Haleron has announced a $150 tablet computer that runs Windows CE 6.0 on a 300MHz ARM processor. The "iLet Mini" includes a seven-inch touchscreen display, 128MB of RAM, 2GB of flash storage, wired and wireless networking, and an optional GPS receiver, according to the company.

Last November, Haleron introduced the Mio Smartbook (right), one of the many mini-laptops that employ ARM processors instead of x86 CPUs. Like other products such as the Delstar DS700, Sungworld netbook, and Lanyu eBook LY-EB01, Mio's mini-netbook was obviously designed to be sold cheaply, omitting a webcam and displaying its Windows CE operating system on a relatively small seven-inch screen.

Now, Haleron jumps on the tablet bandwagon with the iLet Mini, pictured below. The device contains much the same technical ingredients as the Mio Smartbook, but omits its keyboard and includes only a seven-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. (The touchscreen technology is not specified, but is presumably resistive.)

Haleron's iLet Mini

According to Haleron, the iLet Mini uses a 300MHz Via VT8505 processor manufactured by Via, with an ARM926EJ-S core. This CPU appears to be a version of the ARM 9-based Prizm 8510 SoC, announced earlier this year by Via subsidiary WonderMedia Technologies (see later in this story for details).

OUR VERDICT: Pasting a Windows XP screen capture onto a photo of your Windows CE tablet doesn't exactly engender confidence

The device comes with 128MB of RAM, 2GB of flash storage, and a SD/MMC expansion slot that accepts up to 16GB of storage, according to the company. The iLet Mini is also said to include two USB 2.0 ports, capable of accepting an external keyboard, stereo speakers, and a 10/100 Ethernet port.

Haleron says the iLet Mini includes 802.11b/g/n wireless networking, plus available Bluetooth and an optional GPS receiver (chipset unspecified). Rather than the Windows XP operating system misleadingly represented on the picture earlier in this story, the tablet runs Windows CE 6.0, and is said to include viewers for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

Features and specifications listed by Haleron for the iLet Mini include the following:

• Processor -- Via VT8505 clocked at 300MHz
• Memory -- 128MB of ram and 2GB of flash storage or 256MB of RAM, 1GB or 4GB of flash storage
• Display -- 7-inch touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• Expansion -- SD slot
• Networking:
  • LAN -- 10/100 Ethernet
  • WLAN -- 802.11b/g/n wireless
• Other I/O:
  • 2 x USB
• Battery:
  • 2200mAh lithium-ion battery lasts four to six hours; optional 3300mAh battery lasts eight to ten hours
• Dimensions -- 7.4 x 4.48 x 0.94 inches (188 x 114 x 24mm)
• Weight -- n/s

Via's ARM-based SoCs

Via subsidiary WonderMedia Technologies used last year's Computex show in Taiwan to launch a ARM9-based system-on-chip (SoC) aimed at "smartbooks," digital picture frames, media players, and other devices. The Prizm 8510 (right) includes an ARM926EJ-S core, a programmable digital signal processor (DSP), gigabit Ethernet, and a wide variety of interfaces, according to the company.

As seen in the diagram below, the SoC is built around an ARM926EJ-S or ARM1176JZF core, and an MMX-enhanced, programmable "uDSP 2.0" digital signal processor (DSP). The Prizm also offers video decoders for MPEG 1/2/4, H.264, and JPEG, a video co-processor, and engines for 2D graphics and security acceleration, WomderMedia says.

Prizm 8510 architecture
(Click to enlarge)
The Prizm is equipped with a gigabit Ethernet MAC, as well as interfaces for WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, camera input, PATA/SATA, USB 2.0, Smart Card, and a DVB-ready MPEG-TS interface. For display output, it supports 656/DVO and TV/VGA/LVDS/LCD displays. Other I/O, including I2C, SPI, UART, and GPIO, can be seen in the diagram above.

The SoC appears to support a wide variety of memory types, and WonderMedia touts the Prizm 8510's "low power consumption," though further details haven't been offered. Meanwhile, the SoC's "broad operating system compatibility" is said to include Windows CE, Linux, and Android. "Strong BSP, SDK, and RDK support" is offered for both Windows CE 5.0/6.0 and MontaVista Linux Professional Edition 4.0/5.0, the company adds.

Subsequently other WonderMedia ARM CPUs -- the VT8430 and VT8500, and now the VT8505 -- have cropped up in various products. WonderMedia has not provided any information on these processors, but according to NorhTec, which used the VT8500 in its MicroClient TC, they're similar to the Prizm 850 but omit certain multimedia extras.

WonderMedia Technologies bills itself as a fully owned subsidiary of Via Technologies that is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with teams in Shenzhen and Beijing, China, and Silicon Valley, Calif. The parent company is primarily known for its x86-based processors and chipsets for the mobile and embedded markets, including the Eden and Eden ULV, the C7-M ULV, and the 64-bit Via Nano, a 65nm design with an out-of-order execution unit.

In 2006, Via announced that it had expanded its licensing agreement with ARM to include the ARM926EJ-S and ARM968E-S processors, after previously having licensed ARM7 cores. At the time, Via said the processors were licensed to help Via and its subsidiaries improve products aimed at mobile phones, set-top boxes, telematics, and personal media players.

WonderMedia provided an informal look at Prizm-based reference designs at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show
Source: Via Technologies
(click to play)
Further information

Haleron's iLet Mini is said to be available now for approximately $150. More information may be found on the company's website, here.

Haleron previously claimed to have crammed two Intel Atom N270 processors into a single netbook, the Swordfish Net 102 Dual, though we no longer see this flight of fancy on the company's website. For more information, see our previous coverage, here.

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