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Details Emerge About Spark Linux-Based Tablet
MojoKid writes "There's a new tablet in town called the Spark. The Linux-driven tablet, based on the Zenithink C71 and KDE was unveiled by developer Aaron Seigo recently. The tablet will be available for pre-order this week and will start shipping worldwide in May. In terms of specifications, the 7-inch (800x480) multi-touch slate will run a 1GHz AMLogic ARM processor and Mali-400 GPU, sport 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot for expandability), 802/11b/g WiFi, a pair of USB ports, a front-facing 1.3MP webcam, and an audio jack. The UI of choice is Plasma Active and there will apparently be a content store where developers can peddle their wares and users can snag software."
I am interested in this tablet, not because it is best / most up to date, but it pushes Linux. What I mean is, it's not relying on a locked down version that the likes of Google pretend is Linux. It's not just a question of free as in no cost OS, but freedom to do what you like... which is not the same as installing re-engineered OS versions but might brick your device as that's how the hardware was designed.
To that end, I'd love to see a 100% Linux phone, nothing relying on Google with it's bits locked down or tracking
Take Nobody's Word For It.
I wonder what framework it will use for multi-touch and how well the installed applications are optimized for touch input. Actually, (formerly) Nokia's QT was starting to get good touch support, might be a reason why they went with KDE?
This "preorder" business sounds fishy.
Anyone remembers the "CherryPal Africa" $99 laptops ? I preordered two. And almost 3 months after the date they were supposed to be shipping i got the money back by filling a complaint with my bank. Some of the people who preordered used Western Union or simmilar money transfer services and they never got their money back OR the laptop.
Be carefull if preordering vapourware from unknown companies.
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
To that end, I'd love to see a 100% Linux phone, nothing relying on Google with it's bits locked down or tracking
MeeGo Harmattan close enough for you?
Set your phasers on "funky"!
even for someone who wants a full Linux stack, is: 'Can I play Angry Birds on it?'
2012 - year of the linux tablet!
Sent from my Tianhe-2 (MilkyWay-2).
> Wife reception becomes even worse if you "do not hold it right"
Learn to hold yor wife right and she'll be more receptive :)
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
"The vision of Plasma Active is to create an innovative and fresh data-centric UI which is not concerned with applications but rather offers a user oriented interface with logically combined items through activities, which reflect the workflow and usage of the device by the user".
Didn't understand a word? Me neither. And this is from a commercial company trying to sell the thing. No more luck with the promotional video, which only shows some loading times for some unexplained tasks for which the benefit is not clear.
Until they hire some marketing people able to explain why consumers should buy the thing, and some UX people making the users feel at home when using it, nobody -not even geeks- will want to buy one.
Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
I would know. In this case "snag" means to acquire through purchase or through gift - to achieve ownership without theft.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Have a tablet running Android 2.3 (version 4 isn't available for it yet, still waiting)
Need to know what's the difference between a tablet running Linux and Android ?
Will Android apps work in the Linux tablets, and vice versa?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
I hate to sound like someone else when I say "developers, developers, developers" but if this thing shipped with Angry Birds on it, people would buy it and keep using it. Combine that with some really good navigation, and that would keep people from playing with it and dropping it in a drawer later.
Can it run Flash in a browser?
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
cheap Chinese tablet, with plastic screen and low specs
why that fixation to have hard, heavy metal casings on handheld devices ? isnt it stupid to haul around something heavy ? or, 'shiny' is more important than 'light' for you ?
I think it's more of a durability thing, being hand held and all. I'd rather not have my $300 + toy shatter the first time I drop it.
--- Keep the choice with the user..
Go to 2:06 of the video and freeze it - you'll see that the demo is completely fake - that is NOT a 7" screen.
So, what you see is NOT what you'll get. It's not running on the same hardware, it's not anywhere near the same resolution - and yet nowhere is this mentioned.
The idea that this is ever going to sell is insane. Then again, the guy's in Calgary - perhaps he's experiencing a brain freeze?
So, you have a choice - order this PoS for $260 this summer, or order a quad-core with better battery life and more features for the same price. Gee, that's a no-brainer.
What next, som idiot installing freeDOS on a tablet and asking for 3x the price (a freeDOS tablet for $100 would actually make more sense, because there IS a market for people who would like to be able to play those old games in a convenient form factor).
Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
I've tried to run recent versions of Linux on comparably powered and configured Intel hardware.
The experience SUCKS. You can't play video without it going choppy (especially not full-screen Flash videos or YouTube content.) The UI takes a quarter to half second to respond if you've got anything USEFUL running on the system. You can hear the hard drive grinding away as the system swaps and thrashes trying to do anything with a mere 512MB of RAM to play with.
Piece of crap, in my books, and late to market. You can already buy more powerful tablets that have better brand recognition and market share.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
If anybody's working on a Gnome 3 tablet, /. should be their target customer. But not this one. It's done a fine job, and as some people noted above, they do need better marketing, as well as some content tie-ups so that they can also be a good tablet for books, among other things.
Is unity useable at all on tablets?
I dunno, but it sure isn't useable on a desktop, so I guessed it was designed for a tablet...
Write boring code, not shiny code!