High-res Android tablets ship for under $300

One of the primary differences between low-cost Android tablets designed in China and Apple’s flagship iPad is the resolution capabilities of the display.

Unsurprisingly, Chinese tablet makers are starting to close the gap between the iPad and Android tablets – at least in terms of display. Indeed, some newer devices boast 9.7-inch screens with a resolution of 2048 x 1536.

Apple calls its high-resolution display the Retina Display and for a long time it was the only game in town for smaller screens packing an uber amount of pixels. One of the first Android-powered tablets we saw from China using a similar high resolution display was built by Cube and dubbed the U9GT5. However, it wasn’t at all clear how much the device would cost or when it was slated to hit the market.

Fortunately, those all-important details are now available, so we know the tablet is currently up for pre-order  on the Cube website for $266, with an estimated ship date of October 13. The tablet  is powered by a 1.6 GHz RK3066 processor paired with 1 GB of RAM and 8- GB of storage. As expected, the tablet is also equipped with both integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Another tablet – known as the Chuwi V99 – sports the same display. Both devices are quite similar, as they are equipped with the same 9.7-inch display and resolution, as well as an identical 1.6 GHz dual core processor and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Both tablets also boast 1 GB of RAM, microSD slots, two megapixel cameras on the front and rear, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and battery life of up to 10 hours of use per charge. Liliputing reports that there are several other branded versions of these two tablets available as well – with most priced at or under $300 from various Chinese retailers.