We got a few minutes to tour a couple brand new products from NEC that are destined to hit the shores of Japan for too long. The first Android tablet you see demoed has dual-screens with special multi-tasking features built-in while the second device is essentially an Android netbook/laptop. The latter will be out this week while the former is coming in the next couple months – both in Japan.
NEC hopes to gain popularity with these tablets and offer them in Europe and the United States, but I have to question that possibility. After seeing the XOOM, Optimus Pad, and Galaxy S2, I simply dont see the point in buying any type of Android Tablet that is running 2.X.
Android 3.0 is optimized for tablets and you can tell – most of the Android 2.X tablets are buggy, glitchy, underpowered, and the next generation is already arriving. Manufacturers would be smart to shelve any tablets they’ve got running Android 2.X and immediately begin working on launching products with Android 3.0 if they want to seriously compete.
And of course, the idea is to get AHEAD of the curve, so perhaps focusing on Android 3.0 isn’t enough. Maybe they should be working on Android 3.X and beyond… and in that case it’s a matter of getting enough access.