And here we go again.  Hannspree has just announced their venture into the Android tablet marketplace with the introduction of an Android 2.2 powered device.  The Hannspree tablet will feature a 10.1 inch 1,024 x 600 pixel display, Tegra 2 ARM A9 dual-core 1GHz processor, Adobe Flash 10.1, Mini HDMI, Mini USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.  Continue Reading

Come on, you knew it would come to this. In an industry obsessed with 3D as a means of boosting sales, somebody was bound to introduce a 3D tablet that requires glasses (polarized, no doubt). While other companies like Sharp have 3D tablet ambitions designed around its glassesless parallax barrier display technology, Korea’s i-Station has bolted from the gate with a 7-inch (800×480) Z3D 3D tablet featuring the Android 2.1 OS, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, 5000mAh high capacity battery, DMB television, either 32GB or 64GB or storage (depending upon model), and 1080p video support. And really, what could be more convenient than carrying around an extra pair of glasses just for viewing 3D content? A stylus perhaps? One can only hope. Of course, i-Station has plenty of tablet options to choose from including the similarly spec’d “i-Station Dude” and miniature “Buddy,” all pictured above just for you pal. Expect the Z3D to launch in November for KRW600,000 or right around $500.

While the competition for iPad may predominantly come from tablets using a more popular ARM processor, like those from Qualcomm, there is another chip gaining favor with some manufacturers. It’s the dual-core RockChip RK2818 1GHz processor, a successor to the 600MHz RK2808. Continue Reading

This rather familiar-looking tablet is in fact one of the first Android tablets in the wild. The Identity TAB comes from South Korea’s KT and will cost 300,000 Won, or around $250, and is almost identical to the upcoming Galaxy Tab from Samsung.

The TAB runs Android 2.2 Froyo, and the TFT LCD (multitouch) screen measures seven-inches, which seems to be a sweet spot for Android tablets. It runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, is packed with 8GB storage and a gyroscope, plus some great additions not found in Apple’s iPad: a 3MP camera (rear-facing), an SD-card slot and a DMB TV Tuner (sweet!).

As with any tablet facing up to the iPad, it will win or lose based on the smoothness and integration of the operating system and hardware (things much more important when you are interacting with on-screen controls directly) and of course an app ecosystem. The Identity TAB does have one other great advantage: It’s in Korea, which means crazy-good internet. The $250 price is for the unit alone. Sign up for a contract and it is free if you pick a $22 per month WiMax contract from SK Telecom, offering an impossible-to-exhaust 50GB of data. One caveat: from the (translated) wording of various descriptions, it is unclear whether WiMax (called WiBro in Korea) is built-in or requires an external unit or dongle.

Despite the embarrassingly derivative design, the TAB certainly looks like a tablet to watch.

Toshiba’s Android tablet has been given a more definitive name and specs in a scoop that points to an Apple influence. Now labeled by Notebook Italia as the Folio 100, the device not only has a proprietary Apple-style dock connector but a similar cradle to match. Toshiba will also try ot take a cue by running its own store, Toshiba Marketplace, as a supplement to Android Market. Continue Reading

We just got back from a visit to Velocity Micro’s Richmond, Virginia headquarters where we were given full access to their new eBook reader the Cruz Reader. We’ve reported on this upcoming device before – but this time we had a lengthy hands-on experience with what promises to be the most capable full color Android eBook reader on the market. We’ve got the specs, we’ve got the photos and even a quick video! Continue Reading

Allgo, a private company in India, is currently showing off a prototype Android tablet which only costs $50 to build. The device called Stamp is a seven-inch tablet and has spent over 18 months in development; now, it can wirelessly browse the Internet, run basic applications and even playback video and audio files. It benefits from a resistive touchscreen display, with a resolution of 800×480. Continue Reading

The autostereoscopic technology behind the 3DS and Toshiba’s HDTVs (to say nothing of glasses-free 3D products for years) is far from secret, so it makes sense that once 3D started blowing up, we’d see it everywhere. This 3D tablet runs Android (if I’m reading correctly) and will make its official debut at IFA. It likely uses a similar lenticular array as the 3DS, as you can adjust the 3D effect or turn it off entirely. Continue Reading

Orange has a major project in the pipeline — it’s planning to bring out its own Android tablet, working with a “large Asian manufacturer”, according to French financial newspaper Les Echos. Continue Reading

If you could build the perfect Android tablet, what would it look like? That’s the question I asked myself last week when I started this series. Now it’s time for the second most important feature: Continue Reading