14 DAY TRIAL // Back in February, we told you about an interesting tablet endeavor, called Earl. This particular device was designed to be a hiking/expedition companion for those looking to spend some time away from civilization but wanted to keep in touch with those back home.
The tablet has been in development for some time now and the team behind the project, promised backers the slate will be ready for shipping around April. With the date closing in, we now get some fresh signs of life from Earl.
One of the most notable characteristics of Earl is its solar-charged battery, so one can take advantage of it in places where you wouldn't normally be able to use your smartphone or tablet (like the jungle).
Anyway, the developers of the tablet have posted an update, but sadly the slate is still months away from going in for mass production.
We get to take another look at Earl and see how it has grown for the last few months. Right off the bat, we notice the tablet now has a colorful yellow/black shell case that has covers for ports and adjustable external antennas.
Like you’d expect for a tablet designed for out-door use, the case has been IP68 certified, meaning it can survive being immersed in up to 2 m / 6.5 ft of water for up to an hour and being dropped from a 2 m / 6.5 ft height.
The solar-panel capable of keeping the device juiced up in the woods, has been moved and now lives in the rear of the shell, as opposed to its prior location in the kickstand.
That’s not the only difference, Earl now has a 6-inch Mobius E-ink screen provided by LG display and runs Android 4.4. KitKat. Under the hood, there’s a dual-core 1GHz COU processor combined with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
In terms of connectivity, the Earl has everything you could basically hope for, including Wi-Fi, BT, GPS, NFC and multi-band M/FM/SW/LW radio. It’s also capable of picking up UHF, VHF and can be used as a low-power 2-way radio, too.
Another cool feature is that the screen is responsive regardless if users are using gloves or other additional protective equipment.
Anyway, Earl has already been spotted passing through the FCC and mass production is expected to start in May. Hopefully, the developing team will be able to stick to the schedule this time.
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