Tablet Hands-On Roundup
by Vivek Gowri on January 27, 2011 10:25 AM ESTEnspert was one of the most promising of the numerous new tablet makers we caught up with at CES. Enspert is the new name of Inbrics, a Korean company that made Android-based smartphones, and they were showing off a range of smart looking new Android tablets.
Let’s start with the S200 home phone tablet. It’s a combination of a 7” tablet and a VoIP phone, and is designed to be a media convergence hub. The tablet itself has an aluminum front face, with a white plastic backing. The build quality is solid, and the design is definitely attractive. The 7” screen has a disappointingly low 800 x 480 WVGA resolution, but is otherwise bright and has acceptable viewing angles. Interestingly, the Enspert tablets are all running Samsung’s Hummingbird SoC (1GHz Cortex A8 and PowerVR SGX 540, for those that don’t remember) with 512MB of RAM, so they’re on par with the Galaxy Tab as far as computing power goes. The rest of the spec sheet is fairly standard - 4GB ROM, SD card slot, front facing camera, mini-HDMI, mini-USB, WiFi, and Bluetooth, but the one fairly major blemish on the spec sheet is Android 2.1. Eclair was over a year ago, guys, get with the program. Enspert promises an update to Froyo shortly, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
The E201 is Enspert’s first entry to the Android tablet space, and it has the same basic configuration as the S200’s tablet. That means Hummingbird, 7” WVGA, mini-HDMI, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Android 2.1. It also has an aluminum chassis (aluminum panels instead of a unibody construction like the iPad), and is set to hit Best Buy shelves for around $200 later this quarter. For the price, it feels pretty good, but the lack of Froyo is a big deal. As with the S200, an upgrade to 2.2 is promised soon.
The newest and most promising Enspert tablet is the E301. Designed as the successor to the E201, it’s set to hit market later this year as a higher end alternative to the E201. The specs are pretty similar, with three major upgrades: a 1024x600 WSVGA 7” display, Android 2.2, and updated industrial design. It’s still an aluminum sandwich, but it’s a cleaner design that’s less reminiscent of the iPad. With the small lip on the right side and the capacitive buttons, the design is actually a bit like the OpenPeak tablet that we saw at IDF. The entire chassis is aluminum and glass, so it feels like a very high quality product. Definitely one of the more well-designed new tablets we’ve played with recently. Enspert has partnered with one of the three largest US carriers to sell the E301 for a subsidized price on the good side of $300, and if they can deliver on their promise to have Gingerbread by the time the device releases, it’ll be a very interesting addition to the 7” tablet market.
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KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
You nerds are so fucking retarded and detached from reality.Hilarious, please keep posting.
kraeper - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I can't speak for the rest of the market, but I agree on $500 being too high, and would add that the carrier contracts are the real deal-killers for me. Yes I know they can be purchased without a contract, but they're pricing them to be purchased with one. Thing is, I have a cellphone. All I would want is a tablet with wifi. If I need data access on the tablet while I'm out and about, well, that's why smartphones have hot-spot capabilities. Another 2-year contract, even if it's 'just' a $30/month data plan, is still $720 on top of the tablet cost. Yuck.Sure, plenty of people are too lazy to hotspot, or just figure they'll stick their tablet in their pocket and use it with Skype as their cellphone (lol) but the marketing/pricing on these right now baffles me.
michael2k - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
Actually, at least with the iPad, you get significantly longer battery life and a slightly higer resolution than with the iPod touch for that extra $180.ImSpartacus - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
If you're looking for value, grab a Nook Color. Root that bad boy and enjoy a $250 Android tablet.pandemonium - Friday, January 28, 2011 - link
So, Apple can do it, but no one else can?Cheap and knock-off is highly subjective and showing how little perception you've given to the article or what's within.
Shftup - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I think you guys need to add a new section - Tablets (there is a sub section for every other computing catergory), especially if 2011 is the year of tablets.....lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
So what I want is a tablet with a good IR transmitter..One that can be used to control my home entertainment system. Say browse Netflix on it, then click a button to have my TV load that movie up.. Or with Hulu and all that.. But without having to buy into a brand (like the Panasonic).
With an IR transmitter and GoogleTV it should be easy to implement.
lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I don't have any use for a tablet as a tablet...But a tablet as an interface to other devices, that I could use.
soydeedo - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
You might want to take a look at the Vizio offerings from CES:http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-tablet-ha...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-phone-han...
They both have IR transmitters and universal remote capabilities.
Jorgisven - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
IR Transmitter? That tech is so 90's, a la Palm Pilots. New TV's are coming wifi/internet enabled, as are blu-ray players. It's all over network now. Google TV's have apps for android to control just that. Also, Comcast has an Xfinity App that, provided you're using their HD box, you can do all that - browse on demand listings, change channels, all from an iPad (or Android Phone). It's certainly not brand specific. I have a Dynex TV (cheap Best Buy brand). Getting the XBox App for Android allows Netflix, etc. In fact, Netflix apps are all over.IR is old and slow, and line of sight only, and I wish Nintendo hadn't bought into it. Cloud control is where it's all headed anyway.