Strong early sales of $140 Android tablet surprise retailer

By Eric Brown
2010-09-02

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Beijing-based international online reseller LightInTheBox.com announced it has had two months of surprisingly strong sales of a seven-inch, $140 Android tablet. The aPad Android Tablet runs Android 1.6 -- with Android Market support -- on Samsung's ARM11-based 667MHz S3C6410, and offers 1GB of flash, an SD slot, Wi-Fi, and an 800 x 480-pixel screen, says the company.

LightInTheBox.com, which claims to sell more than fifty thousand products in more than 160 countries via its online store, does not list the manufacturer of the aPad. The tablet does not seem to tally precisely with any of the low-cost Chinese Android tablets we've covered this year, many of which are listed in the links at the end of the article.

LightInTheBox.com's aPad Android Tablet
(Click to enlarge)

The aPad has been a "consistent top seller" since it went on sale two months ago, says LightInTheBox.com. This is said to have surprised the company until it noticed that users wanted to try out the new tablet concept without spending a lot of money.

Stated CEO Alan Guo, "We were initially surprised by the success of the Android Tablet because we believed that most consumers in the market for a touchscreen tablet computer would rush out to buy Apple's much hyped iPad."

The aPad Android Tablet runs Android 1.6
(Click on either to enlarge)

The aPad Android Tablet is equipped with an ARM11-based Samsung S3C6410 SoC clocked at 667MHz. (The S3C6410 has been used on a number of smaller, MID-sized tablets such as the Android-ready, 4.8-inch Routon P760 and P730.)

Side view of the aPad

The aPad is further equipped with 256MB of DDR2 RAM, 1GB internal NAND flash, and a microSD slot capable of handling up to 16GB cards, says LightInTheBox.com. The seven-inch touchscreen offers 800 x 480 resolution, and most likely uses resistive technology.

The tablet is said to supply 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, as well as USB 2.0 Host and On-The-Go ports, and an audio jack. The aPad weighs 11.7 ounces (332 grams), and runs on a 1500mAh battery that lasts up to 2.5 hours of simultaneous web, video and music usage, says the company.

Rear view of the aPad

As noted, the device runs the aging Android 1.6, but it does offer Android Market access. No other software details are supplied, but the company says the device supports languages including English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

Availability

The APad Android Tablet is available now for $140 from LightInTheBox.com, here.

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