Taiwanese tablet PC offers GPRS connectivity

From...

By Sumner Lemon

(IDG) -- Taipei-based Innolabs Corp. this week showed off the latest version of its tablet PC, the magnesium-clad Evita 2000P, at the CeBIT Asia exhibition.

First unveiled in June, the Evita 2000P weighs just 1.5 kg and offers wireless network connectivity via built-in support for GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and mobile data services based on GPRS (General Packet Radio Services). An upgrade to GSM networks, GPRS offers data access at speeds from 9.6K bps (bits per second) to about 40K bps, and is expected to eventually offer speeds above 100K bps.

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The Evita 2000P tablet PC is based on a Transmeta Corp. 5400/5600 processor, a 20G-byte hard disk, 128M bytes of DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) and a lithium-ion battery that lasts for about five hours, the company said. Measuring 26mm thick, it also includes an 11.3-inch screen and runs either Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 or Windows 98 operating system. The Evita 2000P also offers optional support for Bluetooth, a GPS (Global Positioning System), a smart card reader/writer, and a digital camera.

A docking cradle includes a DVD-ROM drive and support for a keyboard. It also supports the Evita 2000P when it is used as a desktop PC.

Innolabs currently sells about 10,000 Evita 2000P tablet PCs each month, most of which are manufactured under contract for other companies, said Lisa Liao, director of the company's sales and marketing department, adding that the company hopes to also sell the tablet PCs under its own brand name.

The Evita 2000P is available starting from $2,500 and is shipping mostly to the U.S. and Japan.

CeBIT Asia runs through Saturday.