Velocity micro Introduces $299 android tablet

[cbn]

http://cruzreader.com/index.php (Various specs and pictures here)

Here is a Velocity Micro video demonstration video for the $199 lower spec Cruz Reader (Nice product, but on a reader like this I would really like the ability to highlight sentences.....with the option of creating a compiled listed of those sentences/passages for quick review later on)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100713/tc_pcworld/velocitymicrotakesonapplewith299androidtablet

PC maker Velocity Micro on Tuesday announced the US$299 Cruz Tablet computer, a handheld device that is priced significantly lower than Apple's popular iPad tablet, which is available starting at $499.

The Cruz tablet will provide a "truly mobile experience at an affordable price," Velocity Micro said in a statement. The tablet will come with Google's Android OS and is slated to become available on Sept. 1, according to the company.

However, there are differences between the Cruz and iPad, including screen size and storage. The Cruz tablet comes with a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, which is smaller than Apple's 9.7-inch screen.

The Cruz also comes with 4GB of internal storage and 8GB of storage through an SD slot, while the most inexpensive iPad model comes with 16GB of storage.

The Cruz provides around six hours of battery life when watching video, while Apple claims up to 10 hours of iPad battery life when surfing the Web, watching video or listening to music. The Cruz comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi capabilities, which is at par with the iPad.

The Cruz tablet will be able to play back 720p high-definition video, said Josh Covington, a Velocity Micro spokesman. The screen will display images at a 800 by 480-pixel resolution.

The company could not provide processor details as the device hasn't reached production phase, Covington said.

Velocity Micro is jumping into a tablet market that is growing at a fast rate, primarily driven by Apple's iPad. Apple in June said it had sold 3 million iPads in the first 80 days after its release. Research firm IDC has said tablet shipments could top 7 million by the end of this year and exceed 46 million by 2014.

Many device makers have either announced or intend to ship tablets based on Android OS. Dell has already shipped its Streak tablet, which comes with a 5-inch touch-capable screen. Cisco has announced the Cius business tablet, which has a 7-inch screen and will become available for testing later this year. Other companies planning to launch Android tablets include Notion Ink and Innovative Converged Devices.

Velocity Micro also announced an e-reader, the $199 Cruz Reader, which will also include a 7-inch screen. The device will provide access to more than 2 million e-books available via Borders' e-book library application. Users will be able read e-books in multiple formats, including ePub and PDF. The device will provide up to 10 hours of run time on a single battery charge. The e-reader will ship in August.

 

[Bateluer]

Interesting, though the resistive touch screen on the reader model kicks it to the curb. The tablet model looks nice and is competitively priced, I think, but since a netbook is also about 300 dollars, why does it have only a 7in 800x480 screen? Thats really too small for effective web browsing and media.

And since when does Borders have 2 million ebooks in their catalog? Last I checked, they were behind both Amazon and B&N in that area, and even combined, they both won't reach 2 million ebooks. I don't count public domain books from Project Gutenberg.

 

[Zap]

Is there anything that makes these better than the Android tablets on Dealxtreme that are less than half the price?

I've actually set up my netbook for ebooks. Got a tiny app that reinstates screen rotation functionality (used to be in drivers but Intel removed it). I can basically hit something like CTRL+ALT+ right arrow and the display will rotate 90°. I can then hold the netbook like... well, an opened book.

 

[cbn]

Is there anything that makes these better than the Android tablets on Dealxtreme that are less than half the price?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.42070

That is a good question. This little $107 tablet from Dealxtreme has the same amount of RAM and more NAND Flash than the $199 Cruz Reader.

Furthermore the $107 Android 1.6 Tablet has 1.3 Megapixel camera listed. I don't see "camera" mentioned in the published Cruz reader specs or the demonstration video.

That being said the $199 Cruz Reader does have 25% extra resolution with its 800 x600 screen. This ironically is also 25% more resolution than the $299 Cruz Tablet.

EDIT: One thing to consider is that Dealextreme is located in Hong Kong and It appears all RMAs need to be sent there. How much this will affect Buying decisions I have no idea.

 

[cbn]

http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Default.dx/sku.42070~threadid.652984

http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Default.dx/sku.42070~threadid.653541

http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Default.dx/sku.42070~threadid.651634

I am also seeing some remarks that concern me in the dealextreme "forums". These forums are located directly beneath the description of the product.

Apparently there are possible software/firmware issues to consider. However, if someone more knowledgeable could clarify that would be great.

 

[hans030390]

Is there anything that makes these better than the Android tablets on Dealxtreme that are less than half the price?

I've actually set up my netbook for ebooks. Got a tiny app that reinstates screen rotation functionality (used to be in drivers but Intel removed it). I can basically hit something like CTRL+ALT+ right arrow and the display will rotate 90°. I can then hold the netbook like... well, an opened book.

It will definitely be much more reliable and have overall better quality than those found on Dealextreme. Comparing specs, most of the tablets on Dealextreme have half of the RAM, bad battery life, Android 1.5 or 1.6 (compared to 2.1), etc. When the specifications are the same, I'd count on the Cruz having better quality parts.

 

[cbn]

http://kmart.shoplocal.com/kmart/De...pid=941158&pagenumber=1&listingid=-2086512612

I also found this 7" $150 Tablet while browsing Engadget

We can't say we've heard of Augen before, but the company certainly sparked our interest (and that of Kmart circular readers) this weekend with its $149.99 7-inch Android tablet. Oh yes, you heard right shoppers -- the small Florida-based shop is bringing an Android 2.1 tablet with WiFi, 2GB of storage and 256MB of RAM to a store near you for just 150 buckaroos. And according to an Augen spokesperson, it will have access to the Android "Market App Store." That sounds pretty awesome for the pricetag, but we -- along with a number of readers we've heard from -- haven't been able to locate the 7-inch tablet at any Kmart retail location just yet. (Yes, we even spent a lovely ten minutes on hold with our local store while they checked the inventory.) We're told by Augen that the device should be hitting shelves later this week, though the company was unsure it would ever land on Kmart's online store. In addition to the 7-inch tablet, Augen has also released its $89 TheBook e-reader with a similar 7-inch LCD. It doesn't run Android, but you can check out an in-depth look at its Linux OS in The eReader's video review after the break. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground on the availability of the tablet and will be trying to get one in our hands to confirm the preloaded Market, but let us know in the comments if you've had any luck yourselves.