Spain is not -so- different. And thus, when they present an alternative to iPad, they call it iFreeTablet.
If I ever create an evil machine to conquer the World I’ll call it iWorldDominationDevice. And you know what? Its OS is called… SIeSTA. Not my machine’s, but iFreeTablet’s OS. SIeSTA! Which stands for Sistema Integrado de e–Servicios y Tecnologías de Apoyo (integrated system of e-services and support technologies). Only Spain could come up with such a name for an operative system. Will it enter hibernate mode between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.?
Jokes apart, iFreeTablet looks quite interesting. Moving around 300€-400€, it offers open software (with a Debian-based OS) running on the following hardware:
- 10.2” display, 1024×600.
- Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor.
- 160G SATA HDD.
- Ethernet and WiFi adapter.
- 1.3 Mpixels webcam.
- 3 USB ports, VGA output, headphone and microphone plugs, internal microphone, card reader.
- DIMM slot, 2 Mini PCI-E (WiFi & 3G)
- Up to 2.5h battery life.
- 28 cm x 18 cm x 0,24 cm, 1.03 kg (battery included).
Will it be a better option than iPad? App Store is already offering thousands of applications and games, and people simply fall in love with Apple’s designs. It is beautiful, comfortable, and what it does, it does brilliantly.
But iFreeTablet offers what iPad does not: it is open to a myriad of possibilities. Just to name a few: Augmented Reality with the camera, impossible with an out-of-the-box iPad; a decent mediabox thanks to its VGA output and headphone plug, which iPad lacks (at least a standard plug); and finally, 3 USB ports to connect an absurd variety of devices, which iPad lacks once again.
Now it’s up to you and what you need. Design and comfort versus versatility. Although it’s not always a matter of really needing it, is it?