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Still in Wait and See Mode: Asus Reveals Some Pricing and Some Info an Tablets

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Asus honcho Jerry Shen is talking Tablets and prices and info and it all boils down to still playing wait and see. Although in some cases that window is getting smaller. Essentially we’re hearing about three different versions of the Eee Pad and also the Eee Tablet.

First up is the Eee Tablet. It’s essentially a reader from what I can tell, with a greyscale screen. It is due in October and has dropped from a $500 price tag to $300. That still sounds steep for something that is essentially an ebook Reader.

The Eee Pad lineup has three variants around three different operating systems. Yes, we’re talking Android, we’re also talking Windows 7 and Windows Embedded Compact 7.

The Android version (EP101TC) isn’t scheduled to hit consumers until (wait for it…..) March. Shen is saying the price tag will be less than $399 for the 10 inch slate.

The Windows 7 version (EP121) will set you back $1000 or so and is targeted at the high end. Shen is saying the high price tag includes a docking station for the 12 inch device that allows you to turn it into a laptop.  Shipping is loosely pegged as December or January.

The Windows Embedded Compact 7 version might show itself in January with a price under $499 for the 10 inch device.

I wouldn’t take any of this to the bank just yet.

Via PCWorld and just about everybody else.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. aftermath

    08/13/2010 at 7:11 am

    Warner, I invite you to re-visit your impressions of the EEE tablet as “essentially an e-reader”. Since the only other detail that you mention about it is the “greyscale screen”, I’m left to suspect that you believe the former because of the latter. However, the feature that you either didn’t remember or didn’t report on is the touchscreen with 2450 dpi touch sensitivity when using a special stylus. Is this now gone? If not, this appears to be an unparalleled inking device in the world of tablet computing. You may also notice that this is the ONLY device in the lineup which is called a TABLET by Asus, as if they remember what we all once knew: a slate is a form factor and a tablet is a usage scenario. If this actual tablet is merely an e-book reader then I’m also left to wonder what all of these touchscreen slates must necessarily be commensurately diminished as. Toys?

    • Warner Crocker

      08/13/2010 at 7:24 am

      You might be correct. I’m just responding to the greyscale screen.

    • Sumocat

      08/13/2010 at 7:36 am

      I think Warner still has some sand stuck between the ears from his vacation. Probably still recovering from the fact he actually slept for a few nights in a row. :)

      BTW, I know that 2450 dpi figure looks really impressive, but that’s actually Wacom’s current low-end technology, available on their Bamboo tablets with pen input. I’m not positive their current Penabled digitizers match it, but I would expect it to.

  2. RJ

    08/13/2010 at 7:44 am

    $1000….thats pretty steep, for that price the EeePad better have a Wacom digitizer. And god forbid that thing has netbook guts.

  3. MP

    08/13/2010 at 7:46 am

    Yes, but will any of them support a pen??? And I don’t mean a kludgy after-the-fact stylus and cobbled-together software (meaning no offense to Dan Bricklin, Warner or anyone else) but an honest to goodness digital ink experience?

    • Nameless

      08/14/2010 at 1:18 pm

      The Eee Tablet has Wacom, but the grayscale screen kills it for me at $300. Maybe $50-100. I do make use of color in OneNote, after all.

      The Eee Pads…I frankly doubt it, though I’d certainly like to see Wacom digitizers in them. Heck, for the EP121 variant with Win7 and a $1,000 price tag, I EXPECT Wacom pen functionality, very long battery life, and a Hydis or IPS LCD. Otherwise, you could easily find more capable Tablet PCs for half the price on eBay, in all likeliness.

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