At CES 2012, Asus unveiled what has a chance to be one of the best 7″ tablets of the year, the Asus Eee Pad MeMo. The Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet better watch their backs.
What makes the Asus Eee Pad MeMo so attractive is the combination of high-end specs and low price, not to mention the fact that Asus is one of the top tablet manufacturers thanks to the success of their line of Asus Transformer tablets.
The exact specs and release date for the Asus Eee Pad MeMo haven’t been finalized just yet. It is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2012—so sometime in April to June.
Here are the early details Asus revealed about the Eee Pad MeMo at CES:
- 7″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution (the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have 1024 x 600 resolution screens).
- NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor.
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with full Android Market and Google apps.
- Memory: 16GB plus Asus web storage.
- 1GB RAM.
- Wireless: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SIM card slot (maybe).
- 8MP rear-facing camera.
- Micro HDMI port.
- Micro USB port.
- Micro SD card slot.
- Audio jack, speaker.
- Battery: 8.5 hours video playback.
- Weight: 400 grams (14.1 ounces).
- Price: $249.
The early specs say it all: the Asus Eee Pad MeMo has better hardware than any other 7″ tablet, and the $249 price is the icing on the cake. Hopefully nothing major changes upon release. The quad-core processor, high resolution screen, and price are enough to unseat most competitors alone.
CNET seems to think highly of the Asus Eee Pad MeMo too. It was among 10 gadgets from CES 2012 to receive CNET’s “Best of CES” award.
I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these, especially since the Asus Transformer is my favorite tablet. Stay tuned for more Asus Eee Pad MeMo news and reviews.
Looking forward to its release.
I also wonder how can iPad 3 improve on iPad 2? iPad 2 is close to perfect (although there is never ‘perfect’).
Don’t get the rear camera on tablets, front would be more usefull (video calls). If this is really $250 it would be a winner, as long as people know about it.
iPad 3 could use a much better camera on the front and back. Even still pictures blow big time. About the only thing it works for is Facetime (which I LOVE). I have used the rear camera to take pics in training sessions, scan to PDF, and other basic pics.
Can’t wait for this to come out though, going to look real hard at them…
This would be a tablet I’d consider! The 7″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution is the kicker. My eyes need good resolution or tablets simply are not comfortable for me to browse the web or read on.
As for rear camera, I LIKE them! I don’t haul my DSLR about with me, but a tablet I’d be more likely to have along with me. Wonder if it has GPS or if that is not a feature?
At any rate, $250 would be in my price range, so I hope I get a chance to look at this tablet when it comes out!
If the specs are that good, and if the screen is responsive, this very well could be the tablet to get me to set aside the Nook Tablet I got in December. I’m enjoying the Nook Tablet very much for what it is, an e-reader with web capability. But full access to the Android app market would be such a great plus for this ASUS.
As for the camera, it’s not important to me as the camera on my cel is fine for the limited photography I do. The rear facing is best for composition. The front facing is pretty much useless for me as I don’t do video calling/conferencing (and no one I know does, for that matter).
Any word on this? Release date??
Still nothing official…
I REALLY wish this would come out SOON! Is there anything similar to it in the same price range already out?
It lacks the quad-core processor and HDMI port, but there’s the 7″ Galaxy Tab 2 with Android 4.0 that is similar for $249.
Well..
My brother’s got the first 10″ version of the Transformer. its pretty good.
this 7″ option will probably be my faster other-side-of-the-coin alternative to my Sony prs t1 .. as long as they keep the SIM card option. Finally i’d drop my XX century Nokia and use this Asus as my new cell (smart) phone.
What you reckon Nathan.. ?
That “maybe” on the sim card option seems a little bit itchy ..
PS : btw.. Nice job on the tuning of the page design . Definitely fresher 😉 .