facebook rss twitter

Cheap Android tablets set to hit the market

by Sarah Griffiths on 2 November 2010, 14:47

Tags: Samsung (005935.KS), Toshiba (TYO:6502)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa2tt

Add to My Vault: x

Tablet tiff

Toshiba has confirmed to us that its tablet offering, the FOLIO 100, will be available by the end of November and cost just £329 for the non-3G version. However one of our tipsters (thanks again, Bunjiweb) informs us it has gone on sale at PC World and Curry's today, and is exclusive to them for three weeks.The firm said the 3G version will be released at a later date but no price has been confirmed.

The FOLIO 100 model is around the same size as an iPad at 10.1 inches but, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, it runs Android Froyo. It also shares features like Adobe Flash Player 10.1, 16GB memory, HDMI connector and front-facing camera with Samsung's tablet.

Although the Galaxy Tab has 3G, it is substantially more expensive at £529 (and has a smaller screen) than Toshiba's non-3G offering. In fact, as we wrote earlier, the Galaxy Tab is the same price as Apple's 16GB 3G iPad and it is thought it apparently costs less to make than the iconic Apple tablet.

Samsung could do with having a look at what else is out there as there are also plenty of other tablets cheaper even than the FOLIO 100, including Point of View's 10 inch effort running on Android 2.1, with a smaller 7 inch version said to cost £174.99 for a 16GB model.

Tech retailer PC World has jumped on the tablet bandwagon with two productsset to hit the shelves soon. The most impressive of the two is the Advent Vega, which will feature a 10.1inch touschscreen and a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 Soc running Android 2.2, integrated webcam, built-in Wi-Fi and a claimed 10 hour battery life all for £250. Meanwhile a 7 inch model will make its debut for £129.99.

ViewSonic is also releasing a tablet that will dual boot with Windows and Android 1.6 at launch. The 10 inch tablet boasts a front facing camera but no 3G and is retailing for around £429. A smaller version, the Viewpad 7, which has a 7 inch screen will run Android Froyo and will include 3G connectivity for £399.

There's even a budget tablet by Elonex, available from Asda for £97. The cheap tablet has a 7 inch screen, ARM LNX Code 9 processor, 2GB memory, WI-Fi connection, rund Android 1.6 and claims 3 hours battery life.

Of course all these tablets have some work to do to steal some of Apple' tablet market share. Bloomberg reported that Apple has boosted its tablet market share to 95 percent in Q3, while despite a lot of new tablet launches running Android, Google's OS has actually lost some share, according to research from Strategy Analytics.

Global tablets sales have reportedly soared by 26 percent from the previous quarter to 4.4m units, with Apple shifting over 4.1m iPads. Meanwhile, Android's share of the market has slipped to 2.3 percent from 2.9 percent. However, the research firm apparently believes Android will get a boost upon the release of Samsung's Galaxy Tab, released this month.

Strategy Analytics Director Neil Mawston reportedly said: "The tablet wars are up and running," and Android and other operating platforms "are trailing in Apple's wake and they already have much ground to make up."



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
These cheap tablets are all well and good, but they don't have the Android Market place, so really, they are a waste of time and money. This is what the Tab has going for it, it actually does have the Google seal of aproval.
i cant seem to find this Toshiba on the PC World or Currys websites. Is it in store only? wouldn't mind taking a peak to see the potential these have to offer!
Funkstar
These cheap tablets are all well and good, but they don't have the Android Market place, so really, they are a waste of time and money. This is what the Tab has going for it, it actually does have the Google seal of aproval.

The only requiremet for Marketplace access seems to be 3g access to the market. Rumour has it that that requirement will disappear in Gingerbread / 2.3 as Currys / Advent seem very confident that marketplace access is only a temporary issue.

Of course there is always another option with Amazon once their marketplace appears in the wild.
Funkstar
These cheap tablets are all well and good, but they don't have the Android Market place, so really, they are a waste of time and money. This is what the Tab has going for it, it actually does have the Google seal of aproval.

I'm looking at the Archos 101, and yes, no market place which is pretty much the whole point of Android although it can be “installed”, the Archos also needs to have software from Archos to play certain media types..
eek
The only requiremet for Marketplace access seems to be 3g access to the market. Rumour has it that that requirement will disappear in Gingerbread / 2.3 as Currys / Advent seem very confident that marketplace access is only a temporary issue. Of course there is always another option with Amazon once their marketplace appears in the wild.
I'm guessing that you mean that the device accessing GMP must be 3G “capable”, because I do most of the GMP transactions on my SE X10 phone via Wifi (it's faster than 3G and I'm seldom accused of being patient)

Meanwhile a 7 inch model will make its debut for £129.99
Now that's a device I'd be interested in - especially if it's got the full access to GMP (eventually?). And £250 for the 10“ version isn't unpalatable either - although £199.99 would have been more attractive.

As with the netbooks, I really can't see the point of paying the same as the cost of a decent basic laptop for an auxiliary device, so the current prices of the iPad and Galaxy Tab are totally unattractive. Hopefully Samsung will realise that it's only Apple that can get away with ramping the prices, and consequentially ”realign" the prices to something more realistic.