The Augen 7” Android tablet that Paul mentioned yesterday is proving to be hard to find. I called all three of the Kmart stores in the Springfield area, and none of them had received either it, or the 7” “smartbook” I mentioned Engadget reviewing yesterday. (The tablet was the only device featured in the sales circular—the smartbook was nowhere to be found, and the electronics associate didn’t know about it.)
I was able to get a rain check for the tablet, though that does not necessarily mean the store will actually carry it. I probably won’t buy it anyway; the smartbook is the device I’m more interested in seeing. It might make a decent little web browsing, e-mail checking, and writing machine, one that I wouldn’t be out a small fortune if I lost. I’ll have to see.
Interestingly, the official Kmart website does not list either the smartbook or the tablet, though it does list a $99 color LCD e-book reader, with a Kindle-style thumb keyboard, from Augen.
Linux For Devices has an article looking at the tablet and e-book reader and linking to reviews, and at the tablet’s overall lack of availability (though it notes Engadget heard that stores might be stocked later this week). It also says that Motorola is rumored to be working on a 10” Android 3 tablet that will ship in November.
