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Apple’s iPad is hailed as a new device, bringing the iPhone’s success to the tablet market. You couldn’t be more wrong; iPad is a device which has somehow escaped or evolved to become part of Steve Jobs’ world vision – a true follow up to John Sculley’s “Knowledge Navigator” in a way that Newton could never be, but always promised. Sharing the same relationship to the Macintosh that Newton did within the context of available technology the iPad clearly demonstrates that just as consumer tastes and desires have become more sophisticated, so has Apple’s design process. So where will iPad go next?
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The Archos 9 has been doing the rounds for about a year now and was launched for sale in October 2009, enjoying a good run as one of the few low-cost UMPC style devices to make it into the mass consumer marketplace. Standing at the top of their odd-numbered range of Personal Media Player (PMP)/Tablet style devices, the 9 deviates from their crossover nature by being a full-fledged Windows system, albeit at sub-netbook specifications. Revitalising the appeal for the Archos 9, this weekend Amazon lowered their price to £369 from an RRP of £449 – making this one of the cheapest UMPC devices ever sold officially in the UK. Is there a value equation to be solved here or does the UMPC genre benefit from a few years and the Tablet’s newly-reconigsed status as a consumer product?
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The phrase “long-awaited” is overused, but sometimes repeatedly appropriate. Sigma Japan’s tendency to preview cameras before launch often leaves the consumer feeling more than a bit confused; when DID the camera actually launch? The SD15, a substantially redesigned digital SLR that replaces the 2007 SD14, comes in on a fairly predictable 3-year product cycle that exemplifies Sigma’s careful approach to evolving their Foveon-based cameras. With a few headline changes, but the same sensorsize and pixel-count as the previous model, will the SD15 tempt anyone but the most hardcore enthusiast to hand over £899?
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This is, first and foremost, a site for me to put the content that won’t fit in other, print media outlets. It’s full of half-written entries as work gets in the way, it’s sporadically updated. If something grabs me, then you’ll see it here eventually. Currently I’m enthralled, baffled and generally confused by the “iPad-killer” market of Shanzai tablets typified by the Eken M7001, iPed and the Apad (which has been adopted as the name for Shanzai/OEM Android MIDs, but actually refers to a 7″ Rockchip RK2808 based model commonly sold as the “iRobot”).

Amongst these, the Rockchip architecture has been out for ages – the Archos players are based on it – and MIDs have been showing up in various forms at consumer electronics shows particularly in Eastern territories for years. So why the sudden buzz?
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As a pretty neat UMPC, the Teso J-10 (aka iiView M1Touch and also sold as a “Windows 7 Tablet” by Tablet Store UK currently – I’m not aware of any other UK importers) is already well equipped for most purposes. Most of the time, people want to add bluetooth, 3G and so forth; those are already present. However, it’s interesting to get a look inside and see how the J-10 is assembled.
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Shanzai gets it right sometimes, and Tablet Store UK’s Windows 7 tablet is one such case. Coming in at £499 with 160GB HD, HSUPA wireless from a Sierra Wireless 8781 and Bluetooth and WiFi via a combined module, this tablet is also known as the TESO J-10 and iiView M1Touch; it identifies itself as a THD PX1. Whilst many sites have opted to view this as an “iPad Killer”, such a concept is laughable – it’s an evolution of the Ultra-Mobile PC concept. So where has the concept been taken, and has it matured sufficiently to be worthwhile – and have the Chinese OEMs cracked something that few startup firms have managed…
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Sigma’s camera evolution continues with the latest version of the DP series, the DP2s. Unlike the progression from DP1s to DP1x, the DP2s is essentially a refinement of the previous design, though Sigma remain coy about internal changes. Reading between the lines, the sensor may well be a new “version” of the 4.5 x 3 Mp Foveon chip first seen in the SD14, and there’s definitely some adjustment to the base firmware, but it’s less likely that the physical hardware of the camera has actually changed.
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TVs aren’t something I expected to look at often, but this little TV caught my eye in Sainsbury’s last month at a bargain price of £299. I’m fully aware of the limitations of the specification compared to the latest, true HD models, but having bought it with the intention of using it as a stopgap TV, it has proven to be interesting in more ways than one. In fact, LG have produced a TV which punches well above its weight for the price.
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The netbook genre has exploded during the time I’ve been hosting this site – and I’ve overlooked most models despite owning two of the most popular ones due to a lack of time to review them. However, as the market for the devices matured, the need for something that wasn’t simply “good enough”, but was actually “complete and useful” became quite pressing. Having started with the obligatory 4GB Asus Eee and moved on to the exceptionally good value Acer Aspire One A110, the time taken for these models to acquire internal 3G networking and decent storage was frustrating.
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Amongst Logitech’s extensive range of keyboards, there lurks a near-ideal combination of features. Bluetooth, full size keys, a built-in trackpad with scrolling, and all for under £35. The catch? It’s designed for Sony’s Playstation 3.
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