview (great for the buyers from around the world watching my videos and interested in having the best contact informations to the companies that I film). Look forward to the $20/year ARMdevices.net Membership system to be launched here in the days to come if I can find enough time to set it up while video-blogging here at Computex until June 10th.

Windows 8 RT on the Qualcomm S4 Snadragon development platform

Posted by Charbax – June 5, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Qualcomm, Computex, Windows

This demo of Windows 8 RT on Qualcomm S4 seems to be very smooth. There are a few bugs here or there, but overall, it looks quite smooth to me. I think Windows 8 on ARM is going to be more popular than Windows 8 on x86, yet I think that Android will remain far more popular than all forms of Windows.

Asus Tablet 600 with Windows 8 RT on ARM Tegra3

Posted by Charbax – June 4, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Nvidia, Computex, Windows

This new Windows 8 RT on ARM device is a bit like the Asus Transformer Prime but Asus does not want to call it a Transformer Book, it’s running Windows on ARM only, no dual-boot with Android for now (my guess is maybe they change their mind by the release of this device in October or whenever Windows 8 is released). This is kind of a prototype, although the hardware is pretty much the same as the Asus Transformer Prime with Tegra3, this one has 2GB of RAM.

Asus AiO ARM/Intel Android/Windows 8 18.4″ 1080p all-in-one

Posted by Charbax – June 4, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Intel, Computex, Android, Windows

This huge 18.4″ Asus capacitive tablet runs on an ARM Processor (yet unannounced) and when docked, it can switch to Windows 8 on Intel Windows 8 and switch back to ARM Android.

Mark Shuttleworth at Linaro Connect

Posted by Charbax – June 2, 2012
Category: Laptops, Servers, Exclusive videos, Linaro Connect, Ubuntu

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical talks about Ubuntu on ARM and Canonical at Linaro.

FXI Cotton Candy availability status interview

Posted by Charbax – May 14, 2012
Category: Laptops, HDMI Sticks, Samsung, Android, Ubuntu

boredatwork.com published this interview with FXI Tech about the status of shipments for their awesome Exynos4 powered HDMI stick product.

Something to do with FXI adding USB host to the design causing some of the delay. Hopefully they start shipping in Scandinavia this month, and to all other pre-orders during the summer. I’d like to see this form factor mass manufactured and sold for around $69 retail and not $199. See the TI OMAP4 powered Always Innovating HDMI stick alternative where it’s said the BOM cost for such a platform may be as low as $30.

Source: booredatwork.com

Here’s my video of the FXI Tech HDMI stick:

Kinstone 7″ Boxchip ICS Laptop at the HKTDC Electronics Fair

Posted by Charbax – April 21, 2012
Category: Laptops, Exclusive videos, Members Content, Allwinner, HKTDC Electronics Fair, Android

512MB to 1GB RAM, for $73 in bulk, shown here at the HKTDC Electronics Fair. $11 more for capacitive.


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$100 10.1″ Boxchip A10 Laptop/Tablet convertible by Kinstone

Posted by Charbax – April 21, 2012
Category: Laptops, Exclusive videos, Members Content, Allwinner, HKTDC Electronics Fair, Android

This $100 ARM Cortex-A8 Laptop may be fast enough for a full Android/Chrome OS Laptop.


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$85 Boxchip A10 10.1″ Laptop runs ICS now by Sunlike, 4000mAh for $6 more

Posted by Charbax – April 15, 2012
Category: Laptops, Exclusive videos, Members Content, Allwinner, China Sourcing Fair, Android, Chrome OS

The ARM Powered sub-$100 Ultrabooks are coming. Put the Chrome browser for Android on this ICS Laptop, and you’ve pretty much got an Ultrabook-disruptor for sub-$100. They claim 5h battery life on the included 2100mAh battery, and they can nearly double that using a 4000mAh battery that can also be made to fit in this ARM Powered laptop casing. Are you interested in buying this $85 Boxchip A10 Laptop in a group buy? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try to see if it’s possible for them to ship out a batch of samples as a group buy.


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$110 7″ Boxchip Laptop (with capacitive screen) by Yones Toptech Co Ltd

Posted by Charbax – April 13, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Allwinner, China Sourcing Fair, Android

Shenzhen Factory Tour, exclusive video at the Hongda Laptop Factory

Posted by Charbax – April 10, 2012
Category: Laptops, Factory Tours, Exclusive videos, Windows

Here is a video filmed in one of the many small to medium sized Shenzhen factories. This one is able to output thousands of laptops and tablets per day. The Hongda factory manufactures for http://www.yooe.com.cn among others.

$285 8.9″ capacitive Windows 8 Intel Atom N2600 Dual-core Laptop/Tablet convertible by www.yooe.com.cn

Posted by Charbax – April 9, 2012
Category: Laptops, Exclusive videos, Intel, Windows

http://www.yooe.com.cn presents their new 8.9″ tablet/laptop convertible powered by the Intel Atom N2600 processor, it costs about 1800rmb ($285) in bulk.

Sony to launch the first ARM Powered Chromebook?

Posted by Charbax – March 24, 2012
Category: Laptops, Opinions, Chrome OS

According to some FCC leak and rumoring, it looks like Sony is about to release a new Chromebook and the FCC info may point towards it running on an ARM Processor! T25 is the leaked processor info, that sound like the Tegra 250 T25. I think the thinking was T25 is intermediary between T20 and T30, in between Tegra2 and Tegra3. Basically, I think, the hope should be that if it’s a Tegra2, that it has a new faster memory bandwidth and a higher clock speed compared to the “first generation” Tegra2 devices that were released back since the end of 2010!

The Dual-core TI OMAP4470 runs at 1.8Ghz, the Dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Krait S4 runs above 1.5Ghz, might it be that a new Dual-core Nvidia T25 processor also runs at similar clock frequency and might it be that the T25 has an improved memory bandwidth?

If Sony plans to have a target price for it around $199 for the 11.6″ version, with upwards 20 hours battery life, make it the thinnest, lightest, this can become one of the new top selling laptops in the world.

Source: laptopreviews.com via: engadget.com

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Archos G10 xs, Archos Elements and Arnova 50€ announced

Posted by Charbax – March 15, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Opinions, Rockchip, Texas Instruments, Archos, Android, Windows

Archos had an investors event in Paris today, they showed a teaser video for the next generation Archos G10 xs series:

The keyboard dock magnetic screen protector is awesome. But I’d like them to use the kick-stand and attach the thin keyboard dock like a Laptop in a way there’s a mouse pad that can be used. Archos has always innovated using Kick-stands, I hope they continue and I think using the kick-stand is the best way to make the thinnest, coolest ARM Powered Tablet/Laptop convertible. If possible the kick-stand angle can be adjustable. If you’re in an airplane and the space is limited, you don’t need to use the kick-stand, the tablet can rest against the seat that is in front of you. I think the keyboard should also fit behind the tablet when the keyboard does not need to be used. Preferably in a way so that the kick-stand can also still be used even when the keyboard dock is magnetically fixed behind the tablet.

Archos claims to have technology that makes G10 the thinnest tablet on the market. Something about patented paper-thin steel assembly technology. Archos has always been good at fitting huge battery capacity in extremely thin designs. I hope that Archos manages to make a deal with Pixel Qi and use the 10.1″ 1280×800 sunlight readable screen on this one. That’d provide for 20+ hours of battery life, sunlight readability, Kindle Reader competitiveness for reading and use for education and work, and it’d use much less power thus enabling a form factor and weight in the ultra-light class of 400-something grams for a 10″ tablet. Perhaps best to use Neonode’s IR touch technology instead of capacitive for least reflections and best readability.

For the processor on Archos G10, I think that one can expect either the OMAP4470 1.8Ghz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 with SGX544 graphics or even the OMAP5430 with SGX544 graphics which can also run upwards 1.8Ghz in frequency or more. It depends if Archos plans to release the G10 already from mid-year or if they don’t plan to release it before the end of the year.

I don’t know if Archos will continue to sell that 3G Stick solution in G10. Maybe there is a way to allow for a modem module of any of the 3G/4G/LTE types to be manually added by the user, under full warranty, in some slot on the back of the device without it having to be through a USB host port. Maybe the multi-mode wireless modems are now so cheap, can even be included on the same CPU dye, that maybe they just included it by default even on the cheapest G10 tablet and provide just an unlocked SIM card slot on the side.

Archos did mention making one Windows 8 on ARM based Tablet/Laptop convertible by the end of the year. I hope they make sure to make it dual-boot the latest and greatest Android also.

Archos Elements brings Google Certified tablets at as low as 100€/$100. My guess is that Archos Elements brings the Rockchip RK30 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 performance and higher capacitive screen resolutions than Arnova at extremely competitive pricing.

The new Arnova with Ice Cream Sandwich are going to be sold for as little as 50€/$50 at retail price!! My guess is 50€/$50 is the 7″ WVGA Dual-touch or single-touch resistive type with an RK2918 512MB RAM and Ice Cream Sandwich. It goes up to 150€/$150 retail price for what I think is probably the 9.7″ IPS capacitive RK2918 1GB RAM and Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. Basically with the new upcoming Arnova G3/G4 you get $49 basic alternative to the Kindle Fire and a $149 better-than-iPad1 tablet. Those are amazing low-priced targets for mass consumer retail Ice Cream Sandwich tablet pricing.

Archos is the top Android tablet seller in the major European markets, about equal to Samsung, in front of Asus, Acer, Motorola, Dell, LG, Toshiba and others. Archos CEO Henri Crohas sees a great opportunity to expand that lead with his company. Archos has announced a 32.9 Million € gross profit margin for 2011 on a yearly revenue of 171.4 Million €. They have announced an agreement to borrow upwards tens of millions of Euros more from one of the leading French banks Societe Generale (in exchange for stock guarantees, probably something similar to a capital increase, basically adding new stocks for cash to be used for the expansion) which Archos can use to further accelerate the mass production and mass distribution of their tablet series in the coming months.

You can discuss this post in the forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=63964

Sources:
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Shenzhen Wabook shows $93 Rockchip RK2918 Laptop

Posted by Charbax – March 7, 2012
Category: Laptops, Exclusive videos, Rockchip, CeBIT, Android

The Wabook EPC1029, with a 10.1″ 1024×600, runs on the Rockchip RK2918 ARM Cortex-A8, 3 USB Host ports, it can run Android 4.0, the price for bulk orders is $93. I want to see how smooth Chrome for Android runs on this Laptop. Check back soon, I will try to get them to show the performance of Chrome for Android on ICS on this RK2918 laptop as soon as possible.

Windows 8 on ARM Consumer Preview Mobile World Congress 2012 keynote presentation highlights

Posted by Charbax – February 29, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Exclusive videos, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Nvidia, MWC, Windows

Here’s my 21-minute highlights video of the Windows 8 on ARM “Consumer Preview” event keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

After the presentation, I was able to ask a few questions to Steven Synofsky and Michael Anguilo, here are some of those replies that I got:

– Desktop apps on Windows Store and Windows Store for ARM: They’ll clarify it to my email later. Steve Synofsky says it’s clear in the blog post. Windows Store is for Metro apps but there is a “parallel thing” (paraphrasing) for Desktop apps, the whole Third Party Desktop Apps for Windows 8 are not to be previewed on the Consumer Preview release yet.

– Multi-booting other OS when secure boot is in use. Steve Synofsky says that is up to the OEM. Secure Boot is a feature Microsoft provides as an option. The whole point of Secure Boot is that people cannot just “boot stuff from their garage”. But he did not seem to dismiss that OEMs can dual-boot for example Android or Ubuntu on the same device.

He didn’t say if Microsoft plans to do backroom deals with manufacturers to force them only to load Windows 8 and nothing else on devices or not, I guess not, but you never know… Maybe they do not apply “rebates” for OEMs that make things a bit “too open”, does that make any sense?

– Windows 8 remains just TI, Qualcomm, Nvidia business for now on ARM, as with Windows Phone, Microsoft limits the number of ARM Partners that can fully hardware accelerate their software platform for now. I think a lot of the other ARM chip providers are in discussions with Microsoft to see when they can also support their software. My guess is Microsoft wants a very high performance for the first supported ARM SoCs, that is why it only is being demonstrated on TI OMAP4470, Nvidia Tegra3 and Qualcomm Krait MSM8960 for now.

If I do get in contact with someone from Microsoft over email to get clarifications for Windows on ARM, please let me know in the comments what type of questions remain to be answered.