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Kmart Briefly Offers $149 Android Tablet
pickens writes in with word that Kmart put an Android tablet on sale for $149 — and quickly sold out. "A Kmart circular came out last week with an uber-geeky product that perked up a few ears in the gadget community. Augen's 7-inch Gen-78 Android tablet which runs Android 2.1 is on sale for $150 (normally $170). The tablet is as bare bones as it gets, but it does work and has some features which may interest those who can't reconcile the $500+ price of Apple's iPad. Features include Android 2.1 (no skinning), 7" 800x480 Display, WiFi 802.11G, 2GB of storage +SD card slot (up to 32GB), 256MB of RAM (same as iPad), HDMI out for 720P viewing on an external display, an eBook reader, YouTube app, and Maps. ... 'I'll be honest,' writes Seth Weintraub. 'I don't trust my toddler with an iPad but this thing will be great for watching Gumby (don't ask) at home and Sesame Street in the car.'" It seems that Kmart offered rainchecks to those who found the item sold out at their local store — up until July 31. It is not clear whether after the retailer restocks the pipeline, they will stop at fulfilling the rainchecks, or will offer the Augen tablet again to new buyers. An update to the article notes that Augen does not have a license for Android from Google, and therefore the Android Store is not supported on it.
I would love a tablet computer. but not a really tiny one. Vendors: Start making tablets that have an unlocked bootloader, run android, and are at least 10" (ideally 12" or bigger). If you make that at a reasonable price, I will even locate and visit a local K-Mart to get it.
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
The store had neither a cashier nor a customer service employee at the front
Many years ago, I had a similar experience in a J.C. Penny store in New Jersey. I had just moved, and was buying an armload of bedding, curtains, and towels the middle of a weekday afternoon. So I had a stack of merchandise about three feet high. I couldn't find any store staff anywhere on the floor. So I went to a checkout, picked up the phone behind the counter, and dialed 0. I told the store operator "I'd like to speak to the store manager. This is an unhappy customer." The store manager was put on, and I told him I was in linens, ready to pay, and unable to find a store employee.
About two minutes later, five people show up. One was the store manager. He wasn't the senior person present. Higher management was visiting the store that day. The oldest, a distinguished looking man in a very good suit, quite possibly the CEO of the chain, personally unlocked the register and competently handled the sale. The others stood there silently, looking very uncomfortable. One was sent off to find the missing retail staff.
By now, there were three other customers lined up behind me with merchandise ready to check out. The person sent off to find the sales staff returned from some back rooms, reporting that he couldn't find anyone. Visible annoyance from the senior management. Fear from the store manager.
The senior manager turned the register over to one of the junior people (not a clerk, part of the corporate group) to handle the rest of the line, and the management group departed, taking the store manager off to his fate.
I expect when bigger players come along that we'll see some decent Android based tablets for $200 offering comparable functionality to the iPad with none of the downsides.
No, quality components simply cost more then the cheap ones used on those garbage devices. I would guess that quality Android devices will retail in the $300 to $400 price range. When this happens, Apple will drop their prices accordingly. The outrageously high price for the iPad is simply due to a lack of competition.
Once more manufacturers start producing quality components for such tablets, the prices will come down. This requires high demand for such components - something that is starting right now thanks to Android. Well, Apple also helps in this regard but they limit the number of component suppliers (as all companies do) thereby making it harder for other manufacturers to enter the market. Android opens up the market giving manufacturers the required incentive to compete. This helps everyone - even Apple.
Oh, and eBay will always have cheaper devices. They generally ship from Hong Kong, offer no warranty or support, and illegally bypass local tariffs and taxes. They usually ship as personal mail with an outrageously low declared value. Legally, you are supposed to declare such purchases but nobody does.
That's why I suggested hybrid devices. There is no doubt capacitive is more responsive for finger gestures but for writing it stinks badly. Capacitive devices including the iPad are useless for note taking. The best of both worlds would be something that handles a light touch via capacitive but allows pressure based sensing too for handwriting.