What else can you say about those entry-level tablets rather than they are cheap. Well, they don’t cost that much. Right, but what else? Most of them come with a non-capacitive display, sport very limited storage, and are made (in most cases) from simple materials. But yet again, the most important thing that matters in this context is the pricing, and for that, we are witnessing a huge wave of low-end slates, hitting the US market these days. One of them, which has recently showed up at Best Buy for merely $170, is Pandigital’s 7-inch SuperNova Android device that packs an 800×600 screen resolution, along with 4GB of storage, an 800MHz processor, a front and rear facing cameras, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connectivity, microSD card slot, and a micro HDMI port. It features (apparently) a direct access to Barnes and Noble bookstore application and runs an Android 2.3 platform on board. Sounds neat for a 170 bucks gadget, isn’t it?
Update: Looks like Pandigital just pushed out two more Android tablets, Planet and Star, both packing a seven-inch touchscreen display, while Star is powered by a 800×480 screen resolution, and Planet on the other hand, sports 800×600 pixels in size. Other than that, both slates run an A9 Cortex processor, paired with 2GB of storage and Android 2.2 Froyo running on top. As for price and availability, the Star is planed for shipping around mid-August, for $159, while the Planet will set you back for $189, and is available for order today and in stores. Hit the jump to read the full PR.
[via AndroidCommunity]
PANDIGITAL LAUNCHES LINE OF AFFORDABLE, FULL-FEATURED
ANDROID™ MEDIA TABLETS
Advanced features and high-performance Cortex A9 processor at a great price make these tablets the ideal lifestyle companions
DUBLIN, Calif., Aug. 4, 2011 – Pandigital today announced a line of Android™ media tablets that deliver advanced features and functionality, giving consumers a choice in devices that best fit their digital lifestyle. The first three tablets in the line – the Pandigital Planet, Pandigital Nova and Pandigital Star – will be available this month to consumers starting at $159 MSRP. The fourth product in the line, the flagship product, will be announced and available to consumers in Sept.
These powerful new tablets feature Cortex A9 processors with embedded hardware 3D graphics engines, providing fast response times and enhanced performance for consumers, whether watching the latest action movie, playing the hottest video game or watching a recent vacation video.
Combining performance with design, the Pandigital Planet, Nova and Star allow users to multitask in style. All three Wi-Fi-enabled devices feature 7-inch full-color touchscreen displays enclosed in a light weight, sleek, black housings with a brushed metal-look front bezel. Users can easily read the latest best seller, surf the web, check email, post on the most popular social media sites, catch up on the news or entertainment, check out family vacation photos, and more while at work or play. Additionally, users have the flexibility to personalize their tablet by downloading the Android™ applications that are most interesting to them from the preloaded app store, unleashing the devices’ full potential.
“We’re excited to share this family of media tablets that feature innovative technology at an incredible value to our customers,” said Dean Finnegan, founder and CEO, Pandigital. “We have included many of the features and functionality that consumers have come to expect from much higher priced devices. To further enhance the customer experience, each model also includes several advanced features, such as the ability to browse the Internet, catch up on email, watch movies, and share photos on the family TV from the tablet.”
Instant Access to Digital Applications and Content
As digital content becomes more prevalent, consumers want to customize their personal devices to best fit their lifestyle, making it critical to have instant access to the latest applications. The Pandigital Planet, Nova, and Star all offer seamless connectivity to more of the applications consumers want, including:
Barnes & Noble’s eStore – Quick and convenient access to more than two million eBooks, newspapers and magazines, a wide variety of free eBooks, and more than half a million free classics. It’s easy to browse, sample, buy, and download published content in seconds. Also, customers can lend many eBooks with friends and family for 14 days.
GetJar – Access thousands of applications from the world’s largest free app store from categories including Education, Social & Messaging, Entertainment, Finance, Food, Games, Health, Search, Lifestyle, Maps, Music, News & Weather, Photos, Productivity, Religion, Shopping, Sports and Travel.
Built-in Wi-Fi and Browser – Access the Internet and surf the web anywhere a Wi-Fi connection is available.
Email – Stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues using existing email addresses –including support for MS Exchange.
InTouch and Facebook – Quick access to Facebook, Twitter and RSS news feed data.
U-Player – Direct access to popular YouTube videos.
Gallery and Video Player – View and manage photo files, and play and manage MPEG4 video files.
Music – Play and manage music audio files (MP3, WAV and AAC).
Camera – Use front and back cameras (front-facing camera only on Pandigital Star) to take pictures and video.
HDMISwitch – Anything you can experience on your tablet can be viewed on your TV (optional HDMI cable accessory and TV with HDMI input required).
ES File Explorer – View and manage files and apps, and back up files to a microSD card.
OfficeSuite Viewer – Open and view many file formats (DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSX, CSV, PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX and PDF).
To further enhance the flexibility of the product, all three tablets feature custom-developed applications that provide users with a more intuitive experience. The Wi-Fi Connection Wizard aids in connecting with and monitoring available Wi-Fi networks. Another app provides automated notices of firmware updates and the ability to download them directly to the tablet via the Wi-Fi connection. Other useful apps from Pandigital include InTouch for instant access to social networking sites, a customized calendar, a notes app, a weather app, and an alarm clock.
Powerful Features and Functionality Enhance Usability
The Pandigital Planet, Nova, and Star provide a superior customer experience through advanced features and functionality, combined with a user-friendly interface. All three devices feature the powerful Android™operating system – the Planet and Star are Android™ 2.2 and the Nova is Android™ 2.3. All the tablets are upgradeable to new Android™ operating system versions and will be scheduled for future firmware releases as they become available.
The new tablets offer an excellent viewing experience with 7-inch full-color LCD displays. The Planet and Nova offer a 600×800 resolution, and the Star’s thinner width utilizes an 800×480 widescreen resolution and easily fits in one hand. In addition to the back-lit Android™ buttons, the three devices each provide users with a sensitive ActiveTouchTM touchscreen interface with multi-touch support. Additionally, the orientation sensor automatically adjusts between portrait and landscape mode in most applications when the devices are tilted, and the 2-Axis Accelerometer is great for controlling games that need simultaneous steering and acceleration.
The integrated memory (2GB for the Planet and Star, 4GB for the Nova) lets you store hundreds of books, apps, movies, music and more. In addition, the built-in MicroSD card reader accepts up to 32GB memory cards for virtually unlimited storage. The built-in mini-USB On The Go (OTG) port provides a way to connect directly to a computer for easy file transfers (Mac and PC compatible), supports a number of peripherals, such as wired mice and keyboards, or wireless mice and keyboard combinations, and can also be used to re-charge the internal battery.
Each of the tablets has a compact and sleek design measuring approximately 5-inches wide, 7 ½-inches high and 1/2-inch deep, and each weigh less than 14 ounces, making them extremely portable. All three devices come with a rechargeable Li-ion battery and get up to 6 hours of use (performance varies based on use –averaging longer for reading with no Wi-Fi and shorter for continuous streaming video).
Product Availability and Pricing
The three Pandigital Android™ media tablets will be available at leading retailers across the U.S. The Pandigital Planet (R70A200) is currently available for $189 MSRP, the Pandigital Nova (R70F400/ R70F452) will be available this week for $189 MSRP, and the Pandigital Star (R70B200) will be available mid-August for $159 MSRP.
