Touch Book

Touch Book
	USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth
Website	www.alwaysinnovating.com

The Touch Book is a portable computing device that functions as a

open source software) and features a touchscreen

.

First units to customers were shipped in August 2009.[5] There were some (expected) software issues for early adopters, which are being progressively addressed. There were also some hardware issues, which resulted in community discontent.^[6]

After much speculation on the community forum, a revised v.2 Touch Book and new Smart Book product were announced.

BeagleBoard-xM design.^[8]

Overview

The Touch Book is a netbook and a touch tablet device. It features a detachable keyboard, a removable back cover to access the electronics of the device, and several Linux distributions shipped by default and offered via a multiboot system.

The default operating system launched is a custom

Ubuntu and Android. Users can install other OSes like Gentoo^[9] and RISC OS.^[10]

Touch Book's major intended uses are media viewing and web browsing, although more power-hungry applications such as

libraries such as OpenGL ES and SDL

.

The Always Innovating team claims the device follows an

open hardware philosophy, so that anyone can access the hardware design from the company's website,^[11] modify it and redistribute it. Although the business model of open hardware is still maturing, it seems to be profitable to the company^[12]

In addition to this open hardware approach, the Touch Book fully relies on open source software. A

root file systems.^[13] A community of contributors has emerged^[14]

and is interacting with the Always Innovating developers.

Technical specifications

OMAP3530 System-on-Chip^[1]

512 MB
SDRAM^[1]

256 MB
NAND flash memory^[1]

DSP Core video processor at 430 MHz
OpenGL ES 2.0 compliant^[1]
Freescale-based 3D accelerometer^[1]
Integrated Ralink-based Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n^[1]
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0^[1]
1024x600 resolution touchscreen LCD, 8.9" widescreen,
16.7 million colors^[1]

SDHC card slot (currently supporting up to 32 GB of storage)^[1]

Headphone output, microphone input [1]
Standard QWERTY keyboard and touchpad^[1]
USB 2.0 OTG port (480 Mbit/s)^[1]
6×
USB 2.0 host ports (480 Mbit/s)^[1]

JTAG debugging interface^[1]
Runs the Linux kernel (2.6.x)^[1]
Dual 12000
mAh + 6000mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery^[1]

Estimated 10+ hour battery life for video and general applications [1]
Detachable magnet system for the tablet^[1]
Dimensions: 248 mm × 158 mm × 19 mm for the tablet, 248 mm × 180 mm × 33.5 mm for the full netbook^[1]
Mass: 675 g for the Tablet; 1,418 g for the full netbook^[1]

Similar products

Other

Panasonic Toughbook

.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "Touch Book specifications". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Always Innovating – Meldungen". Teltarif.de. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
^ "Launch of the Touch Book at DEMO '09". Demo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Official Always Innovating Site". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "IRC Log for 2009-08-23". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
^ "AI official forum: Hardware " Touch Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
^ "AI news – Tue September 14, 2010: Announcing the Smart Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
^ "It's a MID, a tablet, a netbook, even an external display!". linuxfordevices.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.
^ "Gentoo on the Touch Book". Disi.me. Archived from the original on 2010-08-29.
^ "RISC OS on Touchbook first steps". riscos.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
^ "Always Innovating Open Hardware". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Open Hardware takes baby steps toward the gadget mainstream". Computerworld.com. 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
^ "Always Innovating open git repository". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Touch Book contributors". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Computer Science Platform for Learning - Trac". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ Chen, Jason. "Freescale Tablet Hands On: This Is Last-Gen". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
^ "Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid hands-on and impressions". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2019-06-10.

External links

Official website

[ai_specs-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "Touch Book specifications". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[2] "Always Innovating – Meldungen". Teltarif.de. Retrieved 2019-06-10.

[demo09-3] "Launch of the Touch Book at DEMO '09". Demo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[ai_website-4] "Official Always Innovating Site". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[5] "IRC Log for 2009-08-23". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

[6] "AI official forum: Hardware " Touch Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

[7] "AI news – Tue September 14, 2010: Announcing the Smart Book". alwaysinnovating.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.

[8] "It's a MID, a tablet, a netbook, even an external display!". linuxfordevices.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.

[9] "Gentoo on the Touch Book". Disi.me. Archived from the original on 2010-08-29.

[10] "RISC OS on Touchbook first steps". riscos.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

[11] "Always Innovating Open Hardware". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[12] "Open Hardware takes baby steps toward the gadget mainstream". Computerworld.com. 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

[13] "Always Innovating open git repository". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[14] "Touch Book contributors". Always Innovating. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[15] "Computer Science Platform for Learning - Trac". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2010-06-25.

[16] Chen, Jason. "Freescale Tablet Hands On: This Is Last-Gen". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2019-06-10.

[17] "Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid hands-on and impressions". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2019-06-10.

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