Firstly, sorry if this is a repeat message, I tried sending once, but
was with an email that wasn't registered on Launchpad. So I don't
think it posted properly. I hope it doesn't bother the moderators.
Most likely alot of the people on this list have already seen the
article on OMG!Ubuntu. But Just wanted to put the info about it here
also and link to the ZaTab page.
ARM A8 Cortex CPU @ 1.2Ghz (Single core)
Mali400 GPU (Handles 1080p, 3D games etc)
1GB DDR3 RAM
16GB internal storage
9.7? (1024×768) capacitive touch-screen
14 hour* battery life
Front and back cameras
Metal-back casing
Weighs 630 grams
Wi-Fi
Headphone, MicroSD card, 2x microUSB ports, and 1x microHDMI port
Link to the ZaTab page: http://zareason.com/shop/zatab.html
And its only $349. Much cheaper than the Transformer is (we are
talking new hardware, not refurbished) And this would be entirely
open. Zareason offers it with NO Operating System at all, or with
Android 4.0.3. They actually state on the page,
"Some manufacturers consider "root" to be a four-letter-word. We
don't. The ZaTab is an open device. The bootloader is unlocked. Root
access is available. We welcome the community to develop custom ROMs
and port other Linux distros to the ZaTab."
What more could we ask for?? Yes the CPU is single core, but Ubuntu is
native code and doesn't need as much power, and with the Mali400 GPU
being as powerful as it is. The CPU only being 1.2 single core would
be just fine. What ya say guys?? :-D
P.S. Side note for those that might be concerned about the
Mali400 using a proprietary driver, this is the same GPU as in the
Vivaldi Tablet. There is a reverse-engineering project to get a full
driver stack for the different Mali GPU's (they are said be to very
easy to write for due to their logical and simple design) and if the
Ubuntu team got together with the reverse-engineering dev's and the
(Vivaldi Tablet dev's to help with testing) then the Mali GPU's could
be the best ones on the market for Open Hardware. And the Mali's are
used in SOOO much hardware, from dirt cheap chinese tablets, up to
some high-end Samsung smart phones (different spec's of course, but
would only be tiny differences in the drivers) So having great open
source drivers could really open up so many possibilities for the
hackers out there that love finding and playing with new open
hardware. Just a bit of a side note :)
Link to an article about "Freedom based" Open Source Mali drivers:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=arm_mali_reverse&num=2
<http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=arm_mali_reverse&num=2>
