Engineers from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and four other institutions have co-developed a tablet with 2GB of memory (or storage; the distinction is unclear) and USB. As the newscaster in the video below states, “There’s no word yet on what kind of software will be used in the device. This often significantly drives up the cost.” Check the notification bar on screen while the news man talks about the need for cheap software.

The Human Resources Development Ministry in Indian believes that continued R&D (along with potential government subsidies for students) will lead to the tablets being sold for $20 or less.

Christmas time in the US bring out all the great new toys doesn’t it? At least for Verizon it will. It’s being said that Motorola, Samsung, and LG are all going to be producing Android tablets. And just who is that being said by? Verizon Chief Exec Lowell McAdam:

Customers should expect that the first tablets will be Android devices from contenders including Motorola Samsung, and LG.

….

.. Verizon expects to sell many of these gadgets in the fourth quarter.

It’s funny that the projected release of these tablets not only coincide with Christmas, but they also coincide with when Verizon wants to start releasing LTE devices from Moto, LG, and HTC. Does that mean the Android tablets will be LTE? Eventually, yes. What kind of specs can we expect? Will the mystery tablets run on Tegra power? How much will they cost? These are all questions we just don’t have answers for. As soon as we do though, we’ll let ya know.

Via Android Spin

Archos recently released an update to their Archos 5 Internet Tablet.  The most substantial feature in the update, is the ability to purchase and install paid Market apps.  In my opinion, this is a HUGE win for the device.  Users can now install premium apps, that were once inaccessible.  While this doesn’t make the Archos 5 an “iPad killer”, it does bring us hope for the upcoming Archos devices.

Do you have an Archos 5?  What do you think?

Via: CrunchGear

Tablets, netbooks, and more tablets…

ASUS CEO, Jerry Shen, said they will be announcing their foray into the tablet battle at COMPUTEX, in early June.  ASUS Chairman, Jonney Shih, stated that the device will run Android, support USB, include a webcam and support Flash to “compete against Apple’s iPad”.

ASUS is targeting a third quarter launch; Possibly July, according to reports.  Sources say pricing should be $479-510. (I hope not)

Source: DigiTimes
Via: BGR

If you were anything like me, you were glued to your news reader in early January, tracking the latest products and trends that came out of the Consumer Electronics Show.  One of the top trends:  Tablets.

With the release of a certain “pad”, other manufacturers have been working to make good on their CES promises.  Dell, HP, and Archos are only a few that have announced (or released) tablets this year.  Enter Velocity Micro.

Velocity Micro isn’t new to the world of computing.  They’ve been building high-end consumer and business PCs for 18 years.  Now they’re working on a line of devices that will compete with tables and eReaders alike.  The top of the line tablet will feature an 800 MHz processor, a 7″ capacitive touchscreen, and Android 2.1.  Velocity Micro created a site for the product.  Check it out here to sign up for updates.

The folks over at Engadget received a few spy shots of one of the tablets.  From what I can see, this is going to be a nice addition to the Android family.