$150 7-inch Android tablet from Augen, coming soon

[carld]

Augen's $150 Android tablet hits Kmart circular, coming to stores later this week

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."

Link to Engadget article.

This could be really interesting. We'll have to wait and see how it stacks up against the Pandigital Novel.

[Lastblade]

I am curious and will wait for some reviews first. I almost bought Augen The Book last week but decided a tablet like device is more useful. This could fit the bill.

[wodin]

Here is the manufacturer's site. It's a bit skimpy on details, but it appears to have

• 800x480 color TFT touch panel screen
• CPU: 800 Mhz
• Ram: DDR2 256mb
• Internal Memory: 2GB
• Expansion Slots: SD/MMC card slot up to 16GB
• Wi-Fi Connectivity with Full Web Browsing Capability
• Supports Ebook Formats: Text, PDF, E-PUB, HTML
• Supports Media Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC
• Supports most popular E-Book formats
• Picture Viewer in JPEG, BMP
• Video Player
• Rechargeable Lithium Battery
• Carrying case included

No size/weight specs or battery life figures though. Picture looks nice though!

[carld]

I'm going to check my local K-Mart. If they don't have them in by Friday I'll get a raincheck. One quibble, it doesn't meet the minimum specs for Android 3.0, but I'm guessing it should be a pretty simple upgrade to 2.2.

[toddos]

I'm betting it's yet another resistive-touch screen. Sigh.

[beartard]

I didn't think Android was written to support resistive touchscreens.

[jgray]

I read about this tablet earlier today. I just came back from K-Mart and was told that they actually did have ten, but sold every one yesterday (Sunday). More are expected on Wednesday or Friday. I got a rain check.

I was told that in addition to selling the original ten, I was the seventh rain check issued at that store. So, it seems that a low priced Android tablet is of interest, even in my small town.

The sales droid in the electronics dept. told me that a tablet will be set aside for each rain check issued, so when they get more, I don't have to rush over before someone buys it out from under me.

At this price, I'm not expecting a capacitive screen, but it would be nice. I could also wish for an accelerometer and GPS, but again, not at this price. A camera isn't of interest, as I have one on my cell phone. I don't video chat, so I don't need a camera on a tablet.

If you go to Fat Wallet, you can find a link to a PDF coupon for $5 off on a $50 purchase. I have mine ready and waiting

[carld]

Do you have a direct link to that coupon? I can only find coupons for Kmart.com, none for the store.

[jgray]

Originally Posted by carld

Do you have a direct link to that coupon? I can only find coupons for Kmart.com, none for the store.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-...18334/?start=0

[carld]

Thanks much. I've never been to Fat Wallet and didn't think to search the forums too.

[toddos]

Originally Posted by beartard

I didn't think Android was written to support resistive touchscreens.

There are no tablets with capacitive touch screens, unless you count the Dell Streak (at 5" it's barely a tablet).

Still, for $150 it might be worth buying this even if it's trash. I'll have to stop by the local kmart and see if they've got it or can give me a raincheck.

Edit: Just called my local kmart. They never got any shipment in for this ad, so I put in a raincheck over the phone which apparently specifically ordered one for me at the $150 sale price and should arrive in 2-3 weeks. I'll probably have forgotten about it by then.