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WePad Tablet Will Use Linux To Rival the iPad

Posted by kdawson on from the open-period dept.

cypherdtraitor writes with news of an iPad rival being prepped in Germany for a June launch. "A German company, Neofonie GmbH, has set out to provide an alternative to the iPad, according to Neofonie's founder, Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen. The WePad will boast a Linux-based OS, USB ports, webcam, and Wi-Fi, as well as other features. The 16GB edition will cost €449 ($610), and the 32GB €569 ($773). A more expensive model will include a 3G modem. This PDF compares WePad specs with the iPad. There are also hints of cheap, available software. For example, OpenOffice.org will be the primary office suite, and you may use 'any application that pleases you' to play music and video, a clear edge over Apple's limitation to iTunes." The WePad will also run Flash.

5 of 536 comments (clear)

  1. The comparison to the Apple II era again... by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why am I suddenly reminded of the days in the 70's and 80's when everything ran CP/M and everything *had* to run CP/M? I know that Apple II *DID* run CP/M of some flavor, but CP/M *sucked*, and Apple showed nearly no support for it.

    Now we're stuck with Flash, which everyone tolerates and does a lot, but again, it *sucks*. Adobe hasn't put together a decent Flash interpreter for ANY OS(well, the Windows version is debatable), and everyone puts up with it because of it's ubiquity.

    Folks. Ubiquity is never a reason to keep a shitty idea around. Particularly when it comes to the mobile space.

    --
    Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    1. Re:The comparison to the Apple II era again... by hoggoth · · Score: 5, Funny

      > And yet the iPhone was the best 'internet experience' mobile phone on the planet when it came out. In spite of the fact that it didn't have flash.

      "These aren't the missing features you're looking for", Steve Jobs waves his hand.

      --
      - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  2. Give me ARM, please by marcansoft · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm tired of people shoehorning the power-hungry x86 architecture into small devices. If there's one thing that Apple did right it's not using the Atom. The WePad runs Linux: there's no reason to stick with the legacy x86 architecture. Even Adobe Flash works on ARM (just not Flash 10 yet).

    If the WePad used an ARM chip, it could probably retain its feature set and bump up the battery duration to the iPad level, which seems to be the only feature where it loses to it.

    1. Re:Give me ARM, please by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Informative

      > If you're running Linux, you're sticking with legacy x86 architecture.

      How can you even be on Slashdot and post something that ignorant?

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  3. Re:Just stop it by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Less Space than a Nomad. No wireless. Lame."

    "No they didn't, the big difference between iPhone and OpenMoko is that OpenMoko is completely open, so anyone can extend it, while iPhone is closed and only licensed parties can write extensions. This is what uniqe about OpenMoko. Apple added glitter to iPhone, but there are other smart phones (maybe not as good, but I can't judge, it's a long wait till iPhone will be available in Europe) so nothing revolutionary about it. OpenMoko has philosophical feature - openess. So as a geek I know which one is the winner here :)"

    How's that OpenMoko doing today?
    How about those iPod killers?