Hasta La Gadget!

When we first spotted the Eken M001 MID, we immediately liked its honest nature. The M001 didn’t claim to be an iPad killer, or boast ridiculous specs and decades of battery life; it was simply cheap, and proud of it. Now, Shanzai.com has discovered the tablet is exactly what we expected. Running Android 1.6 with a VIA WM8505 processor, the device is pokey with terrible battery life, and the 7-inch, 800 x 480 resistive screen has noticeable lag. Still, the M001’s moderately capable; think of it as a digital photo frame with tablet functionality — like the HP Dreamscreen, but affordable and battery powered — rather than the other way round. Were it readily available stateside, we could see a few souls actually picking it up for $680 RMB (about $100)… but definitely not the $200 Haleron asked for in February. Video after the break.

Continue reading Eken’s $100 Android MID reviewed: you get what you pay for

Eken’s $100 Android MID reviewed: you get what you pay for originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  Shanzai.com  | Email this | Comments

Okay, so the last time we told you about an inexpensive Android tablet/MID things didn’t turn out so well. So, this time we bring you one to appreciate from afar — no credit card needed nor, as you’ll see, wanted. It’s seven-inch, 800 x 480 device from Eken that is selling for $680 RMB in China. That translates to $99.53 currently that, at first glimpse, looks to be quite a bargain. Sure, it has only 2GB of storage, but you can expand that to 32GB with SD. The VIA 8505 processor certainly won’t be confused for a Snapdragon but despite that the device pledges only two hours of battery life on a charge. To top it off it’s stuck with good ‘ol Android 1.5 installed, leaving us to conclude that this is hardly a bargain after all. Shucks.

Eken’s Android-powered MID looks mighty nice for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink M.I.C. gadget  |  shanzhaiji.cn  | Email this | Comments

News continues to trickle out about Toshiba’s upcoming tablets, which we learned just last week would come in both Windows and Android flavors and would be shipping before the year is through. Now it seems that both versions, despite offering different designs, will offer NVIDIA Tegra 2 internals. That both tablets will be manufactured by Compal makes us wonder if we weren’t given a preview of the future Tosh model when playing with a 7-inch Android prototype at CES in January, pictured above. There’s a video of that after the break to refresh your memory, a relic dating from the pre-G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra era. Simpler times, those.

Continue reading Toshiba’s tablets said to offer Tegra 2 power, have we already seen the Android version?

Toshiba’s tablets said to offer Tegra 2 power, have we already seen the Android version? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  DigiTimes Systems  | Email this | Comments

It wasn’t that long ago that we heard confirmation from Toshiba America’s Jeff Barney that there was a slate coming from the company in early 2011. Now Jeff has disclosed a bit more information to Reuters, including the presence of not one but at least two of the things, and he’s saying they’ll be out before the year is through. The first will be a premium model running Windows 7, roughly 10 inches in size and, interestingly, having not one but two screens. (Is this you, Courier?) The second will run Android and is said to come in at a lower price, though beyond that it’s up to you to decide what kind of specs it should have. The prime intent for both is “media consumption” according to Barney, who sees the presence of slates as “expansive like netbooks.” In other words: not stealing sales from the company’s laptop business. Given he also took the time to talk up the 50-percent boost in Toshiba laptop and PC sales this year, he’d better hope that’s the case.

Toshiba reveals more tablet details, confirms Windows and Android versions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink electronista  |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments

Did you order a Enso zenPad? If so, you’ll be happy to hear that the company has decided on a concrete release date; its website is now ticking down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until May 8th, when Enso claims they’ll finally ship the rebranded Smit MID. Problem is, if you ordered your zenPad on March 22nd — the day we wrote about it — you will have waited 47 days by the time the device ships, exactly two days too many to get a PayPal refund. But more importantly, manufacturer Smit has now disavowed any knowledge of a deal, and Enso itself has admitted that the zenPad as such does not currently exist. We’ve done quite a bit of digging and even spoke with an Enso founder to get the whole story. Enough promises have now been broken and lies told that if we were you, we’d request refunds ASAP, but if you still want to hang on for a chance at a $155 Android tablet, you can hear the whole tale right after the break.

Update: We just spoke to Enso CEO Alberto Armandi, who says that the company has now secured the necessary funding to make good on orders, and promises that he will ship us a zenPad for review within two weeks. We’ll revisit this story then. Meanwhile, read how we got to this juncture after the break.

Continue reading Enso’s zenPad is vaporware, get refunds while they last (update)

Enso’s zenPad is vaporware, get refunds while they last (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments