CTL, the maker of those Classmate PCs is showing off a Windows 7 tablet it hopes to have out by this June for $499. It’s not unlike the HP Slate.
The CTL machine features 10-inch capacitive touchscreen slate, a 1.6GHz Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, two USBs and a 2-megapixel webcam.
A number of Android-based color tablets have been demonstrated in recent months. These include WePad (above) the ICD Ultra, as well as Notion Ink’s Adam and HP’s Slate.
| WePad | iPad | |
| Display | 11.6-inch (1,366 x 768 pixels) | 9.7-inch (1,024 x 768 pixels) |
| Processor | 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 Pineview-M | 1.0 GHz Apple A4 |
| Memory | 16 GB NAND Flash (optional 32 GB internal + 32 GB SDcard) | 16 / 32 / 64 GB |
| Webcam | 1.3 Megapixel | None |
| Ports | 2 USB ports, card reader, audio out, SIM card slot, multi pin connector | Apple connector for camera or card reader as peripherals |
| Flash / Adobe AIR | Yes / Yes | No / No |
| App Store | WePad AppStore + Google Android Marketplace | iTunes App Store |
| Multitasking | Yes | Restricted, allowed only for Apple apps |
| Battery life | 6 hours | 10 hours |
| eBook format | All open standards | Proprietary Apple format from iBooks store |
| Wireless connect | Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi N, 3G optional | Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi N, 3G optional |
| Body | Magnesium-Aluminium | Aluminium |
| Size | 288 x 190 x 13 mm | 242.8 x 189.7 x 13,4 mm |
| Weight | 800 g (850 g with 3G) | 680 g |
Other iPad alternatives include the $499 Asus T101MT tablet which features a 10 inch capacitive touchscreen, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, a webcam, Flash, a 6 hour battery, mike and headphone jacks as well as 3 USB ports and an SDHC card reader.
AT&T’s Open Peak tablet (above) features a “Moorestown” Atom chip, 7-inch multi-touch screen, HDMI output, dual cameras, a USB interface and MicroSD slot. The $180, 5″ zenPad Android tablet is shipping now.
A 22nm Atom is due next year. It will run both PC apps and MeeGo apps. Put that in your Android/Chrome OS tablet.
Self-publishing service Smashwords, a site where writers can publish their own e-books, said recently that it has signed a distribution deal with Apple to put its books into the iPad iBookstore.
Mark Coker, chief executive of Smashwords, said that his company has been working on the deal ever since the iPad was announced. That means that unpublished authors can sell their work on the Apple iPad at virtually no cost.
Amazon kept 70% of the royalties. But Apple’s iBookstore and Android’s Marketplace will turn the tables — authors get 70% of the revenue.
That changes everything.
But who will ever be able to find your book in a sea of 1,000,000 titles? Without a publisher’s promotional help, won’t your book get lost?
The answer is an author’s social media app. It’s a free download and connects to:
- “Fan Wall” for multimedia chat
- “Author Appearances” for event listings
- “Fan Photos” and videos uploaded by fans
- Twitter Feed to stay up-to-date on the author’s Tweets
- Your WordPress Blog or Facebook page.
- Your e-Book (first chapter free)
Your free social media app promotes your book. Small Society has released WordPress for iPad. That’s everything you need.
Do the math – 5,000 times $7 is $35K. E-books are the future. It beats working.
Bust the old paradigm. Burn the paper. This revolution is real and it’s happening now.
