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Touch Book: Detachable screen[!], tablet netbook with ARM CPU, 10+ hour battery

Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Tech

There’s certainly a lot going on with the new Touch Book by a company called Always Innovating. At first glance, you may think it’s your average netbook with an 8.9-inch screen. But in actuality, the expected Intel Atom CPU has been replaced by an ARM processor, which you’d usually find in smaller mobile devices.

The computer works as a tablet too, and the entire screen can even detach from the keyboard!! This is beyond awesome. Since it uses such a low-power processor, Always Innovating has set the battery life at 10- to 15-hours. There are also two batteries; one inside the screen (so you can use it when detached) and one inside the keyboard. The OS is a custom “Touch Book OS” and the company says that since everything is open source, you could “install many OSes on the device, including Google Android, Ubuntu, Angstrom and Windows CE, though we would not recommend the latter.”

The machine is an always-on device and is noiseless since there are no fans or disk drives (it uses an 8GB MicroSD card for storage). Total weight is less than two pounds. As far as the touchscreen interface is concerned, “The Touch Book OS has two modes: one for use with keyboard and touchpad, and one for use as a standalone touchscreen tablet. The innovative 3D interface is easy to use and does not require a stylus or a skinny pinky.”

It will also include Mozilla’s Fennec browser and the screen is magnetic, so when you detach it from the keyboard you can “put the tablet on the fridge to serve as a kitchen computer or digital frame.” Finally, there are a whopping six USB ports – three internal, two external, and one mini. The internal ports are for things like a wireless dongle or a USB thumb drive – stuff you wouldn’t want hanging off the side of the machine all the time.

The Touch Book will be available in “May or June 2009” and will come in two versions; tablet only or netbook (tablet + keyboard). The tablet version will cost $299 and the netbook version will cost $399. This might be a little on the pricey side, but if they manage to cut a little off those prices, I think this thing will be huge. But who am I kidding, I want this…NOW!

Full specs:

• 9.4″ x 7″ x 1.4″ for 2 lbs (with keyboard)
• ARM Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip
• 1024×600 8.9” screen
• Storage: 8GB micro SD card
• Wifi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth
• 3-dimensional accelerometer
• Speakers, micro and headphone
• 6 USB 2.0 (3 internal, 2 external, 1 mini)
• 10h to 15 hours of battery life
• Able to play HD video 720p in full screen

Full press release:

New Touch Book Combines Netbook and Touchscreen Tablet; Provides Three Times the Battery Life at Under Two Pounds

PALM DESERT, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire/ — Always Innovating today unveiled the Touch Book, a versatile new device that works as both a netbook and a tablet thanks to a detachable keyboard and a 3D touchscreen user interface. The Touch Book, previewed at DEMO 09, weighs less than two pounds as a netbook and has a battery life of 10 to 15 hours — three times longer than most netbooks.

“The Touch Book is perfect for these tough economic times because you can use it in so many ways,” said Gregoire Gentil, founder of Always Innovating and creator of the Touch Book. “You can use it as a netbook computer, a hand-held game device, or a video player. You can even reverse the keyboard to prop it up on a table in an inverted ‘V’. Finally, because it is magnetic, you can remove the keyboard and put the tablet on the fridge to serve as a kitchen computer or digital frame.”

The Touch Book combines the best of open source software and open hardware with a sleek industrial design by designer Fred Bould. The innovative design includes internal USB plugs. “I hate having dongles hanging from my laptop – I often end up disconnecting them accidentally — so we opted to put the USB inside,” said Gentil.

The Touch Book is the first netbook featuring an ARM processor from Texas Instruments, resulting in outstanding battery life, and a fan less, heat-and-noise-free system.

According to Chris Shipley, executive producer of the DEMO Conferences, the Touch Book’s innovative architecture and industrial design earned it a spot on the DEMO conference stage. “The longer battery life is a boon to netbook users. But the Touch Book’s versatility – its ability to function as a netbook as well as a standalone touchscreen tablet – makes it a breakthrough product,” said Shipley.

The Touch Book is expected to ship in late spring and will start at $299. Advance orders can be placed at http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/store/.

Touch Book [Always Innovating]

Tags: ARM, Mobile, Netbook, Technology, Touch Book