When you think of tablets, more than likely it is brand names like Apple, Samsung and Asus that immediately spring to mind, rather than Polaroid.

 

However, as evidenced by its recent announcement at the Consumer Electronic Show, the camera maker has moved more aggressively into the tablet space, debuting a 10” and a 7” Android tablet.

 

The real talking point though is the price – at a stated $229 (R1 900) for the 10” M10 and a Nexus 7-challenging $129 (R1 100) for the 7” M7.

 

At these price points, there is already talk of the company aiming to directly compete with Google and Amazon’s offerings. Specs wise, the tablets will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean; and, while the Wi-Fi only M7 will offer a dual-core processor and 8 GB of internal storage, the Wi-Fi and 3G M10 will boast a quad-core CPU and 16 GB of internal storage.

 

While that storage sounds a little meagre, especially considering the fact that the Nexus 7 had its storage bumped up to 32 GB, the tablets are redeemed by the presence of a microSD card slot for storage expansion of up to an additional 32 GB - something which the Nexus 7 unfortunately lacks.

 

 

Additionally, the M10 adds a 5 megapixel rear camera to the 2 megapixel front facing camera that the M7 offers. On the display front, users can expect a 1280 x 800 resolution screen; which is ok though not mindblowing, especially in the era of Retina and HD displays.

 

Apparently, according to Tom’s Hardware, the M10’s build quality in particular is impressive, eschewing the usual hard plastic for a metallic silver back cover, which lends it a more expensive feel.

 

 

Admittedly, new Android tablet announcements  are hardly unexpected at this point, but what is interesting is that Polaroid – a company not normally associated with tablets – is jumping into the fray, while heeding the maxim that for consumers, price is king.

 

It is also a mark of a trend in which yesteryear’s giants are finding themselves having to reinvent themselves to move with the times or face the sad fate of reading their obituary on technology sites (Rest In Peace, Kodak, well almost).