The $189 Smart Devices Q7 web-pad story gets more exciting today as we’ve received some live pics of the device. ElectroWorld, the strange looking Chinese website that many of us would probably avoid, have come up trumps after we contacted them for a purchase. They also tell us they will have a device ‘next week.’ We assume this will be a sample which could mean a 1-2 month wait for the first production run. We hope we’re wrong but we’ll check it out and get back to you.
At $180, the only real question for gadget fans is, what colour? I’d go for Lime Green just to be disruptive and clash with that brown leather sofa you find in every coffee shop these days.
Click to see full size versions in our gallery.
This isn’t going to be a fast browsing device, the build quality needs to be checked out and there will be limitations on the China-focused software stack but if they get the quality right, (a big ‘if’) and offer some better colours, this is a no-brainer for the coffee-table. I’m thinking TV-Guide, auto-updating Friendfeed, Last.fm radio, public transport timetable, picture frame (tuned to the Flickr ultra mobile PC tag of course!), there must be a thousand uses. What would you do with it?
Can you imagine what a dev community would add to this? Maemo, Mer and Android communities would love it. I’m sure ARM’s partners, Techcrunch and the old Pepperpad teams are paying attention too!
Update. I have had further contact with Electroworld and have decided to order. They offered me a Paypal option so I have payed $240 inclusive delivery. Ill have German import tax of 19% on top of that. No dates yet but Electroworld have promised to send more specs when they get the sample on May 12th. First production run will, as is normal, be limited.
Update 2. Electroworld have said that shipment could be next week. Soon after 12th May.
New article: Smart Q7 Tablet – Live Pics and Availability. http://cli.gs/YHs0bz
id buy that for a dollar
Hmmmmm…..am very interested to see what this little device is made of. If indeed it turns out to be a) real and b) decent quality, it will definitely be selling like hotcakes!
The $189 price point puts it into the “impulse buy” category and Chippy is very correct when he says that lots of folks would have a wonderful time dreaming up different uses for it and seeing what they can add on to it software-wise.
I have been searching for months for a nice tablet or slate-form device that I can use primarily to surf the Web on the couch or in bed. A keyboard would be nice, but not really necessary; 7″ screen minimum (which puts the Viliv S5 out of the picture); decent handwriting recognition for short notes or quick emails/tweets etc; WiFi & BT of course and preferably under 2.5lbs, so holding it in one hand for extended periods is painless. Oh, and it must be able to rotate into portrait mode for reading ebooks.
The Samsung Q1EX is high on my list right now, but the $750 price tag is waaaaay too high. Am waiting to see what the Viliv S7 looks like when it is released, as I am impressed by the positive reviews that the S5 has received. That screen is just a little too small though.
The UMID M1 is out because it is not a convertible; the Asus T91 looks promising, but has yet to be released and the Gigabyte T1028M Touchnote is too heavy for my intended use.
Can anybody point me towards a device I might have missed?
Chippy, am waiting with baited breath for further developments with this little device – should be interesting!
Viliv x70 with win7 will probably interest you. Keep watching as ive heard a few rumors in the last weeks that point towards a release soon.
Thanks for the tip, will definitely keep my eyes glued to this space! :-)
Also curious to see what Nokia is going to come up with for the next version of their N810. Should be interesting.
Thank god, cause I havent heard anything about these devices in forever and its been driving me nuts… I’ve followed the s7/x70 since viliv first posted. I figured they’d want to get the s5 out of the door before intoducing the next in line.
Chippy based on what you have heard what does soon mean. Are we talking 2 weeks or a month? Im ordering a S5 but id rather have the X70 atom. Also do you know if this so called release is going to be available in the US?
i guess a month to two months for a local launch. This means longer for imports from the usual suspects.
Steve
That sucks! I talked to Dynamism last week and they said that they will most likely carry it. I just feel its stupid for viliv to not release any pricing or availabilty info. Chippy what do you think were looking at for a price point?
I doubt it costs any more to make so it’s a question of marketing. With it not being pocketable, maybe they would make it the same price.
Well the only thing i could see that drives cost up is the screen size. But in the end im hoping you are right because if it has the same specs and price of the S5 then ill def wait. My only concern is 1) are they using a 1.8 drive or a 2.5 2) is the ram still sodered on and 3) will they opt for the 1.6 atom cpu over the 1.33.
Have you considered the kohjinsha SC3 or related products. Assuming they’ve worked the early bugs out I don’t see what you would lack. (Ask chippy about the status re the bugs.)
Actually, yes – the SC3 is on my short list too! After reading a very nice review of the device by Jenn over at Pocketables, it went onto my list. Think the only major drawbacks are short Batt life and sluggish HD, but for my needs (web browsing and eReader) it should be adequate. What say you, Chippy? Is the SC3 a decent little device?
The sc3 is better with w7. i like it but its too big for thumbing. If it had better battery life, it would make an excelent reader. The base price is good these days so its much beter value than it was. Good quality build.
Steve
interestingly it seems to share hardware and os with the smaller smartq5, and this thread may be of interest then:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=27433
You might hate me but I got my dell mini 9 for that much. I also got my iphone for close to that but it is an unfair comparison dut to the subscription subsidies. Both are more functional. L
One thing i didn’t like on the website screen images is the amount of wasted space – far too large window headers and scroll bars, and element spacing.
Hopefully someone will come up with a better front end which doesn’t need to waste as much room. All the apps need to run fullscreen with a simple application switch button.
At $189 it’s tempting, but how much is shipping etc.
maybe we can get dynamism, mobilx or someone to do a bulk purchase for us. Cheaper shipping and maybe even a discount.
Don’t forget, $189 is the WHOLESALE asking price on the Chinese site. There will be import fees plus profit margins on top. I think the first guess of about $250, sounds about right.
If someone will take up Chippy on a bulk purchase, you can definitely put me down for one – but not those horrible pink or green colors!
Well mentioned Steve.
Its a bit more for me here in germany.
Ive just ordered on for $240 inc delivery. Add tax and youre at $285. I expect a reseller could get that down t0 $260 all inclusive. $250 sounds right for the US.
Ill keep you all updated. and will communicate with any reseller thats interested.
Its fun to have a product come out of the blue like this.
More info on the Q5 & Q7 available on LinuxDevices at http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7369824937.html
Your perseverance has paid off. I hope the device you have in your hands turns out to be the bargain you think it was. Will be awaiting your tweets.
E World also offers A680 – 7″ ARM11 tablet on Android! that weghts 600gm – for $220
http://www.eletroworld.cn/
i dont get why people some peple like having so many different devices, desktop, laptop, smartphone, 7″ couch browser. i find maintaining so many environments (settings, patches, softwares, etc) & keeping them in sync is a PITA.
i dont mean this in an offensive way, but i wonder if people who regularly use so many devices actually have a life outside of computers? as much as i like computing its nice to take a break once in awhile & do something else. it makes coming back to the computer even more fun.
Cant speak for anyone else, but no, no life outside of computers ;)
Hey! I have a job but, well, yes, count me in too ;-)
The Mer community is already on it :-)
They’ve been talking about the Q7 in the “competitors” section, under the Q5’s entry, on the maemo/internet-tablet-talk forums. Like you, we’re hoping for a 9″ or 10″ version :-)
One of the Mer developers apparently has a Q5 and has been playing with it.
Hi Guys,
Been weighing up lots of devices over the last few months and struggling to settle on something. I’ve got a Toshiba M400 Tablet PC but find it’s just to bulky/heavy to use regularly in the way I intended.
I’m looking for something I can grab and take into mettings etc. and use as my primary note taking device. When out and about, can just use a smartphone. I’m thinking more when you are actually sat down.
I want to make it feel a little more informal than when you have the laptop in front of you and start pounding on the keyboard. So was thinking of using OneNote with either handwriting Recognition or Shapewriter.
The question is, can you reliably use a 7″ screen for doing that sort of thing. Particularly when you might be wanting to do some quick sketches as like flow diagrams for example as well as text?
My gut feeling having looked at some non touch netbooks in the shop, is that 7″ screens fook too small to feel like a notepad to write on.
I was thinking 8.9″ was about right. I appreciate that these are softtouch, not active digitiser, but I think I can adapt to that by using landscape,/keeping writing panel near the edge etc.
I was looking at the Gigabyte 912, then thought Asus T91 and then Kohjinsha SX3 (This would make a good dvd player in the car as well).
But I’m worried it might still be too heavy/ Would a 7″ screen really be big enough ?
Your opinions would be much appreciated…
Zuber
Hi, Zuber:
I regularly use a Tablet Kiosk eo 7209 which has a 7″ screen. Isometimes use it in my vehicle together with a (AT&T) modem. I use it with Evernote but, for some reason, the writing ability with Evernote is not good. On all other ink applications it is very acceptable but with Evernote, no.
I have recently been trying the ‘DialKeys’ keyboard and finding that acceptable, too. (see here for a recent JKonTheRun article on Dialkeys: http://jkontherun.com/2009/05/09/dialkeys-gen-2-on-screen-keyboard-for-umpcs/)
With the other apps I use in the office, at meetings, etc, I find the screen size to be very good and, as you say, not as intrusive as pulling out a laptop, even a 7 incher. I recently got rid of a Fujitsu Lifebook 1610 (8.9″) simply because I could see people getting irritated every time I pulled it out at a meeting. They don’t seem to mind when I pull out the 7209 – crazy, isn’t it.
I would love to use a Viliv 5 but my eyes can’t handle it. I have the Nokia N800, which I dearly love, but surfing on that 4.8″ screen drive me crazy. It hurts my eyes and my brain.
For me, a seven incher is very portable without being oversize or heavy.
If I had to wear a jacket for work, I would consider having an extra inside pocket added, bearing in mind that the projected weight of the Viliv is less than 2/3 of the 7209 (the 7209 weighs in at just over 1 lb 13 oz / 825g – the Viliv is supposed to be around 450g)
More directly to your question; I find writing on 7″ better because than 9″ because my wrist seems to rest more naturally on the base of the PC rather than on the screen and this cuts out superfluous screen touches as being misread.
“I would love to use a Viliv 5 but my eyes can’t handle it. I have the Nokia N800, which I dearly love, but surfing on that 4.8″ screen drive me crazy. It hurts my eyes and my brain”
that’s great! but it’s not because of the screen. That’s because of the desktop UI!
In my experience, there’s no problem with the N800’s UI. That was never the source of my frustrations on the N800 or N810’s screen. It was definitely the lack of screen real-estate when I was trying to take notes, or do more than that, in a meeting.
Away from that environment, the N800/N810 was just fine for highly mobile activities.
In neither case was the UI the problem.
I waited a long time for the SmartQ 5 and read a lot about it, but from what I heard from reviews and owners of the SmartQ 5 it has put me off both the Q5 and the Q7 (I believe they will be running the exact same software, Ubuntu)
My reasons are >>>
1. SmartQ have not create an english menu system yet! Only language currently avilable is Chinese.
2. You are looking at a 1 minute + startup time on the Q5.
3. Vertical scrolling within the midori web browser is apparently a nightmare, very laggy and jumpy.
4. No flash support
5. The overall performance of the Q5 is said to be very sluggish mainly due to the paltry 128mb of ram and the relatively heavy Ubuntu OS. Many are saying that maemo would have been a far more suitable option. As mentioned A port is however a real possibility once the community gets hold.
On the plus side I hear battery performance is good. Hopefully some kind of Fw updates will solve these issues but until I see some kind of evidence of this I will not be getting hold of a Q5 or a Q7 any time soon.
Thanks for the input Sere83
I agree, this isn’t going to be a fast device but the price, that battery life and the exciting possibility of some community hacks turns this into an exciting pad.
yes, i think once the community get hold it could get interesting. Im just not sure the ARM11/Ubuntu pairing is ideal. I think a more lightweight OS would have been more appropriate and certainly helped a lot in the speed departement.
However, unlike many chinese pmp/dap manufacturers SmartQ are focussed on updating their products too. I own one of their earlier Daps the T5 and it isn’t a bad a little player, the os is based on uclinux.
I heard that SmartQ have actually quit manufacturing all their dap/pmp devices and are now focussing exclusively on MID’s which should mean they can spend a bit more time optimising the software.
I do think though that with nice software this ARM11 based hardware config is still pretty capable, like you say not lightening fast but con provide a reasonable web/media experience. I look forward to hearing what u think of it!
Chippy
It can have 1024*600 screen, still on ARM 11? It’s so lightweight, that would be logical to ask – can they make it with 9″ screen? 10″? 12″?
Das SmartQ 7 Internet Tablet will in nichts nachstehen und zeigt sich in bunter Pracht :: erhaeltlich ab CNY1.289 :: http://short.to/8v9p
Hi, I’m looking at the SmartQ7, mainly to use as a PIM and notetaker, but also as an ebook. I download heaps of tech manuals / reports at work and don’t get time to read them. Hate sitting in front of the pc all night to keep up, so thought a tablet would be the go.
Please excuse the dumb question, but i don’t call myself ‘newbie’ for nothing. Does anyone know if the SmartQ7 has handwriting recognition built in, which can be used for any application that is installed? There is reference to this earlier in this forum, but to get a defenite yes would be nice.
May i make a recommendation? I think that youve got something good in this article. But let’s say you included a couple of links to a internet page that backs up exactly what you are saying? Or perhaps you could give us some thing to look at, something that would associate what youre expressing to one thing tangible? Just a bit of advice.