OpenPeak’s OpenTablet 7 Wonders Who Needs an iPad?

February 16, 2010 By Geoff Duncan

OpenPeak's OpenTablet sports a 7-inch touch screen display, two cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI output...oh, and it works as a phone.

Coinciding with this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, OpenPeak has formally announced its OpenTablet 7, a 7-inch touch-screen device that’s designed to handle both user’s multimedia, Internet communications and social media, but also operate as a functional telephone. And the device measures just 9 inches by 5 inches, and is just 0.6 inches thick so it can cleverly disguise itself as a photoframe.

“The OpenTablet is the ultimate control panel, delivering the most commonly accessed multi-media services right to your fingertips anywhere,” said OpenPeak CEO Dan Gittleman, in a statement. “The all-in-one device allows you to sync schedules, check movie times, listen to music, watch videos, get weather updates, and even monitor energy usage and home security, all from a single, easy-to-use device.”

The OpenTablet 7 sports that 7-inch touchscreen display with LED backlighting and is powered by Intel’s Moorestown platform—yes, that’s an Atom inside. The OpenTablet 7 sports integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking, two cameras (one for stills and another for high-definition video), cellular connectivity options, and HDMI output for pushing media to a big screen. The tablet also sports USB 2.0 connectivity and microSD storage.

The OpenTablet 7 doesn’t exactly run Windows or an embedded Linux, though: instead, developers make apps using Adobe Flash CS4, and OpenPeak has rolled out what it’s describing as an end-to-end deployment solution so applications developers can sell apps to customers, update customer devices, and provide the latest content.

OpenPeak hasn’t announced any pricing for the OpenTablet, but expects the device will be adopted by “branded customers” and service operators, with consumers starting to see products in the second half of 2010.

Showing 8 comments

examplereader at 9:31pm 5th March 2011 O2 sold something very similar in UK for 49 pounds no contract. So it's not vaporware. They ran Linux so there wasn't a Microsoft tax. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O2_Joggler People got around the Flash interface and are running all sorts of applications: MythTV, Squeezebox, VOIP/Asterisk, GPS, Quake 3 :) http://www.jogglerwiki.com/
CBONE at 6:30am 17th February 2010 Ugh. "OpenPeak hasn’t announced any pricing for the OpenTablet, but expects the device will be adopted by “branded customers” and service operators, with consumers starting to see products in the second half of 2010."

Translation: Don't hold your breath waiting for this to make it out. If it does, it will be tied to a stupid cell provider.

A super-thin Atom (X86 means WINDOWS!!! or at least one of the better Linux builds maybe OSX with some hackifications) tablet and they can't get this in stores and hands? Investors should be throwing money at these people to get in on this! Something is off...
Sam at 8:38pm 16th February 2010 They just look like regular iPhone app icons. Apple didn't patent those. You can see them all over the net.
dang at 4:18pm 16th February 2010 pretty icons does not make an excellent product. Just look at the buttons across the bottom. I'm suspicious...

Those icons do look exactly like iPhone icons.
Ian Bell at 3:14pm 16th February 2010 I think a mandatory carrier contract is the only way these companies can make money. If the apps etc are open source, that typically means no one is going to pay for it.
Ian Bell at 3:13pm 16th February 2010 Agreed, a lot of these rip-offs do not make it to market because they resemble too closely the Apple products of the world. Nothing here is really original, and saying you are "open source" is only relative if no one will actually develop for it.
facebook-1445576607 at 12:22pm 16th February 2010 I am liking this...a lot. BUT, if they tie it up with a mandatory contract with a cell phone carrier...such as AT&T I will vomit. Is that what the article means by...

"OpenPeak has rolled out what it’s describing as an end-to-end deployment solution so applications developers can sell apps to customers, update customer devices, and provide the latest content."

If it's truly to be 'open' then all I should have to pay is the price for it off the shelf! If I am forced to pay some sort of monthly carrier charge...too bad, so sad, but it will be an also ran in my book.
williamiPad at 12:19pm 16th February 2010 @ OpenTablet -- those icons looks suspiciously familiar. Can't say I like this device ergonomically speaking. Won't be a competitor to Apple. Article Bookmarked