SlateKit Base appeals to developers looking to create a new experience for the Nexus 7

May 20, 2014 06:26 GMT  ·  By

In an earlier post we gave you a few tips about how you could be revitalizing your Google Nexus 7 tablet, which has been out on the market ever since last year.

But if you’d like a more radical change, you can always try Ubuntu or the new SlakeKit Base. This is a Linux-based operating system and developers just launched a technical preview for the Google Nexus 2013 tablet.

SlateKit was released for developers who want to try their hand at building new custom tablet user interfaces; yet, those doing so won’t have to start from scratch, as the OS arrives with support for basic slate functions including a built-in browser, lock screen and on-screen keyboard.

The browser is based on Chromium, while the root filesystem is based on Ubuntu 14.04. SlateKit is also offered with support for hardware-accelerated graphics.

As mentioned above, the creators of the SlateKit are basically trying to provide a blank slate for developers, in order to help them produce new tablet user interfaces that utilize JavaScript, Qt or HTML.

In theory, the software could be tweaked to work with other devices, and the developer Ping-Hsun Chen is already working to create a version of the SlateKit which will be mounted on other tablets other than the Google Nexus 7 (2013).

In order to get started with the SlakeKit, there are a few prerequisites to be taken into account. First off, you need to make sure you have a Nexus 7 “razor” (2013) Wi-Fi model running Android 4.4.2 (KOT49H).

Furthermore, the tablet has to be rooted and allow for ADB shell access. After you checked all these required points, all you need to do is download the SlateKit image.

Proceed to unzip the files to /data but make sure busybox is granted executable permission. Last but not least, start the UI by ./chroot.sh

Those familiar with the tablet market probably know the Nexus 7 2013 has been hailed as one of the best budget tablets on the market, coming with a small frame factor.

The device arrives with a 7-inch LED backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that offers support for FHD resolution (1920 x 1200 pixels) and is coated with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Power is provided by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor fitted with Adreno 320 graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM. Google and ASUS also have a white version of the tablet available, for those bored of the drab black look most slates bring to the party.