After the majority of the world went crazy (unprecedented crazy, by the way) for the HP Touchpad after it dropped its value to $99.99, I got very curious. Obviously the HP Touchpad was sold at a loss, but is it possible to build a somewhat decent tablet (Multitouch capacitive screens, 10" screen, speedy ARM processor, 8+ hr battery life, etc.) for that price, or even less?
Note that this is targeted at consumers, but built by EEs or wannabe EEs (like me). Also, I should mention that I'm referring to the "slate" tablet, not the laptop to PC tablet (although we may see some more of those in the future due to Windows .
So, sourcing parts from Mouser and Digikey, let's see how feasible it is to make a tablet!
Requirements:
1) Multitouch, capacitive touch screen. Yes, we've had this discussion before, but after getting a printer with a resistive touch screen, and playing around with tablets that use resistive touch screens, I can't say that I'm a fan of them. They all require a certain amount of pressure, vs. a simple touch.
2) LCD/(O)LED screen or similar with IPS, around 8" size. IPS is a must for such a tablet, since the screen is usually held or looked at indirectly (i.e. not parallel to your face).
3) Good battery life - at least 8 hours of regular use. Should be more if possible.
4) Good ARM CPU - should be at least 1 GHz.
5) Lots and lots of memory - at LEAST 512 MB.
#4 and #5 can be in form of a development/prototype/hobbyist board.
Note that this is targeted at consumers, but built by EEs or wannabe EEs (like me). Also, I should mention that I'm referring to the "slate" tablet, not the laptop to PC tablet (although we may see some more of those in the future due to Windows .
So, sourcing parts from Mouser and Digikey, let's see how feasible it is to make a tablet!
Requirements:
1) Multitouch, capacitive touch screen. Yes, we've had this discussion before, but after getting a printer with a resistive touch screen, and playing around with tablets that use resistive touch screens, I can't say that I'm a fan of them. They all require a certain amount of pressure, vs. a simple touch.
2) LCD/(O)LED screen or similar with IPS, around 8" size. IPS is a must for such a tablet, since the screen is usually held or looked at indirectly (i.e. not parallel to your face).
3) Good battery life - at least 8 hours of regular use. Should be more if possible.
4) Good ARM CPU - should be at least 1 GHz.
5) Lots and lots of memory - at LEAST 512 MB.
#4 and #5 can be in form of a development/prototype/hobbyist board.