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Linux Tablet PC Breaks The Sub-$1000 Barrier
A small PC maker and a Linux distributor have teamed up to offer a tablet-style PC for $999, hundreds of dollars less than similar devices running Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition software.
The Helium 2100, from Staten Island, N.Y.-based manufacturer Element Computer, is a convertible PC with a sliding screen that can be positioned for use as a traditional notebook PC or folded down for use as a touch-screen tablet device.
The device runs on a 1GHz Antaur processor from Via Technologies, includes a 30GB hard drive and uses a customized version of the open-source Linux operating system put together by Lycoris, a Seattle-area company that specializes in dressing up Linux with a user interface similar to Microsoft's Windows.
Mike Hjorleiffsson, president of Element Computer, said the company used a reference design from Via and combined standard Linux components with a few customized applications. He said pen-based functions were the most difficult to accommodate. The Helium includes support for basic touch-screen functions, but a full handwriting recognition program is being created for delivery with a software update planned for early next year.
Hjorleiffsson said he expects the Helium to appeal both to Linux converts and companies looking for a low-cost way to experiment with tablet computing. "We have a lot of medical folks looking at it," he said.
Catch the full article over @ CNET News.com
The Helium 2100, from Staten Island, N.Y.-based manufacturer Element Computer, is a convertible PC with a sliding screen that can be positioned for use as a traditional notebook PC or folded down for use as a touch-screen tablet device.
The device runs on a 1GHz Antaur processor from Via Technologies, includes a 30GB hard drive and uses a customized version of the open-source Linux operating system put together by Lycoris, a Seattle-area company that specializes in dressing up Linux with a user interface similar to Microsoft's Windows.
Mike Hjorleiffsson, president of Element Computer, said the company used a reference design from Via and combined standard Linux components with a few customized applications. He said pen-based functions were the most difficult to accommodate. The Helium includes support for basic touch-screen functions, but a full handwriting recognition program is being created for delivery with a software update planned for early next year.
Hjorleiffsson said he expects the Helium to appeal both to Linux converts and companies looking for a low-cost way to experiment with tablet computing. "We have a lot of medical folks looking at it," he said.
Catch the full article over @ CNET News.com
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