[ale] possibility of a non Android Linux tablet

[Michael Trausch]

Ice Cream Sandwich on the Kindle Fire. I don't need all the bells and
whistles.

Only thing I would like is the ability to insert a SIM card and use a
Bluetooth headset, and be able to have the tablet actually *be* the phone...

--
Sent from my Ice Cream Sandwich powered Kindle Fire!
Pardon any typos...
On Feb 22, 2012 5:50 PM, "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com>
wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I just recently bought a Pandigital SuperNova tablet for $ 200 from Best
> Buy, kept it a couple of days, and returned it.  I don't really have $
> 300 - $ 500 to spend on a tablet.  It's actually a really cool device,
> with a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 4 GB of shared storage.  It
> has an 8" capacitive touch screen, SD card slot, USB host capability,
> HDMI out, wifi, bluetooth, and dual cameras.  It's pretty snappy to run
> and plays video on Youtube well and displays web pages well when you add
> the Dolphin web browser.  I really liked it, BUT ...  I was really
> annoyed by the fact that it is running Android Gingerbread 2.3, will
> probably never be updated, and doesn't have the Android market place.
> It has Getjar, and I installed Amazon market.  However, you still have
> only about 1/10 the selection of applications that you would with the
> Android market place.  I was particularly bothered by the fact that I
> could not install Firefox, nor the Barnes and Noble Nook program without
> having access to the Android market place.  It has a built in BN app,
> but it's not the same thing.  I could potentially root it and install
> the Android market place, and it may be possible to install the Android
> market place without rooting it.  However, it would become more obsolete
> over time and possibly more subject to viruses.  Also, every time there
> was a firmware update from Pandigital, I would be worried about the hack
> failing.  In the end, I decided to return it.
>
> I'm wondering if you guys know of any similarly priced alternatives that
> are running Android 3.2 Honeycomb or Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich.  In
> terms of screen size, I don't really need 10".  I think 8" is about the
> biggest thing I can thumb type on when it's in landscape mode.  It's
> also a nice size to carry around, but still big enough to read the print
> on the screen without a microscope.
>
> I was also disappointed in some ways with Android, although I didn't get
> to play with it too long.  For example, though, you can't even print
> from your applications without adding a $ 13 specialized app from the
> app store.
>
> I was also wondering if anyone knows of a solid Linux tablet that's not
> Android.  That would give me more of the features I'm used too and more
> traditional applications.  I don't want to primarily use the tablet for
> content production, but I want it to be able to run my same (or
> equivalent) applications when I need them and I'm out and about.  I want
> to be able to attach a keyboard and mouse and do real work on it if
> needed.  Most of the time, though, I'd use it for content consumption.
> It would strictly be a backup computer for when I'm away from my desk.
> I may consider a netbook, if there's nothing really in the tablet
> space.  It looks like non Android Linux tablets aren't really there yet,
> but maybe you guys know of some.  I'd like to see Ubuntu or Debian
> running on a tablet.  The CPU's and memory are certainly powerful enough
> for some versions of Linux.
>
> I've only just begun research into non Android Linux tablets, but I ran
> across this link which looks interesting.
>
>
> http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/spark-the-first-free-software-linux-tablet-is-on-its-way/10255
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
> --
>
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)
>
> Ron Frazier
>
> 770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT c3energy.com
>
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