Asus updated their launch plans for the 8-inch Eee Tablet, announcing an October launch and a price that’s sounds a little bit too crazy for an ebook reader. Previously estimated to cost around $199 to $299 back in May, the new announcement now pegs the price at “below $599.”
According to the DigiTimes report, they do plan to offer the device with subsidies via wireless carriers (which means that this device will also come with a 3G data connection besides Wi-fi), so the price should still drop if you bundle it with a data plan, but the pricing certainly doesn’t look like it’ll affect the iPad’s market share—or other more popular readers—that much. It’s way above the usual ebook reader’s $100-200 sweet spot.
As for the device itself, it’ll pack a screen with a nice 1024 x 768 resolution and a fast refresh rate, plus a 2MP cam at the back that’ll allow you to capture documents for annotation, but not in color. The 64-grayscale touchscreen will also come without backlighting to extend battery runtimes, and will feature a very sensitive 2,450dpi touch surface that’s good enough for sketching.
Tags: Asus, eBook Readers, Eee Tablet, Tablets, Tablets
