A group of developers at KDE have been working to offer a tablet with free and open source software based on the KDE Plasma Active user interface. Up until recently that tablet was called the “Spark,” but developer Aaron Seigo says that trademark issues have prompted the group to choose another name.

Vivaldi tablet

So the tablet-formerly-known-ask-the-Spark is now called Vivaldi.

Seigo also hints that future tablets including the upcoming 10 inch model may also be named after musical greats.

The first 7 inch tablet is expected to ship in May and sells for about €200, although it’s expected to be cheaper if and when it’s available for order in the US.

The Vivaldi tablet is based on the same hardware as the Chinese Zenithink C71 Android tablet, but this version will run Mer Linux with the KDE Plasma Active desktop environment.

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3 replies on “Spark Linux tablet renamed Vivaldi”

  1. I am tired of carrying two computers-laptop and ipad.Software and hardwire wise my laptop does everything I need( I am a teacher) but the bulky and heaviness, and short battery life doesn’t make it suitable for the whole day’s job.Ipad is just a toy for emailing, read news etc. I am regular user of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Linux mint, KDE. I am very happy with these open source operating systems. This KDE operating system attracts my attention.Here is my question:
    Will Vivaldi Tablet do everything that a KDE laptop can do?

  2. I use KDE desktop and netbook mode on our 9 and 10in netbooks and have been more than happy with it. I bough the Dell Mini 9 with Ubuntu 8 when it came out and it was so ugly and depressing my wife wanted nothing to do with it. The only reason we are now using Linux all this time later and hadnt run back to WinXP+ is KDE.

    I like the Active touch tablet mode. I wonder if it will be available as easily as the Netbook mode. One click of the button I can go from there to the regular desktop.
    Id love if we had a third option for touch tablet.

    Thing is we tried a tablet for a few weeks and had no use for it.
    But dont feel like buying new batteries again for the netbooks which we both use when we go drive our kids to soccer practices so I will most likely get one as long as I can put a few episodes of American Dad or Futurama on a USB/SD and watch something for the whole 2hrs practice.

    Yeah, i could get the ZenThink and find out how to install Mer on it myself but if that extra money goes towards the KDE foundation, then im all for giving something back.
     
    “Hey honey, were off to practice. I took my Vivaldi with me.” sounds very cool.

  3. Again, I would love this.  Have a bone or two to pick (generic with all this “class” of devices).  Resolution – needs to be better for 7 inch (would love 1280×800 or so), also with “pinch to zoom” and Gorilla glass.   One wonders if the KDE folks doing this can use xrandr –scaling to get a better resolution even using cheaper hardware?  Of course, they need to fix the “mouse problem first” – see:
    https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=118999Key

    As well – have folks at KDE fixed Akonadi yet, where it is bug free (and can one use a “Thunderbird-like-GUI-knock-off” on Akonadi)?  And then with the ability to have calendar and contacts synched to encrypted storage on an IMAP server (like Thunderbird Sync Kolab works, on with the encryption).   Need to have encrypted bookmark storage on UbuntuOne or Mozilla storage locations.   AND, it needs to be compatible with EVO (world-wide collaboration
    network software), and RetroShare (the newest private social networking
    and file sharing download that is at sourceforge).  Of course, Skype
    too (or equally good other option available)?

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