Details Emerge About Spark Linux-Based Tablet 188
MojoKid writes "There's a new tablet in town called the Spark. The Linux-driven tablet, based on the Zenithink C71 and KDE was unveiled by developer Aaron Seigo recently. The tablet will be available for pre-order this week and will start shipping worldwide in May. In terms of specifications, the 7-inch (800x480) multi-touch slate will run a 1GHz AMLogic ARM processor and Mali-400 GPU, sport 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot for expandability), 802/11b/g WiFi, a pair of USB ports, a front-facing 1.3MP webcam, and an audio jack. The UI of choice is Plasma Active and there will apparently be a content store where developers can peddle their wares and users can snag software."
Rise of Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
I am interested in this tablet, not because it is best / most up to date, but it pushes Linux. What I mean is, it's not relying on a locked down version that the likes of Google pretend is Linux. It's not just a question of free as in no cost OS, but freedom to do what you like... which is not the same as installing re-engineered OS versions but might brick your device as that's how the hardware was designed.
To that end, I'd love to see a 100% Linux phone, nothing relying on Google with it's bits locked down or tracking
Re:Rise of Linux (Score:3, Insightful)
Those phones dont have a future, so by buying them you only subsidize Nokias future Windows phones. You need to put your money somwhere where it benefits the Linux ecosystem in the long run.
They're doomed (Score:5, Insightful)
"The vision of Plasma Active is to create an innovative and fresh data-centric UI which is not concerned with applications but rather offers a user oriented interface with logically combined items through activities, which reflect the workflow and usage of the device by the user".
Didn't understand a word? Me neither. And this is from a commercial company [basyskom.com] trying to sell the thing. No more luck with the promotional video [basyskom.com], which only shows some loading times for some unexplained tasks for which the benefit is not clear.
Until they hire some marketing people able to explain why consumers should buy the thing, and some UX people making the users feel at home when using it, nobody -not even geeks- will want to buy one.
Re:Difference between Android and Linux ?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you sure that four digit UID really is yours?