The JournE Touch provides 1GB of internal storage, along with an SD slot that can handle storage cards of up to 32GB, says Toshiba. The tablet's 7-inch (17.8cm) touchscreen provides a 16:9 aspect ratio, says the company.

Measuring 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches (189 x 133.6 x 14mm) and weighing slightly less than a pound (450 grams), the keyboard-free device offers user input via an onscreen "fingertip menu and digital keyboard," says Toshiba. The device appears to be less concerned with input, however, than with surfing media content on the web, which it accesses via 802.11b/g WiFi. A lithium-polymer battery is claimed to run for up to 14 hours, with video play available for two hours per charge.

An optional cradle device, which turns the tablet into a digital picture frame (DPF) of sorts, is equipped with a USB port and an HDMI port. With the latter, users can hook up to a PC or TV set to display content including "self generated photos and videos or content downloaded from the Internet," says Toshiba.

Running on Windows CE 6.0, with Windows Media Player 9.0 and Internet Explorer, the JournE Touch's UI is somewhat customizable, allowing users to "change icons and insert new links to favorite online platforms," says the company. The tablet is said to offer MSN Messenger and RSS feeds, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, as well as the European Acetrax video on demand service. Codec and file format support is said to include JPEG, MP3, WMA, MPEG 4, H.264, DivX, and WMV.

The device will be available starting in the fourth quarter "via selected resellers in Europe, Middle East and Africa," says Toshiba.

A well-ARM'd MID, tablet, PMP, smartbook?

According to a CNET story on the device, the JournE Touch is based on an ARM processor. Toshiba expects the JournE to initially go on sale in Europe for 250 Euros (about $360) by the end of the year, says the story, with other regions following in early 2010. CNET's

Erica Ogg quotes Marco Perino, GM, PC Options, Peripherals and Service Division, Toshiba Europe GmbH, as referring to the JournE Touch as a "third device" for home consumers, designed for "when you want to access the Internet without booting your PC."

Over at Engadget, Paul Miller confirms the ARM processor, and says the device can output "sub-1080p video" over the HDMI connection. (Engadget's photo is shown at right). A video on the site also picks up a Toshiba rep suggesting that the company is also looking into running Android on the JournE Touch.

Several reports compare the JournE Touch to Apple's upcoming media tablet, suggesting that a battle royale was in store between the two consumer electronics giants for the format. Yet, other vendors hope to stake out the tablet territory, including Archos with its Archos 9 portable media player (PMP), which offers an 8.9-inch screen and runs Windows 7 on an Intel Atom Z515. The Archos device is expected to be formally announced in the coming weeks along with a somewhat similar Android-based model.

Engadget calls the JournE Touch a MID (mobile Internet device), but aside from the non-Intel architecture, it is also rather large for a MID. For example, the recent Eston Technology MID-02 offers a more typical 4.3-inch touchscreen. The MID-02 runs Windows CE or Android.

Tablet "smartbook" prototype (Source: Qualcomm)

Neither Toshiba or other early reports on the device are calling the JournE Touch a "smartbook," but Qualcomm has applied that moniker to both mini-netbooks and tablets that run its ARM-based Snapdragon processor. When Qualcomm announced the smartbook concept at Computex in early June, Toshiba was one of the companies that were said to be working on Snapdragon-based prototypes. At Computex, Toshiba's device was said to have been shown by invitation only. A tablet prototype displayed by Qualcomm at the show appears to be similar, but not identical, to the JournE Touch design (see image above).

Stated Toshiba's Perino in the official PR, "The wireless device complements families' digital lifestyles by offering easy access to and sharing of information, entertainment, and multimedia files from anywhere in the home."

Stated Francisco Varela, YouTube Strategic Partnership Development Manager, "The JournE Touch is a wonderful innovation and we are particularly excited to think about the ways and places people will be able to interact and engage with YouTube using the device."

Stated Rolf Uwe Placzek, CEO of Acetrax, "Certainly one of the most exciting features of the new JournE touch is its capability to bring interactive services like Video on Demand not only to people's fingertips but also right onto their TV screens at home."

Further information

The JournE Touch will be available in the fourth quarter in EMEA markets, says Toshiba. More information may eventually show up at Toshiba's site, here.

The CNET story on the device should be here, and the Engadget story should be here.

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