After teasing its entry into the burgeoning tablet market for months, Asus today unveiled its first Eee Pad tablets running Windows software and an e-reader, dubbed Eee Tablet, with a note-taking function. The announcement included the 10-inch EP101TC running Windows Embedded Compact 7 (an updated version of Windows CE), and the 12-inch EP121 running Windows 7 Home Premium on an Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor.
Asus claims the device can be used as a multimedia player, e-reader, Web browser, or, with the help of a keyboard docking station, a full-featured PC. The company didn't share much in the way of specs -- after all, the Eee Pad won't be on the market until early 2011 -- but said the "ultra-slim and light" device will include a webcam, USB port, HDMI-out, SD slot, and should offer 10 hours of battery life. Prices are expected to range between $399 and $449. Unfortunately, their rumored Google-android tablet was nowhere to be seen.
As for the Eee Tablet, Asus describes it as "one of the world's most accurate and sensitive digital note taking devices" which will give users the feel of writing on paper. It will be available in September for $199 to $299, and will feature an 8-inch grayscale display, two-megapixel camera to snap photos of slides or other subjects for notes later on, an electronic notepad, Wi-Fi, a media player and a battery life of 10 hours.
