Thursday, August 4, 2011

Pandigital releasing 3 Android Tablets

Today Pandigital, mostly known for digital frames and eReaders, has announced a new line of low cost 7" Android tablets.  Three tablets (Planet, Nova and Star) will be available this month.  A fourth tablet (SuperNova) will be announced and launched in September.  The first three tablets will feature a Cortex A9 processor with embedded 3D graphics.

 Pandigital Planet

   Dean Finnegan, founder and CEO, Pandigital, stated "We have included many of the features and functionality that consumers have come to expect from much higher priced devices. To further enhance the customer experience, each model also includes several advanced features, such as the ability to browse the Internet, catch up on email, watch movies, and share photos on the family TV from the tablet."  All three will feature Barnes & Noble's eStore, GetJar (app market; no Google Market here), camera (only Planet & Nova will feature dual cameras), HDMISwitch (lets you view on your HDTV), ES File Explorer (we like to see this), OfficeSuite Viewer (can only view but not edit documents & spreadsheets) plus standard apps.



   The Planet and Star will run Android 2.2 while the Nova will feature Android 2.3.  Pandigital is stating that these tablets will be "upgradeable to new Android operating system versions and will be scheduled for future firmware releases as they become available."  This is nice to see.  Pandigital also enjoys a strong developer community.  Their eReaders have been hacked to run custom ROMs.  The Planet and Nova will have an 800x600 resolution while the Star will have an 800x480 screen.  There is multi-touch support on all three tablets.  The Planet and Star will have 2GB of integrated memory while the Nova will have 4GB.  All will have a micro-SD card port for increased memory capacity. 

   The Pandigital Planet (R70A200) is currently available at most retailers for $189 MSRP.  The Nova (R70F400/R70F452) will be available later this week for also $189 MSRP while the Star (R70B200) will be available in mid-August for $159 MSRP.  Based on the specs provided, the Nova seems like the best value.  We will be obtaining one to review.  Stay tune.
 
Pandigital Star

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