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“RedPad” Tablet Computer for Chinese Government Leaders

by on Thursday, January 19, 2012 92 comments comments

RedPad tablet computer marketed to Chinese government leaders and officials.

From NetEase:

Government releases “RedPad” tablet computer designed for government leaders

Summary: Recently, the tablet computer “Redpad” released by the People’s Daily’s People.com.cn, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology research institute, and other organizations has been called the country’s first working platform exclusively for government cadres and officials. Redpad has various software built-in/included such as Central Leadership Developments, the “Strong Nation” People.com.cn discussion forum, Daily Policy Reference, Internet Public Opinion, and the People’s Daily newspaper. According to “RedPad’s” official website, this tablet’s retail price is 9999 yuan.

The RedPad tablet computer designed and marketed to Chinese government and Party officials.

The RedPad with its carrying case.

"RedPad" (hong pai yi hao) tablet computer comes preinstalled with various software applications designed for the Chinese government official.

Comments From NetEase:

网易上海市手机网友:

Little Li, go find out for me what the resolution is like on this RedPad, and whether or not it can record video.

[Parodying a government leader talking to his secretary.]

铁岭老纪 [网易辽宁省网友]:

First, who would spend the money to buy this? Second, would it meet expectations after purchase? Third, is there a a need to invent this kind of thing?

取个好名不容易 [网易广东省深圳市网友]:

Two years and this is what they came up with? How many hundreds of millions in funds were spent?

jackhe163 [网易贵州省贵阳市网友]:

I inquired, there’s a 6000 yuan kickback for each sold.

网易江苏省常州市手机网友:

2 years of development and they’re using the 3.2 version of the Android operating system. Who can tell me when this version was TMD released????

网易北京市手机网友:

So when is there going to be a “PeasantPad”?

hhc02v3 [网易河北省手机网友]:

Yet another product supplied only to government officials [like special farms that produce safe organic food for high government officials], signifying monopoly, signifying exorbitant prices! Some of our Communist Party’s cadres now have yet another way of making money!

一品河蟹 [网易四川省成都市网友]:

This thingie is very good! It should be awarded the national technology invention award, directly recommended for a Nobel prize, and suggest that all staff of the United Nations Security Council be provisioned with one. Let them experience China’s high technology.

[Sarcasm.]

blackbox99 [网易贵州省手机网友]:

Other than k [kao], I don’t know what else I can say.

一箭大师 [网易四川省内江市网友]:

Unbelievable! Public anger [towards privileged government officials] is already so widespread and yet they openly display their thinking that those in position should be granted special privileges and treatment!

网易辽宁省沈阳市网友:

I’m lazy, and don’t comment… [but] upon seeing this piece of news…I couldn’t not comment… They actually dare to sell this lousy piece of crap for over 9000 RMB??? Honestly, even 2000 is too expensive!!! Crap that would only deceive a child… and they’re not even ashamed to sell it!!!!!

网易江苏省网友:

This is an insult against the entire country’s PM [common people].

A subsequent edit of the article removed all images and mentions of the selling price, and replaced the last sentence of the summary with the following sentence:

According to reports, RedPad has already applied for national patents.

The original article on NetEase has since been deleted.

  • DrPepper

    Using the RedPad sitting on my sofa.

    • The Dude

      I hope it’s a red sofa.

  • JonnyBeGood

    Just another case of cheating…

  • http://www.wtchina.freeforums.org Elijah

    The chinese commentators really came out in strength on this one. Bravo to them, loved the sarcasm..

    Best Comment:

    jackhe163 [网易贵州省贵阳市网友]:

    I inquired, there’s a 6000 yuan kickback for each sold.

  • Just John

    Patents, for a cheap Android tablet?
    Shit, mine already has Android 4.1.

    • morphium

      4.0.1

      • Just John

        Yes, you are correct, although now it is version 4.0.3.

        Odd, last time MR1 was X.1, not X.0.1.

        Guess that is what I get for not looking at the exact version before I speak.

  • bomber

    Naming a personal computing device after a used female hygiene product? I suppose that would be a fitting association for some of the arrogant and corrupt governing officials that are routinely bemoaned and hated on the Chinese intarwebs.

    Question: Does this wordplay translate well to the Chinese? Do they associate the word ‘pad’ with female hygienics?

    • whichone

      it’s just “tablet computer”

    • Just John

      iPad
      Eee Pad
      ViewPad
      ThinkPad
      TouchPad
      Control Pad
      Trigger Pad

      Your joke died a long time ago, with the first announcement of the iPad…Please just go away…

      And no, the joke does not work in Chinese…

      • donscarletti

        I think that it is a “Red” Pad is enough to make the joke fresh again.

        Anyway, that particular joke may not work well in Chinese, but if I remember correctly, the Young Pioneers of China red scarf “红领巾” seems to be sometimes called “红卫生巾” by the movement’s detractors.

      • bomber

        I was being facetious. Clearly, as I am from the internet, I was privy to the ‘pad’ jokes. I just thought this particular product deserved a rehashing of the meme as it is (and was) as close as one could get to monty-python levels of absurdity. If it had been called the “Dark crimson (and sometimes brown wtf?) vaginal discharge pad” perhaps then we could lay the joke to rest?

        • http://candosino.wordpress.com terroir

          With the way that the newly ensconced upper crust of coal mine executives and real estate tycoons has established itself as the new dynasty of China, perhaps it would be more suitable to market this to the priviledged as the “Blue Pad” for “bluebloods”?

          • bomber

            Shrewd point, however in this case, perhaps the ‘rainbow pad’ would be better – red on the outside, blue on the inside?

      • rollin wit 9′s

        You forgot
        Maxi Pad

        • http://candosino.wordpress.com terroir

          You must mean a “Marxist Pad”.

          Also: since you can play Angry Birds on it, this little red book is probably going to be a lot more fun than the last one.

          • curl of the burl

            The game could be sinocized and called “angry chengguan” where you throw little chengguan at peasants houses to demolish them.
            Just an idea…

          • Just John

            Or take angry peasants and throw them at chengguan offices?

            The story could be because they took away your food stands and now your children will starve.

      • Andy

        Rice-Pad.

      • O.R. Gazm

        Maxi PAD?

  • typingfromwork

    Nice presentation- if you’re a 50 year old official used to getting crappy gifts from others.

    All they really want is an iphone anyway. But you can’t get those right now for love nor money.

  • JAYJAY

    This shit is not cheap… 10K yuan is selling more than an iPad 2… who will buy this rubbish??? Clearly the RedPad business is run like a comunist people’s commune. It will soon fall under capitalist free market economy…

    • coala banana

      who will buy it ?

      since it was “designed” for the government, I guess the taxpayer will buy it for their lovely hard working leaders.

    • Xiongmao

      Hell, our local superstore sold 2 iPad IIs for 9999 yuan last week. Also considering the difference in quality, this is an amazing waste of money.

  • Cardaver

    I can guarantee it’s gonna turn out to be a complete piece of shit

  • donscarletti

    What can elder brother do with this device? Can it be given to his mistress who asked for an iPad, while elder brother keeps the iPad for himself? Not unless he wants to spend the night with his wife instead.

  • Bruce Tutty

    I’m curious about what other software it comes loaded with…that doesn’t show up.

  • Hongjian

    I dont actually understand the hostility against it.
    The govt. officials can buy an IPad, or issued/buy a RedPad for their work. This is nothing wrong, since tablet PC’s are an useful tool for everything.
    I see this as something like a (paper) notebook for office and govt. workers, which is something entirely normal since the beginning of bureaucracy.

    If average Zhou wants a tablet PC, he can go buy one, if he can afford it. Somehow I have the feeling that the average netizen these day is fucking stupid and has unrealistically high expectations in terms of “equality”. What do they demand? That every peasant now will be issued a tablet computer? This isnt even possible in real socialist nations like Norway, Finland or Sweden….

    • klg

      What? are you implying China is not a REAL socialist nation… Anatema!

      • Hongjian

        China is a capitalist autocracy not unlike Chile under Pinochet. Socialism is the after the end-stage of capitalism according to Marx and China is long not at the end of capitalism, but at its begining.
        If China wasnt that economically strong and threatening to the US world hegemony, libertarians and GOP alike would love the fuck out of China, instead of building bases around her.

        • mr. weiner

          “China is a capitalist autocracy not unlike Chile under Pinochet”
          We all know how it ended for Pinochet. China should be so lucky.

          • donscarletti

            Quiet death at age 91, military funeral with coffin draped in national flag, buckets of money in the bank.

            If you or I should be so lucky. Here’s hoping.

          • mr. weiner

            True, but he ended his last days in disgrace hounded by international courts. As the county he’d raped and tortured wrote him of as a page of history they’d rather forget and moved on with freedom and democracy.
            That I’d like to see.
            ….and and maybe Henry Kissenger’s head on a pike

          • Hongjian

            Fuck you, Kissinger is awesome.

            And Pinochet, while being an asshole for being supported by americunts to kill off a democratically elected socialist president, still managed his country’s economy quite well (of course with no americunt sanctions strangling it anymore).

            But in the end, somehow I have the feeling that the true enemies of China are actually all commies and socialists in the west, since they are still the worst fucking idealistic hipsters around. If the west was ruled by cold and cruel fuckers like Kissinger, China and I wouldnt hate you guts, since Prince Metternichs and machiavellians alike will inevitably understand each other over short or long, toasting their champagne to each other while joking about how many millions of people can be sacrificed in an nuclear exchange.

            You read right. It would be a world ruled by real statesmen and not just politicians and faggots. And it would be a much more peaceful world with much more mutual respect, less holier than thou attitude and ideologic crusader bullshit as generated by you disgusting cultural-marxists with your horrible freedom and democracy faggorty.

          • mr. wiener

            You’re not chanelling Capt Wed by any chance are you? Maybe some arseholes are necessary to have around. We could put them in glass cases and label them “break in case of war”. The rest of the time I’d settle for leaders who want to do the right thing by their people and reach out to other countries of similar mind.
            Fuck you and your idea of survival of the fittest power politics.
            Peace.

          • dim mak

            Spot on Hongjian, realpolitik will make reasonable diplomacy for us all. Too bad the West is filled with hippie faggots.

          • LeBlanc

            Lols, Hongjian, thank the gods I am not the only one who sees Weiner for the cultural marxist poser that he is! On that issue, I agree with you 100%
            People like Weiner are very happy to be moving us toward a “One World Government, Global Plantation” of sorts where we would all be mixed-race serfs and nationalism would be dead. He gets so very flustered when someone stands up and says that they want to opt-out; they don’t want to be a “happy, brown serf on the global plantation, joining hands with the nearest mongrel and singing ‘we are the world.’”
            Isn’t it ironic that the cultural marxists–who claim to value “diversity” so much– are the ones trying to destroy it by mixing all the races and eliminating blonde hair, red,hair, blue eyes, green eyes, etc? The want us all to be ONE race– a mix of Europe. Africa, Asia and South America, and they think THAT would solve all the world’s problems.
            And Hongjian, you may hate me and wish me dead but that’s fine because I feel the same about you. Such feelings are the signs of a normal, healthy individual imbued with nationalism and REAL patriotism; that is, a nationalism that is a feeling of true community and belonging among those with whom we share racial roots, culture, and values. Citizens of different nations and cultures are not interchangeable on the global plantation as cultural-Marxist, NWO enthusiasts like Weiner imagine that they are. There is only one force that can defeat the the power of the Jews and their gentile collaborators with all their money and media control: nationalism. True nationalism. May I live to ssee the day when the dam breaks and it returns to European people (and the Asians) in full force.

          • mr. weiner

            I know only that the more I learn the less I truely understand once I see the complexity that lies beneath. However I can be greatful that I have self hating chinese chauvanists and jew and black hating twits too let me know that I must be going in aproximataly the right direction if it is away from the path that they steer.
            Good luck with the rise of the new confederacy LeBlanc.

    • donscarletti

      It costs three times as much as the iPad and it’s not as good as the iPad, it’s just not a sellable product. Now, this would be fine, the story would normally end with some entrepreneur having his house auctioned to settle with his creditors. However, in this case, it was these commenters, as taxpayers who put forward the cash without having a say in this shitty investment, so tempers are a little higher.

      I seem to remember paying about ¥200,000 in income tax during the period of its development, I would personally get warmer feelings if it was spent building schools or hospitals in Guizhou or Tibet or whatever, but it’s not really my decision. Someone wanted a Red Pad and now they can have it, all everyone else can do is sigh.

      • Hongjian

        I agree that it is not cheap and possibly worse than an Ipad, but I imagine the outcry being more vicious, if all govt. officials now use their embezzled money to buy/to issue/to hongbao IPad2′s. Since now, at least those RedPads are probably 100% chinese made and chinese owned, so only a chinese entrepeneur and his workers will profit from tax-payers/govt. money. If the officials now go and buy IPad’s instead, and they will definitely due to face and being currupt faggots, all the money would go to Apple in California.

        I’d be actually OK with the RedPad. It is at least patriotic and goes well with the ‘Buy Chinese’ measures of the govt. And who would go and buy Chinese, if the govt. officials arent the first to set an example?
        This is actually a good policy.

        • klg

          Patriotic is not to embezzle taxpayer’s money. Govt. officials first example should be in doing their job properly and buy whatever they need with their money. BTW who knows, may be the Chinese owner you refer to will take his “hard-earned” money out of China to build his “safety net” somewhere, or to buy stupidly lavishly luxury cars and goods.

          • Hongjian

            The taxpayer will pay no matter what. The difference is whether the money will go to a foreign account or stay within the country, maybe making a chinese manufacturer and his chinese workers happy.

            And the lesser evil is latter.

          • marsvin

            Except the “Chinese worker” will see jack squat of the inflated cost of this device.

          • http://candosino.wordpress.com terroir

            @hongjian

            Doesn’t really matter which is less evil when you’re forced into two bad choices in a situation you don’t want to be in, when when the situation is China then you’re a migrant worker who slaves away at his job earning basically nothing, starving yourself so you can save money, get to see your family just once a year and you thank the powers that be for such a wonderful life.

            Being extorted and choosing to make a local manufacture magnate richer rather than paying off tarrifs and taxes for an import isn’t much of a choice.

            Also: am enjoying the “new” you.

          • Hongjian

            >”Being extorted and choosing to make a local manufacture
            magnate richer rather than paying off tarrifs and taxes for an import isn’t much of a choice.”

            It is.

            With imports paid in USD, China only strenghtens the position of the americunts. This must not happen, and I’d rather see millions of poor chinese migrant workers suffering, than giving the americunts just one more acknowledgement of their domination outsides of the bare necessity.

            If China has to kill millions of its own people, fermenting their corpses into culture medium for creating cocktails of deadly germs to drop onto LA or New York to kill every single of you fat subhuman fuckers, I would still judge it being worth the trouble and sacrifice. After all, the new as well as the old Great Wall were built with our ‘flesh and blood’; no matter if from Qin-Dynasty slave labourers, or CCP-Dynasty migrant labourers. I cant see why the death and destruction of America shouldnt be built by it either…

            >”Also: am enjoying the “new” you.”

            No, you arent.
            Cut off your dick, stick a chopstick in it and go fuck yourself with it.

          • E Puff

            Hongjian,

            I am curious so please don’t hold back. Did someone who is american, or did the american government do something to hurt you or a loved one? Why do you hate america so much?

        • donscarletti

          IPad2 16GB w/o 3G costs ¥3300 on Taobao right now, vs ¥9000 for RedPad. Either way, it’s not what China needs to be buying right now and it’s wasted money. Buying local can never justify a 200% markup, where the price difference could be spent building infrastructure or hiring more teachers, etc.

          This would not only provide much needed benefit for the country (rather than being squandered in inefficient production), but it would also give the government more discretion in making sure the money is used to hire local people with gainful work, rather than being poured into an offshore bank account.

          If these people really want a pad completely designed by a Chinese local company, they could buy Lenovo 乐pad for ¥1500, also with Android. But I am pretty sure they just want to fuck around and spend money.

        • Rick in China

          You do not get it, Hongjian.

          Gov’t officials will not use their own already-embezzled personal money to buy this piece of shit. They will buy them for all of their department members – because when they do, they’ll get a personal kickback. The money will come from tax payers _in addition_ to already embezzled funds, and when the purchasers make the agreement/decision to buy this “needed” government device they will personally receive an additional “hong bao” for making such a wise decision. It’s not like they’re going to go spend their own cash for this piece of shit – they’ll use it as a means to get *more cash*, all at the tax payers *additional expense*. That’s how it works. It’s not about “buy Chinese”, it’s about lets take from the Chinese to fund our whoring and send our kids overseas so they don’t grow up as corrupt as us.

          • Hongjian

            Still, even if they use it as Hongbao for another fucker, the chinese maker profits from it and not Apple.

            Corruption is shit, but it is less harmful if the embezzled money stays and is circulating within the country’s economy.

            And even if the maker himself is a corrupt piece of shit, there will at least be some crumbs falling off his table for the workers to pick up.

          • Cinimod

            Except the official makes all the money, fucks off to America with his family and spends it there.

    • Stimpy

      Strange that you just ignored the comment about buying a locally made Lenovo pad for 1,500 RMB.

      You seem to be arguing for the sake of it, despite the fact that you are clearly very ignorant on this issue.

  • johnny basic

    Those covers would combine really well with a fake Dunhill manbag, nice work.

    I like the idea of a PeasantPad, I don’ think it would need to consist of much other than repetitive card games played over and over and over and over again to keep its demographic happy.

  • Duh

    This has nothing to do with buying local. Its about government security standard as it would be stupid to allow government workers to buy any off-the-counter device and gain access to the government intranet & email services.

    • Stimpy

      Why? Please explain to me why perfectly well-made applications cannot be installed on an off-the-shelf pad (not Apple) that has no security concerns.

  • Foreign Devil

    So now foreign spies know what piece of hardware to steal if they need government files and secrets. Also I would love to know if government workers have special VPN or other software to bypass the “Great Firewall” so they can keep tabs on what the dissidents and China critiques are saying, and surf porn.

  • Duh

    Encryption. You can steal hardware, but it won’t do you any good without the key. Most companies & certainly government encrypt the entire machine so that the lost of a device would not cause data lost.

  • Duh

    Oh, and audit. Any activity can be monitored on specific security build, so you do something funny, and the auditor will pay you a visit. Its pretty common in large firms too.

  • FYIADragoon

    Not sure why didn’t just suit up some iPads instead. Its not like there’s much of a difference between Apple and the CCP. They both have idiots for followers, and produce very few good products lol.

    • http://candosino.wordpress.com terroir

      Don’t forget adherance to a “cult of personality”, though Steve was more productive.

      Also, Foxconn.

      • DRaY

        fuck Steve Jobs!!.. continue

  • Rick in China

    Um…this is how it works, it’s nothing new for governments, look at Halliburton or Blackwater.

    Sr. Government guy has a family member or close friend/business partner who has a business interest capable of creating an iPad like pad, but it blows. They make a deal to concoct a “government specific” one, push it to sell to government departments at government cost, split the profits – and the tax payers ultimately end up paying for an inferior or overpriced product that was never really needed. It’s essentially a cover for embezzling cash from the people.

  • E Puff

    tablets are worthless for doing actual work. they’re just internet computers and have no value otherwise.

    • Just John

      Really, and you cannot possibly think others may have practical reasons to use these?

      Odd, I can edit all my documents in my tablet.

      I can work on the HTML script for my website on my tablet.

      I can even use a remote link to connect to my home PC, as well as sync my files across the cloud and then upload them to my home PC through RDP.

      I can link to my server and NAS through samba and do server maintenance.

      I can link to my work VPN through my tablet, allowing me access without the weight of a full PC or Laptop for on the go work.

      I can use corporate presentation, video calling, desktop sharing through suites like Citrix.

      I can read and respond to my emails as if I was sitting at my desk at work while I am going without lugging around my laptop.

      I can synchronize my calendars, contacts, emails, files, and many other things between a full PC and a tablet so I have quick access to needed information without having to try to drag around a desktop PC.

      If you know which tablets to get and which apps to get, it can become a very powerful extension.

      Your words here only show how limited your views are, and that you truly do not understand what a “Tablet” is capable of.

      Remember, today’s tablets are more powerful then a full PC was 5 years ago.

      • Ryo

        Don’t waste your time. She don’t even know what half of the stuff you just said.

      • Joe

        Real cool story bro. I can do all of that twice as fast on my laptop. I can type 120 WPM with a physical keyboard. Let me know when you can even manage 80 WPM on that touchpad.

    • Rick in China

      Seems you have a habit of commenting very decisively on things you clearly don’t understand..and the comment above makes it seem like you’re one who refers to the internet as a “series of tubes”….

      • E Puff

        I have four tablets in my household, two laptops, a netbook and a desktop PC. I find these tablets to be the least efficient. By the way, I worked for one of the largest technology companies in the world. So please do not assume I don’t know what I’m talking about because I don’t particularly care for a product and wished to state my opinion.

      • E Puff

        If I thought the internet was a serious of tubes, I wouldn’t have wherewithal to operate 6 websites (that I also manage and code), one of which is highly credible and has been around for the past 9 years. Further, John, being able to connect remotely to your home and work computer is not a big deal. A tablet is convenient, I’ll grant you that much (I can fit mine into my purse, in fact I carry one of my tablets AND my amazon kindle in my purse daily). Both are smaller and lighter than a book. But to say that a tablet is as powerful as a full PC 5 years ago is hyperbole at its best. If you had said more powerful than a ten year old PC, I would agree with you. What a tablet does is provide a richer multimedia experience, which is it’s primary purpose — ENTERTAINMENT. It’s not something I would consider using in a business situation, unless I were doing a presentation , then a tablet would be easier for traveling purposes. What I like about the tablet is with the right adapter, you can sync most brands to a televison or a larger monitor if you need a bigger screen. Otherwise, for my personal and professional needs, I find them to be inefficient. Five years ago, you could get a PC with 500 Gigs of hard drive, whereas a tablet at its best is only getting 64 GBs of space. PCs were running on 64 bit dual core or quad core processors and running on 64 bit operating systems back then. I don’t see the tablets supporting a bigger hard drive without developing problems with the processor/motherboard as from a significant amount of overheating. I agree that you can view docx, doc, or powerpoint files on some tablets (like the ipad2). But moving around using the tablet is so clumbersome. I don’t care for the touchscreen features. Maybe people like that stuff. I don’t know. But I’m old school. You can buy a screen protector as an accessories, but how long until the touch screen capabilities fade from daily wear and tear? And considering, that my mother has worked for the U.S. government for the past 30 years, I couldn’t see her working on a tablet to care for any amount of business and I imagine that for a country like China that perhaps it would be even less efficient. I need to do more on a computer than watch videos, surf the web, and “view” documents whilst trying to type on a virtual keyboard (and I am aware that some come with accessories that provide physical keyboards). Simply put, the PC tablet is still a toy to me and is more comparable to a slightly more advanced wireless phone. What are they running on? Android 3.2 or 3.3 browsers? Until the tablet can run on a better graphics card instead of an atypical embedded graphics processor…until it can provide additional memory for the type of rendering I need to do, then it will remain a “toy” to me.

        • Just John

          Your funny.
          First you say tablets are no good for productivity, then you backpedal saying “You” do not find them good for productivity.

          Then you talk about 64 bit OS’s, and yet fail to realize the hardware incompatability of 5 years ago with those OSs. I tried them, they failed because half the hardware did not work. Yes there was 64 bit CPU’s, predominantly MIPS, Sun Microsystems, or server grade Intel.

          The 64 bit Windows XP came out in 2002, but you forget that there was many problems with driver interoperability, software backwards compatibility, and many other technical issues. It was, quite honestly speaking, not only not widely adopted, but an overall failure in the main stream systems. For the most part, only servers and power PC users used a 64 bit system, and then even that was highly limited. Yes, Windows Vista came out with the 64 bit edition, but there was still al ow amount of end user PCs that had this installed. It was not until Windows 7 came out that almost 50 of the PCs made a move to 64 bit OS architecture.

          You also seem to forget that the Intel core 2 did not come out until 2006. Or are you trying to tell me the Itanium chipset is a consumer grade PC CPU? While AMD did support 64 bit sooner with the K8 series, keep in mind their first consumer level 64 bit chip was not released until 2003, the Athalon 64, and again, did not see wide reception.

          You are making the hyperbole by taking a very niche system, and trying to say “wow, see, it was more widely available”. The Tegra 3 clock speed is currently at 1.4 GHz, with Quad core. Android OS is currently a 32 bit system. Pretty much, it is almost exactly EQUAL to the higher end PCs without starting to hit the server grade level of 5 years ago.

          Now if you are trying to say “Well, although the specs may have been about on par, the PC still operated better”, well, I will agree with you, given that Android yet does not effectively use multi-core CPUs. But that is saying that the performance is better because of better resource allocation, not that the base system would be better if you compare straight stats. Android is young yet. It is getting better, getting bugs worked out, and figuring out how to use all the new stuff being thrown at it.

          As for your embedded vs non, Intel is also developing their own NDK for Android. I know, I have worked with it. The problem right now is backwards compatibility with Native ARM code, since most apps use Native Libraries for performance issues, rather than the pure Java approach.

          So, ultimately, unless your home PC happened to have been a server, I think you are full of shit, or else you are for some strange reason a bleeding edge PC adopter. Either way, it is a mute point, since my point was that although you may not find them particularly productive, others may.

          Ever tried field work? Your concept of a “Productive PC” would be counter to theirs. Many PCs in field work have been, gasp, Windows Tablets.
          Ever try medical work? Again, you see a heavy use of Windows Tablets…

          Even now, many of these “Productive” tablets are starting to move away from the heavy bulk of the Windows OS towards the more Mobile OSs, with some customization to make them secure and able to interface correctly. See, that is the nice part about working in the Android industry like me. It is, gasp, customization, so it can be tailored to fit a specific niche need, and will not be as cumbersome as a full OS.

          But again, you are just old school, and since you do not personally see it as beneficial, it is just no use…
          Reminds me a bit of current government officials and their SOPA/PIPA sentiments: We don’t understand it, but we want to regulate it anyways. You, like them, don’t get it, so just stfu, or stop generalizing about what you do not understand.

          • E Puff

            “then you backpedal saying “You” do not find them good for productivity”.

            I don’t understand how I’m backpedaling. I may have made a comment in a cavalier manner without thinking about it was to be interpreted, but it was an opinion nonetheless, so to qualify my statement, I don’t find them particularly useful and don’t see them having any value (TO ME). It is quite possible that you can find something useful about them.

            You say that “I forget” several things. No, I don’t forget. The things you mention are simply not relevant to the discussion whatsoever and veers away from the point I was trying to make which is to say that the tablet is for MULTIMEDIA/Entertainment and is not designed for heavy duty work. And trust me, I dealt with the nightmare of incompability of the 64 bit OS as recently as 5 years ago and yes, most software programs couldn’t even work on it. It does come with a backwards compatibility program that allows it to work using drivers from earlier operating systems. But this discussion is not about whether one could run applications on 64 bit OS, but the technology that existed five years ago which undermines your hyperbolic statement that a tablet today is mmore powerful than a PC five years ago. Despite the fact that programmers were unable to write code for 64 bit OS due to its advanced platform only serves my point. This does not make the application useless, just ahead of the curve. Would you even know the difference between a 32 bit platform and a 64bit platform and the difference it makes in terms of performance? Try running an 8 bit operation and you’ll feel like you’re playing a 2D video game like pong. That is the difference in terms of visual and performance clarity we are talking about when you put 32 bit and 64 bit OS into perspective simply put, 64 bit OS can access up to 128 Gigs of RAM, allowing the end user more power. Whereas lower functioning hardware using less than that can access a nere 4 GB of RAM. Have all the GHZ you want, one still would be unable to take advantage of all the physical memory available to run heavy programs or multiple heavy programs at once whereas GHZ only addresses processor speed. And yes, I do render to a network regularly. But one does not need to have a “server” grade PC to run a 64 bit system as there is a home version of the program which I am using as we speak.

            You mention that the Intel 2 chip didn’t come out until 2006. Um… your point? If i’m not mistaken that was more than FIVE years ago –which is earlier than the the window of time we are referring to. Let’s talk some 1991 systems while we’re at it~ duh. The whole point of which, is to say that PCs five years ago were not as powerful as the tablet is today, is hogshit. Ten years ago? Yes. I have an Acer in the basement from 1999 that has only 32bites of RAM to operate the whole system and only 1GB of hard drive. So naturally a ten year old PC is utterly useless if I were to compare it the tablet today, and would be like comparing the B2 stealth bomber to a bicycle.

            That does not negate the fact that the tablet uses the same technology as wireless phones in order to operate and lacks the power of desktop PC, a mac, and certainly a laptop. I don’t doubt that anyone would want to move away from “java” as memory allocation would be too burdensome. Any “high performance” tasks utuilzing physical or virtual memory runs the risk of overheating the those tiny tablet processors. So dont get carried away trying to do “real” work. I suppose opening, saving, and editing documents is fine. Try running a Oracle or some other database.

          • Just John

            Your right on one point, I am still living in 2010 I guess. I keep thinking 5 years ago and thinking 2005. Guess that is my bad (Yes, seriously, for some reason I keep thinking 2005, so think there is some disconnect somewhere….Maybe I have an open in my circuitry).

            As for the difference between the 32 and 64 bit processing, yes, I am quite familiar. My original degree was in Electronic Engineering, computer circuitry interface. I have programmed in languages from Machine Code to HTML, including Basic, C, C++, Java, and a few others (No, no COBOL or FORTRAN for me).

            In fact, my first job was for Micron working with DDR memory modules.

            As for opening and editing databases, well, that is not my job. I work with the PC industry, I am not an IT. My “Real work” can actually be completely done by tablet if I wanted to. Now we have a conflict on what your definition of “real work” is.

          • E Puff

            Real work I guess in terms of how much power is needed to run an operation. Not in terms of ones job or employment. I will admit that my statement was cavalier, but I think everyone took me too literally when i said the tablet was useless. it’s a billion dollar industry so it cant be too worthless.

        • Just John

          o, and PS, forgot to mention:

          I agree that a PC is more overall productive.

          I disagree that they have no productivity value.

          I also specifically mentioned more than just a touch screen for interface, because I use the Transformer, which has a dedicated dock, so you deciding that touch input is the only available input also shows you are missing many things.

          • Joe

            I like how you mention the Asus Transformer. The “dock” basically turns it into a netbook.

          • Just John

            And your point?

            Doesn’t matter if it makes it into a netbook or not, it is still based on the same OS as the one you are trying to tell me to match your typing speed on. I have not claimed all tablets are equal, and the one in this story is a joke, plain and simple.

            Yes, I like the Asus, they managed to take E Puffs “Multimedia Toy” and turn it into something that actually has much more productivity value. But you think it stops here? Tablets are still in their infancy. You look at alternative inputs and your 120 WPM would be easy to achieve as people start learning how we naturally input.

            There has been many studies that have shown that the QWERTY keyboard system is actually very inefficient. You start looking into things like SWYPE, SnapKeys, and other alternative input solutions currently being worked on, and it starts showing alot of potential. Is the general public at that level yet? No, not as we start seeing these types of things more widely available, then it can be.

            They are starting to work with pressure, with tilting, with many things. I am personally excited about this technology, and cannot wait to see what create minds can do with it. Those not limited to “I can only be productive on a PC” mindsets.

            Remember, your only restrictions are those you place on yourself.

          • E Puff

            “so you deciding that touch input is the only available input also shows you are missing many things.”

            Sorry but I already addressed that in my first response “I need to do more on a computer than watch videos, surf the web, and “view” documents whilst trying to type on a virtual keyboard (and I am aware that some come with accessories that provide physical keyboards).”

          • E Puff

            Yeah, it has the same physical set up as a netbook, but a netbook is really a laptop with a smaller (or 7inch) screen whereas the tablet is closer to an advanced wireless phone. I was able to run some pretty big programs on my netbook, the only thing it lacked was a CD/DVD player which wasn’t a big deal since I had an external plug n play DVD play to interface with the netbook.

            One would need to run “apps” specifically coded to work on the tablet and you can’t just download real software on it. Now, the tablet is indeed in its infancy and is great for multimedia purposes, etc. It would require serious nanochip technology to equipt it with a processors that can handle a heavier workload and a shutdown/cooling system (or really tiny fans) to prevent overheating if it is to someday perform serious work.

          • Joe

            You’re telling me that Swyping your way across a touchscreen is some sort of alternative to typing on a physical keyboard? Yes, I have seen those alternatives you mentioned. They’re improvements on touchpad typing, and are no match for a physical keyboard.

          • Just John

            Yet.
            As more companies experiment, they come up with more intuitive methods. Just because they have not reached an optimal doesn’t mean you can discount the innovative approaches.
            At some point, you may instead be wondering why e ever used those awkward keyboards, or your kids/grandchildren may be wondering.

            Never discount anything, you never know what may be awaiting us in the future coughtypewritercough.

          • http://www.truecrimereport.com/ Capt. WED

            hmm there is some serious computer stuff going on over here. Aside from allowing for addressing more rams with 64bit OS, a 64bit processor gives you wider registers, so if you are doing heavy computations using doubles they now fit in a single register. Plus you also get more registers so less trips to fetch data. But 5 years ago almost no one wrote any true 64bit software for the consumer market. It’s only recently that things have caught up.

            I’m definitely with E Puff on this one I think IPad is neither powerful or mature enough for a larger set of “serious” work out there. This is in agreement with a lot of those “serious” tech types out there. IT is part of that but it’s not all there is. We’re talking about video and design productions, math, modelling and etc.

            But I have no idea what I”m talking about because I’m really a hobo in real life.

          • http://www.truecrimereport.com/ Capt. WED

            It’s hard for to imagine doing any serious computer work without a keyboard. But maybe one day you would be able to use a neural interface to tell the strong AI what you want, and the Strong AI would then be able to interpret that and produce an efficient implementation. And also P=NP. Soon to come after we finally figure out Planck scale String Computation!

  • lonetrey

    Wowwwww. Really? I hope they know that other people are laughing at them.

  • CokeMan

    Could it be Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book v2.0? lol

  • http://www.google.de ponti

    government officials will buy it because when using this crappy thing in public it will indicate that the owner is high up in government and has lots of money to spare.
    this is what china is all about. crappy people showing off with crap.

  • Miz

    Oh gosh, my stomach hurts from laughing.

    I loved how they packaged it as if it was expensive ginseng.
    hahaha

  • dave

    so they get this.

    i know many people who work at government offices and most of the stuff they are given or offered is something they don’t want.

    perhaps this little gadget is different. however, I think that its a piece of shit.

  • Doesntmatter

    This person is going to die from cancer, she needs a bone marrow transplant and desperately need a match http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzXnmxSCMO8&feature=related
    Please register if you are an Asian American

  • JeffG.

    Once I saw the price tag I laughed my ass off. As far as the clown applauding this as a way to promote domestic spending… I am glad you are happy. I am too. The thought of saddling your government officials with inferior equipment loaded with commie spyware tickles me to no end. Or the building inspector.. now that is really funny.

  • Gregory N. Grice

    I Love my iPad 2 !

    I basically do not know shti about computers, and not particularly interested to know,,, but I do know I Luv my iPad 2.

    I bought it kinda on a lark, not knowing much about them, but it turns out I love the thing..
    I have a new MacBook Pro sitting at home, basically gathering dust because I use my iPad.
    Yes, I just use it for the simple multi-media apps and simple Internet surfing. IMHO for that, the iPad shines brightly.
    I remember when Pong was cutting-edge though…. :-p

  • jeffli

    most of the beardless little buggers wouldn’t know how to use it anyway …. even if it is useful

    I bet it comes with a game called “Irate Phoenix”

  • Laurent Coq

    People are never happy (or) always jealous…

    I think that this RedPad is a great idea, and demonstrates that your government is going full speed forward.

    You should be be proud of it!
    If not, why not moving to Algeria, Somalia, Nigeria?…….

  • Derek Xu

    Clearly China has better engineers than Apple. Ha! Ha!

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