Google’s Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP) division’s first piece of hardware was a prototype smartphone and now we are getting a much better look at the rumoured 7-inch tablet we heard about last month.
It’s not only capable of 3D imaging tricks, but has some serious hardware chops too.
The prototype has a 1080p screen and runs stock KitKat. What’s more there’s Nvidia’s ultra-powerful quad-core Tegra K1 chip, 4GB of RAM and 128GB fixed internal storage. There’s also USB 3.0, micro-HDMI, Bluetooth LE and cellular LTE. But the real magic is in the cameras. The tablet’s expected to go on pre-order later this month, with $1,024 price tag. You can sign up at the above link. The price doesn’t seem too bad for a dev prototype with excellent hardware and new imaging capabilities.
Just like the One M8, the Tango tablet has two cameras, but that’s underselling it. One of them is a 4MP sensor and comes with two-micron pixels offering high light sensitivity (very similar to the HTC UltraPixel sensor). The secondary cam tracks motion with a 170-degree wide-angle lens. The tablet also features an integrated depth sensor, which helps the device map out indoor locations accurately.
The idea behind Tango can also be extended beyond routine mapping. For example it has great applications in virtual reality gaming, which the Tegra K1 can fully exploit. Or in enabling the visually impaired navigate a room through a combination of voice and haptic feedback. Tango has already gain significant industry attention from game engine builders such as Unity and Epic or software makers such as Autodesk (the makers of AutoCAD), which reportedly has several projects in the works. Qualcomm is also a partner, along with Nvidia.
Back in March, ATAP sent out 200 phones to developers, but the tablet project is considered a much bigger release since it will enable more through its considerably powerful hardware.
