An Affordable $199 Tablet for Everyone -- And It's Not From Apple

[Eric Wanchic]

Something to look forward to in the Ubuntu realm, possibly?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/185764/A_199_Tablet_for_Everyone_And_It_Not_Apple.html

Freescale, which supplies the guts for this new breed of computers
called smartbooks (about one third the size and volume of a typical
netbook
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/160230/evolution_of_the_netbook.html?tk=rel_news>),
is putting its weight behind this category with a concept of what could
become everybody's tablet.

The Freescale tablet reference design (pictured above) has
specifications close to what we have been hearing about the mythical
Apple tablet
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/185650/jobs_to_unveil_apple_tablet_next_month_exgoogle_exec_says.html?tk=rel_news>:
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.