Philadelphia-area start-up Telikin has started taking orders for a “crash-resistant” computer with an 18.6-inch touchscreen and a custom Linux stack aimed at computer novices. Apparently based on the MSI Wind Top AE1920 all-in-one PC, the $700 Telikin computer incorporates a dual-core 1.8GHz CPU, 2GB of SDRAM, a 320GB hard disk drive, and four USB drives.

The Telikin computer is built around an unnamed, dual-core 1.8GHz CPU. Judging from the Telikin's MSI label, appearance, and specs, the computer is almost certainly based on MSI's Wind Top AE1920, which normally runs Windows 7 on a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525. (Equipped with an 18.5-inch touchscreen, the AE1920 is an upgraded version of MSI's Wind Top AE1900, which ran Windows XP on Intel's dual-core Atom 330 clocked to 1.6GHz.)

The Telikin
(Click to enlarge)

Telikin does not list the resolution of the 18.6-inch touchscreen, but MSI's AE1920 is said to offer 1366 x 768 pixels and single-touch support only. Other features listed by Telikin include 2GB SDRAM. (The AE1920, meanwhile, was previously said by MSI to ship with 2GB of DDR3 memory, upgradable to 4GB.)

The Telikin computer is further equipped with a 6-in-1 memory card reader, a 320GB hard disk drive, Wi-Fi, and four USB 2.0 ports, says Telikin. A microphone and a 1.3-megapixel webcam are also listed, once again mimicking the AE1920 feature set. A wired keyboard and mouse, as well as speakers, are said to be optional.

Those are all the hardware features listed by Telikin, but the MSI Wind Top AE1920 was also said to include a gigabit Ethernet port, a DVD drive, and dual Mini PCI Express slots. The AE1920 is also said to run on a 65 Watt adapter.

Telikin video chat and web browser
(Click on either to enlarge)

Telikin's focus is on the simplified Linux stack offered with the computer, backed up by a "Tech Buddy" remote access technical support service, offered free for the first 60 days. The company does not say what distribution its Linux stack is based on, but the software is said to offer a simplified "kitchen computer" interface for quick web access, video chatting, email, and FaceBook interaction.

Other features include photo slide shows and photo sharing, an interactive calendar, contacts, and news and weather, says Telikin. The computer is preloaded with games including solitaire, blackjack, memory, mah-jong, and photo scramble, says the company.

Telikin weather page and calendar
(Click on either to enlarge)

According to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chalfont, Penn.-based Telikin originally intended the computer as a niche product aimed at the elderly, but then decided it could have a broader focus.

"We started out designing a computer for senior citizens," CEO Fred Allegrezza was quoted as saying by the Inquirer. "We've made it simpler, and easier to use. And we've found that has a wider appeal. We developed this computer based on Linux, and simplified it."

Starting this week, the computers are going on sale at the Telikin website, as well as at eight Clear stores and other locations in the Philadelphia area, says the story.

Telikin plans to formally launch the computer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Allegrezza says the company has set "aggressive" targets of 2,000 sales a month in the Philadelphia area this winter, and one million nationally per year by 2012. Laptops loaded with the same software are also in the works.

Availability

The Telikin is available now for $700 at Telikin's website, here, as well as at eight Clear stores and other locations in the Philadelphia area.

The Philadelphia Inquirer story on the launch may be found here.

---

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.