There’s absolutely no evidence that consumers desperately want touchscreen tablets that fill the gap we hadn’t really known existed between smartphones and traditional laptops. But PC and electronics makers are desperate for a new product category to market, and so 2010 is shaping up to be the year of the tablet, like it or not.

While I’m fairly certain that Apple’s much-hyped iPad is going to sell pretty well, that’s because it’s a flashy new product from Apple that has a lot more appeal than the last flop from the company. I’m less certain that the dozens of me-too tablets running Windows CE, Google Android, Windows 7, and various forms of Linux stand a chance in the marketplace. I’m not saying they won’t. I honestly just don’t know, and I’m awfully curious to find out.

But if there’s one company that has a pretty big stake in the game, it’s ARM. The company’s chip designs are used in all sorts of technology from companies including Freescale, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and even Apple. And aside from a handful of tablets designed to run Windows 7, it looks like most of the keyboard-less tablets on the horizon will be built around ARM-based chips.

In fact, Computer World reports that ARM officials expect more than 50 tablets with ARM chips to launch this year. That’s not counting the smartphones, eBook readers, and smartbooks using the company’s designs.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t actually seen many of these devices in stores yet, it’s because they simply aren’t there yet. But by the second half of 2010, it’s likely that you won’t be able to walk into a mobile wireless store or big box electronics retail store without seeing a few tablets. The big question is whether you’ll see the same thing come 2011.

Ubuntu Netbook Edition is a version of the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system that’s been optimized to play well with netbooks with small screens and low power processors. So far the Ubuntu Netbook folks have focused primarily on machines with Intel Atom processors — which covers most of the netbooks currently on the market. But with a number of smartbooks with ARM-based processors poised to hit the streets soon, the folks behind Ubuntu Netbook Edition wanted to make sure the OS could support a wider range of hardware.

Ubuntu developer Jamie Bennett says the primary stumbling block was the fact that the Ubuntu Netbook user interface needed 3D hardware drivers, which aren’t necessarily available for all ARM-based chipsets at the moment. So they rewrote the user interface for the ARM version of Ubuntu Netbook Edition to use 2D Enlightenment Foundation Libraries instead of 3D hardware support to provide graphical effects.

The long and short of it is, that most users won’t be able to see a difference between the Ubuntu Netbook Edition user interface on an ARM or x86-based device. The changes will all be under the hood. As an added bonus, the EFL-based version of the program launcher is easier to theme than the current 3D program launcher.

via Slashdot

Charbax at Arm Devices has posted a video review of the Hivision PWS700CA, an ARM-based min-laptop running Google Android. The device has a 600MHz ARM-based CPU, 128MB of RAM, and a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel display. It supports WiFi and Ethernet connections and can handle 720p HD video playback. It also weighs just about 1.4 pounds.

The Hivision netbook is designed to be dirt cheap. But I think Charbax gets a bit carried away when he hears the prices of OEM devices from Chinese manufacturers like Hivision. Just because Hivision is charging distributors about $98 for the equipment doesn’t mean we’ll ever see the mini-laptop sold for under $100. Still, the PWS700CA could certainly be rebranded and sold for under $200.

The browser seems pretty responsive. But the user interface is clearly designed for a touchscreen device like a phone, not a laptop with a touchpad or mouse. Out of the box there’s no support for the Google Android Marketplace for third party applications. But Hivision has created their own app store with access to a handful of programs that can run on the device.

You can check out Charbax’s video after the break.

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Netbook maker Haleron is now taking orders for a 7 inch mini-laptop with an ARM-based processor. The Haleron Mini Swordfish Smartbook looks like a minor update to the Mio Smartbook Haleron introduced last year. In addition to the new name, the Mini Swordfish got a bump from a 266MHz CPU to a 300MHz processor and a price drop from $189 to $149.

Here’s what you get for your money:

• CPU: 300MHz VIA ARM 9-based 32-bit processor
• Display: 7 inch TFT LCD
• OS: Windows CE 6.0
• Memory: 128MB (supports up to 256MB)
• Storage: 1GB flash storage (supports up to 4GB)
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g WiFi, 10/100 LAN, optional 3G USB modem
• I/O: mic, headphone, 3 USB ports, SD card slot
• Battery: Up to 8 hours
• Weight: 1.54 pounds

The mini-laptop is available in pink, green, red, black, or silver. You can also order the Mini Swordfish with Linux for $15 more. $55 more gets you Windows XP and a processor upgrade, although the Haleron web page doesn’t specify exactly what processor you get with the upgrade.

When I got a look at Freescale’s tablet reference design the other day, it was running a modified Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It seemed reasonably responsive and it was capable of playing HD video. But it’s not the only operating system you can run on the tablet. Charbax from ArmDevices.net got a briefing with the folks from Freescale this week and he’s posted a video of several prototypes running Google Android, the modified Ubuntu, and Google Chromium OS, which is the development version of Chrome OS.

The Google Chrome Operating System isn’t expected to be ready for release until this Fall, but the OS is open source, which means anyone can download it and try it now. Still, this is the first time I’ve seen the operating system running on a tablet with an ARM-based processor.

There’s no touchscreen support yet, so Freescale had to plug in a mouse and keyboard in order to navigate. But the OS seems relatively responsive and the browser had no problems with most web content. Flash isn’t working yet, but Freescale is working on it.

Freescale doesn’t plan to sell these tablets itself. Rather, the company is hoping to see manufacturers build products based on the reference design, using Freescale’s ARM-based processors. The goal is to create a framework for a tablet that could be sold to the end user for around $199. Pop in a 3G module and partner with a mobile broadband provider willing to offer a subsidy, and the up-front price could go even lower. It’s not clear if the product will ever come to market, and if it does, it’s not clear whether it will run any of these operating systems. But Freescale has demonstrated this week that it certainly can run all three.

You can check out the Chromium portion of Charbax’s video below, or hit up ArmDevices.net for an overview of all three operating systems.

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As I was wandering past Marvell’s exhibit at CES this weekend, I spotted an incredibly tiny PC called the EBOX connected to a big screen LCD. The display showed that the computer was running Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala and that it could handle 1080p HD video playback.

When I asked if there was a spec sheet, I was told it’s on the web, but I can’t seem to find any information about this prototype online. So here’s all I know about the EBOX at this point: It’s tiny, impossibly light (I’d say under a pound), and the OS is running off of an SD card. There’s no hard drive.

The PC uses a Marvell Armada 510 processor, which is the same chipset that’s powering the smartbook I mentioned earlier this week. The Armada 500 series processors are ARM v7-based chips that can run up to 1.2GHz.

I don’t think the EBOX is actually a finished product that’s ready to come to market yet. Rather, it’s a prototype developed by Quanta. But it’s one of the tiniest computers I’ve ever seen. I seriously thought at first that it was a media player, not a full-fledged computer.

More pictures after the break.

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Lenovo Smartbook prototype

For the past 12 months or so, we’ve heard a lot of talk about mini-laptops running ARM-based processors. These so-called “smartbooks” feature low power ARM processors which means that while they can’t run Windows XP or 7, they can run Linux, last for a very long time on a charge, and some feature integrated 3G connectivity and HD video acceleration features. You also get the ability to receive emails, instant messages, and other data even while the computer is in sleep mode. In other words, they’re like a cross between a smartphone and a netbook, which explains the whole “smartbook” name.

But like I said, we’ve been hearing a lot about them for the last year or so, and haven’t actually seen any hit the streets. But according to ET News, that could all change very soon. The president of ARM Korea says that as many as 20 ARM-based smartbooks could hit the streets in the first quarter of 2010.

Most, but not all of these devices will likely be sold by mobile broadband providers at subsidized prices. That means you may be able to pick up a smartbook for less than $200 up front. Some might even be free. But you’ll probably end up paying up to $60 per month to actually use the 3G wireless capabilities, which means that over the course of a 2 year service contract you could end up paying between $1400 and $1600 for a device that looks like a laptop, but which has a slower processor and won’t run Windows.

Of course, they’ll also get much better battery life than a typical notebook. But I’m still of the opinion that when you hand somebody a device that looks like a laptop, they’ll expect it to function like one. And for most people that means it needs to run Windows.

On the other hand, I think you could make a case that people would love a device that lets them check email, surf the web, and send short messages on the go over a broadband connection, if it didn’t have such a high monthly cost. If the UI looks more like a cellphone than a computer, maybe people would get used to the idea that smartbooks aren’t supposed to do everything that traditional computers do. For instance, they could run Google’s upcoming Chrome Operating system, which is essentially a glorified web browser. And if wireless carriers charged just $10 or $20 a month on top of your existing phone bill instead of $60, I’d be a lot more interested.

So will 2010 be the year of the smartbook? It certainly looks like we’re going to see a whole lot of smart books hit the market soon. But it’s too early to say whether anyone will actually buy them. It seems like the industry is taking the exact opposite approach here than it did with netbooks. In the netbook space, Asus was the only company to launch a low cost 7 inch mini-laptop in late 2007. It was wildly successful, proving that there was demand for this type of product. In 2008, everybody and their kid brother launched a netbook.

In 2010, it looks like we can expect everybody plus that little sibling to put out a smartbook without waiting for anyone to test the waters first. It’s a gamble. But you know, sometimes gambles do pay off. Sometimes.

via Netbook Choice

You may have noticed that there’s a trend in the ultraportable laptop space that’s leading to larger, more powerful, and more expensive laptops. You know, kind of like the ones we were all using a few years ago. I’m still happy at all the new choices available for people looking to pick up a 12 inch or smaller laptop for under $600. But if you’re looking for something way cheaper, there are still a number of companies putting out tiny, less capable devices. And some of them are incredibly cheap.

Case in point: The SMQ 4012 Aviation Book. This little guy sports a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel display, a VIA VT8500 ARM-based processor running at just 400MHz, 128MB of RAM and 2GB of storage. It runs Windows CE and weighs just over 1.4 pounds. The best part? It sells for 85 Euros, or about $122 US… not that I’ve seen it in the US yet, but you never know.

You can find more details, plus a whole slew of pictures at NetbookNews.de.

The SMQ 4012 isn’t the cheapest clamshell-style laptop I’ve seen running Windows CE. But it’s certainly one of the cheapest.

Update: I stand corrected. You can order the SMQ 4012 (or rather, an unnamed model of this notebook) in the US for about $120.

The netbook market exploded this year, and it was arguably the brightest economic light in the computing sector. Part of the reason for netbook success? Price, of course. In a down economy, it only makes sense that lower priced computers are selling like hotcakes.

ARM COO Graham Budd warns, however, that “netbooks can’t be just cheap notebooks.” In an interview with The Economic Times, Budd recently talked about what ARM brings to the table that will help differentiate the segment.

Just how will ARM netbooks be different? “The boot time will be faster, the battery life will be substantially higher, and the cost will be lower. ARM-based netbooks will also be smaller because we don’t have to put in a fan to cool the processor , as its energy consumption is very low. All this will help to create a category between a smartphone and a laptop,” Budd stated. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been a lot of talk about so-called smartbooks in 2009. These netbook-like mini-laptops have low power ARM-based processors and are designed to get excellent battery life while maintaining a constant connection to the internet via WiFi or a 3G cellular connection. In other words, they’re a cross between a netbook and a smartphone, thus “smartbook.”

Chip-maker Qualcomm recently announced that Lenovo would be making one of the first smartbooks to hit the market, and it will be available in the US through wireless carrier AT&T. But despite the fact that Qualcomm and other chip and PC makers have been showing off demos for the last year, not a single ARM-based smartbook has hit the market yet.

But now Taiwan’s Pegatron Technology says it’s received a large number of orders for smartbooks that will launch in early 2010. Pegatron makes devices that tend to get rebranded and resold in the US and other western markets by big name PC vendors. So it’s likely that we can expect to see a small flood of announcements during the first quarter of 2010, perhaps with some coming as early as the CES show in January.

Pegatron says the ARM-based smartbooks could sell for around $200, although that’s probably the subsidized price that you’ll get only when you sign up for a long term wireless service contract. Pegatron’s smartbooks are expected to run Linux-based operating systems rather than Google Android or Windows CE. Google Chrome OS-based devices could hit the market later in 2010.

Meanwhile, the folks at Shanzai got to spend some hands-on time with a 10 inch Pegraton smartbook prototype with an ARM processor. The laptop was running Ubuntu Linux and had a fairly large keyboard and touchpad.