14 DAY TRIAL // We've seen the word tablet being used and misused by many electronics devices, but seldom have we encountered it as the name of something that isn't at all portable.
There was, admittedly, something of the sort on show at a couple of trade shows last year, but that was an exception.
Japanese computer maker Frontier didn't have any qualms about using a similar idea when it created the SmartDisplay FT103.
Note that the product name does not include the word “tablet,” but the company did refer to the item as such, in its announcement.
In truth, this is an all-in-one computer with tablet-like internal hardware and the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
The CPU is a dual-core OMAP 4428, made by Texas Instruments and endowed with a clock speed of 1 GHz for each core.
1 GB of LPDDR2 memory backs it up, while storage space is provided by NAND Flash memory chips (8 GB capacity in total).
Furthermore, Frontier implemented a Full HD liquid crystal display (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) which, by means of a micro-HDMI input, can act as a HDTV/monitor.
Whether or not that mode is utilized, the brightness is 250 cd/m2, the contrast ratio of 1,000:1 and the response time is 5ms.
Other specs include a SDHC memory card slot (allows for up to 32 GB extra storage to be added), stereo speakers, a headphone jack, 802.11g/n WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and Ethernet.
Finally, the price of the Kouziro SmartDisplay FT103 is 34,800 yen ($438 / €356.42) on Frontier. Not a very flattering sum for a slate which, admittedly large, is rather slow and heavy (5 kilograms / 11 pounds).