I have received my first tablet computer, ExoPC, on Intel AppUp event in Barcelona last year. The ExoPC was a gift for current and future MeeGo developers. Instead of Windows 7 Home Premium it had Meego 1.2 alpha preinstalled. Not everything worked, but the experience was interesting. The most I have missed the market; a place to get apps to extend the functionality of the tablet. There was, however, no market or store. There were some useful preinstalled apps like browser, but for all other apps (if there were any?) the used needed to download manually, connect a keyboard, open command prompt and install them. Later a market was introduced (and it had to be installed manually by using command prompt and external keyboard), but I haven’t manage to find any apps or install them.
After the final MeeGo 1.2 was released I have installed it from the boot USB drive. The installation was successful and the tablet had become better. Ever usable, one could say. There were still some problems with the virtual keyboard, browser shutting down from time to time, light sensor being too sensitive or similar glitches. But at least it was useful.
I have tried to run Ubuntu on it on a “Ubuntu install day”. I managed to run it, but I wasn’t at all satisfied. The desktop OS wasn’t really better, so I have kept MeeGo 1.2.
Now it’s over a year since I have the device, there are many tablets available on the market and there is still none of them even close to iPad. Sure, the ExoPC is more a PC than a tablet: it weighs 1,3 kg, it has a big screen, I can hear it running (it isn+’t exactly silent), the battery life is comparable to a laptop, not to a tablet. So many things that could be better. Still, it’s a great tablet, so I have decided to give it a try with Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Since there is no way of running Windows 8 as live CD (or live USB) I have to install it and delete MeeGo. That’s why I have tried Windows 8 on the desktop computer first (in a virtual machine). It works, and it could be promising. Maybe it will be the right thing for my tablet.
