Latest Tablets - A look at new ways to interface with PCs

In general terms, tablet PC refers to a slate-shaped mobile computer device, equipped with a touchscreen or stylus to operate the computer

Technically though there a four kinds of tablets. Booklets, Slates, Convertible, and Hybrids.

Booklet PCs are dual screen tablet computers that fold open like a book. A typical Booklet PC is equipped with multitouch screens and pen writing recognition capabilities. They are designed to be used as a digital day planner, internet surfing device, project planner, to watch videos, live tv, play music, and for e-reading.

Slate computers, which resemble writing slates, are tablet PCs without a dedicated keyboard. For text input, users rely on handwriting recognition via active digitizer, touching the screen with a fingertip or stylus or by using an external keyboard which can usually be attached via a wireless or USB connection.

Slate tablets generally have been popular for quite some time in vertical markets such as health care, education, and field work. Applications for field work often require a tablet PC that has rugged specifications that ensure long life by resisting heat, humidity, and drop/vibration damage

Convertible notebooks have a base body with an attached keyboard. They more closely resemble modern laptops, and are usually heavier and larger than slates.

Typically, the base of a convertible attaches to the display at a single joint called a swivel hinge or rotating hinge. The joint allows the screen to rotate around 180° and fold down on top of the keyboard to provide a flat writing surface. This design, although the most common, creates a physical point of weakness on the notebook.

Hybrids, share the features of the slate and convertible by using a detachable keyboard which operates in a similar fashion to a convertible when attached.

This is not to be confused with slate models that have a detachable keyboard—detachable keyboards for pure slate models do not rotate around to allow the tablet to rest on it like a convertible.

Just as the rumors of a pricey Apple tablet computer have reached a high-water mark, Freescale Semiconductor on Monday showcased reference designs of an affordable, lightweight tablet computer, which is set to hit the market later this year. Freescale, which supplies the guts for this new breed of computers called smartbooks

The Freescale tablet reference design (pictured above) has specifications close to what we have been hearing about the mythical Apple tablet: a 7-inch touch screen, 3-megapixel camera and various sensors such as a three-axis accelerometer and an ambient light sensor.

Next to the 512MB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage (microSD expansion) and a 1GHz processor, Freescale's smartbook tablet features a potentially killer spec: a $200 price tag. Next to an Android or Linux operating system, it also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and options for a 3G modem 

The smartbook reference design is intended to run everyday-use applications such as a Web browser (with Adobe Flash support), an e-mail client, an RSS reader, social networking tools, and an office suite, among others. 

If manufacturers pick up on Freescale's concept, such smartbooks should show up in a store near you perhaps later on this summer, with a price point below the $200 ceiling, the chipmaker says. However, no potential vendors for this tablet design have been named.

Here are the full specs of the Freescale smartbook:
Size: 200mm by 128mm by 14.9cm and weighing 376 grams; no need for fan or heat sink
Processor: Freescale i.MX515 applications processor provides high performance and low power
ARM Cortex-A8 1GHz
OpenVG & OpenGL/ES graphics cores
HD video decoder hardware
Memory: 512 MB DDR2
Display: 7-inch (1024 by 600) touch screen
Storage: 4-64 GB internal storage; removable micro SD
Connectivity: 3G modem (option) 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, RF4CE (option)
Ports: USB 2.0 and USB mini (also for charging), audio in/audio out, SIM card
Audio: speaker, microphone
Camera: 3 Megapixel (video recording up to VGA @ 30fps)
Battery: 1900mAh, USB charging
Sensors: the MMA8450Q three-axis accelerometer and an ambient light sensor
Power management IC
 

These devices Have been being held back by the way PCs interface with us human. That is slowly changing though, with the progression of multi-touch interface progression. For year tech and other PC enthusiasts have been creating there own means to use this functionality. Though we are now progressing even further then just multi touching.

One device that comes to mind is the i-Tech Virtual Bluetooth Wireless Laser Keyboard for PDA/Smartphone. Truly a sight to see in action.

It's the world's first wireless Virtual Keyboard that lifts wireless mobile communications to a new height. Not much bigger than a match box, this astonishing device projects an infrared image of a full-sized keyboard onto any flat surface. Users can then type on projected keys as if typing on conventional keyboards!The i-tech BT Virtual Laser Keyboardcan be linked to mobile phones, laptops or PDAs via Bluetooth, giving users all the benefits of a keyboard without the bother of having to haul one around. 

The OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator, is a very interesting product and has to be the most innovative product of 2009

OCZ’s Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) marks a new era in gaming. Rather than being a substitute for a mouse, the nia is a pioneering new peripheral to be used in conjunction with your mouse for a more immersive gaming experience.

It's spooky, it might even be a little scary... but recently OCZ developed a new product that monitors your brain and facial muscle activity. Increased activity measured on several spots on your head will result in very small electrical currents. When the current is high enough, you could consider it as 1 or "Enable". When there's a lack of that small current (or below a baseline) you could consider it to be 0 or "disabled". Now when you accumulate enough monitors... you can write a piece of software that will interpret that data (0 or 1) and assign functions to it, similar to extra buttons on your joystick, keyboard or mouse.

OCZ's NIA utilizes a headband to capture the readings from your head. You can think of it as a brain controlled mouse or joystick. This kit resembles a pair of what looks like headphones, with a single electrode contacting the user’s forehead while reading the player’s brainwave information, EEG data. The headset registers the current state of relaxation or concentration of players, allowing them to perform a variety of actions within the game.

OCZ claims that average users will be able to begin to use the device within hours after some initial practice. And yes, this is a complex to learn product. Then the only thing left to do is hone their skills in the game world arenas. 

The nia is compatible with any PC game using keyboard input… past, present, or future. Predefined profiles included with the software allow the gamer to develop their own nia—memory to launch the desired behavior of their character and shoot with the "blink of an eye", without lifting a finger. 

 Become Your Character
Streaming biopotentials into the computer and witnessing real-time feedback through the game will result in a novel way to experience virtual reality. Enter a virtual world where abstractions like keyboard commands are replaced by intentions converted into tensions and translated into command structures.

Where others have to practice reaction times, you can use reflex-based game play to get the better of your opponents by cutting your reaction time by 50%