Asus CEO Jerry Shen confirmed in an interview that they’re readying an Android-based version of the Eee Pad for a March 2011 release. It’s a long ways from getting to market, but the price is just about right at “less than $399.” That’s a cool $100 less than the iPad—never mind that we could be hearing about a new iPad by that time, but unless Apple comes out with a sub-$400 slate, it’s all good for Asus.
As for the company’s other tablet plans, Shen also mentioned that they’ll be releasing a full-featured Windows 7 tablet PC, the EP121, by December or January. It’s a bit pricey at close to $1000, but this is no trimmed-down iPad-rival or netbook alternative. It’ll pack a ULV Core 2 Duo processor, a full version of Windows 7, and a bundled dock that turns the mobile screen into a desktop PC.
Update: There’s a new report about the price of the grayscale Eee Tablet ebook reader that was reportedly going to sell for $599 in October. According to PC World (via Yahoo), the 8-inch device will cost around $300, which makes sense because the initial report that pegged it at $600 didn’t make any sense. According to the report, the Eee Tablet might also be renamed to “Eee Note” before it launches to avoid confusion.
Apparently, putting the word “tablet” to a product that technically isn’t a tablet can get confusing.
Tags: Asus, eBook Readers, Eee Pad, Eee Tablet, Tablets
