Given that webOS is making its merry way over the open road, there’s no telling what tablets and other mobile phones it might inspire on the upcoming months. For the time being, the Linux world ‘s all abuzz over what offers to be the very first fully open tablet around: the Spark, a tool slated to ship in May from the one and only the KDE Plasma Active community itself.

The important points are already coming fast and furious; preorder signup begins now. Will FOSS fans jump at the chance? That, of course, may be the million-dollar question ringing through the blogosphere, on Slashdot and beyond. “It is good to see Linux entering the tablet space … [but] the Spark is the wrong device to start with,” said Roberto Lim, a lawyer and blogger on Mobile Raptor. “My first issue is the price: The $138 Android tablet is transformed into a $260 Linux tablet. By the time this hits the market, Android equivalents will be selling for $99 or less.” The Spark’s hardware, meanwhile, “is lackluster.”

I Have High Hopes

“I’m still not in love with the tab format, but I bet it would are better like a full computing device compared to a scaled-up mobile phone,” ventured consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack. Indeed, “I’m really excited about the ‘Spark’ — when it truly is fully open, it’ll be the first ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY) tablet available,” enthused Thoughts on Technology blogger and Bodhi Linux lead developer Jeff Hoogland. “I have high hopes until this device can truly deliver what so many other ARM devices don’t: a fully open system,” Hoogland added. “So many ARM tools are a nightmare to do business with alternative os on because of closed binary drivers; heck, the Raspberry Pi will likely be shipping which has a closed-source GPU driver. “I hope the Spark will be the initially many devices to alter this trend,” he concluded. “Closed source software does not encourage innovation — it stifles it.”

They Are Clearly on the Right Path

Similarly, “I applaud the trouble,” agreed Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who utilizes a LedgerSMB project. “I wish them success. And in many cases whenever they fail and in the end quit, at least it’s going to have been a unique failure.” Using the project’s initial announcement and FAQ, “I think they may be clearly on the right track,” Travers opined.Needless to say, “this doesn’t suggest they shall be able to make it work,” he stated. “It does mean, however, which they no less than have a shot (probably after several failures!) to have it right and convey a really open tablet for the market.”
‘It Is definitely a Hard Sell’ Openness is “a remarkable thing,” Travers mused. “It’s very valuable, but it is a very hard sell to consumers, perhaps because consumers don’t realize how closed their systems are, or possibly because people are more comfortable with appliances than by using computer systems.”It is my hope that they can score enough sales using the geek community to obtain the funds to obtain things right more than a couple iterations,” he stated. “Then they could make a more general push for the general market.”Roberto Lim, a lawyer and blogger on Mobile Raptor, wasn’t convinced.

The Wrong Device

Lim does not have any promises to purchase a tablet himself, but “it is nice to find out Linux entering the tablet space,” he soon started. Unfortunately, “the Spark will be the wrong device in the first place,” Lim opined. “As pointed out by Slashdot, this can be a rebranded version of the Zenithink ZT-180 C71, an Android 2.3 tablet,” he was quoted saying. “My first concern is the value: the US$138 Android tablet is changed into a US$260 Linux tablet. As soon as this hits the marketplace, Android equivalents will likely be selling for US$99 or less.” The Spark’s hardware, meanwhile, “is lackluster,” Lim said.
‘You Really Have to Love Linux’ Its 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, by way of example, “won’t do a best wishes of presenting the nice-looking KDE interface,” Lim predicted. The 3000 mAh battery, meanwhile, “will provide less battery life than its competitors.” The existing 7-inch Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab features a 4000 mAh battery and Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) Amazon kindle fire includes a 4400 mAh battery, Lim pointed out. “I can almost start to see the first reviews: ‘Poor display, sub-par life of the battery and overpriced,’” he concluded. “Might be a good tool for developers looking to develop apps for that second-generation Spark and also other upcoming Linux tablets, but you need to love Linux to need this tablet.”

Absolute Trash

Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes on “Tom” on the site, took much the same view. “Now there’s a gutsy business strategy plan: take an obsolete Zenithink C71 that will set you back $120, with everything nobody wants in a very tablet — bad life cycle of battery, no Android or Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) app support, no app store, single core, the lowest-spec camcorder possible — install KDE about it and and tell the world you’ll sell it in excess of twice as much,” Hudson said. “By come july 1st you’ll be able to buy quad-core tablets that run the most up-to-date Android for the same $260 price.”

Even besides price, however, “the software packages are absolute trash,” Hudson opined. In a nutshell, “it’s a safe and secure bet there will not be enough pre-orders to actually position the Spark into production,” she predicted.

The Dell Problem

And again: “While it’s nice theoretically, you can buy the exact same unit in the similar vendor with Android for up to 35 percent cheaper,” Slashdot blogger hairyfeet observed. “THAT will be the overuse injury in a nutshell.” For consumer devices to complete well, “either are looking for a market, like Apple while using boutique high-end market, or perhaps you need massive economies of scale like what MSFT does with OEMs and system builders,” hairyfeet explained. “The challenge with these small runs is that you simply simply can’t get enough of a deal through the ODMs to find the pricing that say Cowon or Asus gets because they are literally buying these chips by the shipping crate,” he added. “Basically you have into what I call the ‘Dell problem,’ in places you end up attempting to compete with someone like Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) measuring only making typically $8 profit per unit sold,” hairyfeet concluded. “A smaller group simply can’t stay afloat.” So, “when the average consumer sees this or perhaps the identical unit with Android for $80 cheaper? It is a no-brainer,” he stated. “There simply aren’t enough individuals who value software freedom over a supplementary $80 inside their pocket.”

Source : Technewsworld

Related posts: