Fancy an Android tablet

Apple’s iPad has made tablet computing the current buzzword and Bangalore-based Pathpartner Tech has come up with a prototype consumer media phone device which will make video conferencing a breeze.

The company’s work does not have to do with the hardware, but how Google’s Android 2.0 operating system has been modified, making it easier to make calls. The company is in talks with hardware manufacturers to build their product and will make their modified version of the OS available on a licensing basis.

According to technical leader of the company, Alexy Mathew Joseph, the company used opensource Beagleboard — a low-cost, fan-less single-board computer with all of the capabilities of a laptop with the OMAP3, an ARM-based processor at its core. Though the prototype has a 9” screen and will serve more as a tablet computer, it’s possible for the OS flavour to be tweaked for other screen sizes and mobile phones. “We can make changes to cater to different verticals. This is the media phone flavour of it,” explains Joseph.

Using Android has its disadvantages too. The apps available on the official Android app store can only be used on mobile phones. This means devices like the one Pathpartner is working on, will need to develop its own app store or use one of the open app stores like And App Store.

The company has also developed a few apps for the device that will provide the basic  functions users will want, like calendars and picture viewer apps. As far as the video call facility is concerned, what makes Pathpartner’s efforts unique is the quality of the video call. “It’s possible to make high-resolution video calls which might not be possible in normal Android devices. It’s the extra codecs like H.264, MPEG-4 and MJPEG that make the difference. Also, in the final device users will be able to put in a SIM card, have SMS facility and have audio calls too,” Joseph adds.

Other functionalities include synchronisation of contacts from the
internet or mobile handset using Bluetooth. Enhancements are boot time improvement, 2-D graphic performance improvement for faster UI performance, integrated suite of hardware codecs to deliver high performance media applications, innovative caching and pre-fetching in applications for improved access of home network and social networking sites like Picassa and Youtube.

As an internet device, it comes with the default browser of the Android, but it also pulls information from sites such as Facebook and Twitter into the contacts list. You can specify Twitter and Facebook addresses of your friends and if you select the pane, you can see their updates on these sites on the right panel.

The final version of the software which is still in beta mode will be made available by the company later this year. Third parties can avail the version on a licensing basis.