Touch Book

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Touch Book
Always Innovating Touch Book
ManufacturerAlways Innovating
TypeNetBook, smartbook, UMPC
Operating systemFork of Ångström (Linux), Ubuntu, Android
CPUOverclocked 720 MHz OMAP3530 ARM Cortex-A8 (32-bit) and 420 MHz DSP core, NEON support[1]
Memory512 MB low power DDR-333
StorageSDHC slot with 8 GB SD card, 256 MB internal NAND
Inputtouchscreen, keyboard, touchpad and supports any external USB input device
ConnectivityWi-Fi, 7× USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth
Websitewww.alwaysinnovating.com

The Touch Book is a portable computing device that functions as a netbook, and a tablet computer. Designed by Always Innovating, a company situated in the city of Menlo Park, in California, USA,[2] it was launched at the DEMO conference in March 2009.[3] Its designers stated at launch that it is the first netbook featuring a detachable keyboard with a long battery life (more than 10 hours[4]). It is based on the ARM TI OMAP3530 processor (taking advantage of the Beagleboard and existing open source software) and features a touchscreen.

First units to customers were shipped in August 2009.[5] There were some (expected) software issues for early adopters, which are being progressively addressed. There were also some hardware issues, which resulted in community discontent.[6]

After much speculation on the community forum, a revised v.2 Touch Book and new Smart Book product were announced.[7] The Smart Book is based on the BeagleBoard-xM design.[8]

Overview

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The Touch Book, in its "reverse" mode

The Touch Book is a netbook and a touch tablet device. It features a detachable keyboard, a removable back cover to access the electronics of the device, and several Linux distributions shipped by default and offered via a multiboot system.

The default operating system launched is a custom Linux OS based on Ångström, being custom themed to fit the small form factor. Since 2010, the Touch Book comes with a multi-boot graphical interface, allowing users to run also Ubuntu and Android. Users can install other OSes like Gentoo[9] and RISC OS.[10]

Touch Book's major intended uses are media viewing and web browsing, although more power-hungry applications such as OpenOffice.org are available on the device. The Touch Book ships standard graphics libraries such as OpenGL ES and SDL.

The Always Innovating team claims the device follows an open hardware philosophy, so that anyone can access the hardware design from the company's website,[11] modify it and redistribute it. Although the business model of open hardware is still maturing, it seems to be profitable to the company[12]

In addition to this open hardware approach, the Touch Book fully relies on open source software. A Git repository of the entire OS is currently available, allowing for download of the latest kernel source as well as the different root file systems.[13] A community of contributors has emerged[14] and is interacting with the Always Innovating developers.

Technical specifications

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Similar products

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Other single-board computers using OMAP3500 series processors include OSWALD,[15] Beagle Board, IGEPv2, Pandora and Gumstix Overo series. Since launch of the device in March 2009, several similar devices have come up in early 2010, such as the Freescale tablet reference design[16] or the Lenovo U1 IdeaPad.[17] or the Panasonic Toughbook.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Touch Book specifications". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  2. ^ "Always Innovating – Meldungen". Teltarif.de. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  3. ^ "Launch of the Touch Book at DEMO '09". Demo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  4. ^ "Official Always Innovating Site". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  5. ^ "IRC Log for 2009-08-23". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  6. ^ "AI official forum: Hardware " Touch Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  7. ^ "AI news – Tue September 14, 2010: Announcing the Smart Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  8. ^ "It's a MID, a tablet, a netbook, even an external display!". linuxfordevices.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.
  9. ^ "Gentoo on the Touch Book". Disi.me. Archived from the original on 2010-08-29.
  10. ^ "RISC OS on Touchbook first steps". riscos.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  11. ^ "Always Innovating Open Hardware". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  12. ^ "Open Hardware takes baby steps toward the gadget mainstream". Computerworld.com. 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  13. ^ "Always Innovating open git repository". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  14. ^ "Touch Book contributors". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  15. ^ "Computer Science Platform for Learning - Trac". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  16. ^ Chen, Jason. "Freescale Tablet Hands On: This Is Last-Gen". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  17. ^ "Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid hands-on and impressions". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
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