Tablets: Acer's new touchscreen models | Bangkok Post: learning

About computers

Android's open technology let's a hundred new flowers bloom with Acer's new tablets offering new features not found in the IPad.

The 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 running the Android Honeycomb OS for tablets is shown in the photo above. See photos of all the devices discussed in the article see the full article.

Click button to listen to Acer Tablets and rightclick to download

Acer launches new generation of devices: Taiwanese manufacturer eyes cloud computing and content consumption by Sasiwimon Boonruang

If you are deciding which tablet to buy and considering specifications, brand or price, you may come across the first Android Honeycomb OS Tab, the Iconia Tab A500.

Equipped with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, the 10.1-inch Tab A500 is designed to maximise content enjoyment, providing rich multimedia, gaming and web experiences.

Besides the full touchscreen experience of Acer Iconia, users can enjoy a vast amount of Android applications, most of which are free of charge.

Acer Computer is positioning its latest Iconia family as a new generation of devices, including a dual-touchscreen Touch Book, several tablets (A500, W500, and A100) and a smartphone.

Designed for content consumption, the Iconia products are perfect for viewing, reading and entertainment, and they are the second gadget for users.

"The tablet is a totally touchscreen experience and it will never replace the notebook or desktop, but it gives users a new experience for viewing, browsing the internet and social networking," said Acer Computer associate director Boonchai Ngouvisitkul, adding that the general functions and most jobs still require the performance offered by a notebook or desktop computer.

The PC industry is currently evolving from the era of social networking to cloud services in which anyone can use a computer at anytime, anywhere, on any network with any net device, he said.

Consumers are changing, turning from content creation to content consumption, and thus they require new media, new interfaces with new devices.

The 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 has a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, Wi-Fi, HDMI port and Bluetooth.

Acer's latest generation of devices is designed to meet the full range of users' needs, and the Iconia products respond to these needs - productivity, connectivity, communication, social networking, e-reading and gaming - together with a cross-platform solution known as "clear.fi" that integrates with consumer electronics for media enjoyment and sharing.

"Because people are likely to have more than two devices at home, clear.fi will facilitate them as the digital home entertainment solution," Boonchai added.

Around 30 tablet brands are available on the market today, but eventually only key players will survive, based on the major operating systems.

Among these systems, iOS is limited to Apple users, while the interface of Windows-based platforms do not fit tablets. Given these restrictions, the Android OS will become the largest system because of its open technology and users can enjoy over 200,000 applications.

The Iconia A500 is equipped with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS and dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2. It features a 10-inch display with eight simultaneous touch points, NVIDIA dual-core Tegra 2 processor and a full aluminium case. The A500 sports plenty of ports including USB, microUSB, docking connection and a dedicated charging connection.

The Acer Dual screen Iconia Touch Book has two 14-inch screens made of high-strength Gorilla Glass that allow for typing and multi-touch as well as responding to gestures.

Boasting features similar to the A500 tab but with a 7-inch display, the Tab A100 will be launched by the second quarter.

Boonchai said that although the interface of the Windows platform does not fit the tablet, Acer has positioned its Windows-based tablet, Iconia Tab W500, for "work and fun" by developing the Acer Ring. Users manipulate the ring by placing five fingers around it to move between favourite applications and features. It is a shortcut for social networking, surfing the web, emailing and more.

The Iconia Tab W500 is a 10-inch multi-touchscreen which is complemented by a full-size chiclet docking keyboard. The Windows Tab runs on Windows 7 OS and comes equipped with Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Duo camera and a USB port for external devices.

All the Iconia tablet products so far are equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, while 3G models will be announced by the end of the second quarter due to the late approval for the mobile frequency.

"A survey showed that more than 80% of tablets are used at home, so the 3G connection is not a big deal because Wi-Fi networks today are ubiquitous," said Nitipat Praweenwongwuthi, senior manager at Acer.

With a dockable keyboard, the W500 PC transforms into a tablet, while the Acer Ring is a fast, intuitive entry point for launching touch applications and built-in utilities and tools.

The Acer Iconia Smart comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and sports a whopping 4.8-inch display with an 8MP camera.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Acer launches new generation of devices, Taiwanese manufacturer eyes cloud computing and content consumption, Sasiwimon Boonruang, link)

Tablet Computer Vocabulary:

tablet computer - a flat computer that looks like a book and is easy to carry and hold (See Wikipedia)
Tab - tablet computer

Operating System (OS) - on a computer the software system that connects computer programs and software to the hardware (See Wikipedia)
Android - Android operating system, Google's platform for mobile phone and tablet software based on Linux and providing data storage, text messaging, a web browser, and video-audio-image support, as well as several other features (See Wikipedia)

Android Honeycomb OS  - a version of the Android operating system to be released in the future, Android version 3.0 (See Wikipedia and sneak peak)

touch-screen - new technology that allows devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers to be operated by touching the screen and selecting things, rather than by pressing keys and buttons with fingers (See Wikipedia)
dual-touchscreen -
multi-touch - a touch-screen that can be controlled by touching in three or more places (See Wikipedia)

cloud computing - when both data and software are kept on a network of computers far away, instead of the traditional model of computing in which a user's computer "contains almost no software or data (perhaps a minimal operating system and web browser only), serving as little more than a display terminal for processes occurring on a network of computers far away" (See Wikipedia)
cloud services - access to data or content that a user gets from the cloud (sometimes free, sometimes for a charge)

generation - 1. a group of people in society who are born and live around the same time รุ่น (คนรุ่นต่างๆ), 2. a group of products with with new technology that are all introduced at about the same time
new generation - a new group of products with new technologies
latest generation - the most recent group of products (with new technologies)

device - a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร

gadgets - a small computer or technological device or object that can perform some task (examples: a GPS device that shows you where your car is on the map) (See Wikipedia)
performance - how well or badly something works (or whether an investment provides a reasonable return, whether a machine works quickly and efficiently)
social networking - internet services or websites such as Facebook and Twitter used to find people with similar interests to yourself and communicate informally with them (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)
network - a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย
device - a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ  เครื่องจักร

media - radio, television, newspaper, the Internet, considered as a group สื่อ
new media - interactive digital media such internet versus traditional print media on paper, term encompasses the emergence of digital, computerized and networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century (See Wikipedia)

Bluetooth - "a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs) with high levels of security. Created by telecoms vendor Ericsson in 1994" (See Wikipedia)

port - a connection that can be used to connect a computer or device with other devices (See Wikipedia)
USB port - the Universal Serial Bus, one type of port to connect computing devices (See Wikipedia)
dock (verb) - attaching or connecting to the computer
dockable (adjective)  

platform - a software system that makes it possible to run programs on some hardware
cross-platform solution - software that provides a "solution" to some user problem, that can be used on the hardwares of many different devices and computers

consumer - someone who buys and uses goods and services ผู้บริโภค
consumer electronics - electronics for family use in the home (music players, TVs, DVD players, etc)

open technology - technology that is available for others to use like "open source software" (not proprietary) but there are some restrictions on the Android software license (See Wikipedia)

platform - computing platform. like an "operating system" a software system that allows other software and programs to run on top of it (See Wikipedia) 
open platform - an open  source platform

proprietary - owned by a company
proprietary software - software owned by a company
open source software - software not owned by a company

Operating System (OS) - on a computer the software system that connects computer programs and software to the hardware (See Wikipedia)
proprietary operating system - operating system software that is owned by a company (for example, Microsoft) 
open source operating system - operating system software that is not owned by a company

feature (noun) - characteristic, property, trait ลักษณะอาการ, สิ่งที่แสดงออกถึงกิริยาท่าทางหรือสภาพ
feature (noun) - an important part of aspect of something, one of the things that a product can do, one of the things (colour, size, function) that is part of a product's description, a characteristic ลักษณะอาการ, สิ่งที่แสดงออกถึงกิริยาท่าทางหรือสภาพ (บาลี/สันสกฤต)

X features Y (verb) - one way of creating a sentence to express the idea
X has feature Y (noun) - another idea of creating a sentence to express the idea

boast - to proudly tell other people about something you did (or something that a friend, family member or co-worker did)
boasting features - has very good features (that are so good they could even boast about them)

dedicated - a device, computer, machine used for only one kind of work or for one purpose

gesture - a movement that communicates meaning to other people (the way a person feels or some instruction or order, and sometimes even to operate a machine or computer)  
manipulate - skillfully move or control something

chiclet - one of many small buttons to press (like a key on a keyboard)
models - different designs or types of a product

frequency - one position or place in the "spectrum of electromagnetic frequencies" that carry signals with radio, TV and mobile phone sound and video on it  
mobile frequency - a frequency that carries mobile phone audio and conversations on it

General Vocabulary

X eyes Y  - X looks at Y for some reason (wants to use or get)

let a hundred flowers bloom - famous saying by Mao the famous ruler of China, a call for variety and diversity (百花齐放，百家争鸣; traditional Chinese: 百花齊放，百家爭鳴; pinyin: bǎihuā qífàng, bǎijiā zhēngmíng) (See Wikipedia)

content - the subject, ideas, or story that a piece of writing or a radio or television programme deals with เนื้อหา,สาระ
specifications - detailed information about how something is made (includes requirements, design, details, features)

multimedia - computer programs that combine media: sound, video, pictures, animation, and text
gaming - playing computer games

consumption - using, eating, drinking, or reading something after buying it การบริโภค
brands - products made by a company; products with well-established names that people remember, that create a certain image and expectations about the product ตรา, ยี่ห้อ

come across - meet or find something (accidentally, you were not looking for it)

maximise - make big (as big as possible)
rich - interesting, with a lot of different qualities, experiences or events อุดมไปด้วย
vast - very large, extremely large ส่วนใหญ่,  มหึมา, มหาศาล

free of charge - free
positioning -  "the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization" (See Wikipedia)

replace - to get rid of someone or something and to put a new person or thing in their place หาคนมาแทน, เลิกให้และนำสิ่งใหม่มาใช้แทน
creation - the act of making something new การสร้าง

rear - in back ด้านหลัง
range - a number of different things that are of the same general type ขอบข่าย, ประเภท
full range of users' needs - everything that users need (in the hardware or software they buy)

respond - to say or do something as a reaction to something that has been said or done ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ
productivity - producing more with the same amount of inputs (labour, energy, machines, etc) การผลิตสินค้า
connectivity - the ability of computers, mobile phones, tablets and other devices to connect with each other via the internet and computer networks

facilitate - help, make it easier for people to do things, to accomplish tasks ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น, ทำให้ง่าย
eventually - at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด

key - important คนสำคัญ
players - an important company, person, or country in an industry ผู้ค้าคนสำคัญ หรือผู้ค้ารายใหญ่
survive - still alive, not dead, to continue to live and exist รอดพ้น, อยู่รอด สืบต่อไปได้, มีชีวิตรอด

interface - a connection between two systems (through which they communicate and share information)
X fits Y - X is small enough so that it can be contained in Y
restriction - a rule, action, or situation that limits or controls someone or something ข้อจำกัด

simultaneous - happening at the same time
plenty - having more than enough of what you need to live อุดมสมบูรณ์

launched - begin, start, start offering or selling a new product เริ่มต้นดำเนินการ
second quarter - the second three months of the fiscal year (roughly April, May, June); a period of time used to budget money for activities within an organization and to report on financial performance

favourite - like the most (more than others)
X complemented by Y - the product which includes X also includes Y which adds value to X

approval - official permission for some action การอนุมัต
late approval - not getting permission or approval to do something early or on-time

survey - gathering information about what people think about different subjects (public opionion) by asking large numbers of people questions and counting their answers, and then using statistics, graphs, and tables to present results (See Wikipedia) การสำรวจความเห็น

transforms - changes
whopping - very big, very large ขนาดใหญ่

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