Hey Folks, new Guy here. Just wanted to come in and add my two cents. The step towards ARM architecture is absolutely welcomed over here. The whole world is moving in that direction. The privacy shutters are the main reason to go for this tablet, BUT that does not mean to slouch on some stuff, and here is a list of some recommendations.
You mentioned a Base and Pro model. Are we to assume the Pro model will be coming with a 120Hz OLED, because that seems like a very missed opportunity. As this is marketed in the video online on YT; as an alternative all in one device. This is a spec that some people ( like myself ) cannot live without, once you go OLED you can never go back, now if it remains at 90Hz thatâs also fine, but if you were to increase the price by 200 USD for the pro model than the already advertised estimate, I assure you, People will buy. This is meant to be an all in one solution for the privacy aficionados. If youâll be adding OLED, can MPP protocol be upgraded from 2.0 (4096 pressure points)?
Secondly, there is only mention of perhaps a 5G cellular external module ? Why not remove a bus lane from one of the Type-C ports and hook up a sim slot ? Seems a bit like marketing ploy to get sales on a solution for a problem that should not exist. Even if it canât handle 5G, 4G is still very reliable. And if weâre going to scrap the idea of an internal SIM slot, PLEASE, FOR THE SAKE OF MY SANITY and making this the perfect surafcepad privacy alternative. Have E-SIM support, maybe 2 E-SIMs. Not sure if the SOC can handle all that as Iâm not an expert in cellular coms, but please do consider it.
Lastly, will you be bundling stuff together after getting the accessories onboard? For example, a combo of tablet plus stylus plus keyboard plus mouse, another one with or without one of the products, maybe another one with just an extra battery pack ? Will there be an option without NVMe included, as some already have terrabytes sitting around in our private NAS? Thank You so much to whomever is reading this, you guys are doing gods work by just making something like this. Privacy FTW !!!
Ps. Anychance the bluetooth or wifi modules are plug and play and not baked into the SOC ?
Hi @plamen, I just watched Robâs latest video where he mentioned that the tablet can handle both Linux and android. This might be a silly question but do you know if it would be possible to have a dual-boot setup where on boot we could choose either Linux or android?
I love both OSes and find it hard to choose. Dual-boot would make it a great solution for me where I could replace both my current (old) laptop AND my (also old) tablet with the open_slate. If itâs not possible no biggie, happy to hear your thoughts.
The difference between the Pro and Base version will be the RAM and storage space.
I can share more about the limitations we have in regards to the display.
On one side, weâd like to keep a lower entry level ($ wise), especially for the first device in a new cateogry. On the other side, we also want to offer a higher end spec on some of the components. The main challenge with displays is the MOQ commitment for each display model, which is 10k units per type.
There are lower MOQ options on the market even for OLED, but these are offered from subpar vendors (and weâve been burned before).
We can most certainly see an OLED display on the tablets, but will probably be in a future version, where we go a bit higher end. But for open_slate, we may miss out on some opportunities, for the sake of achieving our core goal - making a privacy tablet thatâs more affordable.
Weâre clarifying the details on connectivity. Whether we will go with physical SIM or eSIM will depend on the supportability by MediaTek. If we go eSIM, we will support it via the open-sourced OPEN EUICC.
Weâve decided to match accessory discount with the core product discount rate, instead of offering bundles. IndieGoGo is not very pre-made Bundle friendly, but it does support a nice bundle configurator (with their add-on feature).
This is not supported by the SoC, unfortunately. If it was up to us, we wouldâve went all modular. There are some limitations we face. We explored a more flexible platform (rockchip), but were far from satisfied with the quality and support from the vendor on both Android and Linux.
Not a silly questions at all. Dual boot wonât be supported initially. We will explore the possibilities of having dual boot implemented at a later stage. We will first race to get a well working Android and Linux. Then we will go into the cooler stuff like dual boot. We have dual boot implementation success under our belt with other projects so weâre positive but donât want to commit just yet.
Quite so. You need a screwdriver to open up the back and start replacing stuff (mic, usb boards, cameras, nfc, etc.). For battery no screwdriver even needed (you open the slot via a push switch and just replace). Screen could a bit more tricky - you might have to unscrew a few more components before you get to it, but nothing more.
Hi community, I want to open this poll and hear your thoughts on mobile connectivity support (5G/4G).
We have the following 3 options:
1. Integrated 5G (built into the SoC)
The mobile network modem is built directly into the main chipset. This provides the best performance, battery efficiency, but the cellular hardware cannot be removed or upgraded.
2. External 5G module (via M.2)
The tablet includes an internal interface for a 5G module that can be installed or removed. This allows optional cellular connectivity and hardware-level disable, with performance close to integrated solutions (about 10% performance deviation from the first option). Considering that the PCIe supports one lane only, mounting SSD or other extension wouldnât be possible at the same time the network card is mounted.
3. No mobile network support
The tablet does not include cellular connectivity and cannot support a mobile network module. It relies entirely on Wi-Fi and wired internet connection.
Integrated 5G (built into the SoC)
External 5G module (via M.2 interface)
No mobile network support
0voters
The poll will be open for votes until Wednesday (11am PST).
I will think of it but until then I will make some remarks.
Certainly such devices canât be lacking cellular function even as an optional extension.
The SoC integrated will dissatisfy the privacy freaks.
I donât know how much useful is the M.2 for other purposes so that someone can face a serious problem having the port occupied for something that a stock tablet âwould just doâ
Is there any ability to make more space and add an internal motherboard port similar to the M.2 that uses the USB bus so that an optional modem can be attached ?
This will also satisfy the privacy freaks.
I voted âintegratedâ, I have no concerns with privacy on this matter.
@plamen I saw that you voted for M.2 and I would like to refine that I support this too because itâs a big trouble to modify the current device except if we can just solder another SoC without further modifications though we need at least a SIM slot, an only E-SIM case would dissatisfy most users that switch devices, currently carriers donât support multi-SIM approaches for the same phone number.
Given that the SOC chosen has 2 m.2 slots, one for the disk space ofc and the other for the cellular. I think that m.2 internal might be the best bet. I didnât look at from a privacy standpoint. So im removing the 5g integrated vote and going with the m.2 option, granted that it can have two slots
Genio 720 has only 1 lane of PCIe 2.0, so you need another SoC to get a second M.2, I donât know which SoC supports more lanes and how much redesign is needed beyond adding a second M.2 connector on the motherboard, in that case it would be better to replace the SoC in order to get an integrated modem.
Some may not want mobile support at all on the non-pro version to keep cost down for them although not sure what the cost impact would be to do that for manufacturing.
Logically if itâs integrated it wonât affect the cost too much except if the new SoC is much more expensive and needs many modifications on the motherboard.
