By Around this time last year, we learned about a Japanese Android tablet that – at the time – looked AWESOME. Since then, many other offerings passed us by and a look into the future is much more promising, but the Hikari iFrame is finally on sale in Japan for NTT customers. Specs? But of course: it rocks a 7-inch touch screen with a WVGA resolution, Android 2.1, WiFi G, a USB port and SD card slot, functions as a digital picture frame and alarm clock (as can any Android device, really) and will have its own app store with 50 apps available initially.
If you want access to the apps, users will have to pay $2.50 every month. (Quite the odd way to go, but I’m not familiar with Japanese structure.) It can be had from NTT for $290 or rented on a month-to-month basis at $3.80 per month. (All currency translated from Japanese yen to the United States dollar.)
[Keitai Watch via CrunchGear]
You gotta pay $2.50/moth for the privelige to give them money for apps? WTF!?!
Aside from that it does look nice. I’m still waiting for ASUS to finally release ther tab. Unsure if I want the Android version or the Windows version (remove windows, install Linux)
I’m most likely grabbing the nookcolor however to work on a custom rom to use it as a tab ather then an e-book reader.
At least we’re now seeing real Android tablets at the under $300 price point which is required for consumer acceptance. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Tablet at $600.