Tableau Of Tablets Make Their Debut

By Joseph Palenchar On Apr 4 2011 - 4:01am

ORLANDO, FLA. – New tablets came in all sizes but in one basic shape (rectangular) and one basic operating system (Android 3.0) at the CTIA convention, where most new models sported 1GHz dual-core processors dominated and 4G cellular.

The new models featured 7-inch, 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch touchscreens.

Here’s what the suppliers revealed:

Acer Iconia Tab A501:  The Tab is Acer’s first 4G tablet, which will be available on during the second quarter for the AT&T network at a price to be announced.

The Tab features Nvidia’s Tegra 250 dual-core 1GHz processor, Android 3.0 OS, 10.1-inch display, Wi-Fi, 850/1900MHz 4G HSPA+ cellular, 5-megapixel HD camera/video camera, 1080p HDMI output, front-facing camera for video chats, GPS and MicroSD slot. The amount of embedded memory wasn’t available.

A demo at CTIA used the Android 2.2 OS, but the device will ship with Honeycomb 3.0, a spokesman said.

AnyDATA AMD 120 and 810: The Irvine, Calif., company, known for branded and white-label cellphones and cellular modules, launched the first in a line of value-priced tablets.

The AMD 120 features Wi-Fi. The AMD 810 adds 3G CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A in the 800/1,900MHz bands and the 1.7/2.1GHz AWS band. Both feature a 7-inch screen.

The Wi-Fi-only AMD 120 has a Qualcomm dualcore 1.2GHz processor. It will launch with the Android 2.3 smartphone OS but is upgradable to the tablet-optimized Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS.

The 3G-equipped AMD 810 will launch with the Honeycomb OS and a Qualcomm dual-core 1.5GHz processor. It can also be used as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot.

Both models weigh less than a pound and feature WSVGA display, 1080p/60 fps HD video capture and playback, dual speakers, media player with SRS virtual surround sound, dual camera/camcorders for video chats (3-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.3-megapixel frontfacing camera), MicroSD slot, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.1, accelerometer, gyroscope, digital compass and light sensor.

The cellular version adds stand-alone GPS and assisted GPS. The Wi-Fi version will hit the market first through prepaid carrier Cricket.

HTC Evo View 4G: In launching its first 4G tablet, Sprint chose HTC’s first U.S. 4G tablet, the Evo View 4G, which will ship initially with Android 2.3 OS but will be upgraded to the tablet-optimized Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS.

It’s due in the summer at an unannounced price.

The Evo View 4G, a variation of the HSPA+ Flyer unveiled at the recent Mobile World Congress, features 1,024 by 600 7-inch touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom capability, 1.5GHz processor, 32GB embedded memory, 1GB RAM, MicroSD slot supporting up to 32GB cards, DLNA certification, HDMI output, Flash 10 and HTML 5 for web browsing, and fingertip and pen interaction with the screen.

Its mobile Wi-Fi hot spot capability links up to eight devices at a time to the Internet via Sprint’s wireless network.

The tablet uses HTC’s Sense smartphone user interface on top of the new Android 2.3 OS. The user interface features a 3D homescreen and a carousel of widgets to put the user’s most important content and information frontand- center.

HTC Flyer: HTC will bring a Wi-Fi-only version of its Flyer tablet to the U.S. later in the spring, when the device will be launched exclusively through Best Buy.

Availability of the Flyer, shown at the recent Mobile World Congress with HSPA+ cellular for overseas markets, will precede planned summertime availability of HTC’s Flyerbased 3G/4G Evo View 4G for the Sprint network.

The Flyer will be available through BestBuy.com, through all 160 stand-alone Best Buy Mobile outlets, and in Best Buy Mobile outlets within all of Best Buy’s big-box stores.

The Flyer and Evo View 4G for Sprint offer similar features. The major difference is lack of cellular and mobile hot spot capability. In another difference, the 3G/4G Evo View features 32GB of embedded memory plus MicroSD card slot, while the Wi-Fi-only Flyer features 16GB of embedded memory plus MicroSD slot.

The U.S. Flyer’s Android version wasn’t announced.

T-Mobile G-Slate with Google by LG: The previously announced tablet got a price, which is $529 with a qualifying data plan to consumers who have a T-Mobile voice plan. The tablet features Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, 8.9- inch multitouch 3D display with ability to capture 720p 3D video and 1080p 2D video.