While I was buzzing about over on the FCC website today, I came across this mysterious new device from France’s Thomson and Technicolor called the PoMMeS. The funny thing is that the word “pomme” is the French word for “apple”, so in a way, you are looking at the first pics of an apple tablet.
The gadget is a wireless multimedia playback device, and according to the PoMMeS user manual, it’s designed to proved access to TV programs, VOIP video calling, as well as web browsing and other online services. The 8-inch, 800 x 480 LCD touchscreen includes a stylus, so I’m not sure if you can use your fingertips to control it or not. And if you look closely at the photo above, you’ll notice there’s a front-mounted pair of speakers, a web cam, and a D-Pad for controlling menus.
On the side of the tablet is a jog wheel, and on the back, there’s a USB connector, as well as headphone and microphone jacks. The device appears to be manufactured by China’s PCCW, and under the hood is a Texas Instruments DaVinci video system-on-a-chip and a Xilinx logic chip if that gives you any clue as to its capabilities.
If you squint really hard at the RF testing photo below, you can see the PoMMeS turned on and doing something.
While I’m not sure exactly what sort of media it’ll play, and the preliminary manual offers these setup instructions: “Before using the PoMMeS multi-media device, you need to set up the proper operation conditions. Please consult your service center hotline for network setup procedure.” Thanks for the clarification.
I’m assuming that the PoMMeS is designed for streaming IPTV services, but that’s about all I can figure out at this point. If anyone knows more about the PoMMeS, feel free to comment below.
[via FCC.gov]
