Velocity Micro is releasing 3 tablets in August/September. A couple of other reasons why we are communicating this news is: 1) price point will be between $149 and $299 (which where we believe tablets should be priced at in order to have strong sales); and 2) these tablets will be one of the first Android tablets to be released this year assuming they are in August/September. These could be the first major challengers to Apple's iPad.
The video demos the Cruz Reader but it will come in 3 flavors: $149 Cruz StoryPad; $199 Cruz Reader; and $299 Cruz Tablet. We will review the $299 version as soon as we can get our hands on one. Velocity Micro's site provides a nice comparison but the major differences between the Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet are:
- Reader will have a ratio of 4x3 resistive screen while the Tablet will have 16:9 capacitive screen
- Reader will have 800x600 resolution while the Tablet will have 800x480
- Tablet has multi-touch while the Reader does not
- Reader will have a docking station
- Reader will have 802.11b/g wifi while the Tablet will have 802.11n for faster connectivity
- Tablet will have 4GB of internal storage with an 8GB SD card to be included. Reader will have 256MB internal storage and include a 2GB SD card.
Cruz Reader
We are very curious to see the final product as the device appears slow but it is a prototype. Apparently, there is an updated video where Randy Copeland, President & CEO of Velocity Micro demos an updated version. The Android version and processor have not been officially released but sources state it will run Android 2.2 and use an 800MHz processor.
We are looking forward to reviewing the Cruz Tablet. Right now the iPad is the standard that all other tablets must beat. We'll find out if Velocity Micro delivers.
Cruz Tablet
mid august and no sign of them yet ;(
ReplyDeletewas thinking of getting an iPad but would prefer something with Android 2.2 and Marketplace support...