Android Tablets Finally Hit Mass Market; $150 @ KMart?

[Tristicus]

As for that headphone jack, Augen has told us that if you email them at support@augenus.com, they'll send you a pair of 2.5mm headphones or some sort of adapter -- cheers to that!

They stand behind their stuff apparently...though makes no sense why they didn't make it 3.5 in the first place.

While this is obviously a you get what you pay for tablet, it still might spark the tablet market for other cheaper devices..hopefully...

 

[theeedude]

Does this thing play Flash?

 

[gsaldivar]

Does this thing play Flash?

You aren't supposed to ask these questions for $150.

 

[theeedude]

It would be a nice bonus if it could play Flash videos.

 

[Tequila]

Going to have to agree, doesnt look impressive at all.

Yea but this does:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/30/samsungs-q3-bound-tablet-to-boast-7-inch-display-android-os/

I wouldn't be dissing android based tablets just because the first one looks like shit.

 

[Pliablemoose]

iFixit pegs the screen for the iPad at about $95, so we could expect a capacitive screened Android tablet in the $225 range with the same build quality as this tablet.

Android tablets are going to take over the world...

 

[sswingle]

Going to have to agree, doesnt look impressive at all.

It could have looked better if they would have picked a better background pic for their PR photos...

 

[Cogman]

Well, that settles it, I have a distinct bias against apple.

When the Ipad came out, my first thoughts where "Who on earth would buy that POS?" With the android? "That might be useful!"

Of course, part of my mindset has been geared towards "That would be fun to develop for!"

 

[BoberFett]

I'm sure I could find plenty of uses for the iPad. I just couldn't find $600 worth of uses. $150-200 worth of uses becomes much easier.

 

[RedCOMET]

Might be interesting. Would make for a great TV / Home Theater Remote given the price.

I'm really happy that Verizon makes an Android App that allows me to control my FIOS box while i'm on the house network

 

[sciwizam]

This Augen is getting the Cyanogen treatment.

http://phandroid.com/2010/07/31/augens-gentouch78-k-mart-tablet-getting-cyanogenmod-6/

Although, this the latest tweet by the guy working on it. http://twitter.com/TheDudesAndroid

Ps I don't really have cm6 on the Augen78.... yet

 

[Pliablemoose]

Damn it, where are the decent Android tablets?

All they need is a capacitive screen and the dev's will take care of the rest...

 

[theeedude]

I think the OEM's took a wait and see approach with the tablets, now that iPad is a hit, there will be a slew of Android tablets coming out in the fall.

 

[Bateluer]

This Augen is getting the Cyanogen treatment.

http://phandroid.com/2010/07/31/augens-gentouch78-k-mart-tablet-getting-cyanogenmod-6/

Although, this the latest tweet by the guy working on it. http://twitter.com/TheDudesAndroid

I became interested when I read this. XDA has development going for it as well. For the price, its intriguing and would be fun to play with.

I definitely want to see what Moto, Samsung, Asus, and MSI bring to the table later this year. Odds are, they will be better built and boast better specs, but I doubt they'll match Augen's price.

Debating whether or not I want to pick one of these up myself.

 

[Illyan]

At $200, I'd still say this (http://www.merimobiles.com/Witstech_A81E_Android_2_2_Flash_10_1_App_Market_p/meri0306.htm) Wits A81E is a much better tablet. It's got a 600MHz Cortex A8 CPU and dedicated video chip, as well as coming stock with Android 2.2. Same size, still a resistive screen, but much better hardware.

 

[Bateluer]

At $200, I'd still say this (http://www.merimobiles.com/Witstech_A81E_Android_2_2_Flash_10_1_App_Market_p/meri0306.htm) Wits A81E is a much better tablet. It's got a 600MHz Cortex A8 CPU and dedicated video chip, as well as coming stock with Android 2.2. Same size, still a resistive screen, but much better hardware.

But is there a CM port being made for it?

Edit -

http://www.merimobiles.com/Ramos_W7_Capacitive_touchscreen_Android_Market_p/meri0377.htm

Whats this . . .?

 

[Illyan]

http://www.merimobiles.com/Ramos_W7_Capacitive_touchscreen_Android_Market_p/meri0377.htm

Whats this . . .?

Rockchip RK2808 (ARM11; 350MHz at most); Android 1.5

The only thing going for it is the capacitive screen. I've got a tablet with the same hardware minus the capacitive screen, (Eken M001 ~$99) and it's useless for anything other than light web browsing. Even then the experience is aggravating at times. Don't underestimate the ARM A8 CPUs, expecially with a dedicated graphics chip.

 

[Bateluer]

Rockchip RK2808 (ARM11; 350MHz at most); Android 1.5

The only thing going for it is the capacitive screen. I've got a tablet with the same hardware minus the capacitive screen, (Eken M001 ~$99) and it's useless for anything other than light web browsing. Even then the experience is aggravating at times. Don't underestimate the ARM A8 CPUs, expecially with a dedicated graphics chip.

The spec sheet says 600Mhz, but its a 4.8in screen. Meh.

 

[Illyan]

My mistake, the Rockchip CPU in that is @600MHz, same as in the APad E7001, which is better than the Eken I have. Still though, it's not in the same class as a Cortex A8.

 

[Bateluer]

My mistake, the Rockchip CPU in that is @600MHz, same as in the APad E7001, which is better than the Eken I have. Still though, it's not in the same class as a Cortex A8.

Been trying to find the Witstech support site, to see the firmware updates the videos report about, but I cannot seem to find it. The 'customer reviews' claim that Witstech support is excellent . . .

Edit - I am tempted by it though. In the review vids, it seems pretty smooth. Be fun to play with.

 

[Iclimb1998]

This is definitely going to generate some interest, with expandable memory and a huge app choice for that price.
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[shortylickens]

Anyone who thinks of comparing this to the iPad which is MUCH more expensive is going to be disappointed cus umm it's only $150 and can't expect much quality at that price. waiting for reviews though before making and concrete judgment on it.

While I appreciate your point and you are probably correct, it also bears saying that people who think they got their money's worth with any Apple purchase are also hugely mistaken.

And for a hundred and fifty bucks I think theres assloads of incentive to experiment and improve, not to mention the freedom to redo Android as you see fit.
This will move forward in leaps and bounds compared to the iPad.

 

[shortylickens]

2.1? Too bad it's not 2.2.

I just got 2.2 this morning over the air, so I cant understand why you would NEED 2.2 on a product coming from the store, especially since the enhancements arent especially mind-blowing or anything. Although that raises an important issue: How often is Augen planning to do their own updates or use official Google updates? Is this thing going to receive lots of support after you buy it? Even if its cheap I'll wanna be able to expand its capabilities over time, otherwise its just a novelty to play with for a year and forget.

 

[Illyan]

If you're looking for something cheap just to mess around with, the Eken M001 is available for less than $100. It runs android 1.6 and has quite a bit of community support, including custom roms. The downside is the slow hardware (350mhz ARM11, 128MB RAM).