Asus may introduce two Android Jelly Bean tablets at CES 2013

There have been a slew of rumours about Asus introducing a $99 Nexus tablet at CES 2013. The tablet currently goes by the codename ME172V and prior to this report, we have seen it appear in a leaked benchmark as well as in an EXIF data on a Picasa image. It now appears that Asus will introduce another tablet as well with a codename ME371MG; both the tablets will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and feature a 7-inch form factor.

A report by Notebook Italia claims that the ME371MG features an Intel Atom Z2420 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. There is an IPS display on this tablet and this 7-incher sports a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The tablet is also believed to sport features such as a GPS module, Wi-Fi and integrated Bluetooth. As far as cellular connectivity is concerned, this model also is expected to feature 3G connectivity. The rear camera on this device is believed to be 3MP. The price range of this device is expected to be in the region of $199 to $250.

To debut in black and white versions

As far as the Asus ME172V is concerned, the tablet will come in black and white colour variants and will be priced between $129 to $149. This is a bit more expensive than the previously perceived price tag of $99. This low end tablet from Asus will feature a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels with a TN panel rather than an IPS panel, which means viewing angles will not be as great. The device now is believed to sport a VIA WM8950 chipset featuring a single Cortex-A9 core and Mali-400 GPU along with 1GB of RAM. The internal memory found here is said to be 16GB and as far as camera optics are concerned, the device will feature a 1.3MP camera.

The last leak surrounding the $99 Nexus tablet came via a photograph on Picasa where a device from Asus, which goes by the codename ME172V, had made an appearance in the EXIF data. The EXIF data revealed that the resolution of the device is 1280 x 720 pixels. Apart from the features mentioned above, nothing else was revealed.

Also, a recent report by The Digital Reader stated, “I’ve just found a set of photos on Picasa which look to have been taken by a not-yet-released Asus gadget, the ME172V. While we only have unsubstantiated rumors concerning this device, the pattern of rumors and leaks suggest that this is the new Nexus tablet. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the ME172V is going to be the highpoint of CES next month. The photos leaked today don’t have any other purpose other than to prep the blogosphere for a launch event.”

This gives the world a clue as to when the Asus manufactured budget Nexus 7 will be launched.

In the benchmark that had appeared earlier this month, the Asus ME172V featured a 1GHz processor and a display with a resolution of 1025 x 600 pixels. The benchmark also revealed that it featured a Mali 400 GPU and runs on Android 4.1.1. There was no word on the number of cores found on the tablet, but if this device is to be categorised in the sub-$100 price range, we suspect it will be powered by a single-core processor.