Velocity Micro promised five new devices as its contribution to CES. Two new Cruz Tablets, the seven-inch T507 and 9.7-inch T510, will both ship with Android 4.0 from the start (not yet shown). The pair both run on a 1.2GHz, single-core ARM Cortex-A8 chip with fast Mali-400 graphics, 8GB of built-in storage, and HDMI video out.
Velocity Micro hoped to snap up the low end of the tablet market Wednesday with two Android 2.3 tablets that add polish only sometimes seen at the price. The eight-inch Cruz T408 and 10-inch T410 cost under $300 but have a capacitive touchscreen, a modest but competent 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and a front facing camera. The eight-inch T408 is rare in Android for its 4:3 ratio screen, putting it closer to an iPad ratio, while the T410 fits the familiar 16:9 widescreen ratio for Google's mobile OS.
Velocity Micro on Wednesday was the second in as many days to be pushed into signing a patent deal with Microsoft over Android. The deal will see royalties paid on every Cruz tablet sold. Company chief Randy Copeland spun the loss by arguing that it would help lead to "exciting new Cruz tablets" later on.
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.
Borders said it would start up multiple deals, beginning October 31, in what's already considered a bid to recover sagging sales. The company dropped the price of its core readers, the Kobo eReader and the Aluratek Libre, down to $100; the Libre deal lasts until November 15. It should also be giving away five free books with each Kobo Wireless eReader at its usual $140 price, and Sony Readers will get a free cover and light combo.
Borders this morning fought back against the third-generation Kindle by dropping prices on both the Aluratek Libre and the Kobo eReader. Although not yet reflected on the site, the Kobo device is dropping down to $130 while Aluratek's device is falling to $100, making it one of the first current e-readers to crack the price mark.
Best Buy's mobile lead Shawn Score in an interview on Friday said the store would "make tablets a focus" for the holiday this year. The big-box chain hopes to associate itself with tablets and will put more attention on the iPad and its yet-to-ship competitors. Alternatives to Apple would be important, Score told Forbes, as those who use Android or BlackBerry phones might want tablets based on the same platform.
Velocity Micro committed itself to the world of tablets late on Friday by opening preorders for the Cruz Reader. The seven-inch Android 2.1 slate is now due to ship both online and to electronics stores in early September for $200. The wider-aspect Cruz Tablet ($300) and child oriented StoryPad ($150) are due to ship later the same month.
Velocity Micro late yesterday elaborated on the role of its Cruz Reader. Normally a designer of custom gaming PCs, the company is pitching it more as a true tablet in the vein of the iPad. It can read books and will ship with the Borders app, but its use of a full-color, capacitive seven-inch touchscreen gives it full support for media and the web. It still runs Android and may start with 2.1 at first, although eventual plans for Flash 10.1 may see it get 2.2 soon.
