augen 7" 2.1

[idk?]

this is actually my first thread, but i feel obligated to share this since i didn't see it anywhere else

GENTOUCH

on the augen website they have an extremely cheap tablet running 2.1 and it has pretty good specs, its also advertised in this weeks Kmart add.

Product Features

 

[Merlin1]

I saw this also it sais on the site it has android market wich i didnt think was on any tablets. I wonder if this is a big mistake on there part or if it is true. If it does have market acces it might be worth looking into.

 

[elrabin]

It looks pretty darn good.

If its capacitive @ $150, i'm 100% sold.

If its resistive......well, i need to get my hands on one first.

This could be a PERFECT ebook reader and netflix control center for my home theatre.

 

[anthonygobot]

Good for gaming?

 

[linkages]

Just called my local Kmart. They did not get any in. Told me to call back on Thursday when the truck comes in again. I was a little surprised since it was in the Sunday circular. Maybe they are mistaken. I think I will make a trip out to Kmart after dinner just for giggles to see if they really have one.

 

[idk?]

ill be pickin one up for sure if Kmart gets them in. not sure why they would advertise before its release

 

[Ares_EMS]

I'm really interested in this as well.. Something that will be good for accessing apps on the market and watching vids on youtube and such, without having to actually commit to a 2yr contract for a new phone I'm cheap like that! Well actually, I may be moving overseas soon, and don't want to be hassled with a phone contract I'm just wondering how good of a quality that screen is.

 

[marcelo_lopez]

Ok.....I'm actually local to where Augen is based, so I picked up the phone and called them...Here's the straight scoop.

1. The price is KMart's introductory sale price ( Just as with the ebook reader, the intro price was $89, and is now $99. ) at $149.

2. All initial shipments have been delivered to KMarts distributions centers.

3. Not all KMarts will be receiving them apparently ( I confirmed this by calling a few local KMarts ).

4. This is but the first of a whole line of Android Tablet offerings they plan on introducing.

5. I could not get confirmation if the screen was resistive or capacitive from the person at Augen I spoke to. I will inquire more tomorrow and report back.

6. Augen will apparently be setting up a sort of developer's program for ISV's who wish to develop solutions that specifically leverage their offerings. More on this to come, it's still preliminary.

7. If all goes well...I'll post up an unboxing later in the week and a review to follow.

Update: I forgot to mention that they are also targeting to release an Android touch screen netbook ( probably in the 10-11" form factor ) before EOY, so stay tuned.

 

[bumpychef]

Ok.....I'm actually local to where Augen is based, so I picked up the phone and called them...Here's the straight scoop.

1. The price is KMart's introductory sale price ( Just as with the ebook reader, the intro price was $89, and is now $99. ) at $149.

2. All initial shipments have been delivered to KMarts distributions centers.

3. Not all KMarts will be receiving them apparently ( I confirmed this by calling a few local KMarts ).

4. This is but the first of a whole line of Android Tablet offerings they plan on introducing.

5. I could not get confirmation if the screen was resistive or capacitive from the person at Augen I spoke to. I will inquire more tomorrow and report back.

6. Augen will apparently be setting up a sort of developer's program for ISV's who wish to develop solutions that specifically leverage their offerings. More on this to come, it's still preliminary.

7. If all goes well...I'll post up an unboxing later in the week and a review to follow.

Thanks for the information I have been wanting a droid tablet for months, if you ever get to talk to them again or find out i'd love to know the battery life and if you could hook up a usb keyboard through the usb that is on the tablet.

 

[icurafu]

These are the VIA board with 256MB RAM instead of 128MB in the old one, right?

I've seen a lot of cheap 256MB pop up recently, so it would be nice if the industry is fixing the obvious issue on the low end android tablets.

 

[Ares_EMS]

I know 2.1 is listed as the OS on these devices, but I wonder if it will be updated to Froyo at a later date, or it would be easy enough to root. It doesn't look like stock Android on the device, so I'm wondering how hard it would be to root at a later date if I chose to.

 

[marcelo_lopez]

@Ares: My understanding is that it would be upgradeable to 2.2 at "some point", but the rep wouldn't go into more detail at this time. I'll be following up on that.

@icurafu: I didn't get the name of the specific chipset from the rep, but I did leave that as something for the person to get back to me on, so I will be following up on that.

And yes, it does come with 256Mb of RAM built in. Most of the newer crop of Andy tablets have been coming with 256Mb of RAM. My primary concern is that the 800Mhz quoted for processor speed is not a combination of actual CPU and DSP processors integrated on the same chip, but rather the actual speed of the CPU. I'm not 100% worried about a resistive screen as I came from the Windows Mobile world where all we had were resistive screens. Although if these folks managed to squeeze capactive into this puppy....this would almost make it a "buy" on that basis alone in my book.

Any more questions you have, let me know and I'll try to get more info as possible. I don't want to overwhelm this person, I'm trying to develop a repoire here in case future product previews are possible.

 

[linkages]

Just got back from the local Kmart and they did not have any in. I did talk to the electronics supervisor and she said that they are expecting some on the truck this Thursday.

I asked why they would not have any in for the Sunday sale since it was advertised in the Sunday circular and she told me that she was informed that there were some distribution problems. She was not sure if the problems were from Kmart or from Augen. I am guessing it was neither but more likely a manufacturing problem/delay in China where Augen most likely sources these things.

I'll be calling on Thursday and hopefully will be able to get one of these this week. If I do, I'll try to shoot a quick unboxing and performance appraisal.

 

[marcelo_lopez]

linkages : Excellent...let's see who's the lucky one first ! I would tend to think that the whole distribution thing is probably more towards KMart. The rep ( taking this person at their word ) said that as of last week, they had delivered the initial stock of the units to KMart's distribution centers. So while it might not have made it to the stores, KMart should've had it in their warehouses. Now to see how long it takes. Folks I spoke to at 2 KMarts said they expected it in tomorrow, and apparently I hadn't even been the first to call about this.....so go figure.

 

[idk?]

wow, you guys are awesome, nice investigating. now i must decide whether to purchase it on release day or wait for a couple reviews to make sure its not junk :| this thing looks to be a step-up from the ipad clones however

 

[iggypop123]

linkages : Excellent...let's see who's the lucky one first ! I would tend to think that the whole distribution thing is probably more towards KMart. The rep ( taking this person at their word ) said that as of last week, they had delivered the initial stock of the units to KMart's distribution centers. So while it might not have made it to the stores, KMart should've had it in their warehouses. Now to see how long it takes. Folks I spoke to at 2 KMarts said they expected it in tomorrow, and apparently I hadn't even been the first to call about this.....so go figure.

at least based on comments from android guys site it seems some people already have their hands on them, in fact one guy actually commented he had one in his possession but never replied to questions from people he just said

"Just picked one up in Chattanooga area. My first impression....how did this only cost $150, it seems like pretty nice hardware."

 

[anthonygobot]

Guess im gonna make an attempt to pick one up!

 

[marcelo_lopez]

Sounds like a picker-upper. Like I said before, I put a few questions to the rep @ Augen.

 

[Ares_EMS]

Take this with a grain of salt, as it's Wikipedia, but it looks like according to the "List of Android Devices" section, the Gentouch78 (the official model # of this tablet), the screen is a 800x480 resistive touchscreen, which I'm not actually surprised by it.. but how do these resistive screens compare to the capacitive ones?

List of Android devices - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[iggypop123]

Take this with a grain of salt, as it's Wikipedia, but it looks like according to the "List of Android Devices" section, the Gentouch78 (the official model # of this tablet), the screen is a 800x480 resistive touchscreen, which I'm not actually surprised by it.. but how do these resistive screens compare to the capacitive ones?

List of Android devices - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[koppit]

This is still pretty cool - it's about time it hit mainstream stores!

 

[mrspeedmaster]

This is still pretty cool - it's about time it hit mainstream stores!

And if it is crap, you can always bring it back.

 

[kenyu73]

http://androidforums.com/android-ne...ing-augen-s-7-inch-tablet-150-gentouch78.html

 

[photographx]

That's credible, not Incredible....

 

[kenyu73]

I'm just spreading the word my android brother! I think its incredible that it just came out of the blue (=