What Could Possibly Be Better Than The Ipad?
If you don't like being surprised or pissed off, skip to the bottom where I tell you what this is. But remember the original Crunchpad idea? A Tablet that costs as much as a graphing calculator? Gizmodo readers were stoked by the cheap tablet promise, well, I found that experience in another device that I think many readers are unfamiliar with.
How can there be anything that even competes with Apples wonder tablet?
This is the Ipad killer some of you have been waiting for. It's been lurking off the markets radar and it is my duty to bring it into the light. When I read Brian Lams review on the Ipad all I could think to myself was "Brian I have a cure for almost all your woes", and it won't cost what you expect.
In researching for this article no reviews of this computer could be found, so this is a machine you may have never considered before. I present to you the perfect computer for the right person. Now I assume my audience is a loyal Gizmodo reader, the kind of spunky do it yourselfer who looks at the Ipad and sees all the impractialities it embodies, yet they enjoy the spirit of mobility and style. If thats you, Read on! You are going to see the perfect computer for the core Gizmodo audience. It's light, practical, and unique.
The intent most people have using the Ipad is as a portable slate for reading digital files and web browsing. The problem is, its a computer, with merely the functionality of a smart phone. To demonstrate, you cannot open more than 9 tabs in Safari. That completely gimps my web browsing experience. If your a web power user like me, you focus on a task, center click on distractions which opens new tabs to be viewed later, and continue on with your work. This is immensely useful if your visiting wikipedia or a text with a number of links. If there is something you don't know or want to further investigate later, you just open a tab of the link in the background and continue with the article you were reading in an undisrupted manner. On my desktop, 100+ tabs open at once is common, and on this computer I'm touting, 50 isn't even really an upper limit, you could easily have 100 wikipedia articles open at once on this little machine. And the fantastic thing is, since its not an overglorified phone, you can watch Netflix at the same time in one of those tabs, or Hulu, or Mplayer or VLC, even on another monitor while still browsing the web with the original screen.
Full multi monitor support up to 1600x1200 means I have this machine sitting next to a 20 inch monitor, which plays Space Ghost Coast to Coast while I read about Sino Defense on the other screen. When I want to go out, I'll open 50x large webpages, and then turn off wifi and set the Intel chip to low power. After going through all those pages I opened I'll connect using my HSDPA modem/phone and check out the latest post on Gizmodo while using Outlook to check my messages, plow through some powerpoints, maybe check out some liveleak, probably all at the same time. Clearly for someone who needs a practical machine that excels at almost all tasks yet maintains a small footprint, this device is golden. Do I need to mention this device beats all others as a PDF reader? The extremely expensive IPS type screen is almost the exact size needed to reproduce A4, and for someone who reads a lot of color PDFs with detail intensive depictions, the Ipads screen at 9.7 inches makes for PDF reproductions below normal size resulting in eye strain. At 12.1 inches the screen on this machine is the perfect balance of readability, portability, and makes excellent use of that massive waste of bezel on the Ipad. This allows the screen to be so much larger without the package becoming much larger than the ipad. And because it comes from a time when Psion was the ONLY user of the name netbook, the resolution isn't gimped nor are there any of the other features which would neuter it to netbook levels of experience. No, the processor is a rare Pentium 753 M, which when overclocked to 1.8 ghz spanks the Pentium 4 processor, but when you run it at 1.1 ghz it runs with no complaints in the most ludicrous scenarios. The cooling for this laptop is very strange. The keyboard cools the processor, because the backing is part copper. This gets the keyboard nice and warm so that it heats your fingers as you type in cold weather. And this computer has no fan. In fact, it doesn't need cooling at all. When I stress tested this machine I ran it through over a dozen streaming netflix Star Trek Original Series episodes whilst torrenting. With the CPU and Northbridge, bare naked. Not even a hiccup, hot maybe, but zero complaints for over a week. So this isn't one of those machines that is going to light things on fire like the macbooks people are leaving under their blanket, on, charging.
Thats piece of mind, but how can this thing kill the Ipad? Well, if your needs are like mine, the long time Gizmodo reader, you will recognize how special this machine is. Not quite tablet, not quite a slate type device, but a hybrid that is better than both. It's a tablet, that comes with a built in stand/strap, removeable keyboard, and the touchscreen. Now the Ipad has this device beat with multi-touch(gimmick unless you use like two or three apps) and capacitative response, but I need to say this is the best resistive touchscreen I have ever used. So the Ipad and this screen tie in the touch department, because with this screen you get a flawless resistive touch screen which allows you to use fingers or stylus, with more real estate. As long as we are mentioning touch devices, it also has an Ipod scroll wheel. Wait what? A non-Apple product with the wheel? It has a circular touchpad by synaptics, the maker of Apple's touchpads, that has hands down the best software of any touchpad new or old I've had the fortune to use. You can modify the band around the edge to make it smaller or larger for where it catches you making the wheel gesture for scrolling, and you can add invisible mouse buttons to the corners or in zones. I have a browser back and forward button occupying the corners, and there are more features of this touchpad I don't have the room to mention. While I intensely dislike touchpads compared to mice, this one gets a lot of use from me.
How is the keyboard that runs this package? I cannot begin to explain the sublime awesomeness of this keyboard. 
The scalloped ridges that look uninviting are actually a pleasure to rest your palms on. And because the entire body and structure of this bantamweight are made out of none other than Magnesium the heat radiates around its frame keeping you warm. The keys are full sized and have a nice short stroke. They are perfectly located so that whilst typing you can poke a finger forward and easily change tasks using the touchscreen without even having your hands leave the keyboard. There is no wasted space on the sides, and it has hotkeys. This machine has no microphone but it has a microphone input and stereo out. It has one speaker near the screen which can in enclosed spaces get earsplittingly loud. It sounds great for watching stuff on the go, but not so much for music due to a lack of stereo. A battery indicator/Power switch with an SD card reader, resides next to it. It recognized a non-SDHC 4gb SD card, but I don't have any high capacity SDHC chips to test it with. Probably not going work with the current drivers. But if you want memory expansion, it has a nicely designed PCMCIA/Cardbus slot that I use with a number of peripherals; that can easily be used with a $10 PCMCIA to SD/CF/TF/MS etc. A worthless 56k modem jack sits next to that, followed by the much more useful ethernet port. Then we have two USB 2.0 ports capable of charging and powering other devices(two ipads), followed by a port students and office dwellers the world around can appreciate, the ubiquitous VGA port. Then of course the power plug. Easily held with one hand...
All of these faculties are on one side of the machine so that if you need to get up and go, grab the mess of cables, give it a little pull, and everything is unplugged in one motion.
Speaking of getting up and going, there is a little bit of a reality check with the Ipad that needs to be highlighted. You've bought an uber expensive Ipad. It's just 1.5 pounds! Now you need a good screen protector, and then a carrying case because you can't just trundle that thing around naked. By now, if we haven't tacked anything else on(keyboard anyone?), the sleek Ipad has gained bulk all around because it wasn't designed with inherent protection, by way of a protective case. If its a comprehensive case, guess what, your ipad is now the same weight, and size, as this machine which needs no case, no stand, no additional keyboard, no screen protector, or any accomodations to make it more comfortable. When you factor in the necessary tools,, the Ipad with all its needs, weighs the same as this much more practical machine, which is actually far more durable. This article is just so wrong for so many practical reasons for a lot of people. I'm sorry, but I am not going to be convinced that a keyboard that doesn't exist is more suitable for hammering out real writing, than this quarter inch thin slice of copper and scissor keys. What if you need to do something for work, which for a Gizmodo writer, that means writing! You cannot seriously ignore the inability to easily write emails and stories on the go, and if you quell that by buying a keyboard your lightening your wallet and making your Ipad kit heavier. You also cannot replace the sweet sound of those tic-tac keys when your getting the lead out. It at least sounds like your doing something, for when the boss walks by.
So this 2.5 pound powerhouse is starting to look omnipotent, its got the Ipad beat on so many levels, and it weighs the same when you don't need a map case to protect the screen. Its got a well balanced chassis with more comfortable accomodations. But there are some caveats. Remember how I said this machine is perfect for the right person, and then I mentioned do it yourselfers. You can see where this is going. I swapped the 40 gb HDD out with a 60 gb 7200 rpm drive, and I have a CCFL XGA sized bulb on order for $7 to replace the current one, which is not the brightest thing in the world. Bright enough to bring the expensive In-Plane-Switching panel to life, but not very good for direct daylight. At night the brightness is great. The blacks are great, blues are good and it isn't some cheap Twisted Nematic panel.
The biggest replacement issue, is a real piece of cake for the right person. Most people don't know what is inside their laptop battery, but its typically 4 or 6 18650 lithium cells. You can buy 2 protected cells for $8. For $16 you can take the 5 year old cells out and replace them with fresh, higher capacity cells. The effort needed? Pry open plastic battery, take out old cells, plop in new ones. done. Then hot glue the plastic battery back together. Even if your not highly technically competent there are guides on youtube for this easy, if somewhat daunting, procedure. It is something to be considered that changing the headlight bulb on many cars is far more painful. You could always pay these people, who suprisingly aren't a scam, http://www.batteryrefill.com/ to do it for $80. I did once with a custom battery, and it made the computer go from a 2-3 hour battery life to 9.
My current cells are 5 years old, and only muster 3 hours of life. I have on order much more potent cells: the original specification for this machine with lower power cells is 8 hours. I estimate easily surpassing 11 hours because of the difference in energy density when I'm done.
So those are the caveats, except the whole removeable keyboard thing, that was a joke. You could remove the keyboard, but you would probably just end up looking stupid.
Properly tuned it boots Windows XP SP3 in under 15 seconds from a cold boot. I tried Windows 7, but the machine has 256 mb of ram built into the motherboard. I got it installed and it was working, but the graphics chipset drivers don't like the XPDDM/WDDM changeover. There is a door that allows you to expand to 1.25 gb but I have yet to make the upgrade. Doesn't really need it. It runs 720P videos without any problem, plays Homeworld 1 and 2, Half-life, WoW, Mechwarrior, Echelon, Battlefield 1942, basically it will make the Ipads gaming selection look impotent, not to mention you can use a mouse, a touchscreen, and a keyboard.
I haven't even named the machine yet, just the experience. I guess that makes me kind of jerk for leading people on, but heres the rub. The computer I'm describing has a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price of: $2911
By now $%@*# must be crossing your mind. Well, thats just the MSRP. Here is why this thing is an Ipad killer.
You can get one fully loaded in great condition for $200 or less. I've had mine for 7 months now so the price may be even lower. Just don't tell anyone about this article!
Years ago I may have seen this computer, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-T2. I'm pretty sure I did when dynamism had them up for import. The price however, was insane. Nowadays you can get the TINY motherboard for this thing off ebay for $30, fully functional. You could even build a cheap slate with the guts of one of these. There is no reason why the starving college students of the world should be lusting after the Ipad when this is less than half the price and many times more functional. In fact, there is no position you can use an ipad that you cannot with this. I put it in bed, lay down on a side, and instead of having to dick around with a stand or propping it up, I just lay it down normally, open, and rotate the screen so that its 90 degrees to the left or right. that way I just lay down like I normally would, use the scroll wheel to move through pages, and fall asleep. In addition to being able to dim the screen finely, you can hold it completely flat and open and with the screen rotating tool included, easily read it like a nice magnesium hard covered book, with your thumb on a scroll wheel whichever side you decide to rotate it to, and even walk around like this with the comfortable hand strap. This is so incredibly useful whilst walking around and the balance on this machine is so great, I have retired my 3 other toughbooks from Wireless Auditing. This is now my Linux auditing machine, it runs Backtrack 4 flawlessly, and with an ethernet port much unlike the Ipad, you can perform hard wired work. I have my drive multipartitioned and setup for triple boot, Linux, xp, and Windows 7.
The primary reason I bought this computer though hasn't even been mentioned, and it just shows the awesome utility of this machine. I am using it as a cockpit computer and electronic flight bag, in addition to being the prototype for the rollout of the SAFER platform(Search Assistant For Emergency Rescue). I am a member of the United State Airforce Auxiliary and when I'm deployed on a search and rescue mission, this unit is my topo map, my backup gps, and most importantly, my computer controlled radio direction finder unit. Using specialized computer controlled radio equipment, I am able to provide advanced technology services to the Airforce Auxiliary during Search and Rescue exercises. I also use the platform as a simultaneous video capture device, and I have future plans for the incorporation of a VHF high speed aerial datalink, being served by this laptop. It becomes apparent that it is much more versatile than the Ipad, and can go anywhere the ipad can at only a fraction of the cost. The environmentally friendly method of purchasing used equipment is much better than buying an Ipad made in a Foxconn factory as well. They will always make Toughbooks in Japan.
Oh and since you guys at least held the Ipad up to the rigeurs of a "****-test", well this thing spanks in that category I guess; you can fit it literally on a ledge as wide as a pencil it is perfectly balanced. It has a scroll wheel, page up, page down, arrow keys etc., a bigger touch screen, and will never need a stand.
64 gb Ipad 3g = 4.1 Panasonic Toughbooks in cost, but not necessarily value.
Here it is over a sheet of A4 8.5 x 11 paper. If you find the footprint of a sheet of paper too large, then this isn't the machine for you. Here it is completely covered by a sheet of A4
Here is what it looks like when traveling, because it doesn't need a case. The Magnesium body makes it light and strong enough to it to be unnecessary. And since it isn't an Ipad most people aren't going to be eyeing it to steal.
You can hold it open like a book, but pictures taken of this great position are impossible because I cannot hold the camera and take the shot. So, instead of holding it with one hand on the screen bezel, and the other hand positioned so that my thumb is over the wheel for easy scrolling, I'll just demonstrate how easy it is to hold this 2.5 pound machine with the very comfortable strap included. That way when your not holding a camera in the other hand, you can manipulate the touchscreen comfortably.
The screen rotates any way you want it to.
The most supremely comfortable PDFreader/subnotebook/hybrid laptop/pre-netbook-not-gimped-by-intel setup you can find, and I seem to recall a lot about the Ipad being about comfort. That black part there is a pad for your hand.
It works great in bed, remember how I mentioned it cannot start a fire, doesnt need a stand, and it isn't an apple product. Yeah your world is Steve Jobs free if you buy this Panasonic. But you could still use Itunes.
Appearance of screen at night with a mediocre camera(warning: noise artifacts and not very sharp):
It looks better in person, but the camera is to blame on that one. It is exceptionally sharp, I have the DPI increased for a more touch friendly experience.
In the following two images I have reduced the brightness and put a PDF page in full screen, showing its nearly 1-1 ratio with A4. No more scrolling pdfs! Photos show camera grain however, not defects on the screen.
Even lower brightness:
The PDF shot above highlights the readability of the text; you are hard pressed to see the pixels, they have a very fine pitch. This results in inky blacks and letters that aren't blocky.
If you do buy one of these sleek machines, you may find yourself raising a hand to touch buttons on your friends monitors, laptops, and even desktops before you realize what you are doing; the touch integration on this computer is so much more seamless than other touch enabled computers I've used such as lenovo tablets and fujitsu wacom enabled pen type screens, it just works and ends up being used extensively.