Elonex launched 10 new products at IFA 2010, and among them were three
eTouch tablet computers. Powered by the company’s own ARM-based LNX
processor and running on the Android platform, there are a couple of 7-inch
(17.78 cm) models and a 10-inch (25.4 cm) version, all with backlit
touchscreen displays, 2GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The GBP79, which runs $122, the 500FB freeBook, which offers access to over a million free titles, and the first color e-Book to come in under the $155
mark, Elonex also showed off its 7-inch 710EB and some new touchscreen
Android tablets. The entry-level eTouch 700ET tablet carries a suggested
retail price of $153 and features a 7-inch, 800 x 480 resolution,
LED-backlit resistive touchscreen display. It’s powered by the company’s own ARM-based LNX Code 9 processor supported by 128MB of system memory, and runs on the Android 1.6 operating system, which has been touch optimized. The tablet features 2GB of NAND flash storage that is expandable via an included microSD media card slot. There’s orientation correction thanks to an included accelerometer, a mini-USB 2.0 port for connectivity to other devices, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi too. Elonex says that its Li-ion battery should be good for 3.5 hours between charges.
The eTouch 750ET also sports a HDMI-out port to allow users to view 720p
high definition video content on big screen televisions, and there’s also a
full-size USB port.
Rounding off the Elonex tablet launches is the 10-inch 1000ET model, which
carries a suggested retail price of $231. Its LED-backlit, resistive
touchscreen display has a resolution of 1024 x 600 and its ARM-based LNX 11 processor runs at 1GHz, supported by 256MB of system memory. The tablet also has a newer version of Android, 2.1, but retains the same amount of storage and microSD expansion capabilities of its smaller siblings.
A protective case with built-in tactile USB keyboard is available as an
optional extra for all of the new tablets. Also on display at the Elonex
booth were seven LCD and e-Ink e-Books, including a couple of freeBook
models. The 700FB and the 500FB offer readers access to over a million free
titles in ePub and PDF format from the company’s dedicated portal. The
7-inch model supports up to 720p high definition video playback as well as
popular photo and audio formats. There’s 2GB of internal storage, SD/MMC
card expansion and a claimed battery life of 8 hours reading, 4 hours video
or 10 hours audio.
The 5-inch (12.7 cm) 500FB offers a choice of five font sizes for viewing
comfort, AVI video and WAV/MP3 audio playback and a gigabyte of internal
storage with SD/SDHC/MMC expansion. Its 2000mAh battery is said to be good for 6 hours reading, 4 hours of video playback or a good 20 hours of audio. Each of the freeBook models has a twin e-Book model, offering similar specs but capable of displaying DRM content as well as free books. The 500EB model also has a storage increase to 2GB. The remainder of Elonex’s products are all e-Ink models and include a 5-inch touchscreen reader with physical
QWERTY keyboard and 512MB of internal storage, and a Wi-Fi-enabled 6-inch (15.24 cm) device with enough storage for about a thousands e-Books and a 532MHz ARM-based processor.
The new Elonex are only available in the UK, and North American availabiltiy
has yet to be announced.
