Coby has had an on again, off again relationship with netbooks over the past few years, but now it looks like the company may be taking aim at another computer category: tablets.
The folks at Aving spotted a Coby tablet at the IFA show in Berlin this week. The Coby MID810 has an 8 inch TFT display with a resistive touchscreen, although there’s also mention of “capacitive touch key control,” which I’m assuming means the buttons built into the bezel below the screen.
The MID810 also has an integrated FM radio and a 1.3MP camera. It runs Google Android, and could be released in the second half of the year — although I wouldn’t place any bets on this little guy getting a wide release. You still can’t actually walk into a store and buy a Coby netbook, even though the company has been showing those off since CES 2009.
Update: It looks like the tablets could be set to launch in the second quarter of 2011 for around $179. thanks MonkeyKing!
via Blogeee
How do you think this one? it claims best android tablet from China makers so far. https://www.babikenshop.com/babiken_blog/2010/08/30/who-is-the-china-best-android-tablet-pc-babiken-l710/
This article ( https://www.e-gear.com/article/coby-to-launch-tablet-pc-large-screen-lcd-tvs-25008266/1 ) seems to provide some more information including a price. Also, this is the first time I’ve seem quotes from the new president.
Serious Question: Is this a MID or a tablet? Those are radically different categories of technology.
Coby is calling it the MID810, but it looks like a typical tablet to me. I’m also not entirely sure they are radically different. On the one hand, there was a class of device launched a few years ago referred to as a MID, and this doesn’t have some of the key characteristics of those products. On the other hand, it certainly qualifies as a “mobile internet device,” which is what MID stands for, no?
Coby does seem to be branching out into more expensive and risky products. Or at least testing the waters with their ability to produce such products. This might have something to do with naming Michael Troetti , formerly of Sharp, as its new president. Troetti had been named president of Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America in September 2005. He had previously worked at Panasonic from 1981 through 2004.
I did notice that the seven netbooks/notebooks listed on the Coby USA site have expanded to ten with the addition of three AMD Athlon™ Processor devices. That seems like a very big lineup of computers for a company without much backend support for drivers & service.