Netbook Navigator has been working hard on getting that Nav 9 [Specifications] to market and we’ve just heard that a review sample is going to be with us very soon. Apparently they’ve taken a few weeks to optimise a touchscreen that wasn’t up to par and in that time they’ve also updated the package and pricing.
The Atom N450-based 1GB/16GB tablet is now available as a base version for $599 including a large capacity battery, carrying case, 8GB SD card and car charger. That price doesn’t include an operating system but there’s a good chance that Moblin, Jolicloud and Ubuntu are going to work out of the box (don’t expect multitouch) and as we go forward, MeeGo is going to be an option not to mention any old XP licenses you have lying around.
We still have reservations about the size, weight and form-factor for any of these netbook-based tablets that are appearing and seriously, the ASUS T101MT including Windows 7 with 2GB, touch/multitouch screen on the latest Pinetrail platform for a similar price (admittedly, with a weight premium) sounds like a much better product overall but if a Windows-based slate is the way you want to go, this isn’t a bad deal.
New article: Nav 9 Pricing and Availability Update. http://bit.ly/cQRw4o
Nav 9 Pricing and Availability Update.: Netbook Navigator has been working hard on getting that Nav 9 to market an… http://bit.ly/dfJ67J
This Nav 9 Slate looks very similar to the ExoPC Slate.
I wonder if the designs are the same.
As we already know the ExoPC will be manufactured in Montreal Canada and it
will have a totally new design being slimmer and new CPU.
Regards Robert
Hello
My name is Jean-Baptiste Martinoli from ExoPC.
Yes We was using the same OEM plateform for the first version of the ExoPC Slate but have decided not to push this product to market and are completing our own product, assembled in Montreal by CiaraTech for this summer.
The reasons we did not go with this OEM product are:
– Very bad screen quality (viewing angle and luminosity)
– Processor too hot, and the fan working too often and make noise
– The quality is a serious issue. More than 3 units on 10 are to be returned to China. So we had to test each unit here in Canada before shipping.
– Battery life: nothing to do with it, even with the new battery
– Leds: when you watch a movie in the dark the leds are brighter than the LCD (really!)
– Size and weight: we are capable today to have something much smaller with more power. This OEM product was developed for XP and not Windows 7 and is using an old Atom.
We thought we could correct several other issues such as the plastic resistive touch screen but we could not due to the factory policy.
I think the product was acceptable for 599USD with Windows AND 32GB SSD (we was not doing any money on it, just pushing the plateform to show our software and work on a new version) but new products coming this summer are far better and we would have not be able to compete seriously after that.
This OEM version is still a good product today as nothing better is yet available. This is an acceptable product for early adopters (capable of running most Windows 7 apps) but you will want to buy something else when the new Windows 7 based products will be available, including our own ExoPC Slate.
Sincerely,
Jean-Baptiste Martinoli
I have personal experience dealing with both of these companies, and I wound up purchasing from netbooknavigator.com for the following reasons:
– Customer Service: ExoPC did not respond to any of my sales inquiries by phone or email. They also do not have any way to submit payment on their website, nor do they give any time frame for delivery. Netbook navigator answered their phone every time I called them, and thoroughly answered every question I had for them.
– Flexibility: ExoPC only offers one option — a 32GB hard drive with no 3G modem. Netbooknavigator.com offers a lot of customization options on their website, so I was able to purchase a 128GB model with 3G.
I received the product 35 days after I placed my order on their website, which was faster than I expected, and let me say it is a beautiful piece of equipment. Those pictures don’t do it any justice. It is very fast with 2GB RAM and loads to desktop in under 20 seconds (Win7 Ultimate).
I don’t notice any of the problems mentioned above, the screen is clear and crisp, and the sound from the built-in speakers was much louder than the ones in my HP laptop. I also dropped it on my carpet while watching a movie on it, and the movie didn’t skip a beat.
I plan on purchasing a few more over the next few months as gifts for my family. They earned themselves a loyal customer.
Regards,
Sean Rappaport
You paid 1424 USD for this configuration (with Windows), I think you are one of the early adopters I was talking about.
To the person from ExoPC, I’m confused on a few points:
1. You claim your company purchased at least 10 of these products from the OEM. Why would you purchase such a large amount of inventory and advertise it publicly if you weren’t happy with the product or actually planning to sell them?
2. Your website says there are none available until summer. If the product works as-is, why wouldn’t you try selling the ones you have to customers who might not care about some of your criticisms?
3. Why don’t you offer any other configurations than the 32GB model?
4. If you are not planning to sell the original product anymore, why are they still being advertised on your website?
Thank you for your questions.
I will try to explain all the story here:
We are a software development company working on an UI layer for tablet PC since years. We found this OEM product on Alibaba is September, 2009 and did many tests. The battery was an issue but we have been promised a new 4 hours battery. The plastic over the touch screen was really cheap but we have been promised something better. Otherwise the computer was fast enough for our UI layer.
We was planning to sell the OEM product with our software and all was correct before we discovered the factory was not exactly honest with us.
For example the product was supposed to have all certifications and we learned is was NOT FCC certified. So we are not supposed to sell it in the US market.
Also we was waiting for a 4H battery but the one we get was not able to juice more than 3h20 for web browsing (less than 3h for video decoding) and with only 150 cycles of charge (after that the battery is dead).
Finally the factory said our prices was too low and they asked us not to sell it at this price. Anyway this product is not FCC so we could not…
When we had the partnership with CiaraTech they took two units and do many tests, including vibration tests and the two units was dead after the tests. I assume this is why this product is not FCC certified.
As CiaraTech have access to all motherboards, processors and components providers on the market we have decided to build our own product with capacitive touch screen, good battery life, better screen and size/weight.
For other configurations than 32GB we have to start with only one product as we work with retail stores. As soon as we will have our first product in stores we will have new versions, including one with more disk space and one with 3G.
The original product is still on our website because we do not have yet the new specs and pictures, but we will have them soon now.
Jean-Baptiste
I talk with the factory today and just want to add something:
– the product itself is still, from my point of view, a good product, probably the best atom based slate available today.
– I don’t know anyone at netbook navigator but the factory said they are one of their reliable resellers.
I confirm this is a good product for early adopters and better products are coming this summer.
They are the same Robert. The Nav 9, TRUtablet and ExoPC Slate (plus a few more) all use the same OEM and have the same specs/option list. Best thing to do would compare the prices with each and see what’s the better bargain.
This is this OEM product:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/281705392/9_Intel_Atom_Touch_Panel_computer.html
Well Mr. ExoPC,
How about letting us know the salient features that u guys are planning to bring to the plate.
few things people dont mention is the imp of screen res (720p), as the web (video content) has moved on to HD (YouTube, etc…) Why cant i watch it on my slate screen and without using 95% CPU. Also the wifi-N and BT3 are even showing up in phones these days, we are talking of a full on Windows slate PC.
and if CiaraTech was so done with the HW part, what are we waiting for…Christmas???
Sid, these tablets carry Netbook Specifications. The HD component is related to the graphics card. The reason you can’t view HD content is because the graphics card these tablets are using is outdated. Standard video playback should be fine however. I think the HP Slate claims to have a graphics card which does support HD playback, but this is yet to be verified.
You will find more info here:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/06/more-details-about-the-exopc-slate-surface/
New res of the screen will be 1366 x 768 pixels.