Otaku Gadgets

Tablets are fast becoming the center of what promises to be a very exciting industry in the near future. It seems as if companies have suddenly realized that physical controls are passé and that the new coolness lies in how much specs you can cram into a thing that looks like a futuristic picture frame.

In fact, some think that slates need not be as big as standard picture frames. It can be simple and small, around 7 inches diagonal but it needs to be thin – around 0.5”. These are opinions that I have noticed being posted on forums, comments and also on personal blogs. So what attracts the techie and the non-techie alike to this new-age piece of future-tech?

The allure of finally having a sleek little device that has all the goodness of full touchscreen smartphones with a faster processor and a much larger screen. They also hope for innovative software that will make their experience go from good to mind bogglingly great. While innovation does not come that easily, a new crop of tablets seem to be taking up the challenge to meet these demands.

But do I detect a bit of paranoia mixed with fear and anticipation in this newly developing industry? Could it be that the rumors of an approaching Apple Tablet has companies hastening up their development cycles in order to launch the industrial equivalent of a preemptive strike?

Well, one thing’s for sure – a lot of these devices are taking their design cues from the refined aesthetic sensibilities that we have come to expect from Apple products. Sleek lines, minimalist physical interface and smoothened out façades without loud logos or graphics trying to claim supremacy through names of component big shots. Here are two of the latest in such attempts.

Vega

Vega is an upcoming product from the start up company Innovative Convergent Devices. I guess the company name does a good job of describing the company’s goals. And their first product is a sleek new tablet device that is designed to be more of a digital household companion rather than a mobile companion.

The design of the product shows us that the company has been influenced by just the right ideas. With the smooth, all black finish and the minimalistic physical controls, it looks pretty palatable to me.

But its biggest selling point would probably be the fact that is running on Google’s Android OS. That open paltform that has been taking over the imaginations of handheld developers all over the globe. Although we have already seen the Archos 5 and other devices trying to do Android right and failing, this new device just might get it right.

After all, as a start up company they really cannot afford to get things wrong with their first product. If nothing else, they will at least put something out that will make us take notice of the new kid on the block. [read]

Boeye MID 700

This one actually looks like a Chinese Apple tablet knockoff from the coming year. Half of that is actually true – it is of Chinese make and it borrows heavily from Apple’s design. But it is very much from the present.

From the first looks at the photos of the device you can tell that the designers have been heavily influenced by the iPhone. So much so that they actually decided to make the device look like an overgrown iPhone, solitary button and all. From the side angle, it is plenty clear that you are looking at something that has the signature silver back, the polished black front and a touchscreen.

There seems to be a front facing camera on the top right corner and the device is supposedly running Android. Cool, one more device that looks like the iPhone but runs the Android. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the best of both worlds but it is definitely worth looking at if you can get your hands on one. The company is apparently targeting the eBook reader market. [read]

Apple’s Pen-based Computer Ink Recognition Patent

Apple had filed a patent back in July this year. That patent has finally gone public and the public has gone bonkers over the implications of such a patent. So what does the patent contain? The patent contains an application that is supposed to make the ink recognition from digital styluses better.

Basically, Apple has patented a technology that makes styluses more effective and accurate than their current implementations. Apple talks about pen-based computers where this technology will come in handy. As you can imagine, the patent refers a lot to tablet computers and this has the tech world speculating afresh about what Apple is planning for the upcoming tablet. [read]

Yes, I know it is not official yet but with all the evidence and the rumors, it is all but officially announced.

So far, the popular opinion has been that the upcoming tablet is going to be navigated entirely by fingers, just like an overgrown iPhone. Plus, Steve has said unflattering things about the stylus in the past. But then again, he had also said that no one would want a small portable media player. And may be he meant that he dislikes it so much that he will make it better.

So why would a stylus be handy? Well, for one thing – finger painting can only take you so far. If you have to make finer lines, you need a pen. Handwriting recognition needs a pen and so does serious graphic designing. So what is Apple planning?

Knowing them, they will probably make a pen-less package for the main masses with a pen available for separate purchase that will unlock the amazing digitization abilities of the Tablet. Or it might be a simple little thing that will be sold with the system like the Apple remote with MacBooks and probably (hopefully) with onboard storage. I can already see Steve in his signature black turtleneck, holding up a slender little silver stylus that will accompany the next iconic device that will be seen everywhere.