Android By Russell Holly Feb. 14, 2014 5:26 pm
Some things simply should exist, and at first I thought this table was on that list. Now I’m not so sure…
Gigantic Android devices don’t work, at least they haven’t in the past. Android was never really made to be much more than 10-inches, and the apps that run on Android aren’t optimized for anything bigger. You get a clumsy, ugly, and hard-to-use device that exists because the people who thought it should exist and the people who built it weren’t the same people. The same can be said for Microsoft’s Surface computer (before they stole their own brand and released handheld tablet computers with the same name).
This $6950 Multitouch Coffee Table powered by*Android is no better than what Microsoft was doing in concept, but it does open the door to more interesting conversations.
The contents of this video don’t make a lot of sense. This table is running Android 4.1 with an Intel Core i7 processor underneath and still manages to stutter when swiping from screen to screen. The only cool thing in this video is seeing the games being played in a larger than life fashion, but really that’s about it. For some reason they try to advertise that the table has no bezels, despite a clear as day 2-inch border around the 32-inch and 46-inch versions of the screen. It’s a huge multitouch tablet that doesn’t know how to do anything other than be a stationary, plain, mostly useless Android device. If you try and look beyond that, though, it has the potential to be something more interesting.
This table is running what looks like mostly stock Android, which means it’s probably about as close to Android x86 stock as they come. While that’s not interesting on its own, the idea that developers from the Android ecosystem could play with it makes things a little more fun. Android ROM teams like OmniROM have been working on ways to functionally support simultaneous separate windows in Android so you have apps running like they would in a more traditional windowed environment. On a phone or tablet this has a limited use, but on a huge table you could run all of your Android apps all at once. Your home control apps, Hue light control apps, email, television, or maybe just a life sized instance of Xbox SmartGlass.
It’s a cool idea because of what is possible in this environment, but ultimately disappointing that the creators didn’t appear to have any of those ideas for themselves. Especially considering you could probably build a more functional Android table for less than $7,000, this isn’t something you’re likely to see at your local Starbucks anytime soon.
More...
Gigantic Android devices don’t work, at least they haven’t in the past. Android was never really made to be much more than 10-inches, and the apps that run on Android aren’t optimized for anything bigger. You get a clumsy, ugly, and hard-to-use device that exists because the people who thought it should exist and the people who built it weren’t the same people. The same can be said for Microsoft’s Surface computer (before they stole their own brand and released handheld tablet computers with the same name).
This $6950 Multitouch Coffee Table powered by*Android is no better than what Microsoft was doing in concept, but it does open the door to more interesting conversations.
The contents of this video don’t make a lot of sense. This table is running Android 4.1 with an Intel Core i7 processor underneath and still manages to stutter when swiping from screen to screen. The only cool thing in this video is seeing the games being played in a larger than life fashion, but really that’s about it. For some reason they try to advertise that the table has no bezels, despite a clear as day 2-inch border around the 32-inch and 46-inch versions of the screen. It’s a huge multitouch tablet that doesn’t know how to do anything other than be a stationary, plain, mostly useless Android device. If you try and look beyond that, though, it has the potential to be something more interesting.
This table is running what looks like mostly stock Android, which means it’s probably about as close to Android x86 stock as they come. While that’s not interesting on its own, the idea that developers from the Android ecosystem could play with it makes things a little more fun. Android ROM teams like OmniROM have been working on ways to functionally support simultaneous separate windows in Android so you have apps running like they would in a more traditional windowed environment. On a phone or tablet this has a limited use, but on a huge table you could run all of your Android apps all at once. Your home control apps, Hue light control apps, email, television, or maybe just a life sized instance of Xbox SmartGlass.
It’s a cool idea because of what is possible in this environment, but ultimately disappointing that the creators didn’t appear to have any of those ideas for themselves. Especially considering you could probably build a more functional Android table for less than $7,000, this isn’t something you’re likely to see at your local Starbucks anytime soon.
More...
