The iPad may have taken down non-products like HP’s Slate (heavily rumored to be cancelled) and Microsoft’s Courier (straight-up confirmed cancelled) without breaking a sweat. But there is no shortage of challengers lining up to battle Apple’s magical device for supremacy. Some don’t actually exist yet, and of course, none of them run Apple’s superior touchscreen iOS. Some, we’re sorry to say, even run Windows, so don’t count on Mac integration. Still, we present this collection of iPad competitors to keep you informed about what’s out there and to help you make conversation at your next nerd party. Yup, we’re here for you like that.
Apple made a point to avoid the netvertible crowd (“netvertibles” are netbooks that convert to tablets), but the ultralight IdeaPad might make some question that logic. With an up to 250GB hard drive, 1.8GHz Intel Atom N470 processor, up to 2GB of RAM, a 10.1-inch LED touchscreen, and optional 8-hour battery, the Windows 7–running S10-3t (from $549, lenovo.com) might be the cream of the aren’t-better-at-anything crop.
About half the size of an iPad and sporting a rad fold-out kickstand, the super-wide Archos 7 Home Tablet ($199.99, archos.com) might have been a worthy adversary--if only the company hadn’t left out an accelerometer, locked down access to the Android Market, and skimped on built-in storage (8GB!).
At first blush, joojoo ($499, thejoojoo.com) looks a heck of a lot like the iPad, but the devil is in the details: It’s heavier (2.5 pounds), bulkier, and more cumbersome, with less storage (4GB), a smaller battery, and a lame belief that web apps are the wave of the future. The custom OS only runs the internet--yup, no native apps.
ExoPC has targeted September 7 for the release of its Windows 7–based Slate ($599, exopc.com), which boasts an 11.6-inch 1366x768 screen, 2GB of RAM, and 1080p video playback, not to mention USB ports and a camera. If it isn’t powered by pixie dust, color us impressed.
Set to ship sometime around Labor Day, the 5-inch Streak is more of a big smartphone than a small tablet—it even makes calls. Frankly, we’re numb to its still-vague promises of Flash (“later this year,” says a blog post on Dell.com) and video chatting (“down the road”).
Chock full of specs the iPad can only dream about--a dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex 9 processor, 1GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, USB ports, and the promise of Flash--Nvidia’s 9-inch Android prototype looks mighty impressive. But the lack of a release window has us skeptical.
vintagehero
June 30, 2010 at 9:14pm
I'm sorry Michael was that a real question? Did you even bother to stop and take a look at those turd-tastic pictures? Specs do not mean anything if the software is for crap.
And time for a less androgynous pic Mike.
