Details on Android-Powered Asus Tablet Emerges

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Comes with 1GB of RAM and a microSD card.

A 7-inch tablet called ME-172V created by Asus was recently outed, with details on the device now providing more insight into the unannounced product.

The benchmark deriving from GLBenchmark confirms an operating system of Android 4.1.1, otherwise known as Jelly Bean. Its screen resolution is apparently 1024 x 552, and will run a CPU frequency from 600MHz to 1,008MHz.

Technical specifications points to the device featuring a VIA WMV8950 processor, 1 GB of RAM and a microSD card, which is a component Google's Nexus 7 lacks.

Comparatively, the Nexus 7's processor is a Tegra 3 quad-core clocked at 1.3GHz, while its memory is also 1 GB. Storage wise, the ME-172V is said to include internal storage of 8 GB, while the former comes in three variants -- 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB.

Other rumored features of the ME-172V are a 4,270mAh battery, a Mali 400 graphics chip and a front-facing camera.

While Asus has yet to formally confirm the device's existence, the price tag is rumored to be $226.

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Zak Islam
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • comedie
    I was hoping someone would recognize the need to have a micro SD slot. Google and Apple didn't. Have been using a Samsung that has an SD slot, but still has a proprietary connector for charging. Looks like Asus has a better option coming
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    There's got to be something wrong with the rumored info--That's a pricey estimate given the serious sub-par specifications in comparison to the Nexus 7. Maybe this will turn into the $99 Nexus tablet that was rumored quite some time ago. Hard to believe anyone would spend more money for worse spec's when only the SD card slot is the only improvement.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    comedieI was hoping someone would recognize the need to have a micro SD slot. Google and Apple didn't. Have been using a Samsung that has an SD slot, but still has a proprietary connector for charging. Looks like Asus has a better option comingthe nook hd is a criminally overlooked cheap tablet with great specs(same cpu as fire hd) and sd slot. this tablet looks like itll be a good alternative to the nexus and fire though. true that sd slot is necessary to have if you like to have music, movies, and games on it.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    mmm double post. the screen res is still much crappier than the nook hd though. so in the price range I still believe the nook to be best option.
    Reply
  • nbelote
    I could've sworn the market was already saturated with Android tablets...
    Reply
  • Asus from time to time has some really screwball ideas about what the market needs. Maybe this is one of them. A subpar tablet selling more than its own Nexus 7. The spec is more or less taken from the horde of China whitebox Android tablets which normally sells at half the price of Nexus 7. Maybe they plan to sell this during April's Fool day?
    Reply
  • Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer
    Its screen resolution is apparently 1024 x 552...
    What? So it has an aspect ratio of...128:69? Or 16:8.625? I don't believe that for a minute. Now if you said 1024x576, I might believe it, but...
    Reply
  • BriboCN
    teh_chemThere's got to be something wrong with the rumored info--That's a pricey estimate given the serious sub-par specifications in comparison to the Nexus 7. Maybe this will turn into the $99 Nexus tablet that was rumored quite some time ago. Hard to believe anyone would spend more money for worse spec's when only the SD card slot is the only improvement.
    I doubt it, remember google can afford to sell things at a loss and expect to make it back with their play store and advertising. Other companies lack that flexibility.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    BriboCNI doubt it, remember google can afford to sell things at a loss and expect to make it back with their play store and advertising. Other companies lack that flexibility.Google is not making a loss on $200 N7 tablets, they are making a small profit on the hardware itself.

    The reason why Google priced the N7 with a tiny margin (unlike the $300-400 markup on iToys) is because Google was unhappy with Android's market share progress and wanted to shake things up so they decided to make some aggressively priced models to shock the market hoping to make up the difference on increased GooglePlay sales over time.

    Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool and with Apple's tablet market share dropping from 80% to 50% mostly to Android's benefit, I would say Google has indeed succeeded in convincing lots of people to give Android a shot and substantially raise the features-per-dollar bar.
    Reply
  • yannigr
    $226? Really? Chinese ultra cheap 7'' tablets with WM8850 cost around $60-$75 on eBay. WM8950 and WM8850 are the same chip, with WM8950 been the version for big customers like ASUS (and slower than 8850 I think!). WM8850 is one of the cheapest and lowest single core performing cpus for 2012. I guess ASUS chosen this chip because of the old relationships with VIA, when VIA was the No2 in chipsets, but $226? REALLY?
    Reply