Always Innovating Touch Book

[Rumplestilzken]

Originally Posted by bjkel

Was just reading the faq section on this one. Says the battery lasts 3 - 5 hrs with standalone tablet and 10 - 15 hours with keyboard attached. So you only get the long battery life if you keep it attached to the keyboard. Unless I misunderstood in the faq section, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Doesn't say the weight but I'm guessing it would be reasonably heavy.

Nope, think I'ld pass.

You can also turn the display around and close it right on top of the keyboard, like a regular tablet pc. You would still have the keyboard if you needed it, and you would get the extra battery life, all at only 2lb. I think this new netbook is really cool. And for the people who dont DEPEND on windows, it will be a very good addition to a computer collection. Im planning on using mine mostly as an ebook reader. Sure its not a workhorse, but a lot of people dont need that. You can do everything most people tend to do on a computer. Not to mention all the added bonuses.

[Rumplestilzken]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Yeah, but the ARM processor makes this a wait and see. I don't even know what Linux distros still support ARM.

Ubuntu, Debian, Angstrom, and ARM are jut a few. And the fact that they have modified Angstrom to make their own TouchBook OS. ARM is pretty well supported already, and after this the support will only get bigger. Also a few other netbooks are going to sport ARM processors, adding a little extra umph.

[Gem]

I wrote them an email just to see what they had to say.

my letter:

I came across the touch book, as well as the chinese Q7 (which is out
with good reviews), and the chinese a700.

Since certain specs don\'t seem to be available (RAM), I was
wondering if you could tell me how I can expect the touch book to
stack up performance wise, Especially considering the low prices of
the other two devices.

I provided links to the other two and their specs

Their reply:

Thank you for your interest in the Touch Book.

The Touch Book has a 600MHz processor and 256MB of RAM. Please keep in mind that the software will be highly optimized for the hardware, meaning it'll run far faster than it seems like it would on paper.

Im under the impression that we are up in the air when it comes to the 500Mhz MIP vs the ARM, but at least we have a RAM spec now. (Unless it's posted elsewhere, I couldnt find one)

[Rumplestilzken]

gizmodo, and gizmodo like sites have more specs. Check wikipeida, i added a few things there too.

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by Gem

Im under the impression that we are up in the air when it comes to the 500Mhz MIP vs the ARM, but at least we have a RAM spec now. (Unless it's posted elsewhere, I couldnt find one)

Well, it is a bit unfair to "scale down" OMAP chip to its ARM core. There is a decent DSP built into it, which really shows up in multimedia apps.

[Rumplestilzken]

Originally Posted by Ankh

Well, it is a bit unfair to "scale down" OMAP chip to its ARM core. There is a decent DSP built into it, which really shows up in multimedia apps.

I agree completely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHzr...rom=PL&index=8

Id say that even have a core speed of 600mhz, its alright, because the graphics processor adds another 430mhz of power for graphics work. I think the processor will be just as fast as the older intel atoms if not faster.


look at the OMAP3530, that is what will be in it. althought i wish they added the 1ghz with the same setup But im sure with this setup, it keeps the cost lower, and generates less heat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMAP3

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by Rumplestilzken

I agree completely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHzr...rom=PL&index=8
look at the OMAP3530, that is what will be in it.

I am familiar with that particular SoC.

Speaking of memory, OMAP3 is sold as "package-on-package", together with RAM and flash.

The usual deal for 3530 these days is 256 MB of NAND (or OneNAND) + 256 MB of RAM. Always Innovating is probably still unsure what will be offered by the time they go into the production, hence vague specs.

[Rumplestilzken]

Originally Posted by Ankh

I am familiar with that particular SoC.

Speaking of memory, OMAP3 is sold as "package-on-package", together with RAM and flash.

The usual deal for 3530 these days is 256 MB of NAND (or OneNAND) + 256 MB of RAM. Always Innovating is probably still unsure what will be offered by the time they go into the production, hence vague specs.

Yeah, on the site, they even say that hardware will be final at LAUNCH. and software will still be in beta, but its cool that they're still leaving themselves open incase other things more suited for their touchbook come out before launch.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by Ankh

Well, it is a bit unfair to "scale down" OMAP chip to its ARM core. There is a decent DSP built into it, which really shows up in multimedia apps.

And even without considering DSP, there is the fact that OMAP3's ARM core is Cortex-A8, which includes NEON multimedia instructions (similar to MMX/SSE on x86).