When you think tablet, you think fragile slate for entertainment with big screen and short battery life. Sqigle though more about ultimate survival gadget for the backcountry.
Earl is an interesting gadget to say the least. Its 6″ screen puts it in the tablet category, akin to a kindle. And like it it has an E-Ink screen, perfect to read in sun light. Unlike the e-reader, the screen is flexible and can be read in the dark with its lunar lantern mode. It sports a 1024×768 resolution and is touch friendly, even with gloves.
Sqigle also made its Earl Android tablet smart. It runs on the Jelly Beans variety, the latest iteration of the mobile OS. It can use almost all communication technologies you can think of: Wifi b/g/n, BlueTooth 4.0, ANT+, NFC, radio FRS/GMRS/MURS, GPS and GLONASS. Earl also comes with a lot of sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Temperature, Barometer, Humidity, Anemometer.
If that wasn’t enough, Earl is equipped with a solar panel on the back. So if the 20hrs of battery life are not enough, Sqigle say you can charge Earl up in 5h of direct sun light. The solar panel also doubles up as kickstand. The Earl Android tablet is also tough. It passes IP67 standards meaning water/dust/shock proof. It can stay under 3 feet of water for 30min and should be reliable between 0 and 50 degrees Celsius.
In terms of features I think Earl is a loaded tablet. There is nothing more I would wish from a gadget. The fact that it runs Android is a huge plus. Instead of waiting for developers to make apps for it, it is probably already compatible with a bunch of them. It comes with 100k maps from the US, Canada and Mexico as well. The project is crowd-funded, on Sqigle’s website. Backing the project now will give you Earl at $249, 30% discount off its retail price. You have until June 9th.
