07/07, 8:35pm
Augen goes down as cheap Android tablets fail
One of the first attempts at seizing on the iPad's popularity has quietly fizzled out as Augen appears to have shut down. The company's US page has been down for a month, and both e-mail as well as warranty returns appear to have gone unanswered. Augen had triggered worry early on when it planned a set of e-readers that would have shipped in April but missed their release without a correction from the company.
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10/27, 5:20pm
Maylong M-150 at Walgreens for 100 price
Walgreens has quietly become one of the few chains selling a readily available Android tablet through a posting discovered by Chris and other Electronista readers. The Maylong M-150 would be an extreme budget entry at just $100 and would be a Chinese clone exploiting the popularity of the iPad up to and including a render that appears to simply be a modified iPad image. Its custom UI is based heavily on Apple's, including the app shelf at the bottom.
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10/07, 3:30pm
Tablet paired with keyboard dock
Augen is readying six new tablets, including a device that features dual-boot capabilities for Android and Ubuntu. Although the company may be better known for its $190 Kmart tablets, the upcoming Latte and Espresso series offer a range of higher-end features and prices ranging from $200 to $600.
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09/15, 4:20pm
Augen now shipping $180 Android netbook at Kmart
Following up on its $150 Android-powered tablet called GenTouch78, Augen has now brought a netbook with Android to Kmart and priced it at $190. The 10.2-inch device has a 1024x600 display and uses Android 2.1, which should now be legally sanctioned rather than a pirated copy. Processing is kept light even relative to smartphones with an 800MHz, ARM11-based chip and 256MB of RAM.
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08/06, 6:05pm
Kmart caught stocking tablet with pirated Android
The mystery $150 Augen Android tablet at Kmart is using a bootleg copy of Android, Google said in a response this afternoon. The GenTouch78 is using software it shouldn't have from an "unauthorized vendor" and has bypassed the usual legal channels. Only members of the Open Handset Alliance or official partners can use the software legally, the search firm told Laptop in a statement.
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08/06, 5:30pm
Rocketfish tablet should pack Android for cheap
Best Buy is hoping to jump on the tablet bandwagon with a device of its own, the company's CTO Robert Stephens has teased. The design is an empty shell at present but when finished would carry the Rocketfish badge applied to many of its in-house computer peripherals. Stephens had previously said that a future tablet would use Android 2.2, and in shots showed that the tablet would be smaller than the iPad it's targeted against.
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07/27, 5:50pm
Augen Gentouch78 takes on Apple through price
The online edition of a Kmart flyer has revealed plans for what could be an unusual entry into competition against Apple in the still young tablet market. The Augen Gentouch78 should run Android 2.1 on a seven-inch screen and will keep simple with just 2GB of internal storage and Wi-Fi alone for Internet access. At $150, though, it would cost less than a third the price of an iPad while offering many more features than a similarly priced Nook Wi-Fi.
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