ICD has recently released a little information on what I’m sure they are hoping will be the iPad killer. When placed up against the iPad, HP’s Slate, and Fusion Garage’s JooJoo, the spec spreadsheet favors heavily towards the Gemini on most fronts. In fact if ICD manages to pack everything they are claiming into their sleek almost 12″ tablet we could very well see the tables sway to a lesser known competitor. With big names such as Apple, HP, and Microsoft all either in the tablet game or about to break through it is comforting to see the underdog grabbing our attention even more than the dual screen Courier concept courtesy of Microsoft. Most of the images of the Gemini are currently renders of what the product should look like, however there are also some shots of the extremely plain prototype models wrapped around some delicious hardware. Hit the jump for a break down of specs and a comparison of competitors.
Hardware in a nut shell:
- Powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 processor. This mobile processor is quite the work horse, regardless of the poor publicity it has been getting lately in the press. It should certainly give Apple’s custom A4 chip a run for its money.
- Just shy of a 12″ screen with a 1366×768 resolution. It also uses a 16:9 ratio for a full wide screen experience unlike the iPad’s 3:4 ratio, as well as pumping out full 1080p HD video. We do however have concerns of the device being a bit large to carry around on a daily basis after seeing the JooJoo (though Fusion Garage’s monster is an entire inch larger).
- The ability to switch between multi-touch resistive and capacitive displays. This will give the user the ability to use a stylus which will allow for handwriting possibilities unlike the capacitive only iPad screen.
- 5 axis accelerometer which is the exact same of the iPad, meaning you can use the device horizontally or vertically and the screen will adjust depending on what way you turn it.
- Hardware buttons, which appear to be along the front. These buttons will give you access to the home screen, back, volume, menu, and power.
- There will be 512mb of RAM built into the system, which may or may not be more than the iPad, because Apple really does not want people to know how much RAM is in the device. There is also 4GB of built in storage, which is expandable to 32GB via an SD card. The iPad does not have any expandable storage, although you are able to purchase the device in up to a 64GB version.
- When it comes to wireless here is where things get extremely interesting for the Gemini. ICD’s Gemini has the capability of making phone calls, as well as sending and receiving mms and sms messages. This is not possible on the iPad at all, unless you use something along the lines of Skype or Google Voice over 3G. There is also 802.11 b/g/n WiFi which is no big surprise as far as tablets go, as well as bluetooth. You are also treated to an FM radio on the Gemini which you wont find on the iPad, however in this day and age I wouldn’t guess this is a selling point.
- USB and SD slots are both a go for the Gemini, neither of which can be found on the iPad and both of which seem like very basic additions.
- Not one but two cameras. Which is two more than the iPad. One is forward facing for video chat calls and of course Chatroulette. The forward facing camera comes in at 2MP where as the outward facing auto-focus camera totes a reasonable 5MP.
- GPS and the ability to be used as an infrared control with other consumer electronics. Who doesn’t need a 12″ remote control?
- Of course there is the U.S standard 3.5mm jack for headphones. Yet it also doubles up giving you two speakers and two microphones as opposed to the iPad’s one of each.
- You also are treated to full HD video playback as well as support for Flash, neither of which you will find on the iPad. However this may be a problem as far as battery life is concerned. Although as of now it is toting a more fire-power packing battery, and it is also replaceable unlike the iPad. The question is, is the battery powerful enough to pull through all of these power drains?
- The Gemini will be running some form of Android. Maybe 2.1 at release? Maybe something higher or different altogether? We wont know until closer to release, but that does mean access to Google’s ever growing Android marketplace. It may not be as big as Apple’s app store but it is certainly improving quickly.
The Gemini packs a lot of strong hardware into a relatively small device. So far we love what we see and if the device is pulled off and well polished we could be seeing our first jaw dropping Android tablet that will be giving the iPad a run for its money. There are a ton of extra features on the Gemini that should have never been left off of the iPad, as well as somethings we weren’t even sure we needed. With the ability to make and receive calls and texts, perhaps you could ditch your tiny little 3″ phone for a 12″ all in one device. Ok so we know that isn’t likely, but it is the options and possibilities that matter. We’re going to keep a close eye on the Gemini especially since we are drooling even before seeing pricing and a release date. If ICD can keep the price down and give us a reasonable release date we certainly smell trouble in the tablet front.
