Hasta La Gadget!

Chip maker Marvell wants to get into the tablet business and it is showing a prototype that will offer web access and high-definition content at a price that would beat the competition by a wide margin.

The prototoype tablet, called Moby, is targeted mainly at students who may be looking for a digital device that could give them access to books and the internet, and could also act as a music player.

The Moby tablet will be powered by Marvell’s ARMADA 600 series of application processors. These chips can offer gigahertz-class speed, says the company. The device will also bring 1080p full-HD capability, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS connectivity and FM radio. Marvell hasn’t disclosed detailed technical specifications for the device.

Marvell is no stranger to offering visions of fantastic gadgets at low, low prices. Last year, it showed a $100 computer inside a wall plug and has tried to popularize the idea of plug computers that would draw just about 5W of power, come with a 1.2-GHz CPU, a USB port and internet connectivity.

Meanwhile, tablets have become all the rage this year. Apple’s iPad will be the first to hit the market on April 3. Other PC makers including HP, Dell and Samsung have also said they plan to release tablets for consumers.

The $100 Moby will support full Adobe Flash and could run either Android or the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

As intriguing as it is, Moby is just a reference design at this point. Marvell hasn’t said if it will manufacture the tablet itself or partner with companies who want to take the design and produce it. Either way, the Moby will be available by the end of the year, says Marvell.

Marvell says it plans to announce a pilot program with the District of Columbia Public School system so students in the system can try out the Moby.

See Also:

• Marvell Plans $100 Computer Inside a Wall Plug
• Marvell Plans $100 Computer Inside a Wall Plug
• Marvell’s Super Speedy 802.11n Chipset Leaves WiMax in the Dust
• Next-Gen Cellphones Will Run 1080p Video and 3D Games

Photo: Moby reference design (Harry McCracken/Technologizer)

For awhile, we couldn’t decide what we were more angry at: the fact that select devices wouldn’t support Flash, or that Flash was simply too demanding on select devices. We still can’t say with any degree of certainty which side of the fence we’re on, but there’s no question that Apple’s refusal to play nice with Adobe on the iPhone, iPod touch and forthcoming iPad limits the abilities of those devices significantly. Curiously enough, it seems that Apple’s importance in the mobile (and media delivery) realm is coercing select portals to develop Flash-free websites for those who drop by on an iDevice. Both the National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal are furiously working on iPad-friendly websites, which will be devoid of Flash for at least the first few pages down. What’s interesting is that we get the impression that this will soon become the rule rather than the exception, and it could be exactly what’s needed to launch HTML5 into stardom and put these Flash or no Flash debates behind us.

In related news, we’re also seeing that a couple of iPad accessories won’t actually be ready to ship when the device itself cuts loose on April 3rd. Yesterday, the iPad Keyboard Dock was listed with a “May” ship date, though today it has moved up to a marginally more palatable “Late April.” The iPad 10W USB Power Adapter also carries a “May” date, while the iPad Case is slated for “Mid April” and that elusive camera connection kit is still nowhere to be found. But hey, at least you’ll get your (overpriced) iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter and iPad dock by the first weekend of next month, right?

NPR and WSJ building ‘Flash-free’ pages for iPad, Apple quietly delays select iPad accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, the details are extremely thin here folks, but it looks like Samsung’s working on a tablet PC — or ‘slate’ if you’re into the new fangled lingo — just like pretty much every other manufacturer on the planet. Speaking with APC (the website, not the clothier), Philip Newton, director of Samsung Australia’s IT division, said that the company is working on a slate PC for the second half of 2010 that will have “PC-grade processing power and connectivity” — two things Newton had previously cited as the main things lacking in the iPad. That’s really all there is to go on — no specs or features mentioned, though Samsung has been vaguely hinting that the tablet, when it appears, will run on Intel’s Atom platform, which sounds about right. We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?

Samsung confirms slate PC in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Before the iPad and before the Slate, the most exciting touchy tablety thing in our lives was Toshiba’s JournE multimedia tablet. Now that the Japanese compu-maker has seen what the competition has on offer, it’s proudly proclaimed itself back in the running with an entire family of slate devices it’s planning to introduce near the end of 2010 or in early 2011. “It has proved to be a mistake to underestimate these new categories” is the word from Toshiba’s Jeff Barney, which indicates that not even he sees that much potential in the form factor, but his company is pushing ahead with its plans for fear of being left behind. Also quoted in the Fortune piece is ASUS’ inimitable Jonney Shih, who makes sure to remind us that without multitasking, Flash support, or a webcam for videoconferencing, the iPad leaves plenty of room for devices richer in features to grab market share. All we know for certain is that the major players are falling in line to make 2010 truly the year of tablet — whether or not consumers will place their stamp of approval on this vendor-driven craze, though, remains to be seen.

Toshiba will have its own family of slates by this time next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading iPad trainspotters divine e-book prices, My Documents and more from Oscar night commercial

iPad trainspotters divine e-book prices, My Documents and more from Oscar night commercial originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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