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Dual-Booting PengPod Tablet Can Run Linux/Android

Posted by timothy on from the first-in-relation-to-what dept.

New submitter garbagechuteflyboy writes "The PengPod is the first dual-booting tablet; It's able to run both Linux and Android. Pengpod is now running the latest Plasma Active which gives this powerful Linux tablet features that were previously only available to iPad and Android tablets. PengPod is currently selling pre-orders on Indiegogo." garbagechuteflyboy adds links to articles about the dual-OS tablet at liliputing, at Ars Technica, and at PCWorld. "First dual-booting tablet" seems like a hard claim to back, but it's nice to see a tablet marketed with Plasma Active in mind.

14 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Dual boot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dual boots linux and ... well ... linux.

  2. First? by Jethro · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because I was dualbooting WebOS and Android on my touchpad a year ago.

    Also, having never heard of this device before, I looked it up and... frankly... it seems pretty horrible.

    --


    In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
    1. Re:First? by gmuslera · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In the N900 (the cellphone version of the Nokia Internet Tablet, i suppose it can count as a tablet) there were several linux versions available to install and choose at boot between them. Used to have the default Maemo with Meego and Android, but several more were available.

  3. you mean GNU and Android by davydagger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    because both of them use linux as the kernel. So in this case it would be not just appriopriate, but important to seperate between GNU/Linux and Android/Linux.

    This tablet runs GNU/Linux AND Android/Linux.

    What will really impress me is if you can get a hybrid userland where you can run GNU on android.

    1. Re:you mean GNU and Android by darkNeko · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's important because it's target as you say it's not for consumers, but for geeks. The differences are significant if you want to develop for one or the other, specially if you want to use X vs whatever android uses. You can easily port thousands of apps that use X, but those same apps are a pain to port to android. I, as profesional could use a tablet with full linux, where I can use some software does the work I need, with a simple recompile, instead of having to port it to android with several different libraries and subsystems.

    2. Re:you mean GNU and Android by squirrelthetire · · Score: 3, Informative

      people have a tendency to forget that Android is Linux.

      No, It's an OS that uses Linux for a kernel. That's an important distinction that people tend to forget, mostly because of the fact that until Android, just about any OS using Linux also used GNU. With that fact changing, people should realize that GNU/Linux and Android/Linux are different, and therefore incompatible.

    3. Re:you mean GNU and Android by davydagger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Its important to make the distinction for two reasons.

      1. Android/linux has a diffrent userland than gnu/linux. android is in fact %100 linux, but its not the "linux" most geeks want to use. They want their typical "linux user experiance", which means they want the rest of the programs that are bundled by most "linux" distributions. This user experiance has a name. Its called "GNU". Most importantly I assume that most geeks would want gcc, GNU make, glibc, etc..., so they can start compiling standard GNU/linux applications they enjoy on other platforms.

      GNU here is the big keystone, because once you have GNU, to include GCC, glibc, gnu make, bash, etc..., then even if the thing didn't come with X11, and a widely used desktop, which it does(KDE), it'd make it a lot easier to port. It'd make it easier to port and run standard libraries.

      So I'm just calling "standard linux stuff" by its proper name. "GNU"

      2. Regardless of what you think of the man, Richard Stallman, and the FSF did/does put a considerable amount of effort into GNU, I'd say as much as Linus, and the kernel team does. Especially since the fact that gcc/gmake/glibc get used in to test new platforms, and are the crux of a good deal of linux software, to include the kernel.

      Linus, and his kernel team get all the credit, while Stallman and the FSF who did/do put work in, get next to none. While I do hold Linus in high regard, the FSF deserves credit for GNU. Give it where its due.

  4. Re:Resistive Screen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was about to sign up for one of these earlier this week, but the specs seem to indicate a resistive screen. After trying one of the cheap Chinese made Android tabs with a resistive screen, no thanks. I could deal with a bit less speed or memory, but the screen's got to be capacitive.

    It has a capacitive screen

  5. Dupe by Narishma · · Score: 4, Informative

    garbagechuteflyboy adds links to articles about the dual-OS tablet at liliputing, at Ars Technica, and at PCWorld.

    How about a link to Slashdot's story a week ago.

    --
    Mada mada dane.
  6. I like Ubuntu's idea better by caseih · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'd rather run both Android and a Linux desktop at the same time. They both use a Linux kernel after all, so dual-booting seems a bit redundant. Why not run an android system (if not individual apps) as an app within, say, KDE plasma.

    Actually, I'm surprised that MS and others haven't just implemented Android-compatible subsystems within their OS's and run Android apps natively. Need windows apps *and* Android apps? no problem. We support them both! Android isn't actually Linux after all; it's a Java environment and the kernel is irrelevant. I think BB 10 wanted to do this (QNX kernel), but I don't know if they ever did.

  7. Slashdot doing advertorials now? by BenJeremy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Chinese tablets have been doing this for ages. I have a 7" tablet I bought a few years ago that ...GASP... boots THREE Operating Systems!! Android, Windows CE, and Linux.

    This is absolutely nothing new or unique. Quite frankly, I'm astonished this is being covered by Slashdot like this, unless they are getting advertising revenues from the HK vendor that sells it.

    1. Re:Slashdot doing advertorials now? by Noughmad · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why not post the name of your table?

      Bobby. Aren't all tables named Bobby?

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  8. Re:Resistive Screen by drachensun · · Score: 4, Informative

    Its in the updates on the site: Q: Do the PengPods use a capacitive touch screen? A: YES, no resistive touch screens, only capacitive. I think some confusion has been caused by the fact that the A10 chip has a built in resistive touch screen controller. We are not using it, we are using an ft5x capacitive touch screen controller chip with 5 point multi-touch.

  9. Re:Resistive Screen by hobarrera · · Score: 4, Funny

    Damn that, I would have gotten on if it had a resistive screen. I can't stand capacitive screens and it seems the entire market is flooded with those!