How do you know your product has failed?

When it’s sitting at the top of Woot – after Not Selling anywhere else. [EDIT: for the sake of Varun's sanity, a very spirited commenter in the thread below, I amended this paragraph to help him better understand.]

I don’t know about you, but I hate buying something (new or used) only to know that it’s not going to be around (or supported) for much longer. Not to say that the Motorola Xoom tablet is a failure, but… normally, you wouldn’t find successes sitting in the digital equivalent of a bargain bin.

If you would still love to get your hands on this tablet computer, you’re better off looking for people who are more-than-willing to sell their remorse to you. I’m guessing you can get a Xoom for even less than what this web site is selling it for.

I might also mention that I’ve never touched a Motorola Xoom – but why would I? Why would you? Five years ago, the Xoom may have made for one interesting portable device. Five years ago.

And, for clarification’s sake: I have absolutely nothing against the Motorola Xoom for what it is! Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations in just about every way – and when you’re trying to compete with the iPad, you’d better have one amazing story to tell at a no-brainer price point.

Some people hate Apple so much that they’re trying to prove a point by buying something else. Stupid, but I guess it’s admirable. If you’re really itching to spend money on anything that isn’t an iPad at this point, you’re better off looking at HP’s TouchPad – if only because you know a single company is controlling the experience (hardware AND software).

I think it’s fair to say that the Xoom lost – but it didn’t go down without a fight!

Motorola Xoom vs iPad: Which one Lost?

Pieter was an attendee at the ceBIT conference last weekend and I was happy to talk with him during a bit of down time. At the time of the recording, I had not yet posted any official thoughts about the iPad 2. I definitely plan on getting one as soon as it is released, just as I will get the new iPhone whenever it hits the stores.

While the new iteration may not be revolutionary in any way, I feel it is the next logical step for Apple at this point in time. It’s evolutionary. The Cupertino giant has definitely upped the ante for everyone else. They’ve raised that proverbial bar just enough that other manufacturers will be tripping over themselves to attempt to catch up – maybe not with specs, but certainly with price point.

It doesn’t matter if your Android (or other) device has a larger screen or faster processor. It’s all about the experience itself and the amount of cash I’m going to have to shell out to get that experience. I simply haven’t seen a single other vendor out there who can even come close to these two all-important factors.

You cannot deny the sleekness of the iPad. The first gen model wasn’t all that lightweight but the new version is much slimmer and weighs a bit less. That part doesn’t honestly interest me. Whoopie – it’s a few grams lighter than the original offering. It still boils down to the price point.

Forget the number of apps available. I don’t care if there are five billion apps out there – I want quality. In my eyes, Apple’s marketing message is a tad off. It’s not about the quantity – it’s about the experience. I’d rather choose from a pool of 50,000 solid apps than from one of 500,000 questionable ones.

I’ll call it now: HP will give Apple a run for their money with the webOS-based tablets than Android has done. I’m not saying Android is bad, so please don’t start your flame wars. I simply feel that Android needs to mature some more before it can successfully compete in the tablet world. Each new version of the operating system is an improvement over the last – and that’s my point. It’s growing and maturing into what it will become one day.

The way I see it is that it’s the iPad on one side of the fence and everyone else on the other side. I already stated that HP will be stepping up to the plate this year. The only other thing I see bringing any competition to the market could possibly be Google… IF they fully bake their operating system into the right hardware – and with the right cost.

True geeks may want the fastest and best specs on the market. But at the end of the day, the target audience is the non-geeks – those who simply want a good experience.

Thoughts on the iPad 2 from ceBIT

A few hours ago, Lockergnome user Justin posted a discussion about the proposed NoteSlate ePaper tablet. After looking at the specs and what it could do, our community member felt it would be a good device to take with him to classes. This no-frills device doesn’t connect to the Internet. You cannot check your email or Twitter feed and you won’t be poking anyone on Facebook. Instead, you can draw and take notes – in one color.

That may not sound overly exciting, but I have a feeling teachers will love this and may perhaps allow it in their classrooms. Many students around the world aren’t allowed to have any type of devices on their desks during the school day, including laptops for note-taking. Since the NoteSlate isn’t capable of letting them goof off, this may just be a simple answer that instructors have been waiting for.

The device is proposed to come in four different colors: red, black, blue or green. The color that you can sketch and write in depends on the color of your tablet. The 13″ matte screen is perfect real estate for keeping track of your lecture notes, business meeting agendas and even the doodles you make while you’re on a conference call.

You’ll have the capability to save whatever items are important and erase the things you decide are worthless to you. Connectivity options include a USB port, SD card slot, and promises of a “free WiFi module.” No word has been released on what type of processor is used.

Your grandparents used an old chalk slate during their studies since paper tablets were so expensive. In current times, paper is cheap but considered to be bad juju to waste a lot of. You can easily combat that problem by dropping a hundred bucks on one of these devices if they are indeed put on sale later this year.

NoteSlate ePaper Tablet

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Aigo is a Chinese company who has been making portable media players for a while and now they are doing this capacitive 7″ Android tablet, it’s powered by Qualcomm MSM7627 ARM11 processor, comes with built-in 3G CDMA modem for around $450 unlocked retail price. So it is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it’s also using a cheaper 600mhz ARM11 processor.

This video was filmed by Charbax of ARMdevices at CES 2011.

7″ Android Tablet – Aigo N700

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Someone recently asked me which Android tablet I feel is the “best.” I admit to not having much experience with Android tablets as of yet. What experience I have had has been okay. They’re functional, and they work.

However, I feel that they will really start to get interesting (and become more viable) once Google releases the Gingerbread update. This is when Google will be optimizing the Android system specifically for larger-screen devices. This optimization hasn’t yet happened at the software layer. It doesn’t matter if you have widgets and ports and other doo-dads.

When the software has been optimized for tablets, then I will likely pay a lot more attention to Android tablet devices. Until then – they’re nice toys.

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Which Android Tablet Should You Buy?

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The tablet features a 10-inch capacitive display that also accepts multi-touch gestures. It packs the usual 1024×600 pixels and runs Android 2.1 on its powerful Nvidia Tegra 2 processor that brings in 1080p video support. This tablet design is manufactured by Chinese manufacturer Malata as you can see from this Computex video filmed last June.

Inside, you’ll find 16GB of flash storage. That can be expanded with a 32GB micrSD card. It has 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi b/g and a 3900mAh battery. The battery promises 8-12 hours of running time per charge. There’s also a USB and HDMI port included, both of which the iPad lacks.

This video was filmed by Charbax of ARMdevices at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin Germany.

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InterPad 10 Inch Tegra 2 Android Tablet

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This new machine is probably one of the most affordable 10.1″ capacitive Android 2.2 ARM Cortex A8 tablets. It has beautiful built-in HDMI output and full sized USB host. Pricing will start $299 for the 8GB model with MicroSD slot. It’s amazingly thin and light, weighing only 480 grams. That is 30% less heavy than the iPad and it’s got 12% more screen surface area than the iPad. – This video was filmed by Charbax of http://ARMdevices.net at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin Germany.

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Archos 101 Internet Tablet

Love him or hate him, Steve Ballmer is a dynamic person. When he speaks, it’s from the heart. There have been many times where I’m sure something popped out of his mouth that he later regretted. However, the passion he has for what he does is something to be admired. I’ve never quite figured out why it is that people tend to hate on him and claim he’s nothing more than a puppet. A person doesn’t stick with a company as long as he has if they don’t believe in what they’re doing. Steve-o will say whatever is on his mind at any given moment… and is honest in admitting when something hasn’t gone quite the way the Redmond company had planned.

Photo credit to Engadget.

Speaking to financial analysts today about tablet devices, Ballmer admitted that Apple has “sold certainly more than I’d like them to have sold.” How’s that for plain, cold truth, folks? It’s no secret that the team behind the other Steve (Jobs) is dancing in the aisles over there in Cupertino. The iPad has already outsold even their loftiest projections. I own one… and love it. It’s an amazing device. That doesn’t mean, however, that something better won’t come along. The iPad isn’t the be-all and end-all in the tablet device market.

Argue all you want. It’s quite possible we could see a better device come with Windows 7 on it. Perhaps the front-runner will one day run Android… or any number of other operating systems. It’s impossible to predict the future, and that my fellow Geeks is what keeps the tech world so interesting. Would you want to be in a world where the iPad was as good as it’s ever going to get? I sure as hell don’t. I want to be right here watching new and better devices hit the streets.

Look. We all know that Microsoft has a lot of work to do in order to begin to catch up. Other companies are working hard to come up with the next big thing in the gadget world. Every day, there are new advances. Every week, we see new product launches. Mark my words… one day soon, we’ll see something on the shelves that blows the iPad out of the water. In my opinion, Ballmer shouldn’t sweat so much over a few (large) numbers.

I cannot wait until that day comes. What about you?

Is the iPad Making Steve Ballmer Nervous?

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This tablet has a nice design; it’s compact and light for a 10″ capacitive Android tablet. It comes with a HDMI output for 1080p video output, USB host ports, and is based on the ARM Cortex A9-based Nvidia Tegra 2 processor.

The SMB-A1011 features a 10.1 inch capacitive 1024 x 600 multitouch screen. There’s 512MB/1GB SLC or 2GB to 32GB iNand storage. You’ll find 512MB (up to 1 GB) DDR2 memory, a mini USB, mini HDMI, audio in and out, speakers, a microSD card slot and an accelerometer inside this tiny little device. It weighs less than 1 1/2 pounds, and measure only approximately 10 x 6.5 x .5 inches.

This video was filmed by Charbax at Computex 2010 in Taipei Taiwan.

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10″ capacitive Android Tablet by Malata

We first heard of the Dell Streak tablet computer in January during the Consumer Electronics Show. Today, Dell has officially announced that the device will be available this summer. Additionally, the company says that the tablet will get an upgrade to Android 2.2 with Flash later this year. The Streak will launch in the UK early in June and the U.S. later this summer. Dell didn’t provide specific launch dates for either country, nor pricing and carrier details.

The Streak will have a 5 inch WVGA touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm and 2GB of internal storage. There will be a maximum allowable 32 GB of external SD storage, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and a front-facing camera for video recording. The Streak will come equipped with 3G capabilities, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options.

Dell is hoping to attract consumers who need a bigger screen than most phones carry – yet is smaller than a netbook. “There’s several places where a smartphone isn’t enough,” Neeraj Choubey, Dell’s general manager for tablet devices, said recently on the Direct2Dell Web site. “I think many users will see it as a useful media consumption device.” The Streak has been referred to as a tablet computer, but it’s much smaller than what you would think a tablet should be. However, Dell IS also reportedly working on larger versions which will boast seven to ten inch screens.

It’s possible that the Dell Streak may hit that sweet spot between phones and large-screen devices (such as the iPad). According to Ron Garriques, president of the Dell Communication Solutions Group, “Its unique size provides people new ways to enjoy, connect, and navigate their lives.”

Dell Streak Tablet Computer Will Hit Stores This Summer

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Freescale was showing their reference design for sub-$200 tablets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The target is that tablets to be sold below $200 to end consumers will be able to run any Linux-based OS, including Chromium OS – based on the open-source code available at from the Chromium site.

In this video, Freescale’s product manager of Software Development demonstrates the status of their optimizations of running Chromium OS on their i.MX51 based devices, among other form factors is the recently announced $199 tablet form factor. It even supports hardware acceleration of HTML5 based video playback.

This video was filmed by Charbax during Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

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Chromium OS on a $199 Tablet

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The first screencast that Joseph did for us was a big hit within the community. It seems you all love his style! I happen to like it quite a bit, as well. It’s different – and it’s fun! Today, Joseph is talking to us about his love of technology, and his reaction to the new Microsoft Courier. What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment with the video, or even make a follow-up screencast of your own!

On paper, Courier looks like it would be an innovative device, with some awesome features. It’s main function will purportedly be a day-planner / notebook that lets you keep track of things like appointments and to-do lists. Also, Courier is supposedly going to be more flexible than the rumored Apple Tablet, in that you can create original drawings and sketches using something like Microsoft Paint. You can use it to snap pictures, take notes, browse the Web, and clip things you want to keep from websites.

In addition, the rumored Courier will have two 7-inch screens, with a flexible hinge in between them. This allows the device to close like a book. The two screens could both accept handwriting from a stylus, or multi-touch input from your fingers. It wouldn’t have a keyboard of any type… it would rely completely on handwriting recognition!

Joe says he recently had a dream that he had a pocket computer that included dual touch-screens. Instead of buttons, the entire face was a multi-touch screen. He felt this was too good to be true, and knew it may just be a dream after all.

However, after hearing about the Microsoft Courier, Joe began to feel that perhaps that dream is coming true. Again, all of the above information about the Courier is based on supposedly leaked rumors. Joe is excited that maybe we will see something like this coming out in the near future. He is keeping his eyes open and his wallet at the ready… just in case!

Thanks, Joe, for an informative – and hilarious! – screencast! Great work!

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What is a Microsoft Courier?

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What’s your favorite input device? Maybe your favorite is your mouse or a track pad. Have you thought about trying something different – maybe a tablet surface, in conjunction with a stylus and a mouse? As long as your computer has a USB port, you can control it using either the stylus or the mouse!

The Genius MousePen Graphics Tablet is likely one of the coolest new gadgets you’ll find. The 6-Inch x 8-Inch working area with the cordless pen and mouse is great for Windows and MAC users to write, draw, sketch or sign emails. Just click the pen on any of the 29 programmable shortcut keys for instant access to Office and Internet functions.

You can use it to enter text in some kind of application on your computer. You can use it to edit photos, or even paint! It’s a pressure-sensitive device – up to 1024 levels, which is a tad tricky to get used to. I did my best trying to demonstrate it!

It’s not only a fantastic media tool for designers, a fun input device for a computer. Improve your hand-eye coordination while using the coolest and hottest new input device.

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Do You Want a Tablet for Your PC or Mac?

Looks like the TechCrunch Tablet (the CrunchPad) is coming along nicely. It’s good to see that they’re giving it a shot, at least!

Even with the wide array of netbooks now available from major vendors, there seems to be a place for the CrunchPad – so long as the hardware is up to snuff. A $300 price point is a good one, but I’d be interested in seeing what kind of bezel design options are made available. Or will they be skinnable right off the line?

Maybe that’s what TechCrunch needs to look into: a Zazzle for hardware. Mind you, not every branded product is made of quality materials, but that’s where quality control is important.

Touch screens are also tricky – and battery life will be important to keep in mind as well. They’re going to have to address a wide array of engineering problems that no other netbook / tablet PC manufacturer has been able to solve.

Scoble applauds the way things came together for TechCrunch, testament to crowdsourcing. Well, I’ll tell you that I believe this effort is the exception – not the rule. Most crowdsourcing efforts – 99.9% of them – fail if key individuals aren’t completely drawn-in or compensated immediately. And the more complex the project, the more likely a crowdsourcing endeavor will FAIL. It’s difficult enough to do with software – but with hardware?!

I’m not saying that crowdsourcing projects is an exercise in folly, but if you’re not TechCrunch, I wouldn’t bank on it.

So, here’s to hoping the CrunchPad will be different – like, notably different beyond its inception and vision. What will make it stand out on a store shelf? What will continue to set it apart? What will make it truly better than the competition – which already does a horrible job playing the differentiation game.

I can honestly say that I remember Michael before TechCrunch was TechCrunch (and Scoble before “blog” was a word, for that matter). It’s good to see these true geeks on top.

Can Hardware Development be Crowdsourced?

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I know that a few of you out there are into Graphic Design. If you’re one of those people, you probably own a Graphics Tablet. I have one, but I just don’t use it much. I have a top five list submitted by Majid to help you purchase the right Graphics Table for you.

• Size can seem like a major issue when purchasing a tablet, but I can assure you bigger is not necessarily better. It can depend on what purpose you use the tablet for. For general home users and your usual hobbyist, the most ideal sizes can range from 4″ by 5″ or even 6″ by 8″. But if your an artist, designer or illustrator you may desire a larger surface area to give you more freedom on the tablet. Be aware, the larger your tablet surface is, the more you will need to move your arms. That is why many prefer a smaller size tablet to minimise arm movement. Smaller tablets can also limit your movement. So if you’re a budding artist who paints and performs large sweeping motions, I would recommend a bigger size tablet.
• Graphics tablets can seem quite expensive these days, with the majority of the tablets ranging in the 2-3 hundred pound mark. But… prices are dropping. However, manufacturers are beginning to offer tablets aimed at the home user. These tablets are generally priced around 1 hundred pound mark or less, though they lack some of the professional features of the more expensive tablets. In a general sense, you get what you pay for.
• Most tablets provide pens, which are generally very comfortable to use. Before purchasing your tablet, check if the pen takes batteries, as this can make the pen heavier, making it feel very bulky and you may start to feel it on your wrist.
• I have been using a graphic tablet for 6 months, but have only began getting used to it. To all those who want to buy a tablet, it will not necessarily make you draw better. Yes! You can adjust the tablets’ sensitivity to suit your drawing style. But in fact for me, drawing on a tablet was much harder than drawing on paper. I advise you to learn to draw on paper, then move to digital. If it is for general Photoshop retouching and other media-related actions, you should be just fine. The best tip I can offer is to practice! practice! practice!
• All tablets require drivers, so you’ll want to make sure that your manufacturer provides a driver that is compatible with your operating system. You might also want to look at what kind of features are provided in the driver software for the tablet you are purchasing. The driver controls many aspects of how the tablet functions, for the higher priced tablets you maybe offered many advanced features and capabilities. It’s always worth your tme to look to make sure you get the best out of your money.

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Are You Looking to Buy a Graphics Tablet?