The Apple iPad is going to face serious competition from Android Linux-powered tablets, but the first mass-market, low-priced tablet to arrive, the Augen GenTouch78 isn’t it.
The tablet does have some good things going for it. While it’s made from black plastic, it has a solid feel. Better still, it comes with a form-fitting, faux-leather case. I don’t know about you, but whether I pay $170 for a GenTouch78 or $500 for an Apple iPad, I appreciate getting a real cover to protect it without shelling out additional cash.
In addition, the GenTouch78 comes with a pair of micro-USB to USB cables to make it easy to hook the device up to PCs or USB devices. It also comes with a microSD card port that can handle up to 16GB cards. I also found the tablet to be a nice size. For me, the overall shape with case was as easy to handle as a trade paperback book.
OK, that’s the good news. Before even turning it on, I was dismayed to see that the headphone jack port looked a little small. I was right. Instead of a music-grade 3.5mm port, it comes with the perpetually troublesome 2.5mm port.