What do we love more then Android Tablets, or Tabloids as we hope they get called, well that would be smartbooks. The Bean by Mobinnnova is an 8.9 inch smartbook running Nvidia Tegra will now also be sporting an Android Operating System. Mark Spooner from Laptop Magazine got his hands on the latest version and confirms that the design remains unchanged but and that we will be seeing the typical Android carousel interface with HD playback. For connectivity the ports which include HDMI for 1080p are behind a drop-down hinge on the back and the keyboard has been modified Android style to include playback buttons. To give you that added multimedia feel the guys at Mobinnova have included CinemaNow for downloading premium videos.
The unit will have access to alot more apps then they would have if they had stuck with the original Wondows CE choice but you won’t be able to get them through the Android Market Place however it will come with games that will leverage the Tegra chipset. We’ll wait and see how this develops as Nvidia is meant to be creating their own AppStore.
Pricing and availability are still up in the air, but summer (after the iPad hype dies down a bit) sounds like a smart bet. We’re still not fans of the cramped keyboard. Still, assuming the price is right, the Beam could win over those primarily interested in entertainment and surfing the Web.
Thanks to Laptop Mag for the Photos below.
