While I Wait For My Tablet

• Prologue: While I wait for for my new tablet I will prepare for it as much as I can. Its a been a long wait to its actual release as the Google Asus Nexus 7 on June 27, 2012 with delivery in mid July. For the very affordable price of $199 for 8 Gig and $250 for the 16Gig.

• ASUS Nexus 7 Specs: It comes with a 7” 1280x800 HD display at (216 ppi), Back-lit IPS display, Scratch-resistant, Corning glass, 1.2MP front-facing camera. Quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 7.8"H x 4.7"W X .41"D, 11.99 oz, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB, Bluetooth, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), 4325 mAh (Up to 8 hours of active use), up to 16 GB internal storage, 1 GB RAM, Microphone, NFC (Android Beam), Accelerometer, GPS, Magnetometer, Gyroscope. An excellent review from Verge  My spec and link sheet

My wood training tablet

 • My Tablet Size Test: From the Palm Pilot Wiki article it states that Palm Pilot creator Hawkins  "carried a block of wood, the size of the potential Pilot, in his pocket for a week."  Not knowing this I had also already made a 1/2 piece wood the size of the tablet to try out the fit in my various jacket pockets, after is actual release as the Nexus 7 I adjusted its size. At the 4.7" width it seems to fit nicely in most of my inside jackets pockets. It is mostly my suit jackets that do not have a big enough inside pocket. It will fit in the front suit pockets nicely, but I could not really store it there, as it does stick out the top and would just look wrong, (Can you spell geek?) This mock tablet has shown me that it is often hard to keep the 7" size with me so the size may be optimal for reading but also a detriment for mobility. 


 • My Past Device History: It was very useful to me but it is finally time to retire my old Palm Tungsten E2 to an easy life as an address book. My Palm E2 has been great for meetings and life activities but it does have a small lag along with serious storage size and connectivity issues.  My wood training tablet does not seem to cut it either, and I am board of it lol ;) I have found my PDA has been great for meetings when I am not feeling well to keep up with and follow along. 


 • My Tablet Needs and Uses: I want my new device to be able to hold all the Isilo media and also to be easy keep EPUB and mp3 publications up to date directly from the web (This would be a new handy feature for me). This will make it even easier to keep it updated for use at meetings and conventions as needed. I also enjoyed the use my PDA outside in the yard and will continue to use my tablet for the same thing, so a good outside reading screen is a must for me. I will also use my Google number to make WiFi phone calls and just to be plain handy when traveling or shopping.


 • A Protective Case: I will decide on a slim case to protect my device but still have the easiest jacket pocket fitting as is possible. I will also choose a screen protector film to protect the screen from scratches. This will be a valuable investment to me and I will need to protect it. Extra accident insurance plans can be costly so these measures are cheap by comparison.


 • My Media Uses: One of the first things I'll do purchase Isilo for Android and install my entire library on my SD card. Isilo was so very useful on my Palm E2 and even on my desktop for following along with meetings that I would never be without it. I will pick up a 32gig SD card to expand my new devices internal 16Gig memory to 48 Gig. I then will load it up with Isilo and Epub books, Magazines, MP3's, Dramas and Dramatic Bible readings and even Videos.


 • Apps I plan to use: Isilo, A time keeper, Epub JWreader, MP3 Audio Player, Video Player, Medication Reminder. Some apps that I plan to load and others to try are marked at AppAware.com


 • My Review:  I know there are plenty of other reviews out there, but hey, I'll have my own opinions as well. My review will also cover theocratic usages that other reviews may not. I will place my tablets photo's in a Picasa Album. I will also add any videos to my YouTube Channel.


Other than my personal comments, Source material is gathered from around the web.

Palm Tungsten E2

My current Palm Tungsten E2 and my even older Palm Pilot

 • My Comments: My Palm E2 has been a GREAT tool for me. It is still very useful even though the battery life has shortened. I hope my next tablet serves me so well for so many years. I really do look forward to better WiFi usage, A bigger screen, and more than 1 Gig storage for Apps and MP3's on a newer tablet.




 •  Features: Bluetooth sync, IR file transfer, Cable sync(with XP and older), Propitiatory cable, One Gig full size SD card reader, Wi-Fi card option.


 • Bad: Outdated to get software, Battery getting weak. Bluetooth sync, IR file transfer, cable sync, Proprietary cable sync with XP and older PC's only, Wi-Fi card is Clunky/Buggy, Wi-Fi snail slow, incompatible with many sites, WiFi needs reset often, WiFi file size DL limit. Small screen, does not view Epub or PDF. Can be slow to respond, Photos in documents lag.


 • Good:  Screen looks and works great and has great color. Resistive touch sensitivity great with stylus, nail or even a knuckle. 1 Gig on this unit is usable unless you want to store pictures, MP3's or a movie. I do own 3- one Gig SD cards for it. I use few videos so this has not been an issue. Video clips look good although small. Reading on it using the 'iSilo' App has been great.


 • Palm E2 specs from Wiki page: "The Tungsten E2, introduced on April 13, 2005 replaced the similarly named Tungsten E, has 32 MB of memory (29.7 available), a 200 MHz Intel XScale processor, 320x320 Transflective TFT color display, and runs Palm OS Garnet v5.4.7. It is 4.5 tall by 3.1 wide by .59 inches thick (114 x 79 x 15 mm) and weighs 4.7 ounces (133 g). It has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, a longer lasting battery than the Tungsten E, has Bluetooth capability, and a single speaker on the back." Paragraph from: Palm Tungsten Wiki

My original Palm Pilot

• Before My Palm E2 I had a the classic Palm Pilot which I used before replaced it withe my Palm E2. Notice from the Wiki article below that it states the Palm Pilot creator Hawkins "carried a block of wood, the size of the potential Pilot, in his pocket for a week." Not knowing this I had also already made a block of wood the size of the ASUS 370T prototype tablet to try out in my various jacket pockets. "The first two generations of PDAs from Palm were referred to as "Palm-Pilots" has entered the vernacular as a synonym for PDA regardless of the brand. Before starting development of the Pilot, Hawkins said he carried a block of wood, the size of the potential Pilot, in his pocket for a week." Paragraph from: Palm Pilot Wiki


• Acronym history: You old timers might remember when tablets and smart phones were referred to as PDA's(Personal Digital Assistant). The fact that PDA's are still remembered is proof that Microsoft, Apple and Android all had older kinfolk before them, lest they should forget there elders.


• Future: I expect my next tablet to be the Nexus 7 which was based on the ASUS 370T that was announced at CES 2012. 

 • The Palm specifications and history are directly taken from the two Wiki articles.

Anticipating Google Nexus 7

 • As I have been looking for a 7" tablet I have been using a spreadsheet to compare ebooks and tablets for purchase because of the limitations of so many. I added this article to share results from that sheet in an easier to read format. I have looked carefully, especially between the Thrive 7 and the Galaxy Tab+ and find even though these are among the better 7" tablets they each have weaknesses. With the showing of the Asus 370T at the 2012 CES I was thoroughly impressed. Finally my search to find the best screen, battery life, full android market, together all at a good price may finally be realized. It has all the ports, battery life and reputation to be a high end tablet. Its only compromise seems to be that it may have no rear flash and no front camera, if you can live with this then one may have just found the 7" tablet that one has been looking for. There will always be another tablet coming around the corner, but this one is enough to make one really stop and be satisfied with. At the now expected price of $199.00 it will beat the 'Nook Color 2'' by $50 and be the same price as the 'Kindle Fire' for a VERY MUCH better tablet.

 • The 370T and the Google "Nexus 7" ???: The "ME370T" may have been reborn as the 'Google "Nexus 7" for $199 using a new Nvidia "Kia" process as announced at the May 2012 Nvidia investors meeting(30min. in) to help lower the price and still keep the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core. The Google Nexus 7 has been bench-marked at RightWare.com on may 12, 2012 that confirms many Nexus rumors as fact. The ME370T went through the FCC on May 29, 2012. So will we get both?, or just the Nexus 7? The Google Nexus tablet will be sold at the Google Play Store. If the 370T is still to be made perhaps it will still show up later.

 • 370T General Features: Subject to change but was stated at 2012 CES to have 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSD card reader, WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS, micro HDMI port. Videos for up to 8.5 hours as stated pre-release by MFG. 8 megapixel rear camera only with auto-focus with a large F/2.2 aperture for taking clearer images with great depth of field but no flash. No front camera was slated at that time. Optimized media center user interface. Non-slip textured plastic back. Screenshot software button. Google Play Market and open to add others. These  features subject to change if ever released.

  • NVIDIA Quad 4-PLUS-1 (5)Core Tegra 3 Cortex-A9 processor: There are (4-PLUS-1)=5 cores that kick in as needed according to CPU needs on the Tegra 3 processor . The 5th low power (Ninga) companion core(up to 500Mhz) runs during low power needs to save battery life. But as needed the CPU can ramp up the other cores up to 1.3GHz. The four fast cores are used for higher intensity tasks such as gaming and HD video streaming, launching apps smoother and loading Web pages, Even making UI operations snappier. This processor tested at around twice the speed of other processors at the time of writing. Kal-El was the project name that this core was created under. Of course there will be faster CPU's coming out, but price for the buck this one is fantastic. 4-PLUS-1 is a licensed trademark created for this processor. Most likely to use Nvidia's new "Kia" technology to help keep the price down. It also sports a 12 core NVIDIA ULP GeForce GPU.

 • 730T Rear Camera: f/2.4 - 8MP camera that’s capable of shooting 1080p video, 5-element lens, Auto focus, Camcorder at 1920x1080 (1080p HD), Color enhancement, No flash. The same 8MP camera on the Asus Transformer Prime is well liked.

 • Battery life: There are 5 cores that are turned on/off as needed to run at lowest power needed thus saving battery power. The 5th (Ninja) 500Mhz companion core runs at very low power when needs are few like when reading, running audio or even video.

 • Software / UI: Software that generally comes with ASUS tablet are: ASUS Launcher, ASUS Waveshare UI, Polaris® Office® 3.0 mobile office which provides documents (.doc), spreadsheets (.xls) and presentation (.ppt) file making and sharing. ultra-convenient 8GB EeeSky (WebStorage space) provides worry-free cloud computing, and is free forever.  Newspapers from Press reader, magazines from Zinio and books from Amazon Kindle. Based on actual Transformer series bundled software.

 • Nexus 7 Availability The Nexus 7's final reveal was on June 27, 2012 at Google I/O. It was announced to be available for purchase immediately and delivered in July.

 • Acronym Trivia The series Star Trek has long used the acronym PADD (Personal Access Display Device) for there tablets in their television series which is very similar to the acronym PAD(Personal Access Device) that some devices use. As far as ASUS company acronyms I had to look it up to see that 'Eee' has been stated to mean both "Easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play" and "Easy, Excellent, Exciting" so take your pick. ASUS, is pronounced Ae-suse and was originally taken from the mythological creature Pegasus. You old timers might remember when tablets and smart phones were referred to as PDA's(Personal Digital Assistant). I still have my old Palm Pilot and Palm Tungsten E2. Proof that Microsoft, Apple and Android had older kinfolk before them lest we should forget our elders.

 •  If I do purchase this tablet look for a review sometime after my purchase which will not be so much about specs as they are already covered here and all over the web, but about my experience with this tablet< Future Link. Meanwhile I have done more Device Research.

 * This articles specs based on statements and reporters from CES. It is a given that CES specs are subject to change upon tablet release and so will this article and its sources.

 • If you want the specs, reference and rumor source material for this tablet article you can go to my 370T spec comparison spreadsheet where I originally gathered information sources for this article. I placed my photo's in a Picasa Album. I also added some videos to my YouTube Channel.
All personal comments are mine. Specs are compiled from chosen sources from across the web.

About Paul and Kathy Allen

Paul and Kathy's Blog

• Here is a link to our Paul and Kathy Allen blog about How we met, My parents, and our life together.   
• Articles here at Paul's Place are for my own blogs starting with my 7" tablet research and experiences.  Stay tuned and Enjoy from there!!