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Ubuntu Powered Tablet Spotted! 169

dkd903 writes "The year 2010 had been all buzz with tablets and a similar trend is expected during the year 2011 too. We have already seen a lot of Android powered tablets. But how does a tablet powered by Ubuntu sound? A Chinese manufacturer TENQ has launched a tablet called P07. The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant."
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Ubuntu Powered Tablet Spotted!

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  • by Anonymous Coward

    Surely 2011 will be the Year of the Linux Tablet now?

    • by vikstar ( 615372 )

      Any tablet running Android.

    • No, 2011 will finally be the year of the Linux Desktop. But entire world and dog will fail to notice because they got rid of their desktop and will be playing with their Apple/Microsoft Tablets.

  • I guess the server's uptime is about the same as the tablet's boot-time once the /. crowd "spotted" the product.

  • by garcia ( 6573 ) on Tuesday December 28, 2010 @01:02PM (#34687976)

    Google has a cached version: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:h8oRGG22slsJ:gadgetizor.com/the-tablet-season-brings-a-new-ubuntu-powered-tablet/6304/+http://gadgetizor.com/the-tablet-season-brings-a-new-ubuntu-powered-tablet/6304/&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a [googleusercontent.com]

    2010 has been all about tablets - there is the iPad and a plethora of Android tablets - and it seems like it is going to continue to 2011.

    Now it seems we have a different contender. A few days back, some pictures of an unnamed tablet running Ubuntu has cropped up. The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant.

    The specifications of the device are said to be as below:

            * Intel Atom 1.6 GHz
            * 2 GB RAM
            * 32 GB SSD Hard Drive
            * Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat"

    UNE 10.10 supports multi-touch but there has been a dearth of devices which uses its multi-touch features. While I am very excited to see a tablet running Ubuntu, I do not think Ubuntu is ready for tablets yet. For now Honeycomb seems like the OS for tablets.

    And another thing, in the images the button has the Windows logo. Puzzling!!

    Source: http://www.gizchina.com/2010/12/23/exclusive-leaked-images-reveal-ubuntu-powered-tablet/ [gizchina.com]
    Via: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/12/leaked-images-of-mysterious-ubuntu-powered-tablet/ [omgubuntu.co.uk]

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Oriumpor ( 446718 )

      ROFLMDAO the image is the epitome of the Ubuntu install. Get it loaded up, try to play your music off your mp3 player while finishing it up and you get the damn codec error.

      • by kwerle ( 39371 )

        Exactly what I was thinking. It may be a few more miles before this is an iPad killer.

      • Yeah, I saw the pic and thought, "Of all the damn screenshots in all the world, why did they leak that one?"
        • by kwerle ( 39371 )

          Yeah, I saw the pic and thought, "Of all the damn screenshots in all the world, why did they leak that one?"

          It was the first one that didn't have a crash backtrace?
          >:-)

        • At least it shows it is the real thing or close to - rather than a "based on" with just enough changes to make upgrading later when it is no longer supported by the hardware manufacturer a pain.
      • Yeah, when you install it yourself you get the option to install the codecs and flash etc with the OS installation, but on pre-installs you do not have that option.

        • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

          Leave it to OEMs to manage to create a lesser experience than you can get by just downloading the relevant Linux distribution yourself.

          • by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Tuesday December 28, 2010 @03:49PM (#34690386) Homepage

            Well if you've been here a while as your UID says, you should know it's all about the patents. You check the button in the install process, Canoncial doesn't. With preinstalls it would be the OEM installing it for you, which makes the OEM a lawsuit target. At least in the US the MP3 patents are valid for at least 2 and possibly 7 more years if the submarine patents are recognized. Patents for MPEG2 that's required for DVD reading goes to 2023, H.264 to 2028. That's fine if you're called Linux Mint and doesn't have deep enough pockets that anybody will bother to sue you but if you're a big OEM they might. At least no OEM feels like taking that chance...

            • You check the button in the install process, Canoncial doesn't. With preinstalls it would be the OEM installing it for you, which makes the OEM a lawsuit target

              Canonical licenses mp3 and H.264 for its OEM distributions:

              Licensed Companies [mp3licensing.com], Licensees - PC Applications [mp3licensing.com]
              AVC/H.264 Licensees [mpegla.com]

              Walmart.com had 212 flavors of the Win 7 laptop and 95 Win 7 desktops on sale this holiday season - and all sold with licensed mp3 audio and DVD video play out of the box.

        • I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.
          • You don't need to add another repository.

            The first time you want to play an MP3 or view flash in your browser you are asked if you would want to install the relevant software.

            It is really very simple.

          • by ArcherB ( 796902 )

            I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.

            I don't have a problem googling on my desktop, but I seriously won't be happy about doing it on a tablet. Googling is not the same without a keyboard and mouse. Sure, it's possible, but not nearly as easy without the proper input devices and screen.

            • I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.

              I don't have a problem googling on my desktop, but I seriously won't be happy about doing it on a tablet. Googling is not the same without a keyboard and mouse. Sure, it's possible, but not nearly as easy without the proper input devices and screen.

              It works well enough on my android phone and it would be easier on a tablet. Personally I would prefer SHR [shr-project.org] or android on a tablet instead of ubuntu.

        • What this needs is an icon on the desktop titled "Activate Now". Running it then connects to the relevant repositories and installs all the codecs that typical users were accustomed to back in the Windows world. And during installation, various tip screens come up explaining in layman's terms the reasons why these were unable to be installed at the factory.

          Remember, you may not be able to change the world, but you can at least make a dent.

          • This should be trivial. The only problem with putting this on the desktop is that the current version of Unity that runs on Mutter does not support having desktop icons.

            The next version will use Compiz and will support having an icon on the desktop.

      • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

        Your FUD is a couple of years out of date.

        This problem actually applies much more to Apple products.

      • by devent ( 1627873 ) on Tuesday December 28, 2010 @02:33PM (#34689346) Homepage

        That is the epitome of the USA "IP" laws. Because cooperation have lobbed your government so much that an idea (or an algorithm) can be patented you can't just take a free copy of Ubuntu and play your mp3 files on it. On the other hand you outsource your jobs and your production so fast to China and India that in a few years the "IP" is the only thing of value your country would have left. You government knows that, that's why there is so big push towards forcing all other countries adopt your idea of "IP" as well.

      • by mangu ( 126918 )

        ROFLMDAO the image is the epitome of the Ubuntu install. Get it loaded up, try to play your music off your mp3 player while finishing it up and you get the damn codec error.

        Funny thing is that in my Ubuntu computers all the media formats I try always work. OTOH, I recently gave a coworker a copy of a film I enjoyed and he couldn't play it in his windows computer because it was a Matroska video.

    • by horza ( 87255 )

      Flaws for me:
      * no ARM processor
      * fairly bulky looking frame around the device
      * looks like standard LCD, bit of glare, not as good as Samsung AMOLED

      Every Ubuntu user probably bought a Microsoft Windows PC and reformatted it, probably do the same with an Android tablet.

      Phillip.

    • by jnaujok ( 804613 )
      I pulled the image and inverted the colors. It looks sort of like the windows logo, but it's missing the trailing dots. It may just be a four-diamond type logo, not a windows logo. Hard to say with how hard it is to see though.
  • ...does it run Linu..oh wait.
  • It's right there on the website at the top...

    FORBIDDEN!

  • by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Tuesday December 28, 2010 @01:18PM (#34688232) Homepage

    GO to ebay, search Tablet PC. Pick one.
    Download Ubuntu 10.10
    Install Ubuntu 10.10 on the tablet.

    Magical poof happens with a bright brown genie appearing and angels singing.... you have a ubuntu tablet! Something that nobody ever though of....

    Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

    Fujitsu stylistic works great, plus I can use a stylus so I can use it as a writing tablet. Too bad there is not a OS replacement for MSFT One Note.

    • GO to ebay, search Tablet PC. Pick one.
      Download Ubuntu 10.10
      Install Ubuntu 10.10 on the tablet.

      Magical poof happens with a bright brown genie appearing and angels singing.... you have a ubuntu tablet! Something that nobody ever though of....

      Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

      Fujitsu stylistic works great, plus I can use a stylus so I can use it as a writing tablet. Too bad there is not a OS replacement for MSFT One Note.

      The 'tablet' you describe is a notebook with a wacom tablet built in. It's not a tablet in the iPad sense.

      I realize that sounds like typical Slashdot pedantry , but the points about 'not having to wait for it to boot' and the 'apps are actually designed to use it' are critical to making a 'tablet PC' take off. Microsoft missed the mark. I used to have a Tablet PC. The fact that it had XP's less-than-spectacular suspend mode is what kept it from being little more than a laptop to me.

      • by Lumpy ( 12016 )

        I dont have to wait for it to boot. It suspends and wakes nicely.

        also the "wacom tablet" remark is way off. I CAN use my finger or a stylus. it's a resistive screen.

        as for apps. I have far more apps available than the iPad. far FAR more.

    • Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

      You keep on using that word... I don't think it means what you think it means.

    • by ndogg ( 158021 )

      Yeah, I've seen Ubuntu on a number of tablets for years now, and it's always someone installing it over something that's already there, but that' not really the point of this article, is it? It's that Ubuntu comes preinstalled, and fully supported. Now that's something different.

  • by alen ( 225700 ) on Tuesday December 28, 2010 @01:31PM (#34688424)

    the iPad is cool not because it can read email but the app store. all kinds of apps that do things that were unimagined a few years ago.

    i'm looking at an ipad next year because there are apps for kids that even out the cost between buying crap like leapfrog. there are apps to get kids to learn to read

    • Yeah, or you could just use a book and help your kid read instead of letting a computer do your job as a parent...

      • Yeah, or you could just use a book and help your kid read instead of letting a computer do your job as a parent...

        Or you could do both and give your kid practical experience in the modern age of technology.

    • by Nadaka ( 224565 )

      Ubuntu has had free software repositories built in for basically forever. Apple borrowed the idea of an "app-store" from linux.

    • Ubuntu has an app store as well. There are educational games and educational stuff.

      There's a 'flavour' of Ubuntu called "Edubuntu" which is designed for classrooms.

      • I can personally attest to Edubuntu's usefulness. I used it to help teach a few dozen rural African kids letter recognition. Not quite reading, but an important step nonetheless.
    • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

      Yes: "all sorts of stuff from the app store" that no one ever seems to mention when droning on how good the app store is.

  • boot time reported to be almost instant.

    "Boot time"? On a tablet? Is this thing following the failed Windows Tablet paradigm rather than the iOS/Android model?

    • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

      My android phone takes many seconds to boot. What are you on about?

      • My android phone takes many seconds to boot. What are you on about?

        While the network connections can take time for a phone, the OS should be ready to go instantly. My iPod Touch is ready as soon as I hit the home button - I don't have to turn it off and then boot it in between uses. The only time it has to boot is when there's been a problem - and those are months apart. Boot time is basically irrelevant.

        Isn't Android the same?

        • Yes, Android is the same. However, comparing your iPod Touch to an Android phone isn't exactly accurate -- it would be more accurate to compare it to an iPhone, which has restarts that happen far more often than "months apart." It also takes a similiar amount of time to start up.

          • by nxtw ( 866177 )

            it would be more accurate to compare it to an iPhone, which has restarts that happen far more often than "months apart." It also takes a similiar amount of time to start up.

            I haven't restarted my iPhone since applying the last software update, over a month ago.

            • That's your own personal experience. I know a few iPhone owners, ones who tinker with their phones (non-jailbraking) as much as I'm guessing an Android owner would, who restart their phones every few days, if not every day.

        • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

          I update the OS far more than that. I not running a vendor supplied OS.

  • TFS: The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant.

    The question is whether it will crash instantly after a kernel update (due to a GRUB issue). This will instantly please all users.

    CC.
  • Sharp introduced an Ubuntu tablet 6 months ago [armdevices.net], as part of their `Netwalker' line.

    I think Always Innovating [alwaysinnovating.com] was supporting Ubuntu on their tablets before that.

    Maybe there are others, also; still, each new one is nice to see.

  • No more pollution, no more hunger, and no more wars.

    The Ubuntu-powered Tablet shows off the first real-world application of Ubuntu power, which is the world's first free-as-in-beer AND free-as-in-freedom power source. No longer will we rely on arcane power storage devices such as Lithium-Polymer batteries, or dangerous power generation methods like coal-fired generators.

    I, for one, welcome our new Ubuntu Overlords!

  • Forbidden by the powers that be...

    You don't have permission to access /index.php on this server.

    Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

  • How do I feel? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 )

    The article has apparently been slashdotted, so I can only guess how it's been implemented.

    Please bear with me, I have to take a run-up to this.

    I've used the Galaxy tablet, an iPad, and a tablet running Windows 7.

    The iPad is very stable intuitive and usable. The Android tablet works much the same as the iPad with the additional features of a higher degree of customization, widgets, flash, and so forth.

    The Windows 7 tablet sucks.

    The main reason the Windows 7 tablet sucks is that the GUI doesn't s

  • Why don't tablet makers that want to use a full desktop OS think about using it with Synergy (on sourceforge)???

    It's a perfect complement.

    If the tablet is running Win7 or x86 Linux, then when it's docked next to my monitor, it fires up synergy and the mouse and keyboard control it just like an extra screen. When I pull it off the cradle, Synergy shuts down, and now it's a distinct computer. If running Ubuntu, it can still run Windows apps via Wine (critical for how I want to use a tablet).

    I don't know why

  • Like I hadn't seen enough "Ubuntu conquers the World!" news this month. I was pretty much saturated with that already after perusing the magazines at the local Borders and saw almost nothing but magazines containing DVDs of the newest Ubuntu distribution or some beta copy of it. I doubt I would have been surprised to find one stuck in the latest Tiger Beat or Cosmo.

    "dkd903"

    Heh. Alpha user? Just kidding. (I guess I've spent way too much time at P00>>> prompts in recent months.)

    "... the boot

  • Yes, but does it play Angry Birds?

  • When I tried to access the sight, I was "Forbidden" - 403 error LOL :-D

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