Okay Geek Farm
6 Good alternatives to the Apple iPad
Brandon Davenport
The iPad has been all the craze for the past few months - especially the last few days, and some of you are really tired of it, and we get it. We searched the internets for some really good upcoming tablets that are great alternatives to the iPad, and should get you excited about the next-gen tablet market. Here they are in no particular order.
HP Slate
Looking at the picture above, you can see this thing is running Windows 7, and immediately you are excited. This isn’t some janky tablet with a proprietary OS, with half the functionality of a real OS - this is a full blown PC in a package the size of an iPad.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off this HP tablet prototype very briefly at CES this year. He showed the device running Windows 7, and running some of the apps we already use, but there is something that is truly cool about this device. It runs flash and AIR just like a real PC, and it runs it right in the browser. This is a huge plus.
What people think - About HP Slate
Dell Streak
This is a little different than the other tablets coming out, mainly in size. This is called the “Dell Streak” which was announced during Dell’s CES 2010 keynote and briefly demonstrated. This model shown is only 5-inches in screen size, which puts it in-between an iPhone and an iPad. Not much is known about it right at the moment, but we are sure there is going to be some news about it soon.
What people think - About Dell Streak
Archos 7 Home Tablet
This is a very similar tablet to the Dell Streak in terms of its size and competition advantages to the iPhone and iPad, but what makes it stand out is the fact that it promises to be really cheap. It has a basic 600MHz ARM 9 processor, microSD memory slot, WiFi, and 7 hours of video playback, or 44 hours of music. It will come in 2GB and 8GB capacities, and looks to be a really neat alternative to the iPad.
What people think - About Archos 7 Home
JooJoo
This is the JooJoo. You may have heard some news about it sucking a bit, and pre-order woes but I see it as a somewhat solid device with some real potential.
The main concept behind the device is making everything you do, web based. Everything is on the web these days so the JooJoo team decided to make it easy to use all the full websites that you use on a lightweight, somewhat fast tablet and not have to worry about storing stuff locally.
There are some high points to this and one of them is ease of use, and simplicity of the design and layout of the interface. This is possibly your next news reader, or surfing device while relaxing on the couch.
What people think - About JooJoo
Notion Ink Adam
This is another great Android tablet, powered by the Tegra 2 chip and comes sporting a 10-inch screen. It comes from from Indian startup Notion Ink, and comes packing a real advantage over other tablets. It is using a technology called Pixel Qi, that combines the best of a full color multi-touch LCD display, with a low-power reflective mode that’s readable in direct sunlight. This is a real plus for people who will be using their new tablet to read, or browse, but at a whim watch some web video. The Adam should be available the second quarter of the year with a price point of $300 and $800.
What people think - About Adam
Google and HTC Tablet
The Google / HTC tablet is still a rumor, but people are obviously excited and you should keep an eye open for any news or release dates that come around. Reports say the Google Tablet has already been in development for the past 19 months in partnership with HTC and will be released before Apple releases the iMat. There is no info yet, in the “official” respect, on this new device, but we are sure that there will be some hype very soon.
What people think - About Adam
