Hands-On Test With the Dirt-Cheap CherryPad Tablet

MojoKid writes "A small company out of Palo Alto, CA — Cherrypal — made headlines recently with the announcement of their dirt-cheap $188 CherryPad tablet. The CherryPad is a 7-inch slate that comes preloaded with the Android 2.1 operating system and is driven by an 800MHz ARM11-based processor by Samsung, backed by a meager 256MB of DDR2 system memory. The device is also based on a resistive touch display, so it takes a bit of getting used to, if you've been working with devices like the iPhone or similar, where capacitive touch displays are ubiquitous. Just what does $188 buy you in an Android tablet? In short, the CherryPad falls down a bit where Cherrypal decided to cut corners from a cost perspective. The device needs another 256MB of RAM (for 512MB total) and a higher quality touch screen (perhaps a 1GHz CPU?) and that would have likely pushed its price northward a bit to be sure."

Comments

Cherrypal scam?

[hillbluffer]

Try Googling "Cherrypal scam" for some interesting links...

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cherrypal stole $285 from me. :(

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

warning goatse

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[AVryhof]

Mod Parent up... my poor eyes.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[hairyfeet]

I don't think I'd trust Cherrypal after all I've heard about them, especially when you can get the similar Techpad for $155. Nice thing about the Techpad is they also sell a "case" for it on the same site that adds a keyboard and clamshell design for $40, so for less than $200 you have a convertible tablet/netbook. They also has several sizes and specs if you want something more beefy. After all the hubbub over CherryPC I just don't think I'd trust them with my money, no thanks.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Cherry Pal!

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Sparr0]

Link to the case? I've been looking for such a device for years, and nothing bigger than a PDA has fit.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[hairyfeet]

Hey no problem, happy to help. BTW if you get one how about sending an email telling how it runs? I wouldn't mind picking up one of these for my oldest. He has a badass Turion X2 laptop i just got him, but for note taking this might be killer. From what I understand this "case" fits any of the 7 inchers, and they have several to choose from including a dual ARM if you need more beefy goodness. As you can see you just plug it into the USB port and voila! Instant netbook. It even has a nice leather looking outer cover to help keep your pad from getting scratched.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[zombie_striptease]

I ordered their Africa netbook as a gift for someone last spring. The "Linux" version was actually Windows CE with all the windows logos scrubbed. Cute trick :P

Also it loaded from flash instead of having an actual BIOS, so attempting to install my own OS was non-trivial. They're false-advertising bastards to be sure.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

badass Turion X2

That's quite an oxymoron there. I used to have a Turion64 X2 based laptop but replaced with with a C2D that is only slightly higher clocked, but probably performs about 4 times as fast.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[samjam]

I used my credit card and they gave me the refund.

I want to buy this, but just don't trust cherrypal.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Lumpy]

You can get nearly the same specs by going to Bed Bath and Beyond and buying the $129.00 Pendigital Novel and installng their Open Platform firmware to it. IT still sucks as a android tablet just like the rest of the offerings out here only because the hardware is half assed.

Will one of these companies PLEASE deliver a 9" Tablet with a capacitive screen 1 gig ram, microSD for storage, non sucky wifi hardware and a full 2.2 Android install? PLEASE?

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[hairyfeet]

Actually the new Turion is pretty beefy for a laptop chip, and while we looked at the C2D, frankly Intel slits their own throats by tying their CPUs to their absolute shithole GPUs. My oldest wanted something that would have good video performance, as well as let him play his MMOs when he has a break between classes, and the new Radeon GPUs allow that.

If we would have went Intel we were looking at around $1000 that paired the Intel CPU with any decent GPU, the rest pairing it with the fucking awful Intel MHD graphics. Having had Intel graphics in the past frankly I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. They royally suck ass! For $600 he got a nice 2.4GHz Turion with 500Gb of HDD space, 4Gb of DDRs RAM, and a nice 4xxx series Radeon HD with 128Mb on chip as well as the ability to use 2Gb of main system RAM. And with Windows 7 HP it is whisper quiet, loads and runs ALL his apps damned fast, doesn't get hot, it just purrs like a kitten.

Finally if you are going by benchmarks you should probably know that ALL benchmarks are now considered suspect, and probably many of the programs you run daily too. Why do you ask? look up "Intel compiler AMD rigged" and see for yourself. Not only was Intel BRIBING system builders to use Intel chips over AMD, but they actually rigged their compiler which is by far one of the most popular compilers out there. What they did was hid code in the compiler that made it so ANY program compiled with an Intel compiler would look for the "Genuine_Intel" CPUID flag and if it wasn't found drop the code into 486!!! mode, even though AMD has had SSE extensions for ages. So unless the benchmark or your daily software was compiled with a neutral compiler like GCC its results are worthless, as it WILL run crippled code if you run it on a non Intel CPU.

It is asshattery like that that has sworn me off Intel CPUs, both for myself and my customers, who BTW are quite happy with their Phenom II desktops and Athlon and Turion laptops. But in this case we looked at ALL choices, and simply found Intel wanting. Pretty much it was $1000 or get a shitty Atom+ION setup, which frankly still sucks. in the $600 price point we were going for the Intel GPUs simply made Intel a non choice. AMD was pretty much the ONLY choice with decent graphics in the 14 inch form factor my oldest needed to be able to easily lug it with his pre-med books.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[4phun]

Why. Get involved with a Cherrypad when any cheapskate can go to the conner Walgreens and buy a seven inch Android for only a hundred dollars?

Sent from my ten inch iPsad which has proven to be an astonishing bargain at hundreds more.

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually the new Turion is pretty beefy for a laptop chip,

Only AMD fanboys say this.

and while we looked at the C2D, frankly Intel slits their own throats by tying their CPUs to their absolute shithole GPUs. My oldest wanted something that would have good video performance, as well as let him play his MMOs when he has a break between classes, and the new Radeon GPUs allow that.

If we would have went Intel we were looking at around $1000 that paired the Intel CPU with any decent GPU, the rest pairing it with the fucking awful Intel MHD graphics.

Only AMD fanboys are mysteriously incapable of finding Intel notebooks with Radeon GPUs for around $600. I just found one on Dell's website (Inspiron 15R) with an i3-370M CPU and a 1GB Mobility Radeon HD550v for $680 without expending very much effort.

Having had Intel graphics in the past frankly I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. They royally suck ass!

Unless you like battery life and/or don't plan to game. Then they rule. Because they don't suck down lots of power doing stuff you don't need.

There's a reason why Intel has >50% GPU marketshare... it's because for a lot of people, it's all the GPU they need.

For $600 he got a nice 2.4GHz Turion with 500Gb of HDD space, 4Gb of DDRs RAM, and a nice 4xxx series Radeon HD with 128Mb on chip as well as the ability to use 2Gb of main system RAM.

So for $80 less than the Dell you got something with integrated video (not a "nice" video chip, just a not-crappy one) when you could've had a 1GB true discrete GPU and a CPU which didn't suck ass for just $80 more.

Finally if you are going by benchmarks you should probably know that ALL benchmarks are now considered suspect, and probably many of the programs you run daily too. Why do you ask? look up "Intel compiler AMD rigged" and see for yourself.

Yup, fanboy all right. Only AMD fanboys make a mountain out of this particular molehill. Most Windows software, including benchmarks, is compiled with Microsoft compilers, not Intel's or GCC. (Also, many benchmarks commonly used by reviewers are not synthetic benchmarks. When it's a real application, you do in fact know that regardless of what compiler was used, you're getting scores which reflect how that app will perform on each CPU. Finally, the employees of any company worried enough about performance to go to the trouble of using ICC probably are aware of the need to do the very simple hacks required to defeat the CPUID check in compiled binaries so that the same codepath runs on both Intel and AMD.)

But in this case we looked at ALL choices, and simply found Intel wanting. Pretty much it was $1000 or get a shitty Atom+ION setup, which frankly still sucks. in the $600 price point we were going for the Intel GPUs simply made Intel a non choice. AMD was pretty much the ONLY choice with decent graphics in the 14 inch form factor my oldest needed to be able to easily lug it with his pre-med books.

Oh did I mention the Dell above is actually a 15.6 incher? Can probably whack more money off the price by looking for a 14".

You didn't do real research. You just went out looking to confirm your preconceived notions.

(Oh, and... I notice that you were careful to say 4xxx video. The only HP 14" Turion II notebooks visible on HP's site under $700 feature the Radeon 4250, which is a piece of crap that (according to notebookcheck.net) is only about as fast as the Intel HD graphics integrated into Arrandale i3/i5 CPUs. So, you probably owned yourself. You think you bought something super awesome, but really, it's not.)

Re:Cherrypal scam?

[psergiu]

Yep. I paid them for two "Cherypal Africa" netbooks with "fast shipping" and after almost two months of no delivery and no answer from them i had to file i complaint with my bank to get the money back.

Be warned: All on-line payments to Cherrypal appear on the CC statement as to a On-line dating site - i got some funny looks at the bank.

And their CEO is making edits to Wikipedia under the name "cherypal" to delete all negative comments.

Please tag the story as "scam"
 

The most important question has not been asked

[sakura the mc]

Does it run FreeBSD?

Re:The most important question has not been asked

[Anonymous Coward]

It probably could.

I like the form factor

[siddesu]

I have a smartphone, and I think they're way too small to read. I've tried the iPad, and it is way too big and too heavy to lug around. I lug a sub-notebook, but I don't really need that keyboard.

I really want something about this big, less than 350g, with at least XGA video and ability to actually use a pen to write stuff, so that it can work as a reader and let me annotate.

Good to see some products that start to feel the market in my direction.

Re:I like the form factor

[Frosty Piss]

Good to see some products that start to feel the market in my direction.

This is not the product you think it is.

Re:I like the form factor

[hitmark]

Heard about the samsung galaxy tab? And i think they will be selling a stylus for it, even tho it is capacitive.

Re:I like the form factor

[LynnwoodRooster]

The HSG X5A is your ideal device - I had the same requirements when I was looking, and I settled on this unit. It's about 400 grams, has a 7" wide screen format (so it's about half the size of an iPad), plenty good video on-screen (800x480) with 1080p HDMI output if you want it, and with a resistive screen it's perfect for using a pen/pencil/key/finger for drawing on the screen. Plus it comes with Android 2.1 so you have all the book readers available as well as many other good productivity tools.

.
Best of all, you can find them on eBay and other sites (Taobao if you're in China, like me) for around $130-$140. VERY MUCH worth the price!

Re:I like the form factor

[NatasRevol]

Seriously? A 1.5 lb, 0.5" thick, 9.5"x7.5" is too big & heavy?

Are you 6?

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

Yes, it is too heavy and too uncomfortable to hold to read a book on it for any extended period without stress. It is even worse for holding in one hand and annotating. And I have yet to see a good stylus for it.

Since the killer application of a tablet device for me would be serious reading, sketching and annotating, the iPad is very from even passable.

Different people have different usage styles and expectations. I expect it to be comfortable, not cool.

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

I've heard of it, but I have not yet seen it in a shop, and I want to take a look at the real thing before I can say anything.

I had some expectations for the iPad, but actually using it for a week made it plain obvious it isn't remotely good for me.

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

I'll have to look at it, thanks for the tip. For this price I can get one or two to use as wall warts in the garage, if nothing else :)

Re:I like the form factor

[hitmark]

While it is not substitute to seeing and handling it in a shop, here is a review (or part 1 of it) from a guy that have had it for a while now:
http://carrypad.com/2010/10/28/samsung-galaxy-tab-full-review-part-1-overview-hardware-screen-keyboard/

Re:I like the form factor

[Anonymous Coward]

the innoversal lattice is far better.
http://www.innoversal.com.tw/en-us/products/lattice.aspx

Re:I like the form factor

[Pseudonym Authority]

I am a six year old little girl myself, so I speak with authority on the subject when I say that it is overrated.

Re:I like the form factor

[Anonymous Coward]

You can get the same thing, except it's by a chinese company and it's only a third of the price. Search eBay for terms like "7 inch tablet".

Re:I like the form factor

[gig]

An iPad is half the size and weight of your subnotebook, has more than double the battery life, and it's too heavy to lug around? iPad is not a little toy reader, it's a mobile PC. 700 grams is not heavy for a PC.

Re:I like the form factor

[gig]

I guess you have never read a hard cover book due to your atrophied arm muscles.

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

The iPad is 200 grams heavier than my subnotebook, and has about the same battery life.

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

I have a book stand for the really heavy books. Do you have a point beside the lame trolling?

Re:I like the form factor

[CohibaVancouver]

His point is that lots of adults read hardcover books that weigh 1.5 pounds or more (heck my 70-year old mum does) and if it's too heavy you fall outside the norm and maybe you should spend 10 minutes a day with a pair of dumb-bells.

Re:I like the form factor

[siddesu]

And what, pray tell, has this got to do with the topic on hand, which is, preference for the form factor of electronic devices?

Re:I like the form factor

[CohibaVancouver]

You said "it is too heavy [snip] to hold to read a book on it for any extended period without stress" - Our point is that hardcover books often weigh more than this cherrypad does and many people read those with ease, so if you find that too heavy you might want to do some muscle training.

Re:I like the form factor

[metamatic]

I avoid reading hardback books because they're so heavy and awkward. One of the reasons I love the Kindle is that I can read even a big thick book comfortably in bed.

Re:I like the form factor

[Anonymous Coward]

While we're on the topic of personal advice on /., may I suggest that you should have learned about "reading comprehension" before you learned how to respond to comments? The topic of trolling was the iPad, not the Cherrypad.

Also, get rid of those Canadian fakes, they don't seem to do you much good.

Re:I like the form factor

[MogNuts]

Dude, the parent is right. He actually tried it and saw in 5 minutes it didn't work. More people should think like him. You're probably just an armchair quarterback who hasn't even used an IPad yet but likes to rehash what the media (incorrectly) spits out about Apple products.

The guy is totally right. I read on my IPhone laying down on a couch alot. It wouldn't work with an IPad. It gets to heavy, uncomfortable, and cumbersome for more than 10 minutes of use. A netbook that you can actually rest comfortably on your lap is the preferred form factor.

It's like the example this weekend. Yesterday I went to the mall and went to see for myself if the new MacBook Air's are any good. I read all the media schill reviews (every site now is a media schill for Apple because it sells eyeballs and they also don't want to give bad reviews because Apple will cut them off/sue them and hence the revenue goes down the drain), who all wrote that while they thought it was basically "Meh"--it's still "the best apple product yet." Typical BS.

So I went myself. To see for myself. I knew it would take all of 5 minutes. And I was right. If you would just use it in person, you'd find that 5 minutes of using it in person negates hours of reading reviews because you'll find show-stoppers that will make it not worth buying.

Re:No thats isn't the most importaint question

[zhong-guo-1]

It can. I've tested it, it looks good.

resistive?

[bhcompy]

Resistive? I'm in. I love resistive. You can use a real stylus and get accurate results. Summary just sold me on a new device for note taking in lectures as my ~3" HTC Kaiser is just too damn small.

Re:resistive?

[emj]

All cheap android tablets are resistive. I've seen people say good things about wits a81e, also a resistive and the Android versions has been shipping since june/july I think.

Re:resistive?

[rajeevrk]

Hmmm... I've been using the with a81E for a month now, and it's been reasonably good. Decent build quality, for a Chinese device. Andeoid 2.2 works like a charm, pretty responsive on the ARM Cortex-A8 cpu. Stability and battery life is still an issue, they cant seem to figure out how to get even the battery-level meter working. IMHO, it's a firmware version or two away from being ready for primetime. Also, on it's resistive touchscreens, i have to say it's emminently usable, IF you calibrate it properly. I once messed up the calibration so bad, i had to re-flash :)

Re:resistive?

[modmans2ndcoming]

capacitive can use a real stylus. it just needs to have special conductive material for the tip that conducts the electrical signal of your skin to the point. They used them at the apple store for signing credit purchases.

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

By "a real stylus" the OP means "whatever pointy stick that happens to be laying around". Therein lies the problem with capacitive touchscreens; you can not use whatever pointy sticks that happens to be laying around. Instead you have to special order one for the cost of a very good lunch, and then sit around for a week not poking your screen until it arrives. Sure you can head up to PlastiMart and pick up a generic one, but you want one with that shiny Banana Computer logo on the side with it's flawless design aesthetics.

Re:resistive?

[bhcompy]

capacitive can use a real stylus. it just needs to have special conductive material for the tip that conducts the electrical signal of your skin to the point. They used them at the apple store for signing credit purchases.

the ones ive seen for cap screens are fat like fingers. they are not like fine point pens, like normal stylii

Re:resistive?

[modmans2ndcoming]

My finger seems to be pretty handy. They have gloves that conduct capasitivness in the index finger now as well.

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes but all capacitive styluses suck. They are those fat, soft, marker-like deals. That's not even mentioning the fact that a capacitive screen cannot truly measure pressure for sketching/drawing nor that a capacitive screen is just not as accurate (resolution of 1024x1024 compared to resistive's 4096x4096) and has a slower response time. You can also touch/hold a resistive screen without activating anything and they can be used very similarly to physical buttons without requiring you to completely lift your finger off of the screen to register multiple presses.

Honestly, capacitive is lame. It's an old technology that basically every Synaptics touchpad has used for the past 15 years or more. The only reason some people go out of their way to look for them is because of the hype around iPhone/iPad and because they don't understand the numerous disadvantages they actually have.

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

Great. So you have to always wear those special gloves whenever you need gloves. Let's also see how long you can do handwriting or drawing with just your fingers.

And FYI, Writing On Capacitive vs Resistive Screens

Re:resistive?

[gig]

Use Pogo Stylus for real touchscreens. Like $10. They are popular because there are world class art tools on iPad.

Re:resistive?

[moonbender]

I've got a phone with a resistive screen, and all those advantages don't mean much, because it's just not much fun to use with your fingers. You have to press really hard, and ideally with your fingernails. Other people using my phone have a really hard time getting it to work at all.

Re:resistive?

[Palmateer]

Hmm, My HTC Touch works just fine using my fingers. Sure the original WinMo 6.0 is not finger friendly but it becomes clear when you flash it with Android http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712310m or install a later version of TouchFlo 2D, that the resistive nature of the screen is not an issue. Plus, I still have the option of using a stylus if I want to. Really, if you want a tiny form factor device with the ability to pick out small things during an RDP session a stylus can come in handy (although it does make me feel a little embarrassed - sort of like having to put on reading glasses in front of your younger coworkers).

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

In the task of note taking I've yet to see any computer/tablet/gizmo that works better than a pen and pad of paper.

Re:resistive?

[pspahn]

Stylii? Stylum? Styluses? This is an important and pressing question.

Re:resistive?

[dgatwood]

Yes but all capacitive styluses suck. They are those fat, soft, marker-like deals. That's not even mentioning the fact that a capacitive screen cannot truly measure pressure for sketching/drawing nor that a capacitive screen is just not as accurate (resolution of 1024x1024 compared to resistive's 4096x4096) and has a slower response time.

So why hasn't anyone built a combination capacitive/resistive touch screen? You know, switch to the capacitive approximation when you get a second touch or when the first touch fails to register on the resistive touch screen because of insufficient pressure....

Oh, wait. A quick Google search shows me that RIM already came up with the idea and patented it. (See why patents suck? If someone who has never built a touch screen in his life is presented with the same problem and comes up with the same answer, it's obvious....)

Re:resistive?

[bhcompy]

Except at storage and cataloging

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

That sounds more like a problem with your phone or OS than the touchscreen technology used in it. I've seen quite a few devices that use capacitive screens that register touches inaccurately, causing the wrong thing to be pressed or not detecting a press at all.

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can make your own by sowing some conductive thread through the tips.

Re:resistive?

[Anonymous Coward]

My N900 responds to light touches, you do need a little bit of pressure, but not much. And I like using my fingernails for the touchscreen, I can be more precise with them.

slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought the difference was

slate - runs windows
tablet - runs linux/android
pad - runs osx

I think tablet is the generic term and usable without threat of lawsuit

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[bmo]

I'd like to see Apple try to defend its "ownership" of the word "pad" against a company that thinks it's worth its while to wrest it from Apple's clutches.

Merely descriptive words are not supposed to be trademarks, and Microsoft almost lost theirs for the word "Windows" to Lindows/Linspire when Microsoft said that changing the name to Linspire wasn't good enough. Microsoft pushed too hard. Linspire said in court "hey, just one second here, can you really own a generic descriptive word?" Microsoft wound up paying Linspire to shut the hell up about it.

And then Linspire proceeded to squander the money, but hey, it was funny to watch Microsoft almost lose "Windows" entirely.

--
BMO

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[John Hasler]

> Merely descriptive words are not supposed to be trademarks...

Descriptive words can be trademarks for products they don't describe: APPLE for example. You would have to show that "pad" was commonly used to describe that sort of device before Apple started selling theirs.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[SlothDead]

They were always called "pad" on Star Trek. Or does that count as future use of the word?

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Sleepy]

The term "window" or "windows" is as generic as software "applications", or for non computer comparisons, "car" or "beer". You can call your products car or beer, but you can't CLAIM that as a trademark (especially if you were not the first to market).

Microsoft was denied the trademark for MANY years, but sadly government institutions like Patents and Trademark were handed over to lobbyists, and instead of being led by legal experts they were led by political appointees. (If you think I'm exaggerating, try to find any apointee in recent decades who was not a former "corporate IP lobbyist")

Here's a quick link to the 1993 episode of Microsoft's trademark decline. They failed many years before, and just kept re-filing knowing that the patent office would eventually change from it's policy of minimizing monopolies, to one that granted monopolies.

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/business/microsoft-trademark-setback.html

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[mattack2]

No, they're PADD on Star Trek.

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/PADD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCARS

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[bmo]

Pad describes the form factor, such as a legal pad.

There are only so many ways to describe the form factor of the ipad. Tablet, slate, pad, and... what else?

Apple can trademark an "iPad," because when you append letters and mis-spell, you no longer have an English (or other language) word. I (and the vast majority of people) have no problem with this. This is what many marketers get paid lots of bucks to do. For a long time, this was the only way you could get a trademark as purely English words were not allowed to have a trademark. I'm unsure when the use of purely English words was allowed, but it was a bad idea and it's caused no small amount of trouble since then.

For Apple to stretch the concept and claim the word "pad" for themselves is abuse of trademark and they should be slapped for it if they try to bring it to court.

Slashdotters get upset here at Monster Cable for suing an indoor golf business (and a lot of other small businesses that can't afford to defend themselves) by Monster Cable claiming the use of the word Monster in the name is exclusively theirs. We should get similarly upset at Apple if they try to claim the word "pad" for only their products.

--
BMO

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[the_humeister]

Although true, they still sound the same. When saying either "pad" or "PADD", there's no real way of distinguishing the two.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[mattack2]

You're right, I should have mentioned the homophonic issue.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[robogun]

IBM and Lenovo have been making ThinkPad computers since 1992, but Jobs probably would try for it anyway.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Anonymous Coward]

On the trademark issue: 'How the FUCK did Lucas get a trademark on Droid?' Was there never a contraction of it prior to Star Wars, given that Asimov had been using the term android for going on 50(?) years at that point? Furthermore, does Asimov's family have a trademark on Android, and have they leveraged it against all those japanese companies attempting to produce them now for licensing costs associated with their printed advertising materials?!?!?

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[arkane1234]

What the hell are you spouting on about?
Someone needs to get him back into his room, sheez...

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Extract from "2001, A space odyssey", written in 1968 (if you ask by whom, please just leave /.) :

  There was plenty to occupy his time, even if he did nothing but sit and read. When he tired of official reports and memoranda and minutes, he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports from Earth. One by one he would conjure up the world's major electronic papers; he knew the codes of the more important ones by heart, and had no need to consult the list on the back of his pad. Switching to the display unit's short-term memory, he would hold the front page while he quickly searched the headlines and noted the items that interested him.

        Each had its own two-digit reference; when he punched that, the postage-stamp-sized rectangle would expand until it neatly filled the screen and he could read it with comfort. When he had finished, he would flash back to the complete page and select a new subject for detailed examination.

        Floyd sometimes wondered if the Newspad, and the fantastic technology behind it, was the last word in man's quest for perfect communications. Here he was, far out in space, speeding away from Earth at thousands of miles an hour, yet in a few milliseconds he could see the headlines of any newspaper he pleased. (That very word “newspaper,” of course, was an anachronistic hangover into the age of electronics.) The text was updated automatically on every hour; even if one read only the English versions, one could spend an entire lifetime doing nothing but absorbing the ever-changing flow of information from the news satellites.

OK, 10 years late, but we have Wifi :)

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[TheRaven64]

I'm not homophonic! Some of my best friends sound the same...

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[gig]

> describe the form factor
> of the ipad. Tablet, slate,
> pad, and... what else?

"Mobile PC" as in "mobile phone."

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah. You need to go back to your room and study your computing history. You and 95% of the fucktards around here. I've seen enough of you dumbfucks get modded insightful for trying to credit someone else with innovation to know who does and does not know shit around here.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[bmo]

Wasn't Asimov alive when Star Wars came out?

Lucas could have asked, or paid him. But such dealings rarely see the light of day - they are signed over a bottle of single-malt and a couple of good cigars.

--
BMO

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[d4pp3r]

your absolutely right !!!! the latest movies www.thelatestmovies.co.uk

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Paul Fernhout]

Great example.

Related usages, searching on a bit of that text:
http://www.google.com/search?q=When+he+tired+of+official+reports+and+memoranda+and+minutes%2C+he+would+plug+his+foolscap-sized+Newspad+into+the+ship's+information+circuit

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[inode_buddha]

Maybe you never heard of the Apple Newton? Not that I've ever had an Apple. BTW, the design of my OS predates your business model by a good 20 years. HAND.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, Macs are computers for gaze (ing at )

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[Dogtanian]

There are only so many ways to describe the form factor of the ipad. Tablet, slate, pad, and... what else?

"Jobsian Fondle Slab" was one I quite liked...

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[MogNuts]

Please stop bring up the Newton. It was a novel idea. Unfortunately it sucked. I had one when it first came it. It blew.

Re:slate ? I prefer to buy a tablet.

[bmo]

This is like, really, really late, but sometimes I go to my old posts to see if someone replied that I missed.

Take that google search and then click on video.

Get creeped out.

Really.

--
BMO

Holy design, Batman.

[Samantha Wright]

Does anyone know how design patent suits work? Because this thing looks incredibly like an iPad. Check out the photos underneath the video—that black thing is similar a patch seen on the back of iPod touches where the camera would be. The back is curved in the same way, the bezel is similar... and I think the corner radius is about the same, too.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[WrongSizeGlass]

Considering it's a scam and will never ship I don't think Apple will have to go too far to stop them.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Nerdfest]

There are a series of 7" Android devices already shipping in the $100 range. They're similar to this but run version 1.5 or 1.6. The processor is generally slower as well. They should be able to actually ship for this price.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[bmo]

And you think that Apple's design and form factor of the iPad is somehow groundbreaking?

Go read the paper on the Dynabook concept from the 70s. Right down to the capacitive screen.

There is no intellectual property here. All the big thinking was done 40 years ago at PARC.

--
BMO

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[WrongSizeGlass]

I'm not saying that this price range is out of the question, just that, as noted in another post in this thread, Cherrypal has a history of not shipping orders.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone know how design patent suits work?

Yes. First, make up some shit to patent.Second, call a lawyer. Third, file a suit in west Texas. Its so easy. Thats why everyone is doing it.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Anonymous Coward]

that black thing is similar a patch seen on the back of iPod touches where the camera would be. The back is curved in the same way, the bezel is similar... and I think the corner radius is about the same, too.

My car's hood is sloped downwards towards the front, it has lights on the front, the trunk opens upwards, the windows go up and down, the steering wheel turns... it has to be a patent suit in the making. It's just like the last car I owned!

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, that's why Apple had such a hard time breaking into the 'tablet' market, with all of those competing tab...er...wait.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[hedwards]

It's good for Apple's shareholders that the folks at the patent office haven't seen the Pirates of Silicon Valley.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Anonymous Coward]

East Texas, specifically Marshall, TX

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Samantha Wright]

Sorry, gringo: design patent != patent. They're more like trademarks on physical shape meant to stop counterfeiting.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[BigFootApe]

Go watch 2001 again.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[Anonymous Coward]

...this thing looks incredibly like an iPad...

What's the name of the malady, when all your perceptions relate back to a specific brand name?

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[itsdapead]

Go watch 2001 again.

As the long lunar night drew to a close, the spacesuit clad figures gathered around the featureless monolith. Floyd reached out with his gloved hand and brushed the frictionless surface. Just then, the bright rays of dawn reached the floor of the crater, and for the first time in two million years, the black slab felt the touch of the sun. The response was instantaneous, and the helmeted astronauts tried in vain to cover their ears as the artifact broadcast its waking message to the stars:

FAAAARRRRTTTTT!!!!

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[theurge14]

Just googled Dynabook. It has a large keyboard below the screen. Looks exactly like an iPad. :P

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[psergiu]

Not shipping orders AND not giving the money back unless forced to.

Re:Holy design, Batman.

[bmo]

You didn't read the whole paper.

If you did, you'd see that he said you could do away with the keyboard and make a capacitive screen for finger input.

You can't just skim it and look at the sketches. You have to read the paper.

--
BMO

Re:No thats isn't the most importaint question

[Anonymous Coward]

The important question is, can it view this site correctly

Goatse Alert! Don't click ... or be sure to face away from your keyboard when you puke.

CherryPad?

[ickleberry]

I lost my CherryPad

Re:CherryPad?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's alright, you can get your CherryPad replaced

Re:CherryPad?

[niftydude]

Damn cherrypad popping daddies...

Get the HSG X5A

[LynnwoodRooster]

YouTube review video. You can get them for around $140, a little less if you're in China (Taobao is your friend!). Android 2.1, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash, full-size SD slot (32 GB goodness loaded in mine), glass screen, metal body, lasts for at least 8 hours of book reading or at least 2 movies (so far, that's all I've ever used it for at one time, on a long plane flight). Same 7" screen which is great for most uses, resistive screen is plenty responsive (and perfect for doing quick sketches and note taking, which I do a lot of), HDMI output, and it has two USB ports, the mini USB being an OTG port as well. Games, music, movies, books - great little entertainment device for a LOT less money than an iPad.

Re:Get the HSG X5A

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know of any such such tablets that run Android 2.2? Need this for running Skritter. From taobao is fine...

Re:Get the HSG X5A

[LynnwoodRooster]

Not at this point, but the local electronics shop in Metro City (Shanghai, Xujiahui district) says that HSG will have a 2.2 update for the X5A before the end of the year, and it'll be a free install for X5A owners...

Zune is brown; iPod is Braun.

[tepples]

There's a difference. The car has a 20-year-old antecedent. The industrial design of iDevices does not necessarily, except for those elements borrowed from Dieter Rams's work for Braun.

Re:Zune is brown; iPod is Braun.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok, so pretend it's actually 20 years ago. Then apply my car analogy. Ends up being the same.

I thought this was a Cherry Pal?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chastity_belt

Cheap as dirt?

[markov_chain]

I'm not surprised they are from Palo Alto, $188 is probably a reasonable price for dirt there :D

huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Speakers 1 high quality stereo speaker"

i might not be up to par on my audio terms, but...i dun get it.

Re:huh?

[Jesus_666]

It interleaves. It plays the left channel for 1 ms, then the right channel for 1 ms, then it repeats. Of course this means that the audio takes twice as long to play so each chunk is played back at twice the normal speed.

800 mhz 256 meg ram pc is cheaper

[Anonymous Coward]

does more for me too

Re:800 mhz 256 meg ram pc is cheaper

[tepples]

But how easily can you carry it with you?

Re:800 mhz 256 meg ram pc is cheaper

[gmhowell]

But how easily can you carry it with you?

If he ever leaves his mother's basement, he'll tell you.

Any relation to this vaporware?

[diesel66]

Any relation to this vaporware?

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/04/10/12/1622247/Cherry-OS-Claims-Mac-OS-X-Capability-For-x86

You can buy this right now for around $100

[Anonymous Coward]

Its called a "Pandigital Novel" and it can be bought at Kohls with coupons and the right sale at around a hundred bucks.

Fifteen minutes to flash it with your choice of a half dozen different Android 2.0 images from Slatedroid, and bobs your uncle.

Work on 2.1 and 2.2 on the PDN is underway.

I have one, and its a perfectly workable browsing/email tool. Only problem is that everywhere I take it, people ask me a million questions about what it is and if they can buy one already done up with the firmware mods.

Re:You can buy this right now for around $100

[Eil]

The specs may be similar, but the tablet reviewed in TFA is definitely a different device.

Re:You can buy this right now for around $100

[yoshi_mon]

Now that looks nice. I'm pretty happy with my n810 still but something like that, if not exactly that, would be something I'd want to replace it with.

Relativity low cost, an actual card reader, flash-able, built in Wifi, and what looks to be a decent display makes something like that about where we should be right now. How is the battery life?

I have nothing really against Apple and even most Apple users. They have done a really good job pushing what the standard should be. Their stuff however is wayyyyyy too locked down for me to even consider let alone the money you have to pay to be in that walled garden. Yes yes you can break stuff but that is not what I want to have to do and worry about if some forced update will screw all that up.

Re:You can buy this right now for around $100

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would anyone buy that when they can get a perfectly good netbook for the same amount that does more than just browsing and email?

Re:You can buy this right now for around $100

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes it is. The Cherrypal is a fake and the Pandigital can be bought at retail right now.

If the specs are similar, whats the difference?

Search Slickdeals for a current deal to get the Novel for ~$100.

Netbooks dont have touch screens. I use my Novel for a lot of kids stuff where the touch screen is mandatory. Touching sight words, drawing and painting, etc. That I can use it as a browsing tablet is just a plus, the killer app for this is teaching kids. But I'm sure as heck not giving my 5 year old a $600 ipad to poke at.

The Walgreens tablet is a similar price, but runs a weak 400MHz chip. The replacement firmwares from Slatedroid allow you to run setcpu to clock the Novel to 800MHz, which isnt a true overclock because the ARM chip in it is spec'd for 800MHz usage. Pandigital runs it at 523 because that extends the battery life and they only intended it to be used to read books.

Battery life is fine. I run mine @ 800MHz all the time and have used it for several hours and still had more than half the battery available.

Re:You can buy this right now for around $100

[Anonymous Coward]

Its called a "Pandigital Novel" and it can be bought at Kohls with coupons and the right sale at around a hundred bucks.

Fifteen minutes to flash it with your choice of a half dozen different Android 2.0 images from Slatedroid, and bobs your uncle.

Work on 2.1 and 2.2 on the PDN is underway.

I have one, and its a perfectly workable browsing/email tool. Only problem is that everywhere I take it, people ask me a million questions about what it is and if they can buy one already done up with the firmware mods.

Do you have the white version of the Pandigital? I bought one, and have ended up with a black version. From what I'm reading, nobody has any solid hacks on the black one. Do you know of anyone who knows how to do it on the black? I'm about to return it, since it's not the version I thought I was going to get. If I can find a good hack though, I'll do it and keep it.

Cherrypal loves the mayor

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently, they strongly endorse the mayor of Palo Alto.

From their website:

"Unlike other manufacturers we never experienced any mayor quality issues with our products ..."

http://www.cherrypal.com/store.htm

Got the Mono?

[WCVanHorne]

I don't know if I trust a company that prints the spec: "Speakers 1 high quality stereo speaker:"

Re:Got the Mono?

[Vancorps]

A multi-directional speaker can easily produce stereo sound although obviously not as good as two dedicated directional speakers.

Re:Got the Mono?

[WCVanHorne]

Sure with two or more drivers in a single speaker enclosure you can get something similar to stereo imaging. I believe this is what you are referring to in terms of a multi-directional speaker. However in a device this size I think the differentiation between drivers and speakers sort of breaks down and I suspect we are just talking about one driver. I will grant that if the "speaker" has two or more drivers then you can get limited stereo sound. Of course I would have expected the marketing guys to call this two stereo speakers in the first place. The only way I can think of getting some *like* stereo (but only the ambiance part not true imaging) out of single driver and coil would be with a Linaeum dipole or similar.

Re:Got the Mono?

[Vancorps]

While yes, multiple drivers can achieve the desired affect as well, my Shure earphones do a great job of that, but there are speakers that are meant to only shoot sound in one direction with a narrow space for proper sound and then there are speakers that produce more sound, think simulated surround sound with stereo speakers. Traditionally the right and left front speakers will throw the sound in a wide band to everyone can hear, surround speakers are usually much more directional along with the center channel.

Of course in retrospect I do believe they probably just have multiple drivers instead as that is easier to put into small packages.

Will try one

[Anonymous Coward]

Sort of what I am looking for, a cheap device to show photos take notes, pass time on a plane with simple games, ect. At this price point, why not? Just pulled the trigger on one. Price has been such a reason to stay away from the ipad. I know, its so far from perfect, but its a toy, no way I would pay $5-600 for an ipad toy, but this, why not?

Do not purchase from this company

[LurkersA]

Do not purchase from this company. I ordered one of their $99 netbooks earlier in the year, and it never showed up. I tried to contact the company via email and phone on several occasions and no contact was ever made. My bank eventually reversed the transaction, but it was still a major pain in the ass. Google yields plenty of results for people with similar experiences from this company.

Re:I find it interesting what people seem to want

[lamapper]

It always comes back to a cheap open source iPad. ... This mythical cheap open source device is never going to happen. Either the hardware will be crap or the UI. Deal with it and let's get on with our lives.

To the iPad specifically but first....a cheap open source device is never going to happen... Already has. Two years ago when you could pick up a netbook running Linux with 512MB of RAM for $300. So Cheap open source devices have already happened.

In 2006, I purchased a Nokia N800, Full Linux hand-held and saw the future there. Granted it was not super cheap in 2006, but certainly is today. I still run a server with only 128MB of RAM, of course it does not do a whole lot, but can still run MySQL and PHP. Just don't ask it to serve thousands of clients, I don't.

The point is you put 512MB of RAM on an embedded device with Root access so that you can configure and install what you want and it most certainly will do most of what a person would do with a 'phone' size device...in fact it would do more. A whole lot more, simply because I can put on whatever database I need (does not have to be a full blown SQL today, does it) PHP and if I want to get fancy, Python, Ruby, etc... Exactly what limitations would I have...I don't see any.

So your premise that you can not get a cheap open source device, is wrong....was wrong years ago and is even more wrong today.

It always comes back to a cheap open source iPad. ...

Now I promised I would come back to the iPad specifically. I would suggest that if you put at least 512MB of RAM, (preferably1GB of RAM) and allow for 'swappable' Micro SDs like the Nokia N800 does. We can put those in a USB adapter and use them on other computers as I do with my camera now and have for years. And I am only using 4GB SDs, they make 16GB, 32GB...probably more by now, I have not looked. Some of the new tablets have full blown USB ports. For good measure a Gigabyte Ethernet port would be nice. All of them seem to have WiFi, Bluetooth and a couple offer cellular.

I could give a crap about cellular as I have been using only WiFi + VoIP since I purchased the Nokia N800 and love it. I save enough money to purchase a new computer every year and is only one reason I think Skype VoIP was the single biggest technological improvement since 2000. This one product has done more for my life than any other and there have been allot of technological improvements over the last 10 years.

The Nokia N900 had Cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth day one when it came out, now many of the tablets are offering cellular as well. So its already been done and in a form factor smaller than an iPad for those who want that. Personally I see a need for both a pocket smart embedded Linux device / PIM / phone as well as a tablet size smart Linux embedded device. So can it be done, absolutely...again its already been done. But back to the iPad like Linux tablets...

Here are some that are either out already or coming soon:

Order now for $500 and its Root-able!
The Joo Joo (shipping despite the legal complaints w/ Crunchpad) Processor: Intel Atom N270, 1GB RAM; 4GB SSD Flash; WiFi(802.11b/g), Bluetooth, Camera (Video), USB, Speakers, Mic, only a 12.1” 1366 x 768, 1080p screen. Good: 1GB Ram, USB, WiFi, 1080p, Video; Bad: smaller screen, Adobe Flash. Wish list: 2GB RAM memory, larger screen, Ethernet port; The joo joo is rootable, the Intel Atom foundation should mean that users can wipe the Linux-based stack provided by Fusion Garage, and replace it with another Linux OS, Windows, or another x86-ready operating system. Root Access? Absolutely, a

Obligatory

[istartedi]

Narrator: IN A.D. 2010, WAR WAS BEGINNING.

Captain: What Happen?

Mechanic: Somebody set up us the Cherry BOMB.

Opeartor: WE GET WiFi SIGNAL.

Captain: WHAT !!

Operator: All your lameness filter are belong to us.

You will not type the rest of this parody because you
are too lazy to fix it.

Mark your time.

Operator: Medium-sized SCREEN TURN ON.

Free Shipping - Delivering Good Service

[tomiy]

One can obtain from our secure online store with free shipping and fast delivery, discount and high quality.

Hmm. Tough decision

[Anonymous Coward]

Do I want a slick, nicely designed piece of hardware with well thought out software, or do I want some rip off piece of junk hardware with crappy software that was slapped together in no time?

Yeah it's cheaper, but so is that $10 drill from Walmart, that doesn't mean I want to replace my Makita with it.

Its not the only one....

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's one "available" retail in the UK which is certainly from the same litter as the CherryPad, better specified memorywise but not so good with regard to processor speed and rather cheaper at 90 quid (about 145 dollars).

I like the look of the next one up: eTouch 10" Android Tablet PC which looks a more capable thing all round, apart from the abysmal battery life. At 150 quid, it works out at about 240 dollars.

Note the damn things are at ToysRUs and are out of stock. Either the Christmas supplies aren't in yet, or people want something that looks a lot like Apple product, has the features they want and comes in at a third of Apple prices (at least here in the UK).

Looks like this is at least the SEASON of both the Tablet PC AND Linux in the hand!

EBay is filled with these things

[DrXym]

Some factory in China is pumping out cheapo Android pads in a variety of styles and selling them wholesale for $80 each. Usually they're called aPads or Eken books and I've seen a number of announcements (e.g. Next are flogging a 10" variant for £180) which are obviously based on these. Indeed ebay is full of the generic 7" and 10" aPad / eken tablets. If you're determined you'll be able to buy a 7" one for $100. Although I don't expect they are anything to write home about, they are a herald of things to come.

There will a some perfectly usable tablets in the $200-299 range before long and I expect they will fulfill most of the things the iPad is bought for but a fraction of the price.

More junk advertising?

[wjsteele]

Seriously? Why is Slashdot advertising that piece of crap? It's ANOTHER knockoff Chinese clone... similar to the Augen Tablet and a thousand other clones, but more expensive.

Bill

Re:A Perfect Gucci Handbag For You

[wjsteele]

Is this really offtopic? If Slashdot can post an article on a cheap chinese knockoff device, why can't one of the posters respond with a cheap knockoff handbag to hold it in?

Be carefull buying these el-cheapo tablets

[jonwil]

A number of these companies (especially those where the original product comes from China) continue to violate the GPL as applied to the Android Linux kernel.

Now some people may not care about such things but this is /. so I hope people here care :)

Design patent != invention patent

[itsdapead]

And you think that Apple's design and form factor of the iPad is somehow groundbreaking?

GP was refering to design patents - these cover the cosmetic design of products and the rules are quite different from the regular patents that we love to hate.

So, this isn't about the Cherrypad being a touch-sensitive tablet computer: its about how closely some of the non-functional cosmetic details resemble those of the iDevices.

Did the Dynabook concept include a stylized-fruit logo "etched" into the centre of the slightly curved "brushed aluminium" backplate?

whoops spoke too soon

[drinkypoo]

Here is an incredibly slow Android 2.1 tablet from DX for $157.90. That's kind of tempting, if I had disposable money right now I might dispose of some in that direction. They have another, faster unit but it seems so sketchy I won't even link it.

Cheap and low spec

[gilesjuk]

I like it, someone posts specs for a cheap tablet then says it needs X, Y and Z to be better. Erm, it wouldn't be cheap then would it?

There's already a 7 inch tablet that is high quality, it's made by Samsung and the iPad is actually a better buy as it has a bigger screen. The samsung's price is too close to the iPad.

256MB should be enough for everyone

[MorpheousMarty]

(Tongue in cheek subject)

For what it's worth the iPad has 256MB. Given the lower resolution of the Cherry Pad 256MB should be enough. From what I've been able to scrape together from Googling, the performance of the 800mhz ARM 11 CPU is comparable to the iPhone 3GS (although the ARM is more versatile). Multitasking is a confounding factor, but iOS 4.2 beta users have not been leaking that there are performance problems multitasking on the iPad, so IMHO the CPU is holding back the speed more the RAM.

I'm disappointed the reviewer didn't put in this minimal amount of effort before publishing his review.

Re:I find it interesting what people seem to want

[gig]

> a netbook running Linux with 512MB
> of RAM for $300. So Cheap open
> source devices have already happened.

A netbook running Windows is also $300, so a $300 Linux netbook is not cheap. That is why all the netbooks are running Windows now, even though they started out with Linux. So a $300 Linux netbook is the equivalent of a $499 Linux tablet competing with a $499 iPad. You proved the parent's point.

What you have to understand is that in both Windows netbooks and Apple iPads, the software is being given away free. There is no advantage to the fact that Linux is free. There is nothing to undercut on the software. So to make a $150 netbook or $249 tablet you have to build them out of freeze-dried shit.

Further, where is the cheap Linux iPod touch after 3 years? Nowhere to be found because $229 is already the cheapest iPod touch that can be made. Same as $499 is the cheapest iPad that can be made.

A lot of people are waiting for the "mass market" to build cheaper than Apple. What you are failing to notice is that Apple is the absolute master of economies of scale. Their products are like (very tasty) Mexican cuisine, they are all made out of the same 5 ingredients. iPad, iPod touch, iPhone 4, and Apple TV all have the exact same SOC and memory and flash. They used the same screen on all iPhones and iPod touch for 3 full years. They order components in massive, massive, massive quantities like nobody else. The Apple product is the economies of scale product.

AND the Apple product is the open source product: LLVM, Clang, Mach, BSD, WebKit, Bonjour, and so on.

Walgreens has m150 for $100 & PDN for $160

[walterbyrd]

http://www.techgadgets.in/displays/2010/30/maylong-m-150-tablet-now-available-through-walgreens/

You can also buy the Pandigital Novel at Walgreens for $160. I have never seen the PDN for $100.

Barnes and Noble is coming out with the Color Nook for $250.

Re:Walgreens has m150 for $100 & PDN for $160

[Anonymous Coward]

You can also buy the Pandigital Novel at Walgreens for $160. I have never seen the PDN for $100.

It works by pricematching with the Walgreen's product (Print out the page, it seemed to help even though it is supposedly internet only) then get your thirty percent off coupon ready. After that take your rebate and send it it.

Other ways to continue dropping the price include signing up for their credit card which takes an additional percentage off...

There are ways, you just have to work at it a bit. Also be sure to check out the forums at Slatedroid to see what all can be done and to get additional tips on pricebreaks.

--bornagainpenguin

PS: Posting anonymously to avoid undoing the moderation on the parent comment made by the other Anonymous Coward.

Android Market

[pruss]

The article says that it comes with Android Market. But I thought that Google didn't license Android Market except for phones. So is it pirated?

Scam

[Anonymous Coward]

This company is a scam. Cherrypal appeared on Slashdot before with its scam $99 PC. Mostly, it didn't ship at all. When it did ship, often with specifications below advertised.

Re:I find it interesting what people seem to want

[metamatic]

Further, where is the cheap Linux iPod touch after 3 years?

Here. Starting at $99.

CPU is NOT Samsung!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's from Telechips, likely TCC89XX series and has the best by far hw video codec. 1080p capable.

256M is fine, look at your droid phone. My white Pandigital Novel has 200M free with custom fw, also actually has a Samsung CPU s3c6410 SoC.

Slowness is likely due to lack of hw 3D accel which no Chinese tablet mfg has implemented. Both SoCs here have the ARM Mali-200, basically equiv to PowerVR SGX530 found in most cortex based SoCs.

That's the case of a mobible hotspot

[GPLHost-Thomas]

That's the case of a mobile hotspot and some phones like n900 (and I heard, some Androids) can do it. Why buying another device that will make it more expensive, and will take-over your SIM card, preventing you to actually call, or use your phone for other purposes? Not even saying that the MiFi device plus a normal phone will be quite a cost ... which will cover the cost of a Nokia n900 (or that Android phone which I can't recall the model name).

A lot of similar machines out there

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in China.
Yesterday I went and tried a few android tablets.
There are about a dozen local branded ( "apad", "iRobot", "Hipad"....) tablets available here, all more or less within the same price range, and with resistive screen.

Overall, they very cheap devices apparently usable, but all somewhat laggy.
Touch sensitivity did not feel very satisfactory, but these tablet also offer better connectivity than the iPad, opening the possibility of connecting them to a usb keyboard .

CherryPal Wiki Turfing ?

[billcopc]

I have a very hard time trusting a company that religiously edits its own Wikipedia articles to remove various facts deemed unsavory. They actually did it so much, they were banned from Wikipedia!

In the end, the Streisand effect always wins.

Information is not knowledge, wisdom, virtue...

[Paul Fernhout]

Wow, a video version links to lots of stuff on 9/11 investigations being problematical.

Guess that just goes to show that Information is not knowledge. A related poem I wrote a while back:

    On Information, Knowledge, Intelligence, Wisdom, Virtue, and Effectiveness
        By Paul D. Fernhout

    Information is not knowledge,
    Knowledge is not intelligence,
    Intelligence is not wisdom,
    Wisdom is not virtue, and
    Virtue is not effectiveness.

    So, to have is not to organize,
    To organize is not to embody,
    To embody is not to value,
    To value is not to act, and
    To act (especially in ignorance)
        is not necessarily to succeed.