Elonex launches a budget range of Etouch tablets

BRITISH TABLET MAKER Elonex has launched its range of budget tablets at today's Gadget Show in Birmingham with a clear mission to undercut the rest of the market on price.

The selection of tablets from Elonex is almost overwhelming with six varieties in its Etouch family. The Android tablets are available in a choice of either 7-inch or 10-inch size and start at £119.

Elonex said, "New technology carries a premium price tag and it was Elonex's vision to stand out from the competition to offer high quality tablets at an affordable price-point."

The 7-inch models are the Etouch 760ET and 702ET. The main difference between the two is that the 760ET has a resistive touchscreen while the 702ET has a capacitive touchscreen. The 760ET is the cheapest of the Etouch family at £119, available now, and the 702ET is £179, available later this month. Both run Google's Android 2.2 operating system and the 702ET is 10.6mm thick.

The 10-inch models are the Etouch Blade 1000ET, 1044ET, 1040ET and 1043ET. Again one of the main differences is the type of touchscreen technology used. The 1000ET has a resistive touchscreen, the 1044ET has a progressive touchscreen and the 1040ET and 1043ET have capacitive touchscreens. All four models have WiFi but the 1043ET also has 3G capabilities.

The progressive touchscreen on the 1044ET is apparently a crossover between capacitive and resistive technology which Elonex said offers improved responsiveness without the high price tag. The 1043ET has an A8 ARM processor, SD card slot, accelerometer and a front facing camera. All the 10-inch Android models will be available next month starting at £149. µ