Amadeus Consulting Discusses: iPad Alternatives – Redux Part 2

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Amadeus Consulting Discusses: iPad Alternatives – Redux Part 2

Our discussion of iPad Alternatives continues…

Dellâ„¢ Mini 5 Android Tablet

Status: Alive! And even better than before. It even has a new name: the Dell Streak.  It is priced around 0 but some UK carriers will subsidize that if you get a 3G data plan. No indication that any US carriers are offering subsidies. The Dell Streak also comes with the ability to make voice calls (not just VoIP apparently), which essentially makes it a really large Smartphone.

Features:  This one is pretty full featured, especially for a mini-tablet. Mini-tablet really just means bigger than your Smartphone, but still small enough to be an odd bulge in your pocket. In either case, this is only about an inch larger that the Evo.

The only downside to the Streak is that it runs on an outdated Android 1.6. Of course, it will still run all the apps from the app store, but will lack many of the other improvements that later Android versions provide.

Otherwise, it has a fairly loaded arsenal, including  a 5-inch touch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB storage, microSD card slot of up to 32GB, custom Dell UI, 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a decent battery.

For many people, this could be an upgrade to a decently powered, and exceptionally mobile, tablet device. However, it is still phone sized, so it is unclear if people will really be excited about it, since other phones can basically offer the services, but also make phone calls. Although, with the Dell Streak, 3G data plans are optional, and there is no monthly contract to anything, so the long term costs can be much, much lower.

 

Spring Design Alex E-book Reader

Status: Out and Available, and comes in either black or white for 9.

Features:  The first thing you will notice about the Alex, is that it is very lightweight and very thin. Even for e-book readers, it is surprisingly easy to hold and manage.

Spring Design’sâ„¢ Alex combines a traditional e-reader with a second LCD screen, based off of Android OS. Unfortunately it uses an older Android version, and tends to be slow and clunky. Also, despite having Wi-Fi connectivity, it has no access to the Android market, so you are stuck with the apps that are preloaded.

Even so, it beats out other dedicated e-readers by allowing full web browsing and lets you surf the web and read content on either screen, as well as download books from Borders Bookstore.

The combination between an e-reader and LCD provides for some cool combination applications as well as improved battery life and better readability of web page content.

As developers, we can’t help but be disappointed that it has taken the open Android system and closed it.  But we do think that the dual display and extremely long battery life (as much as two weeks, depending on usage) make it a very solid choice for actually reading books. The other stuff adds some benefit too, but does not bring it up to the level of some other tablets or even Smartphones.

JooJoo

Status: Released and Available for 9

Features: For all the hype and controversy surrounding the JooJoo, it would have been nice if it had lived up to everyone’s hope.

The JooJoo, in concept, was really cool. It would run everything through the web, and give users unobstructed access to anything available online.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations, and since everything is web-run, without a strong Wi-Fi connection, the JooJoo cannot actually do anything.

Also, the JooJoo runs on its own version of a Linux OS, and does not allow apps to be loaded onto the device. Some users have essentially hacked the devices and successfully run Windows 7 and versions of Android, but we would hardly recommend doing this yourself.

On the bright side, the JooJoo does have a very bright and crisp display, and at 12 inches is definitely large enough to comfortably watch movies and read content.

As far as cool stories go, the JooJoo and its creators, Fusion Garage, had everything running against them. They could have been that unknown developer that appears out of nowhere with a magical device that takes down the market giants. Unfortunately, Fusion Garage was burdened by internal drama and multiple setbacks, and was forced to ship alongside the iPad, which severely hurt.

Even so, Fusion Garage is still up and running, and pushing out new software updates that are helping to address some of the main issues. If you are interested in this device, it will definitely be worth your time to check in and see what additions have been made since the time of this writing.

Lenovo U1 Hybrid Notebook

Status:  Delayed, possibly shelved, but more likely redesigned with Android and a possible 2010 release.

Features: The U1 was originally scheduled to launch with Lenovo’s own operating system, called Skylight. However, the project was delayed in order to launch with an Android OS instead. Rumors also indicate that the device may use Qualcomm’s recently announced dual-core processors which will give unprecedented processing power to its tablet device.

Lenovo® has been working with small netbooks and tablet PCs for some time, and has had a lot of success with their Android based phones in China.

The unique feature of the U1 is that it is essentially a netbook – small portable and similar to a laptop, but then the screen can detach and function like an independent slate tablet. This literally puts two PCs into one device, and each has its own processor and operating system, but work together as a clamshell laptop or a multi-touch slate tablet.

In this way, the base serves as a hop and docking station, whereas the tablet can be used in very mobile instances. The two processors also use Lenovo’s Hybrid Switch technology which allows seamless toggling between the two processors.

The U1 runs on the Skylight Linux operating system, designed specifically for small devices, and has a user-facing camera and a wealth of features, including 3G connectivity, multi-touch, and long battery life. Unfortunately, all these features cost a bit more than other slate tablets, pricing it at 00, but still within the range for new laptops.

This is still one of our favorite devices because the concept is so accessible to so many people. This is one of the few tablets that provide near-universal usability, regardless of profession. From a software development point of view, something that is so accessible and useful for students, business professionals, home entertainment, socializing, and productivity make it an ideal platform for software development.

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