Asustek have announced a number of new devices and the first on the scene will be a simple Eee Pad costing just $300. That one should arrive in October.
The Taiwan based company is the latest to jump on the tablet computer bandwagon in attempt to cash in on some of the success that Apple has had with their iPad. However, the Eee Pad isn’t going to be a threat to the iPad at all, it’s more likely to give current eReaders a run for their money though.
We don’t know yet if the Eee Pad will keep that name, some say it could be called the Eee Note, which would also be a more apt description for this device.
The new tablet will have an 8 inch LCD touchscreen and will run on a Linux operating system. The device appears to be aimed primarily at students as it has three main functions. It works as an eReader, it is designed for browsing the web so has onboard Wi-Fi, and you can take notes on it using a stylus on the touch screen.
It also comes with a camera so that students can take snapshots of white boards at lectures and a sound recorder to record lectures. Battery life is excellent if it lives up to the 10 hours without a charge that Asus claim it will. You also get 2 GB of storage memory and a MicroSD slot.
Asus are also planning three other models of tablet computers and this bunch may well have been competitors for Apple’s iPad if they had arrived sooner, but they’re not expected to appear until early next year.
Apparently Jerry Shen, the CEO of Asustek, reckons that to compete with Apple you don’t just have to be cheaper, you also have to offer more functions so they want to make sure they get it right before launching. You could take a lesson from that Apple!
Two of the tablets will sport a 10 inch touch screen but one will run on Android and the other on Windows Embedded Compact 7. The Android version is likely to cost in the region of $400 and the Windows one around $500.
A third model aimed at the high end of the market will have a 12 inch screen, run with Windows 7, and cost in the region of $1000. You’ll also get a docking station with that one.
All the tablet computers will come with support for Flash, a camera, and USB ports.
