interesting tablets

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

There's a new generation of tablets appearing.  They have Atom processors, 
running in 64-bit mode.

They seem aggressively priced: maybe Intel is trying to buy its way
into this market.  These Atoms are much better than the Atoms from
years ago which folks have disparaged.

These tablets make me dream of running a conventional Linux distro on
them, but I don't know the likelihood of that.

Last Fall, the Ausus T100 and the Dell Venue 8 pro convertible tablets
looked interesting.  These ran Windows 8.1 (not RT).  They used Atoms
in 32 bit mode.  One stupid barrier to Linux was 32-bit-only UEFI.  No
Linux distro supports that.  Seems like an easy-to-overcome problem
but it doesn't seem to have happened.  One good about these is
that they had well-integrated keyboards -- conventional Linux distros
need keyboards.

A new generation of Atom-based tablets seems to be appearing.  So far,
just for Android.  They look interesting:

+ very nice displays

+ inexpensive

+ 64-bit mode

- will the firmware supports loading a conventional distro?

- are there reasonable keyboard options (eg. ones that link up to
  form a clamshell, like a notebook)?

"Asus MeMO FHD Pad 10.1" 16GB Android 4.2 Tablet With Intel Atom Z2560
Processor."
<http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-memo-fhd-pad-10-1-16gb-android-4-2-tablet-with-intel-clover-trail-plus-z2560-processor-blue-me302c-a1-bl/10275832.aspx?path=f9c89eba4ff3bcb603e78c3ecd2ab0a2en02>
Today only: $229.99
Note: FHD is today's jargon for 1920x1080 (Full High Def).

- standard resources: 2G RAM, 16G flash

- does NOT say IPS (says "LED" which is true of all displays now, but
  stating "LED" usually means "Not IPS")



http://www.onda-tablet.com/onda-v975i-quad-core-intel-bay-trail-t-9-7-inch-retina-screen-ram-2gb-tablet-pc.html
Similar resources (twice the flash).
US$209.90 from China.
IPS screen, 2048x1536 (nicer resolution and aspect ratio)
I asked a bunch of questions on that page but my question hasn't shown
up yet.

These are a fifth of what I recently paid for an ultrabook.  Of course
the ultrabook is better in a number of ways, but one of these tablets,
with Linux and a clamshell keyboard, might have satisfied most of my
requirements.  In fact, the size of these tablet (10") might be better
than the 13.3" of my netbook.
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