Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 And so the tablet wars heat up... Retail giant the Dixons Group (owners of Currys and PC World) have announced that they are to stock 2 Android based tablet devices in time for the Christmas season. The first device, the Amico, is the lowest priced unit at just £129.99. The device packs a 7" touchscreen, camera, WiFi and Android 2.1. It's screen is resistive. Yuk. There's no place for resistive screens in today's marketplace, so you probably want to ignore this one. Far more interesting is the second device, the Vega. Priced at £249.99, the Vega packs the punch that the Amico is missing. Highlights include a 10.1" CAPACITIVE touchscreen, a 1GHz NVidia Tegra chipset and Android 2.2. Full specs...Product Name:Product ID: P10AN01 Processor: Nvidia T20 Tegra 2 Processor speed: 1GHz RAM: 512MB ROM: 512MBIncluded microSD Card: 4GB Screen resolution: 1024 x 600 Widescreen: yes LED Screen: yes WiFi: 802.11bg Bluetooth: 2.1 +EDR Memory card Reader: microSD card Webcam: 1.3 Megapixels Touch screen technology: Projective Capacitive Multi-touch: 4 fingers Built-in 3G broadband SIM card slot: yesBattery Type: Li-Polymer Number of battery cells: 2 Battery life : Play Audio (LCD off) : 16hr Play 1080p Video : 6.5hr Stand by : 4 days [*]Operating System: Android 2.2 Froyo [*]Microphone: yes [*]Dimensions: 275mm / 178mm / 13.6mm [*]Weight: 700~750g [*]Colour: Black To be honest, these specs read like a wish list of what many of us would want in a tablet device. The latest Android release, the powerful Tegra chipset, 6.5 hours of 1080P playback and, working on the assumption that the specifications are correct, integrated 3G?!? [edit: I think we'll probably get the SIM slot but no 3G hardware]. Providing the device can perform to the sum of it's parts, it could be a winner against the either inferior specified or hugely more expensive (i'm looking at YOU Galaxy Tab!) rivals. The devices are scheduled to hit retail from the 18th October... we will of course be getting our hands on and reviewing one as soon as possible... as well as putting up lots more pictures (unfortunately we have only the rather nondescript press shot at this time). Now, I know a lot of you will be less than enthused by the Advent name on the Vega. Advent is simply the brand applied to generically acquired DSGi group devices. Once upon a time, a device appeared on the scene - back when netbooks were those 'new fangled things' - called the Advent 4211. It actually turned out to be a rebranded MSI Wind U100 and was one of the best (and best value) netbooks ever made. Here's hoping history is about to repeat itself... I'll be creating the http://Vega.MoDaCo.com discussion forum shortly and posting more information there and in this topic as it becomes available! :) P UPDATE: I've been told a few other specs by an anonymous source, who tells me the device also features miniHDMI (aka PDMI) connectivity and USB host with full size USB ports. Interestingly there are NO hardware home / back etc. buttons on the device and the tablet will ship with a customised '3D' user interface (which can be turned off to revert to stock Froyo). The processor is a 1GHz SMP dual Cortex-A9. I'm trying to get confirmation as to whether or not the Android Market is included on device (making this a full Google experience device). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Alrighty... what have we here? Another spec list for the Vega, from the OEM! A few new snippets of info in here... note that the Vega is actually lower spec than is available in some areas! Nvidia Tegra 250 1GHz SMP dual Cortex-A9 40nm Enhanced 3D1080P Video Encode/Decode ULP Audio Decode Streaming HD Video ~4x vs APX 2600512MB RAM (optional 1GB)resolution 1024 x 600 (or optional 1366 x 768 10.1“) w/ multi-touch LCD5mW power consumption for DAC to headphone playback1.5W SPK w/ stereo Internal Microphone supportVolume Up/Down Control, Screen rotation lock, Power Button, Home Return ButtonSDIO interface support, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n & Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR 1 Antenna supportNAND Flash - 512MB (SLC type)Card reader - support micro-SD CardLi-Polymer, 2S1P, 3300mAh, 7.4VDimension: 275mm x 173mm x 13.6mm (T.B.C.) Weight: 700~750g (T.B.C.)USB x 1DC-in jackLine-out / Headphone (3.5 mm)Micro-SD SlotHDMI x 1SIM card slotStatus indicator: Charging: Purple, Power on: Off, Battery Full: Blue, Battery Low (<6%): RedOS Version: 2.2 (Froyo) Android, Kernel core: 2.6.323D UI supportBuild in Camera module support WebCAMERA 0.3M CCD (Optional: 1.3M ;2.0M (By request))USB interfaceG-sensorI2C interface Resolution Up to 16 BitsOptional itemsHSUPA support w/ USB interface GPS or A-GPS support (T.B.D.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Interesting pic, again from the OEM, of the device that is becoming the Vega with Shuttle branding! P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I'm willing to bet we get the 'SIM slot' but not the 3G hardware. :) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Video of the device in action (with INCREDIBLY cheesy muzak)... :) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bewA Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I can't wait for this! Although i'm not going to be an early adopter for sure! :) I may end up keeping my Nexus and just getting one of these instead of the Desire HD :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darrenjdoc Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 After i get the DHD i know what i am saving my pennies for :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Calamity James Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 No Market app in the video, although that might just be because it's an early release. I'm loving the surely fake Chrome and IE icons though! The Adobe website looks almost as smooth as the desktop version though, looks like a belter! Now not sure wether I want this or the Archos 10! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RaphaelSavina Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Video of the device in action (with INCREDIBLY cheesy muzak)... :) Weird... Look at 2:26... In all the apps icons there is one "Chrome" and one "Internet Exporer"... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Calamity James Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I just said that! :) hehe :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest decpvr Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I guess the only thing missing (besides the sim card slot?) is A-GPS. Shame, but not the end of he world. Unless I'm reading the specs wrong and Advent could add it as an extra? Does that option mean it would be an external USB Dongle? Ugh! Otherwise looks like a bargain! Well, except we've just been conditioned by Apple (and Samsung!) to expect these devices to cost considerably more. I'll be very interested to see how it actually performs. Specs can be misleading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest munkimatt Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I genuinely can't wait for this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 And another one... P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Yeah, no GPS is a shame but you generally find (as on the iPad) that that comes as part of the 3G chipset. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bewA Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 at 2:12 on the first video you can see an unplugged mouse and maybe some sort of dock... thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest removed-14 Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Yum, this is looking like a steal if those specs and prices are correct! Add some Quidco cash back and i'm in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest paulsmith Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 very interested. Nice to see a tablet above the useless 7 inches. Dual core A9 - so Im hoping flash content will work really well. Any news about pre-ordering in advance from one of the dixons group? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest decpvr Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) Yeah, no GPS is a shame but you generally find (as on the iPad) that that comes as part of the 3G chipset. P Thinking about it tbh I don't think I'd really ever use the GPS anyway, what with the TomTom, SanFran and wifi tethering that I've got, it's pretty much a luxury anyway! It's just a nice spec to add to the already generous list :) Edited October 12, 2010 by decpvr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Bit annoying to see it has a seperate charge plug and doesn't charge over micro/miniUSB... seems to be the norm for tablets tho. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest le_lutin Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 at 2:12 on the first video you can see an unplugged mouse and maybe some sort of dock... thoughts? In the first video, the keyboard looks incredibly naff. Hope they change it before launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest add.thebad Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 good we need to start getting some decent android tablets on the uk market i look foward to trying good to see 2.2 aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 That's just the stock Android keyboard... P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SilentMobius Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 The devices are scheduled to hit retail from the 18th October... we will of course be getting our hands on and reviewing one as soon as possible... as well as putting up lots more pictures (unfortunately we have only the rather nondescript press shot at this time). Where did you get this date from? The Dixons Retail press release says 1st November. Not that I'm complaining, I will be buying this on right out of the gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 From their PR company. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Popple3 Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Awesome! I think I'll be going for one of these over the Archos 101 now. Hopefully they'll stock it over here in Ireland too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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