Kmart Briefly Offers $149 Android Tablet 245
pickens writes in with word that Kmart put an Android tablet on sale for $149 — and quickly sold out. "A Kmart circular came out last week with an uber-geeky product that perked up a few ears in the gadget community. Augen's 7-inch Gen-78 Android tablet which runs Android 2.1 is on sale for $150 (normally $170). The tablet is as bare bones as it gets, but it does work and has some features which may interest those who can't reconcile the $500+ price of Apple's iPad. Features include Android 2.1 (no skinning), 7" 800x480 Display, WiFi 802.11G, 2GB of storage +SD card slot (up to 32GB), 256MB of RAM (same as iPad), HDMI out for 720P viewing on an external display, an eBook reader, YouTube app, and Maps. ... 'I'll be honest,' writes Seth Weintraub. 'I don't trust my toddler with an iPad but this thing will be great for watching Gumby (don't ask) at home and Sesame Street in the car.'" It seems that Kmart offered rainchecks to those who found the item sold out at their local store — up until July 31. It is not clear whether after the retailer restocks the pipeline, they will stop at fulfilling the rainchecks, or will offer the Augen tablet again to new buyers. An update to the article notes that Augen does not have a license for Android from Google, and therefore the Android Store is not supported on it.
More Details on the Unauthorized App Store Code (Score:5, Informative)
Augen included proprietary Google software in their product via an unauthorized vendor. Google only licenses its software to partners and OHA [Open Handset Alliance] members directly.
And Augen's CEO responded [laptopmag.com] saying it was unintentional:
the Google Mobile Service and Android Apps were pre installed during the development process on our tablets for testing purposes, and were not removed unintentionally before releasing the products in the market place. Google and Augen came to a mutual understanding that the Google Mobile Services Application Suite pre-installed on the GENTOUCH/ GENBOOK Series; could not be removed due to technological constraints for the products that were sold, shipped, or already produced. For future production runs and deliveries, Augen will block and remove the Google Mobile Services Application Suite from the current devices until further notice.
Augen is not listed as a member of the Open Handset Alliance [openhandsetalliance.com]. Augen's website [augenus.com] still says:
The GENTOUCH78 is a sleek Android powered tablet with a 7” touch screen that connects you with hundreds of your favorite applications from the App Store.
But does not indicate which "App Store."
Link to Source (Score:5, Informative)
So does this mean that Android is not truly open source, i.e. available to anyone without right holder approval?
You can browse the source right here [kernel.org]. All of that code should be Apache 2.0 license [apache.org]. I think the issue at stake is that they took a module of code that connects to Google's Market place for Android and they're not supposed to be doing that unless they are a member of the Open Handset Alliance. It's not like Google's launching a lawsuit against them but I'd imagine Google doesn't really appreciate that. Hosting that sort of thing can't be cheap (look at how much Apple claims it loses distributing apps) and maybe that's why your membership is needed -- to support that and keep it going.
I never realized that one had to a member of fruity club to develop Android hardware. I thought that was the point, anyone could innovate without corporate approval. It is just a gimmick to sell phones with promise of multi vendor support 'open apps', like MS?
You can get the source yourself and do whatever the hell you want with it. Carriers and phone vendors are demonstrating that they can even lock down Android so "open" doesn't mean f-ckall to the end consumer. You want to get down and dirty and hose up your own version of Android? Go ahead and pull it from that git repository linked above and do something fancy with the sqlite phonebook tree [kernel.org] or whatever you want.
It's open source as can be but how do you "open source" a centralized app store with tons of traffic? I guess you're free to make your own app store and as far as I know, more are emerging. With sideloading you could make it as simple as a file download as long as the user's Android supports sideloading.
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Carriers and phone vendors are demonstrating that they can even lock down Android so "open" doesn't mean f-ckall to the end consumer.
Thus providing a very widespread example of why the EFF released the GPLv3.
Wake Up (Score:5, Insightful)
Carriers and phone vendors are demonstrating that they can even lock down Android so "open" doesn't mean f-ckall to the end consumer.
Thus providing a very widespread example of why the EFF released the GPLv3.
Let me tell you something (and sort of answer this other confused post [slashdot.org]), the people who decide which operating system gets put on a phone are not you and me. The end consumer doesn't get to decide that. You don't get to go through a checklist when you select your carrier then model of phone then operating system for it. We would all like that but we know that you select a carrier then they have a sub-selection of phones and each of those phones is stuck with a single operating system. For instance, I cannot get a Verizon plan on an iPhone 4 running Android 2.2.
There are big bucks at stake when it comes to mobile programs being sold to huge swaths of customers and the CEOs and jerkfaces that run the carriers and phone manufacturing plants aren't about to let that chunk of change slip through to the people who actually write those apps. So by sacrificing openness, they know they can lock you into a certain market application or operating system with a built in validation routine for marketing applications. This ensures you do business through them and their affiliates. "Oh, you can't uninstall the NASCAR App that sells you NASCAR crap? Too bad, NASCAR gave me five million to put that piece of trash on all my customer's phones! And honestly, we both knew that wasn't a dealbreaker on your purchase. "
Google knows this. If Google released Android and went to the carriers and phone makers and said "Look, I think you should use Android but when you release it on your device it has to stay open and you can't do this and you can't do that because that harms the end user experience." What do you think the carriers and phone makers would say? You think they'd line up to join the Open Handset Alliance? Nexus One would be the only phone running Android.
So Google makes an open mobile operating system and who's it open for? The people that decide it gets used. It's not you and me, it's not the customer, it's the people running the show.
So what would you rather have? Situation A where we're all running the traditional locked down Symbian/iOS/Microcrap Mobile operating system with no ability to see the kernel source? Or Situation B where parts of the phone are locked down like you can't install a different operating system on most of them and you can't install any marketplace app and some of them have programs you can't remove BUT you can see every line of source code for the underlying kernel!
This isn't perfect but this is progress. Any other attempt at open source and the who party would have walked away from Google. You're out of your goddamn mind if you're going to criticize the current scenario. After Android mops the floor with iOS and other mobile operating systems, we might even edge closer and closer to true openness where I can install whatever Android ROM I want on my phone the second it comes out of the box and my carrier isn't breathing down my neck when I do it. Until then, you gotta take what you can get.
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I have a question here: Does the fact that Android is open source mean that it will be easier to jailbreak so ultimately we will be able to delete those pesky advert/apps and use other app stores than the one our phone company wants us to?
Do you see why this issue makes Net Neutrality so important? I use a handheld wi-fi device to make a very large number of my phone calls, because I have wi-fi
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Here's a handy solution:
- Buy an unlocked phone.
In fact, if you make the maths, buying the phone upfront and getting a cheaper contract is cheaper overall that taking an expensive 2 years contract that includes the phone unless you really plan on using the 500 minutes (or whatever) every month.
Been doing this for 10 years now and couldn't be happier.
Re:Wake Up (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't perfect but this is progress. Any other attempt at open source and the who party would have walked away from Google. You're out of your goddamn mind if you're going to criticize the current scenario
Progress? Open source isn't for open source's sake - it's for the end user's sake. Or at least that's what the GPL has always been about. That these companies have such a stranglehold on their market that they can then use the tivo loophole to get free labor is not progress for anything but the corp's bottom lines. Let them use BSD were no loophole is required if that's what they want.
You say, "we might even edge closer to true openess" but your prediction is in direct conflict with your own thesis that the "CEOs and jerkfaces that run the carriers and phone manufacturing plants aren't about to let that chunk of change slip through"
So yeah, I am criticizing the current scenario and I say you are out of your goddamn mind for rationalizing it.
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A great way to turn a Hero into an Hero [encycloped...matica.com]!
But kidding aside, sounds like a fun project.
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In your jurisdiction maybe it's illegal (Pete knows why) - but it's perfectly legal, and common practice, in many places.
There's absolutely no technical reason that it shouldn't be legal. You may not be able to be use all of your phone's functionality if it requires a frequency that the carrier doesn't provide, but that's it.
Re:Wake Up (Score:4, Informative)
Not legal? Where? In your country?
Meanwhile in the rest of the world people do this every single day. Where I live, it's illegal for a carrier to force you to use only phones sold by them. They HAVE to support any GSM phone. You walk into any mobile shop and buy a SIM card directly from the carrier themselves.
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Dude, really? Where do you live, Cuba?
SIM card portability and number portability is a fact of life in all civilized countries
Re:Wake Up (Score:5, Informative)
No - that is how most people, in most countries, buy mobile phones. They buy a handset, then shop around for a plan (or just go home and pop in the SIM card from their existing plan).
It may be 'the minority' in the US, but it's the norm elsewhere. I haven't bought a carrier-locked phone (or, for that matter, a phone plan with a 'x month' committment) in over a decade.
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I never realized that one had to a member of fruity club to develop Android hardware. I thought that was the point, anyone could innovate without corporate approval. It is just a gimmick to sell phones with promise of multi vendor support 'open apps', like MS?
You can. Just take ArchOS for example. ArchOS makes a tablet that has no phone functionality, no camera, and not the usual buttons you'd find on Android. For those reasons, it's not allowed to use some of the Google applications and connect to the official Android Marketplace (it had to create its own special Tablet app store, which it is also licensing to other companies in the same position that they are). Not to mention, they do not even have capacitive touch. This is the route they chose to take. Devel
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> You can browse the source right here.
No, actually you can't. The link you provided is the official Android source code, but it does not run on the Augen tablet. According to http://mjg59.livejournal.com/126162.html [livejournal.com], the kernel source code for this tablet is not available anywhere at all, which is a blatant license violation and I hope Kmart gets sued for this. Note that while most of Android is under the Apache license, the kernel itself is still GPLv2 like any Linux kernel is, which means that it cann
Re:More Details on the Unauthorized App Store Code (Score:5, Informative)
Google's applications are not part of Android.
Android is truly open source.
Google's own applications aren't.
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Only GPL v3 fits my re-definition of open source.
FTFY
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Android is not truly open source. Most android phones are locked down and cannot be modified by the user thanks to tivo-ization.
The phones are locked down, not Android. You can download the source code for the kernel, the virtual machine, and the Java frameworks, and do just about anything you want with them.
GPL 2?
Apache license, actually.
Re:More Details on the Unauthorized App Store Code (Score:5, Insightful)
Except the Android source is freely available. Your PHONE might be locked down, but Android's source code is not.
Do you even know what "Open Source" means?
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You are the only slashtard around here. Android is completely open source. Google's proprietary apps such as Google Earth, Google Marketplace, etc. are not the same thing as Android, the operating system. Certain hardware handsets are not the same as Android either, and not all handsets are open, for business reasons.
If you want a completely open handset, get the Nexus One, and you get the full benefit of the open source operating system that is Android. Or get any rootable, unlocked handset, just don't
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But with the Nexus 1 discontinued, and Eric Schmidt having announced there will be no Nexus 2, where does that leave people going forward into the future?
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But with the Nexus 1 discontinued, and Eric Schmidt having announced there will be no Nexus 2, where does that leave people going forward into the future?
Queuing up to by the Nokia N900. Yes, it runs Linux.
Cheers!
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You can still buy the N1
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/08/nexus-one-developer-phone.html
It's $529 plus the (IIRC) $25 sign up as android developer.
Uber geeky? (Score:5, Informative)
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it's a huge disappointment in nearly every respect
Sounds like exactly the kind of merchandise I would expect to see sold at KMart. For that matter, it is a pretty good summary of the KMart shopping experience.
Re:Uber geeky? (Score:5, Insightful)
it's a huge disappointment in nearly every respect
Sounds like exactly the kind of merchandise I would expect to see sold at KMart. For that matter, it is a pretty good summary of the KMart shopping experience.
I was debating modding you troll or replying... you can guess which won out.
First, when there aren't cheap, low end options, everyone complains - now, when there is an entry level option, you complain.
Second, KMart sells cheap stuff at cheap prices? OMFG!!!!! So the hell what? That's what they are there for. Not everyone can afford to buy a $500 bookcase or $200 pants. If you want something cheap, go to KMart. If you have the money to spend (or waste, depending on how much), then shop elsewhere.
It's really not like people go to KMart, expect to spend $20 on a bookcase, or $150 on an Android tablet and think they are getting top of the line products. KMart isnt trying to fool anyone, and no one is being fooled or is so deluded that they think anything different than what I outlined.
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First, when there aren't cheap, low end options, everyone complains - now, when there is an entry level option, you complain.
I encourage you to go back and re-read my comment; it isn't very long. I did not at any time complain about the product itself; how could I when I haven't seen one? Rather, I was pointing out the "KMart experience".
Second, KMart sells cheap stuff at cheap prices? OMFG!!!!! So the hell what?
Again, go back and re-read the comment.
It's really not like people go to KMart, expect to spend $20 on a bookcase, or $150 on an Android tablet and think they are getting top of the line products.
I didn't say that they would. However, as I stated, the KMart shopping experience has become a torturous act. KMart has decided to not only carry crappy products (which arguably are appropriate for the price) but they have also decided to shaft the cu
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I encourage you to read my later comment... :-)
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1747422&cid=33184812
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I think this is why it is selling. It's a ropey cheap piece of junk that is "good enough" to give to the kids for them to play with and ultimately break.
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For those unfamiliar with this ultracheap Augen tablet, I'll do my best to sum it up: it's an unusable POS that somehow made it into production
Just wonderful. Another bottom feeder to poison Linux sales in big box retail.
Re:Uber geeky? (Score:4, Interesting)
Don't believe the hype about capacitive. If you intend to take notes on a device then capacitive by itself is absolutely fucking useless. To take notes you have to finger paint like a child rather than write properly with a stylus. Any device pitched at students / ereaders really should have resistive functionality. Apparently there are hybrid screens that offer the best of both worlds.
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Re:Uber geeky? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Like this [youtube.com]?
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N900 (Score:2)
The N900's resistive screen does not require much pressure and seems fairly responsive for gestures. I'm doubtful that multitouch gestures are doable on N900, but the underlying pressure issue was solved.
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For those unfamiliar with this ultracheap Augen tablet, I'll do my best to sum it up: it's an unusable POS that somehow made it into production (apparently in limited quantities). It has a *resistive* touchscreen (hello 2004), a buggy and nearly unusable implementation of Android 2.1, and mediocre hardware specs which make the G1 feel like it's from the future. I hoped this would make a decent device to play around with for Android hacking and some kernel development, but it's a huge disappointment in nearly every respect.
Really, it's not worth it, no matter how cheap it is. You'd have better luck buying an old HTC Magic (MyTouch) from ebay if you want a device to play around with (even with a substantially smaller screen, it's a better experience all around).
While your post may seem informative and/or interesting, I have a few questions to ask you:
(1) Have you bought one and tested it?
(2) Why does your "review" sound very much like the one Engadget posted a week ago (with the "huge dissappointment" part tagged on to it)?
Buy one, test it, then come back. Until then, I put no stock in your "review"
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Yes, I've used one. And no I haven't bought one (for the aforementioned reasons).
Really, there's no conspiracy--It's a shitty device, I've yet to find someone who actually has found a use for it.
Cool! Where can I find one I can test? I havent found any place that has floor models.
I've got a variety of uses in mind for one, for which it is suited perfectly.
Anyway, how long did you get to "use" one to be able to come up with such specific conclusions?
Engadget's newest review is more favorable, even though it brings up the same points you did:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/30/augen-gentouch-78-preview?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget
Re: (Score:2)
I *REALLY* want to try one... but as noted, cant find a floor model. I've read yours and other's reviews, and it seems that the device would be ideal for certain (many?) business uses... but dealbreakers would be a buggy android implementation, or buggy hardware - things one cant really evaluate without hands on use (sometimes for prolonged periods - for instance to find buggy aspects of the Android implementation).
So... I dunno... do I break down and blow $150 to test it or not? That's what I currently am
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Supposedly, CyanogenMod has already been ported for it. I guess I need to look into it (maybe after I get off my lazy ass and root my G1 and install Cyanogen's Froyo on it).
Thanks for the link, info and your perspective on it!
Best,
Rob
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So the fact that a shitty retailer offered a $20 discount (the price of a sushi roll or bottle of wine)
That's one hell of a special sushi roll you've got there! Either that, or they really rip you off for sushi wherever you live.
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$20 sushi rolls are normal at a good place (Score:2)
Michi Sushi in silicon valley is popular for their unique sushi. Their special rolls (and there are about 50 of them) range from $17 to $24. Michi's chef is somewhat of a local celebrity due to his local cooking show as well, but really his little restaurant is just an easy going little place that the locals love.
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Uh, no, they just make the sushi rolls with /actual sushi/ at that price point. If you consider $20 for a roll "hell of... special" then you're eating rolls that contain no fish, or fish from scary sources.
I take it you live in a city that's not on the Pacific ocean, that doesn't have a large Asian population, and which doesn't have a sushi restaurant on almost every block? You'd have to go to the best sushi restaurant in the city to hit the $20/roll mark and the food there will blow your mind [tojos.com].
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$20 gets me a dinner buffet at one of the best sushi joints in town - and it's real fish, thankyewverymuch. This guys is overinflating his prices or wastes his money on nice napkins and funky lighting.
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$20 gets me a dinner buffet at one of the best sushi joints in town - and it's real fish, thankyewverymuch. This guys is overinflating his prices or wastes his money on nice napkins and funky lighting.
Oh it's definitely overinflated. The linear increase in quality comes at an exponential cost. But it is absurdly good.
ThinkGeek to the rescue (Score:2)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/a31f/ [thinkgeek.com]
an iPhone compatible stylus
That won't get me into KMart... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:That won't get me into KMart... (Score:5, Funny)
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Which is why Walmart has been eating Kmart's luch since the 80s. You describe the two kmarts near me (seperated from each other by 10 miles) down to a tee. There have been instances where I thought one or other has been closed down, because the parking lots have never seen a repaving or resealing in 30 years, lack of cars, and general run-down appearance but no, for some reason they are still open. But no life in them and just expensive relatively.
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They got trashy and you couldn't find anyone to help you with anything. It was really sad to see that happen.
I liked having an alternative to Walmart, as those were really the only two department stores in the area.
The other option is to drive way out to the extremely over-priced mall where they sell the same quality imported crap, just at greatly inflated prices and snottier sale
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Do what I do, and just order your shitty Chinese crap from China. There are plenty of vendors there who are willing to ship individual items. Housewares? How about 50 cents for that steel ladle, not $15. Shipping is not expensive from China either, and is in fact extremely prompt for me. Import duties are now so low as to be inconsequential.
Order a bunch of stuff at once, and cut out the middleman. Having hundreds of thousands of giant stores to display stuff from China is infeasible and I don't pity
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There are plenty of vendors there who are willing to ship individual items.
Citation needed. Please?
What you say sounds awesome, but it runs counter to my experiences looking for many things that I have tried to find on the internet but can only find at my local retail and grocery stores. Where can we find a $15 ladle for 50 cents? What other kind of Made in China stuff can we get? Do we have to know how to read Chinese?
Re:That won't get me into KMart... (Score:5, Interesting)
The store had neither a cashier nor a customer service employee at the front
Many years ago, I had a similar experience in a J.C. Penny store in New Jersey. I had just moved, and was buying an armload of bedding, curtains, and towels the middle of a weekday afternoon. So I had a stack of merchandise about three feet high. I couldn't find any store staff anywhere on the floor. So I went to a checkout, picked up the phone behind the counter, and dialed 0. I told the store operator "I'd like to speak to the store manager. This is an unhappy customer." The store manager was put on, and I told him I was in linens, ready to pay, and unable to find a store employee.
About two minutes later, five people show up. One was the store manager. He wasn't the senior person present. Higher management was visiting the store that day. The oldest, a distinguished looking man in a very good suit, quite possibly the CEO of the chain, personally unlocked the register and competently handled the sale. The others stood there silently, looking very uncomfortable. One was sent off to find the missing retail staff.
By now, there were three other customers lined up behind me with merchandise ready to check out. The person sent off to find the sales staff returned from some back rooms, reporting that he couldn't find anyone. Visible annoyance from the senior management. Fear from the store manager.
The senior manager turned the register over to one of the junior people (not a clerk, part of the corporate group) to handle the rest of the line, and the management group departed, taking the store manager off to his fate.
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Hehe, no kidding, me too. I was about to write a snarky reply when I realized the GP was talking about J.C. Penny, not K-Mart.
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You're far too kind.
The KMart I walked into could have been used as a set for a dystopian future reality "Escape from New York" style movie. There was neither customer nor cashier in any of the check out lanes. The woman behind the counter at the service desk had the demeanor of someone waiting for a bus.
Once I got her attention I gave her the SKU. She told me they did not carry that item. I asked if a rain check was possible and she told me they don't do rain checks. I informed her she was standing un
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The KMart I walked into could have been used as a set for a dystopian future reality "Escape from New York" style movie. There was neither customer nor cashier in any of the check out lanes. The woman behind the counter at the service desk had the demeanor of someone waiting for a bus.
After reading your comment I realized that I forgot to mention that the local KMart I described, on top of all the things wrong with it that I already mentioned, had half their lights off when I walked in (during normal business hours). Allegedly they had half the lights off "to save on energy consumption".
I'm pretty sure that was just the publicly stated reason, and the lights were as they were for one (or more) of:
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While my local KMart isn't quite the dystopia you describe (there are usually cashiers at at least half the checkout lanes), it does appear to have been hit by a tornado, with the shelves having not been stocked since 1987 or so. New merchandise is there, but just randomly strewn about. And don't bother asking anyone where anything is.
It's just so depressing to walk in the place. I've just been there in the last couple of years to find Wii games that my kid wanted and were sold out elsewhere. Sure eno
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I've actually found that KMart is a treasure trove of hard-to-find or out-of-print games. They seem to update their shelves so infrequently (and nobody buys them anyway) that rare titles seem to be plentiful. Sears can also be a veritable gold mine of out-of-print games.
Stop making tiny tablets! (Score:5, Interesting)
I would love a tablet computer. but not a really tiny one. Vendors: Start making tablets that have an unlocked bootloader, run android, and are at least 10" (ideally 12" or bigger). If you make that at a reasonable price, I will even locate and visit a local K-Mart to get it.
Some new kind of kink ... (Score:2)
this thing will be great for watching Gumby (don't ask) at home and Sesame Street in the car.
I'm not sure if I know what that is supposed to mean
I'm not not even sure that I want to know, but, "have fun with that."
Remember the first law of 'merikan sex . . . "Do it in the dark . . . with your clothes on."
iPad is UNDER $500, not $500+ (Score:5, Funny)
Someone is trying to make the cost seem psychologically higher - the retail price for the cheapest iPad is $499, not $500+.
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Thought the iPads had free shipping. You're going to be paying taxes either way and I don't know about a recycling fee but that sounds like a state/local thing.
Adding taxes? Then why is the Android tablet $149 (Score:4, Insightful)
Plus taxes, shipping and recycle fees.
Then the new android tablet isn't $149 either as per the headline, is it?
I would fully accept someone saying something like $500 (plus taxes). But insteda you get an article saying the Android tablet is $149 (not even $150) and the iPad is "$500+". Do you not see the bias at work there? Sure it's only a minor difference but it's illustrative of the poster trying to influence your opinion by making the Android tablet seem as cheap as possible and the iPad as expensive as possible.
I was going to point out you could buy the iPad tax free on Amazon but apparently Apple is still supply constrained, as the $500 iPad on Amazon is $600+ (and that really is a plus there). Generally though, that is the case and will be eventually for the iPad.
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And you need all of that for the Kmart device as well, or are you deliberately being ignorant.
This device looks so cheap it is worth a look, but I don't hold high hopes. If they put a faster processor in there, more mem, and bump it up to $200-$250, they would have a real winner.
Funny that this is the first real tablet to come out yet. How long does it take to copy Apple?
Re:iPad is UNDER $500, not $500+ (Score:4, Informative)
"How long does it take to copy Apple?"
Android tablets hit dealextreme before the iPad was out. So if we can just reverse the flow of time I can answer your question.
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If I wanted one (I don't) I could go to the local Apple Store here in Oregon and pick one up. No shipping, no tax.
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If I wanted one (I don't) I could go to the local Apple Store here in Oregon and pick one up. No shipping, no tax.
And in Oregon gas is free! :p
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*Shrug* Don't own a car. My transit pass is covered by my employer.
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I know someone who did just that.
They are enjoying their base model iPad as we speak.
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He's not buying into the consumer mindset, he's a particularly tragic fanboy which makes him an idiot for an entirely different set of reasons.
Anyone who has had any exposure to Apple knows that the advertised shelf price is not the final price you'll end up paying. Heck, the same is true for Dell and Lenovo (adding warranties, extra RAM, acesso
The Ill-informer Hater (Score:2)
Anyone who has had any exposure to Apple knows that the advertised shelf price is not the final price you'll end up paying.
Why not? You can buy an iPad for $499. You can't expand the memory or storage (a fact haters such as yourself delight in noting) so the price is obviously quite fixed.
In fact with other devices you could replace the battery so that would be an extra cost - but not so with the iPad.
You just can't seem to get your story straight with Apple. Is the price fairly fixed or is it non-expand
The illiformed parent. (Score:2)
I'm not the one with this problem. I've stated that the price is not fixed.
I know that if I buy anything from Apple, it's not the final thing I'll end up paying for. The entire system is designed to ensure you keep paying Apple in one way or another (ITMS lock-in, Recessed headphone jacks, no buttons on Ipod Shuffles to lock you into Apple's overpriced earbuds).
Total cost o
Then recalc the headline (Score:2)
And you're an idiot for buying into the "99" bullshit. The cheapest iPad is, for all intents and purposes, $500,
Then the android tablet is, for all intents and purposes, $150, not $149. My only issue is with the discrepancy, however slight.
I think of things selling at $.99 as really costing $1 too.
Are you really that locked into the consumer mindset?
Why are you defending the $149 price of the Android tablet? You seem equally locked into the consumer mindset as myself, since you overlooked it. Where is y
Nope, $499, not more expensive (Score:2)
That's still WAY too expensive.
Funny, people said that it was going to cost $1k before it launched, and that it should really cost $500.
I find for what it does it provides great value. It's almost half as much as a Cintiq for example, and while it's not as advanced as that for drawing it can also do a lot more than a Cintiq can.
The iPad actually IS more expensive than $500. http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-MB292LL-Tablet-16GB/dp/B002C7481G [amazon.com]
It's $500 at Apple [apple.com].
Your mistake is not looking at the seller, one o
Re: (Score:2)
people said that it was going to cost $1k before it launched, and that it should really cost $500.
Before it was launched, the specs also were unclear. The $1k predicted pricetag suggests to me people where expecting a tablet with a x86 cpu and a more capable OS (perhaps OSX with a launcher widget?). basically some sort of macbook (air?) based tablet
I know that is what i was hoping for, instead we got an ipod touch XL
Even less - just as bad (Score:2)
The Eken M001 - also an Android tablet can be easily obtained on eBay for just over $100.
But I don't recommend it, either. The hardware ought to be capable of reasonable response - but the software is so slow as to be ~unusable.
Android tablets on ebay for less than this (Score:4, Informative)
I expect when bigger players come along that we'll see some decent Android based tablets for $200 offering comparable functionality to the iPad with none of the downsides.
Re:Android tablets on ebay for less than this (Score:5, Interesting)
I expect when bigger players come along that we'll see some decent Android based tablets for $200 offering comparable functionality to the iPad with none of the downsides.
No, quality components simply cost more then the cheap ones used on those garbage devices. I would guess that quality Android devices will retail in the $300 to $400 price range. When this happens, Apple will drop their prices accordingly. The outrageously high price for the iPad is simply due to a lack of competition.
Once more manufacturers start producing quality components for such tablets, the prices will come down. This requires high demand for such components - something that is starting right now thanks to Android. Well, Apple also helps in this regard but they limit the number of component suppliers (as all companies do) thereby making it harder for other manufacturers to enter the market. Android opens up the market giving manufacturers the required incentive to compete. This helps everyone - even Apple.
Oh, and eBay will always have cheaper devices. They generally ship from Hong Kong, offer no warranty or support, and illegally bypass local tariffs and taxes. They usually ship as personal mail with an outrageously low declared value. Legally, you are supposed to declare such purchases but nobody does.
Re:Android tablets on ebay for less than this (Score:4, Interesting)
I see no reason that this should be so. I see no reason at all that something with better build quality and performance than a $99 tablet shouldn't occupy a price slot considerably less than an iPad. After all netbooks manage it and have as many, if not more components & costs to worry about than a tablet.
Re: (Score:2)
Well the teardown of an iPad resulted in an estimated production cost of ~$300. It would be very unlikely that an Android device with comparable hardware would sell for any less then $400. Only $100 profit is a very slim margin - especially when you still have to consider all the other costs of doing business.
Here is a link [telecomasia.net] to the teardown article.
I see no reason that this should be so.
But it obviously is. It takes time and money to make a quality device. Give them some time and you will get your quality $200 device - but it is still sev
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps not $500, but you are at the very least getting a known-quantity for the quality of an iPad - you said it yourself, the $99 tablets look cheap and nasty, even if they are functional. Quality Android devices are going to be more than $99.
I'm sure the price will fall somewhere in between as the products mature, and we see the second gen iPad.
Re: (Score:2)
Here's an Android 1.7 tablet, $107, free shipping (Score:2)
Review on Youtube (Score:2)
Saw a review of it on Youtube. It looks like a piece of crap. It's a shame, I hope they come out with a quality one soon. With at least a Snapdragon CPU in it.
I got one of these (Score:5, Informative)
I put in a rain check with my local KMart early on during the sale, and I just got mine yesterday. Therefore they must be filling the pipeline, albeit slowly (I was told only five units came in). Out of the box, the device has a number of problems:
I spent a fair chunk of yesterday getting everything working on my device. After rooting, adding shortcuts to manually rotate, changing the launcher since the default won't rotate to portrait mode, getting Market working, etc, the device is in pretty good shape. There's no way someone's parents or grandparents should buy this device, but for a geek who's reasonably comfortable following instructions from hackers it's a neat little device with decent hardware for a good price.
Too bad the resistive screen sucks. But that's not Augen's fault. All resistive touch screens suck once you've used capacitive.
Excellent review (Score:2)
Final analysis: Wait for version 4, when more of the problems will be fixed.
Re: (Score:2)
Those complaints don't seem so serious for a $150 device, except maybe the MAC address issue. You're wrong about resistive screens though, I found my old PDA after having used an HTC Desire for a few months, and it was great to be able to feel the screen again, as opposed to having to smudge my finger all over the immovable screen surface of my Desire to do anything. I'd settle for a capacitive/digitizer hybrid though.
Have you tried any media playback? This seems like it could be a pretty nice carputer for
Re: (Score:2)
These comments apply pretty well to my new "ePad" - a 7 inch tablet running Android 1.6: http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/products/info.asp?c1=183&c2=185&id=3172 [pioneercomputers.com.au]
It cost AUD$199 and has a pretty crappy protective film over the screen (lots of air bubbles in the top half - managed to clear most of them away - not a show stopper, just not brilliant).
The Wifi packed it in within the first day - it hangs and reboots after a couple of minutes. But it does have ethernet and I don't *need* to use the Wifi
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Win7 drivers???? (Score:4, Informative)
Why the hell would anybody with a brain expect an Android based cheap tablet to have Windows 7 drivers.
FACT: It is an Android tablet. NOT A WIN 7 DEVICE.
The drivers are to CONNECT it to and USE it with a Win7 machine - NOT for the tablet itself.
Pandigital Novel at Walgreens for $149 (Score:5, Informative)
Here is an android 2.1 7" wifi device for $149.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Electronics/Novel-7-inch-Color-Multimedia-eReader/ID=prod6021970-product?V=G&ec=frgl_&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku6020686 [walgreens.com]
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
With several netbook versions of Linux...I can make any computer act like Android...except for the touch screen function. I can even rotate the screen and use it as a book reader.
Re: (Score:2)
The Novel isn't much better than what people are saying about the Kmart device. The "Android" that it has is locked down to the point that you can buy books from Barnes and Nobel, read the books from B&N, sort-of surf the net (with a very limited version of Safari that doesn't support enough Javascript to run Google Maps, doesn't do Flash, doesn't play videos other than MP4, won't stream ANY media (it can only download to local storage, then play from there). The media player can play media in the inter
Awful expensive (Score:2)
$149 is expensive for a 7 inch picture frame. And that is all this piece of sh!t is good for. To under powered for web or video and the screen is unacceptable for ebook reading.
Re:Awful expensive - Have you actually used it? (Score:2)
If you have actually used it, then when? There have been a firmware upgrades that have made a big difference.
Actually, I very much doubt that you have used it, or if you have, if you are giving it a fair review.
Take a look at the demos on youtube. The device is really not that bad at all.
It is certainly capable for watching movies, reading books, listening to music, etc.
Anyone think this is a google test? (Score:2)
Kmart: "I am shocked, SHOCKED there is android piracy going on"
Clerk: "Your android tablet sir..."
If google needed proof of market demand for it...
K-Mart Still Exists? (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I just got one of those from DealExtreme. Not ready to make a final judgement just yet but not excessively impressed so far.
It is running android 1.6, no clear indication at this stage if it is possible to upgrade it.
Wifi was working briefly then it seemed to start rebooting whenever a wifi connection was established, may be a config issue, need time to sort that out.
Eth connection fails to make a DHCP connection, got it working after typing in gateway, DNS etc myself.
Android Market appears to think it is