Droid Sector

A 7-inch tablet with a TFT display, Android 2.2, 1.0 GHz Cortex A8 processor, 16GB of on-board memory, 4000mAH battery, 3G, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi (up to N), a front-facing camera, GPS  and an SD card slot.

It’s smaller and lighter than the iPad (370 gram) with almost the same resolution (1024×600). Unfortunately it doesn’t have the rumored Super AMOLED display nor USB ports. DivX support is a big plus though.

Games and custom apps (video by Android Central):

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Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at Nvidia:

Windows is too big and it’s too full featured for smartbooks and tablets.

The good news is that we finally have an operating system to unite behind. Android is an operating system that has gained a tremendous amount of momentum all over the world.

Android has become the fastest growing mobile operating system in the world and, in fact, it has surpassed the iPhone in terms of growth and in terms of users.

Andy Rubin and his team [at Google] know exactly where the industry needs to go. Android started out as a phone but it’s not lost on them that the tablet is going to be very important and that the Android operating system has to evolve, and be enhanced in certain capabilities, in order to be a good tablet operating system.

I think we’ll have to wait until this fall. The operating systems are coming together, the devices are coming together.

Looks like we’ll see Android tablets by the end of this year. According to Eldar Murtazin, “Google asked manufacturers to wait until next Android version will be released”. Many apps already can run with no problem on a tablet, but system itself can be upgraded to take advantage of the bigger screen.

IDG News

A latest SDK now allows developers to create and run virtual devices with tablet-size screen. Just create a new device and set the size to 1024×600 or bigger.

We’ve seen many upcoming Android tablets, but apps from the Market were never showcased. Some people tend to think that the apps will look bad in high resolution, so I’ve decided to check it. Below go the screenshots of apps running on Android 1.6 x86 in VirtualBox. Screen resolution was set to 1024×768.

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SlashGear got some more details about Adam tablet. Two versions are considered for release, 12.9mm and 11.6mm, the thinner version probably will feature LCD panel instead of Pixel Qi.

nVidia estimates that tablets with LCD displays (consuming ~2W) using Tegra 2 will last for around 16 hours of full HD video. Since Pixel Qi uses just 0.2W in its electrophoretic reflective mode, potentially you can get up to 160 hours of use.

Notion Ink is planning to launch Adam with digital magazines, ebooks and comics. It will support Flash, which is huge advantage over Apple iPad. More information will be available at Mobile World Congress 2010 next week.

The company also will be running an Apps Competition, similar to Google’s ADC. No more details at this time, except over $1m prize fund.

SlashGear

Apple is trying to replace netbooks and e-readers with it’s new device, the iPad, but will it succeed?

Web browsing
This could be a good reason for using this device, but without Flash? Not much sense. It’s like having a TV with no video. I don’t really like Flash, but it may be quite awhile before most sites start using HTML5 video tags. Like it or not, Flash will still be around for a couple of years. This is how the web looks without Flash.

Display
IPS displays offer the most accurate picture possible, but are they well-suited for long-form text, when you’re reading for hours? Combo displays like Pixel Qi can turn off the backlight and act as an eInk screen. Not sure how the photos look on Pixel Qi screens though.

Connectivity
No USB, no HDMI, no card readers. You’ll need separate adapters for connecting your camera.

No multitasking
This alone is a dealbreaker for me.

No widgets
Only icons on the 9.7″ home page? Any digital photoframe shows more information.

No camera
Why not include a camera, at least for Skype? Scanning business cards, barcodes – the build-in camera might come very useful.

I think I’ll wait for an Android tablet like Adam from Notion Ink: 10″ 1024×600 TFT/eInk display, 1080p video with HDMI, USB, SD card support, rotatable camera, 16 hours of WiFi browsing. Android apps like maps and browsers can  already work with this resolution without upscaling.

And I guess by the time this tablet gets released, Adobe will have Flash ready for Android devices and guys from CoreCodec will finish their video player with AVI/MKV support.

Specifications:

Size: 250x160x15mm (9.8×6.3×0.6 inch).
Display: 10.1-inch TFT LCD.
Display Modes: Color (1024×600), Transflective, Reflective e-Ink.
Weight: 770gr (1.7 pounds).
Processor: nVidia TEGRA (ARM, ULP GeForce, 8 Cores).
HD Video: 1080p H.264 decode, 720 H.264 encode.
Cellular and Wireless: UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/EDGE, BT, Wi-Fi.
Locations: GPS, Digital Compass.
Connectors: HDMI, USB, 3.5mm in/out audio jacks.
Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light, Water.
Storage: 16GB or 32GB flash drive, SD card support.
Camera: 3 megapixels, rotatable at 180 degree.
Battery: 8 hours of HD video playback, 16 hours of WiFi browsing.

Great combination of nVidia Tegra and Pixel Qi display gives you a longer battery life and perfect screen for all lighting conditions. It looks like normal display indoor, under bright sun colors washed out but still present. When backlight is turned off, it works as e-Ink display – good for Maps and eBook apps and saves energy as well.

Notion Ink is planning to show this Android tablet at Las Vegas CES in January. Expected price is 15,000 rupees (~$320) at U.S., European and Indian markets in June 2010.

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Concept of digital magazine by Bonnier Research & Development.

Follow the discussion in the Bonnier R&D Beta Lab:
bonnier.com/en/content/digital-magazines-bonnier-mag-prototype

Another beautiful tablet with 7″ touchscreen and NVIDIA Tegra CPU. It comes with all features found in latest Android phones. T20 chip is capable to easily play 1080p videos. 1024×600 screen resolution seems too small for HD, but you can connect it to bigger screen with HDMI cable.

Features:
512 DDR / 512 NAND
186mm x 158mm x 18mm • Target weight < 600g
5.4 AH 3.9v Lithium Ion • Minimum 4hrs life fully charged
1.3 MP Web Cam • 4GB Internal SD (non removable)
Micro SD slot • USB 2.0 • 3.5mm Audio Jack • FM Radio
Accelerometer • Ambient light sensor • Dual digital microphones

Optional features: Capacitive screen • Cellular and 3G • GPS

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