We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It. • Hacker News Board

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#101

Post by h34t » Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 9:50 PM UTC

rickd wrote: post #96

I thought everyone here at HN was ....well, to put it simply, less negative. I mean, YC is all about doing new things, revolutionary or even just evolutionary changes to existing products or markets. Thinking outside the box. Changing! (etc etc ad nauseum). Why did this thread devolve into "it can't be done" or "it can't be done that cheaply" or "it's just product x" or, finally, "its just revision n+y of product x"…

My negative bias comes from having attempted a hardware development project in the past, with similarly ambitious and optimistic time frames, only to have reality kick in and demoralize the team by having the project drag on and on far beyond our projections (but well within industry norms).

I think it's an awesome, exciting project that the world wants to happen. But if it turns out that the original timeline is skewed heavily toward irrational optimism, it may be demoralizing to those involved to have their expectations repeatedly quashed. However I may be wrong here, because if the supply chain company that's involved is being realistic and has experience, I may be the one who is off-base about the timeline.

(I posted more details of my experience on the main thread).

I agree with you that a lot of comments on here are negative without adding any value, ie. no new data / insights, just content-less, emotional pessimism.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#102

Post by jodrellblank » Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 10:07 PM UTC

river_styx wrote: post #11

Isn't he basically describing an iPod Touch with a bigger screen?

No.

Sites I want YC to fund include a new product review site. One that focuses on the details of a device's software rather than pure hardware spec. The iPhone/iPod touch is far from just a tablet with firefox (safari) on it.

It's understandable, affordant, responsive, coherent, slick, sleek, predictable, wonderful. It has QWAN by the bucket load. It DWIM.

And you don't get a feel for that in a review that talks about its 128Mb RAM and 400Mhz processor and IMAP email support. That makes it sound identical to my Windows Mobile HTC, yet between the two is a vast yawning cavern of difference.

What he describes is, frankly, a crap idea. It's got a big touch screen, processor, memory, storage, OS, power supply, video card, mainboard, USB controller, WLAN, but No keyboard, and with extremely limited software.

Yes, a general computer with extremely limited software. Exactly what drives the development of OpenMoko, pwnagetool, Linux, ipodlinux, DD-WRT and openWRT, linux for the PS2 and on and on.

Has he seen the Asus EEE inspired Dell E? The other dozens of small, cheap, wireless-enabled, flash driven linux subnotebooks?

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#103

Post by Paz » Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 10:33 PM UTC

ivankirigin wrote: post #27

Can someone point out a successful open source hardware effort? I'm tracking bug labs, open moko, and some router efforts. None are mainstream. None come close to the appeal of Apple products. Hardware is really hard. Most people reading TechCrunch probably don't understand this.

I'd consider the Monome a successful open source hardware project. There are three production versions, a kit, and a lot of community created software. It is popular enough that they auction for over the original price and there is a waiting list to purchase them.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#104

Post by christefano » Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 11:22 PM UTC

imp wrote: post #10

He really is just describing a Nokia N810 tablet. When a reader suggested that, Arrington replied: "yes, although we want to build it a lot cheaper and have a much bigger screen." So, he expects to replicate the N810, but with a bigger screen and better price? How is he going to beat Nokia and still make a profit?

It sounds like the techcrunchies haven't actually used the Nokia N810. Just like their dream web tablet, the N810 already uses a Linux kernel, runs Firefox, Skype and plays Flash and other media. It also just hit their $299 price point.

They dismissed it, however, and said they want a bigger screen, even though it has has a fantastic 800x480 resolution and 225 pixels per inch (compared to the iPhone's 480x320 resolution and 160 pixels per inch).