
In CarryPad’s live blog coverage of the WePad conference today we learned of new specs, pricing and initial launch date. The WePad is an Android tablet with 11.6 inch touch screen display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, 16GB of flash storage, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1, and 1.3 megapixel camera starting at €449 ($611 USD) in July 2010. Shortly a 3G-32GB flash storage model will be available for €569 ($774 USD).
We’ve already seen Notion Ink’s Adam Android tablet sparking interest and rivalry with Apple’s recently released iPad. We’ll watch how this tablet stacks up… see the chart below.
| Technology | WePad | Apple iPad |
| Display | 11.6″ mit 1366×768 pixels | 9.7″ mit 1024×768 |
| Processor | 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 Pineview-M | 1.0GHz Apple A4 |
| Memory | 16GB NAND Flash (optional 32GB intern/32GB SD card) | 16 / 32 / 64GB |
| Webcam | Yes (1.3 megapixels) | No |
| Peripherals | 2 USB integrated, Card reader, Audio outout, SIM Card Slot, Multi-Pin Connector | Adapter for Camera and Card Reader |
| Flash/Adobe AIR | Yes/Yes | No/No |
| Applications | WePad Apps and Android Apps | iTunes App Store |
| Multitasking | Yes | Limited (only Apple Apps) |
| Battery Life | Lithium-Ion Polymer (running time ca. 6 hours) | ca. 10 hours |
| Supported eBook Formats | All open formats, additionally premium formats (WeBook). Start at Q4/10 | Proprietary Apple format for iBooks Store, Launch ??? |
| Connections | Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi, optional 3G | Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi, optional 3G |
| GPS | Yes (optional) | Yes (Wi-Fi + 3G) |
| Case | Magnesium-Aluminium | Aluminium |
| Dimensions | 288 x 190 x 13 mm | 242.8 x 189.7 x 13.4 mm |
| Weight | 800 g (850 g with 3G) | 680 g |
| Further Details | Ambient Light Sensor, Motion Sensor, Stereo, Internal | Ambient Light Sensor, Motion Sensor, Stereo, Internal |
| Price | €449-€569 ($611-$774 USD) | $499-$829 |
| Availability | July 2010 | April/May 2010 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBq66fEVYzo
[via Slash Gear, via Carrypad and Twitter]
The price comparison isn’t fair for two reasons: first, in Europe we always state the prices with tax included, unlike the US, where it is added later on. Second, electronics are always more expensive here.
For example, the european price for the iPad hasn’t been disclosed yet, but hardly anyone expects anything below the trusty old $=€ formula, so 499 Euro (equals 678 US Dollars) on this side of the large pond.
Now look at the WePad offering again, considering it is cheaper than the iPad – or, at best (for Apple fans) the same price.
Ok, so I see iPad advertised 10 hours of battery, and reviewers are claiming more. Wepad has 6, and I’m not sure if I can trust it or not.
I see the iPad has the AppStore, and the quality of apps on there is pretty far above the Android apps I’ve seen.
I see that iPad exists in the market today, and a month or two later will have multitasking that tries really hard not to drain battery life.
I’m glad the price is in the right ballpark, I will pay more for a product that gives me a superior experience.
You forgot to mention that the iPad has a higher quality IPS display (better viewing angles) while the WePad probably has a standard TN type.
I was just stating that so the comparison isn’t biased by the false price tag. Both systems have pros and cons, that much should be agreeable. But the WePad pretty much did a non-show today, I just hope for the competition on the market that it doesn’t turn out to be vaporware.
does the wepad being 1080p compare to the ipad?
More than I was expecting or willing to pay, hopefully that e-ink tablet will be less.
/me to the rescue of the WePad. (Sort of)
Like Planet wrote before: If they really release it for that price here in germany (Yes, I’m german. -_-), it will be more inexpensive, than the ipad. I don’t know how much they let you temper with the device and it’s os-partion, but I heard somewhere (Yaya, he heard it somewhere. Quite convincing. I think it was on the RTL II News.), that there will be a systemconsole implemented for people, who know what they are doing or just want to experiment a bit. XP It’s androidframeworknature lets me hope for features like installing other linux distributions or maybe even a Windows-port by Microsoft one day. It’s much more near to being a PC than the ipad. To be fair, I do not own an ipod, iphone or an ipad, so I might not be qualified to criticize it, but what I have seen of the features of the iphone in local stores and what I have read about the features of the ipad, don’t impress me much. They (phone and pad) seam to be just hyped, overpriced gadgets, while the WePad looks much more like something to really work with. (And the thought “ipad=bigger iphone” didn’t just crossed my mind, I read it several times on the internet, too) Thou there (ipod’s,ipad’s,iphone’s) gui is just unreached. Smooth, good looking, wonderful.
From what I read about about the WePad, it’s true. It doesn’t want to be a ipad-killer. It passes it and aims right for the HP slate. ^^ But there are still some points, that are irritating me. They didn’t send any devices to magazines or internetsites to let them be reviewed. Something is fishy about those 6 hours battery lifetime. And even if those 6 hours are given, it’s still not enough to endure a whole working day out of the company in the wilderness. (But I’m not asking for wonders here. 6 hours sounds realistic for nettops, too) Apple’s 10 hours is more convincing. Let’s see how well HP is doing.
And @planet and vaporware: They had a working machine, that looked (at least in the videos) less like a prototype, but more like one of the first mass-product-versions.
Okay, gotta take back that last part about mass-product-version. Just watched the youtube video on this page here and have to say, it looks like portable HD-videoplayer with fancy usb-ports and nothing more. I’m quite certain from the looks of it, that on its screen was just a HD 768p movie and we haven’t seen the real thing.
Just a quick note:
Supported eBook Formats:
“Proprietary Apple format for iBooks Store, Launch ???”
It’s just plain wrong.
The iPad, additionally to the DRM protected iBook-Store books, supports the ePub-Format, which is an Open-Standard for eBooks, you are able to convert your PDFs into ePub and read it right away.
Best regards,
Johannes