NEC has chosen CES to detail its new dual screen Cloud Communicator Tablet. The Android device is designed to be held like a book and each screen can contain independent applications running at the same time. It's powered by an ARM Cortex A8 processor, an onboard camera to the rear and has a threesome of wireless connectivity options.
The LT-W Android Tablet computer from NEC will no doubt draw comparisons to Toshiba's Libretto W100 clamshell mini-notebook, sporting as it does a pair of 7-inch touchscreen displays, but things couldn't be more different. The former – quite rightly for this day and age – has capacitive multi-touch displays whereas the Cloud Communicator settles for resistive technology (with inevitable stylus input), and as such is a bit of a let-down.
The 530g (18 ounce) NEC device offers 802.11b/g Wi-Fi (not Wireless-N), Bluetooth 2.1 and 3G wireless connectivity, has a 3MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, a mono speaker and SDHC card slot and USB 2.0 physical connectivity. There's no mention of exactly which flavor of Android is running the show but the device comes with access to NEC's own Android application marketplace called andronavi. Its battery is said to give 5 hours before it needs a recharge and there's onboard GPS too.
Las Vegas is also the first U.S. public outing for its single-screen Android tablet, the LT-S Cloud Communicator, which also sports a somewhat dated resistive touchscreen and similar specs but (unsurprisingly) better battery life.
If there are any specific cloud-based advantages to using these devices, as the name might suggest, then NEC has failed to point them out. Given the other bleeding-edge offerings on display at this year's trade show, we have to say that we're a little disappointed by NEC's effort.
