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  • Augen's $150 Android tablet hits Kmart circular, coming to stores later this week

    by 
    Joanna Stern
    Joanna Stern
    07.26.2010

    We can't say we've heard of Augen before, but the company certainly sparked our interest (and that of Kmart circular readers) this weekend with its $149.99 7-inch Android tablet. Oh yes, you heard right shoppers -- the small Florida-based shop is bringing an Android 2.1 tablet with WiFi, 2GB of storage and 256MB of RAM to a store near you for just 150 buckaroos. And according to an Augen spokesperson, it will have access to the Android "Market App Store." That sounds pretty awesome for the pricetag, but we -- along with a number of readers we've heard from -- haven't been able to locate the 7-inch tablet at any Kmart retail location just yet. (Yes, we even spent a lovely ten minutes on hold with our local store while they checked the inventory.) We're told by Augen that the device should be hitting shelves later this week, though the company was unsure it would ever land on Kmart's online store. In addition to the 7-inch tablet, Augen has also released its $89 TheBook e-reader with a similar 7-inch LCD. It doesn't run Android, but you can check out an in-depth look at its Linux OS in The eReader's video review after the break. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground on the availability of the tablet and will be trying to get one in our hands to confirm the preloaded Market, but let us know in the comments if you've had any luck yourselves. [Thanks, Matthew] Update: We've been hearing from a bunch of readers that many Kmarts are giving out "rainchecks" and that they will be calling customers when the Augen tablet arrives later this week. Update 2: Yep, Kmart's updated its blog with info on the "rainchecks." Update 3: Rdearth53 got his very own tablet! Check the video after the break. We're still tracking one down!