Telstra has finally admitted that they are set to be a major player in the 7″ tablet market with the Company set to sell its own$299 tablet which is made by leading Chinese Company, they will also sell the high end high priced Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The Telstra tablet, dubbed the “T-Touch Tab”, could sell for as little as $299. The maker is believed to be Chinese Company Huawei who recently launched their own Smartphone. The device will only be available for use on Telstra’s Next G Network.
Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab the T Touch Tab is sold overseas as Huawei’s SmaKit S7, an Android tablet, that has a 7″ screen and 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 720p playback, 3G connectivity, plus a dock with HDMI out, two USB 2.0 ports, and two microSDHC slots.
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It also has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3G and Wi-Fi connections, an audio player and an HDMI port for connection to a TV. Like Dell’s 5-inch Streak it can be used as a phone.
In the UK clothing retailer Next, is offering a 10″ Android based table online for $350. The Company ships to several Countries including Australia and New Zealand.
At a press briefing yesterday Telstra executives said that they will offer two Tablets by Xmas and that the new Toshiba Folio was “not one of them”. They have also ruled out tablets from Dell.
The low cost price of the Telstra T Touch Tab suggest serious problems ahead for the marketing plans of Samsung Australia for its $999 Galaxy Tab tablet, due out in November.
Samsung has named Telstra as one of the carriers to market the Galaxy Tab, but that arrangement could come under pressure if Telstra were to undercut it by such a huge amount.
The T-Touch Tab, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, will run under a version of Android operating system and is believed to have a 7-inch display – significantly smaller than Apple’s hot selling iPad but similar to the Galaxy Tab and other Android models flagged by the likes of RIM and Dell.
Telstra revealed the plan on its Web site, opening a page where customers can register to receive more information about the T-Touch Tab.
The T-Touch Tab joins Telstra’s T-Hub home telephony gadget and its T-Box Internet and broadcast TV set-top box as part of its drive for more consumer business.
At $299 the device is $300 cheaper than the Harmony 900 universal remote making it ideal for use as a controller for home automation use. Several consumer electronics vendors including Sony, Samsung. LG and Panasonic are developing free application for Android tablets that allow users to access TV content movies and music while also controlling several devices in the home.
