OK, I can see a Mac Air with a flip-able keyboard being similar to the HP Slate in size/weight. I am not sure that it would EASY to do it with a spinable keyboard and still have the strength.

With the Slate, you can choose from a bunch of different keyboards. I chose one which matched the size of the unit pretty well, as you can see above.

I like the keyboard/case that is made for the iPad. It has an esiel in the back and the cover lies flat as a keyboard.

WKB-2000CB - Adesso Inc ::: Your Input Device Specialist ::: Keyboards | Mice | Touchpads | Tablets | Barcode Scanners | Mac Solutions | I/O Accessories

This looks like it is also compatible with the Slate. I may pick one up...

no need to have the ability to spin it...

why not have a keyboard that also functions as a cover, and maybe also no wired connection - bluetooth communications

then it just needs to have some straps to hold it on

Refurbed Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" 16GB Android Tablet - Wi-Fi + 3G

$259.99 on Woot today

And Samsung has announced that a Honeycomb update was on the way for the Tab. So that is a heck of a deal.

Google gave away the Samsung Tab at their conference a couple of weeks ago. They had Honeycomb on them already so looks promising that the retail units will get it.

Was that the 10" or the 7"?

Just checked with my friend who was there, 10.

Also, FWIW, I believe Honeycomb is optimized for tablets. It is not expected to be used on phones, per se.

I just don't -get- why the phone and tablet are kept separate.

I mean, sure, I've used my old Samsung with Skype, over the years; but Skype is a bit laggy. (more so than typical cellular.)

Anyway, wtf with the cell providers? ...voice is just data.

Do you have a link for that?

It was on Android Central, last week as I best remember.

Simple, it's profitable.

The next android version will run on tablets and phones, it will detect what device it is on and adjust features accordingly. So I hear, some of you know much more about this.

Phone and tablet are separate because tablets are too big to be convenient phones and people don't want to pay for multiple cellular contracts.

James, I may stand corrected. This is the story I was thinking about and while it appears to be a Samsung ROM, there is nothing about the rest of the world getting it. Of course there is ROM reportedly over on XDA for it, but that is not OEM.

Well, an iPad certainly is too big to be a convenient phone. But there are a few pocketable tablets. And, if you are paying for a phone AND a tablet, you are paying for multiple cellular contracts.

On so many of these devices, the 'phone' is just an app. S-monk is right, the cell providers juust want to make mo money while they can. ...but one will be first...looking for a competitive edge.

I have the cellular radio turned off on my Galaxy Tab 7. In effect, it is a Wifi only machine. The only issue, if I want to use Bluetooth, I have to also turn the cellular radio back on. It doesn't do anything, but it wastes juice. I don't use bluetooth much.

Gingerbread source is now released from Samsung. They are letting the XDA guys create the release instead of paying staff people to create and test an official release.

So far, Froyo seems to work fine. On the G Tablet, I did see some performance increase in going to Gingerbread. And the Nook seemed to run better on it as well.

Honeycomb blazes right along on the acer. It's quite fast. Battery life has been excellent with it lasting nearly 2 days to each charge with normal usage for me. It'll stream video for about 5 hours to a charge as well.

Pocketable - if you wear a coat or cargo pants maybe.

I think (no data handy) that tablets tied to 3G contracts are not selling that well, and that inexpensive tablets with WiFi only or maybe an unused 3G radio are what more people want. I think there a lot of resistance to paying a carrier for both a tablet and a phone, especially with WiFi fairly easy to find and increased phone tethering. Makes sense, get a contract and that $350 tablet is actually costing you like $700-800/yr.

Maybe? ...of course there are many easily Pocketable, if you wear a coat or cargo pants. Devices like the Nook or Galaxy Tab will slide into even (many) typical pants pockets. Even if they stick out a bit, the point is, you don't need to carry the 7" tabs in a bag. ...or in-hand.

maybe Apple should make a Velcro kit so fanboys can wear, and show-off their device like a Teletubby. :D

Honeycomb actually runs fine on my Nook

I don't know what kind of pants you wear, but I'd venture that 99% of people would look like massive tools with a galaxy tab in their pockets.

Not to mention that it would be uncomfortable.

Something in between the size of the iPhone and the EVO is about all I want in my pocket day in and day out.

Yes, carrying around an iPad purse certainly says the opposite of massive tool. :blink . blink:



Seriously, A 9mm Glock is harder to conceal than most of these 7" tabs.

A Keltec P3AT is much easier to conceal than a 7" tablet...

Just saying...

THe 7" tab will fit in my pocket, but then I already look like a massive tool...

If I'm walking around somewhere that I need a tablet computer, I will have some type of briefcase or backpack with me.

Something as big as a tablet would not make sense as a 24/7 device for most people. Its simply too big to go *everywhere*. I can put my iPhone in my jeans pocket on Saturday night and not really know that its there. I can sit down without being jabbed in the side. The same can absolutely NOT be said for a galaxy tab or similar sized device.

Well that would depend on the particular Glock 9, a 17 maybe, a 26, not likely.

They need a camera that tracks your eyes and magnifies the part of the screen that you are looking at. Then you could, effectively, carry a 10" tablet in your pocket. Add a roll-up or light-sensor keyboard and you can effectively carry a notebook computer in your pocket. You know Apple and others are working on this stuff right now.

In 5 years, we'll be carrying the equivalent of an 8-way server, a cable modem speed broadband connection, and a big monitor, in our pockets. Not our cargo pockets, either.

Of course, it will be reporting our location, conversations, metabolic status, credit scores, and political leanings to multiple billion-dollar corporations and several government agencies, but them's the breaks.

I started using a free app called CardMunch. You take a picture of a business card, it is scanned and checked by a person (in India no doubt), and added to your contacts on the phone, and - since LinkedIn owns the app developer - you have various options for contacting the person on LI. Handy. And now LI starts building a database of everyone I meet, and when, and the types of people and businesses I interact with, and potentially where I meet them. Hmm. I'm thinking of paying for a standalone app . . .

Tablet production plans for 2011, excluding iPad, are falling meaningfully. Sales for Motorola, RIM, Samsung, Acer/Asus, etc tablets have been disappointing. No-one has yet released a tablet that is meaningfully better (for most buyers, not for geekoids) than the iPad, and everyone is having trouble beating Apple's pricing. But build plans are reportedly still significantly above most expectations for sales, so the Overstock.com bonanza of 2H11 remains in sight.

Intel is pushing the Ultrabook form factor for 2012. This is super-thin notebooks (like the MacAir) using SSD, metal cases, 22nm chips, instant-on.

If someone can create a projection holographic display, a pocket device can replace everything.