Firday last week I have finally received my Always Innovating Touch Book. I didn't have much time to play with it since then, but I give you my very first impressions here.
For those of you who don't know what the Always Innovating Touch Book is, it is a netbook-sized computer with a touch screen based on the open source Beagle Board project. Technically, it is a tablet PC but there are a few significant differences that makes it very different from the tablet PCs that I know of:
- It costs $299 – I suppose a factor of 10 cheaper than standard tablet PCs.
- It comes with Linux (yeah!).
The software is still beta and I had to sign up as a beta-freak in order to be considered for delivery in the current batches. I'm fine with that since I prefer my software to be beta, preferably something that breaks my computer. Since it runs Linux I should have pretty good chances for finding workarounds for various quirks until they are fixed.
Since I am too lazy for typing and taking photos, here is a video giving a tour of the touch book and even some hints about my evil plans >:)
As you can see there are some quirks even with the hardware. In particular, I really don't understand what's the point with the keyboard if it can't support the weight of the screen? I think I will be able to fix this by adding extra weight to the keyboard part.
As I mention in the video, I consider the stylus to be a bad joke! Though I understand why it is included. The included desktop and apps are not optimized for touch screens and it can be quite difficult to hit the right buttons and in particular scroll bars from time to time. I think this can be easily fixed by using a more suitable theme with the XFCE desktop. I don't particularly like the default theme anyway.
When I select the shutdown menu, I don't see any sleep/hibernate option. Hopefully this is only a software issue because shutting it down and booting up every time is not a good option with a portable computer! It kinda ruins the whole point.
The instructions say that you have to charge the touch book for 6-10 hours before you use it. It has to be done with the tablet on the keyboard and while it is turned on. Apparently, the tablet can only be charged while it is on?
All in all I am very happy with it so far despite the hardware issues I already identified. Of course, the price has significant influence on my happiness in this matter – it costs $299 for the computer and $100 for the optional keyboard and extra battery. There is also a good online community for the touch book that includes a wiki, a forum, online bug tracker, etc.
I think I will be having a lot of fun with this new toy. I shall also do my best to make a Gpredict Touch Screen Editition as soon as possible.
