SlashGear Japan
The mintpad super-compact Internet Tablet may not have managed its US launch quite yet, but the Korean team behind it are already planning the follow-up model. According to the latest interview with mintpass’ CFO, options currently on the table for the mintpad 2.0 are integrated GPS and WiBro, as well as a touchscreen display anything up to 7-inches in size, and a metal housing.
Other sources at the company have clarified that these are still tentative plans, and not set in stone, but from this end it seems like such changes would certainly make the mintpad more attractive. The first-gen model has a 2.86-inch touchscreen, which is certainly on the compact side, so a bigger display but using the same OS (which has proved a hit in Korea, where the Internet Tablet is already on sale) would broaden their market.
Given how much mintpass manage to pack into the 90g first-gen chassis, though, it doesn’t seem too far a stretch to expect big things from the second model. The mintpad has a 1.3-megapixel camera, WiFi b/g, Flash for streaming video and onboard blogging software; that leaves plenty of space for more memory, Bluetooth and GPS, which would be the obvious upgrades.
[via Pocketables]
2 Responses to “mintpad 2.0 could have GPS/WiBro, bigger touchscreen”
zilexa June 22, 2009
Are you crazy? Were you feeling ok when you wrote this:
[quote]The first-gen model has a 2.86-inch touchscreen, which is certainly on the compact side, so a bigger display but using the same OS (which has proved a hit in Korea, where the Internet Tablet is already on sale) would broaden their market.[/quote]
It’s soo compact it can fit in your pocket or small bag.
How would you fit a 7 inch model in your pocket? Their market would not broaden, it would shift to a totally different market.
It would become totally uninteresting for a lot of people who are looking for the compact sized Mintpad but still have to wait for the global release. It’s size is one of it’s strong points.
+1Chris Davies June 22, 2009
It’s been a few weeks, but I think I was probably okay when I wrote it :)
We agree that we wouldn’t want mintpass to leave their pocket-friendly form factor behind. As I said in the original article, a larger version would certainly broaden their market, and there’s no saying it will actually be a 7-inch device. The interview just said “up to 7-inches”, which could mean 3-inches, 2-inches or anything else.
I’d be disappointed if 2.86-inch mintpad development ceased, but I’d also be disappointed if the company failed because they didn’t have enough product diversity to interest a broad range of buyers. That, to me, says a 2.86-inch mintpad alongside a slightly larger version, catering to different tastes, usage models and other factors.
Thanks for your comment, zilexa :)
Neutral