Toshiba Australia MD confirms the release of Android and Windows slates starting in October, but says it’s steering clear of the Android smartphone market for now...
Microsoft has lost another ally in the slate space, with Toshiba confirming that it would adopt Android as an alternative to Windows for its forthcoming release of ipad-style touchscreen tablets.
Toshiba’s Aussie chieftan Mark Whittard said the company’s new tablets or “smart pads” would be available with both Android and Windows.
The first product in the range would likely launch in September or October, although Whittard played coy on the specifics of the device, saying the product was still “a work in progress” and the specs had yet to be finalised.
“They probably won’t be running the same hardware, but who knows?” Whittard posed. And while initially suggesting that the company had yet to make the call on if it would back both Android and Windows for the slates, he later confirmed that “we will have an Android tablet this year.”
Whittard also briefly teased with a glimpse of a prototype device, which looked rather like an iPad at first glance and sported USB and HDMI outputs as well as a multitouch display.
Toshiba Australia's Mark Whittard promises"we'll have an Android tablet this year", but not smartphones
However, he is less bolshie about the prospects of Toshiba-branded Android smartphones to make a dent in the local market.
While the company already has several smartphone on tap or on the drawing board, Whittard told APCmag that Toshiba Australia would “probably not” release any smartphones in the near future.
“I think that’s already a significantly challenged market among vendors and price-points and margins” he admitted. “I’d never say never – we’re constantly looking at it. But the product would have to have something unique and cut-through (before we would) think about launching it into the local market.”